Narratives of Being There Computer Games, Presence and Fictional Worlds Teun Dubbelman Utrecht University © 2013 Teun Dubbelman E-mail: [email protected] ISBN: 978-94-6191-775-1 Printed on FSC-certified paper by Ipskamp Drukkers, Enschede, the Netherlands Narratives of Being There Computer Games, Presence and Fictional Worlds Narratieven van aanwezigheid Computergames, presentie en fictieve werelden (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Utrecht op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof. dr. G.J. van der Zwaan, ingevolge het besluit van het college voor promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op dinsdag 9 juli 2013 des ochtends te 10.30 uur door Teunis Dubbelman geboren op 18 december 1980 te Breda Promotoren: Prof. dr. J.F.F. Raessens Prof. dr. W.C. Uricchio Co-promotor: Dr. M.J. Kattenbelt Table of contents Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 1. Working definitions 2 Presence and narrative 2 Computer games 2 Immersion 4 2. Working assumptions 5 3. Research question 5 4. Motivation 6 5. Methodology 8 6. Theoretical framework 9 7. Structure 13 THEORY Chapter 1 The concept of presence 15 1.1. General definition of presence 15 1.1.1. Production of presence 17 1.1.2. Media and art 18 1.1.3. Studying presence 19 1.2. Spatial presence in Presence Theory 21 1.2.1. Presence Theory 21 1.2.2. Spatial presence 22 1.2.3. Logic of mimesis 23 Spatial presence as non-mediation 25 Better technology, better presence 26 Multisensory stimulation 27 1.3. Phenomenology of perception 30 1.3.1. Beyond internal representation 30 1.3.2. Phenomenological media theory 32 Intentionality 33 Prosthetic bodies 35 Prosthetic media 36 1.3.3. Performance theory 38 Intentional arc 38 Repetition 39 1.3.4. Expressive amplification 42 1.4. Theoretical model 45 Chapter 2 The concept of narrative 49 2.1. Narrative and presence 49 2.1.1. Medium-specificity 53 2.1.2. Stories and fictional worlds 55 2.2. Narrative as recounting 57 2.2.1. The classical novel 59 2.3. Narrative as showing 61 2.3.1. Diegesis versus mimesis 62 2.3.2. Disembodied observer 64 2.3.3. Embodied participant 65 Body genres 65 Practices of presence 68 2.3.4. Initial theoretical model 70 2.3.5. Here-and-now or there-and-then 72 2.3.6. Cognitive narratology 75 Possessing narrativity 76 Multimedia construct 78 2.3.7. Computer games 79 2.4. Narrative as participation 82 2.4.1. Narrative architecture 82 2.4.2. Bodily movement 83 2.4.3. Bodily motor-actions 85 2.4.4. Spatiotemporal (re)presentation 87 2.5. Theoretical model 90 2.5.1. A note on interactive images and sounds 92 Cinematic and architectural 93 Camera and level design 95 DESIGN Chapter 3 The production of presence 99 3.1. Player positioning 99 3.2. Embodied presence 101 3.2.1. First-person configuration 104 3.2.2. Semi first-person configuration 107 3.2.3. Dual-locus configuration 110 3.3. Disembodied presence 116 3.3.1. Semi third-person configuration 119 3.3.2. Third-person configuration 122 First-person camera in third-person configuration 125 Chapter 4 The expression of stories and fictional worlds 127 4.1. Exposition and action 128 4.2. Expository action 133 4.2.1. Cutscenes 133 First-person cutscenes 134 4.2.2. Dialogue and monologue 141 Interactive dialogue 142 Static dialogue and monologue 143 Inner monologue 145 (Extra-)diegetic narrator 146 4.2.3. Interactive (extreme) close-up 148 4.2.4. Interactive editing 152 Crosscutting 153 Flashback 154 4.2.5. Mise-en-scène 155 Memory palace 156 Indexical signs 156 Atmosphere 157 4.2.6. Character behaviour 160 Procedurality 164 4.2.7. Scripted sequences 165 4.2.8. Evocative design 169 4.2.9. Combining expository strategies 170 4.3. Constitutive action 176 4.3.1. Image schemas 177 4.3.2. Enacted and emergent narrative 181 Chapter 5 The content of stories and fictional worlds 189 5.1. Quests 189 5.1.1. Heroes 191 5.1.2. Game heroes 193 5.2. Story characters 195 5.2.1. Main characters 195 First-person configuration 195 Third-person configuration 197 Dual-locus configuration 199 5.2.2. The main character: personality 200 5.2.3. The main character: personal background 203 First-person configuration 203 Dual-locus and third-person configuration 214 5.2.4. Minor characters 221 5.2.5. Interpersonal relationships 224 Conclusions 227 Bibliography 233 Samenvatting (Summary in Dutch) 255 Biography 259 Acknowledgements I consider it a great privilege to have been given the opportunity to conduct research on computer games. I am aware that this research would not have been possible without the societal belief in the value of academic research: the belief that the academic endeavour contributes something to society, whether materially, morally or intellectually. During my research, I have tried to be faithful to this belief. Even when sunken deep in high theory and academic terminology, I have searched for lines of thought that would make my intellectual ventures applicable and understandable to non- academics. I sincerely hope I have succeeded in this intention. I would be more than grateful if the ideas expressed in this research were to move beyond the walls of our universities and inspire students and professionals in the game industry and beyond. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Joost Raessens, William Uricchio and Chiel Kattenbelt for entrusting me with a PhD-position, sharing their in-depth expertise and supporting my academic adventures abroad. I would also like to thank the pioneers of the GATE project for advancing game research in the Netherlands, especially Mark Overmars, Willem-Jan Renger, Remco Veltkamp, Piet Buitendijk and Rita Jansen. This research would not have been possible without the guidance I have received over the years. I consider myself fortunate to have been surrounded by such inspiring and talented researchers. I thank my colleagues, past and present, at Utrecht University and the Center for the Study of Digital Games and Play (GAP): Marianne van den Boomen, Marinka Copier, Isabella van Elferen, René Glas, Sybille Lammes, Michiel de Lange, Ann-Sophie Lehmann, David Nieborg, Valentina Rao, Mirko Tobias Schäfer and Imar de Vries. My former colleagues at the Radboud University in Nijmegen: First and foremost Anneke Smelik, who has been a great mentor to me; also Helleke van den Braber, Dennis Kersten, Sophie Levie, Vincent Meelberg, Edwin van Meerkerk, Liedeke Plate, Mathijs Sanders and Martijn Stevens. Appreciation goes out to Espen Aarseth, Sebastian Domsch, Mathias Fuchs, Alison Gazzard, Bjarke Liboriussen, Stephan Günzel, Sebastian Möring, Souvik Mukherjee, Michael Nitsche, Niklas Schrape and Karla Sofia Höß for the stimulating discussions on spatiality during the Ludotopia meetings in Copenhagen and Manchester. I wish to thank the Netherlands America Commission for Educational Exchange and the Fulbright Center, in particular Marcel Oomen and Linda Pietersen, for giving me the opportunity to conduct research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); William Uricchio and Philip Tan Boon ix for inviting me to the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab; Clara Fernandez-Vara, Matthew Weise and the rest of the GAMBIT-staff for their input and enthusiasm. A special note of appreciation goes out to Jason Begy and Allison Corman. Thank you for welcoming me into your home. Your warm hearts made my visits to Boston and Cambridge unforgettable and incredibly fun. I would also like to thank their friends Paul Colburn and Beth Colburn. I express my sincere gratitude to Simone Veld, supervisor at the Research Institute for History and Culture (OGC). Your gifts for motivating people have been my blessing. Thank you. I also cherish the moments spent with friends and fellow PhD candidates Koen Leurs and Jasper Sluijs during lunches, coffee breaks and evening drinks. Your good spirits and talents have helped me a lot. I would like to express my gratitude to José van Aelst, Kate Delaney, Charlotte Dikken, Christien Franken, Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink, Roeland Harms, Kitty Kilian, Saskia Peels, Gerrie Strik and Sophie Wils for their support. I also thank Maaike Bleeker, Jeroen Jansz, Frank Kessler, Jos de Mul and Ben Schouten, members of my dissertation committee, for engaging with my work. To the friends dear to me, thank you all for the great times you have given me: Corneel Billet, Willem van Bruggen and Judith Holland, Marieke Cools-Konings and Ivo Cools, Tom van Doornum and Marlies Jansen, Reinier van der Eeze and Marisa Martin, Kristof Franse and Karlijn Overeem, Sandra Janssen, Koen Leurs and Stephanie Rap, Emile van der Linden and Jennifer Jones, Peter Muselaers and Femke van Veldhuijsen, Ronald van Opstal, Michel van de Pas, Jasper Sluijs and Lizzy Eilbracht, Bram Vriends and Josiana Alves Livramento. Love goes out to my family, my aunts Lies and Elian, my uncles Kees and Leo, my niece Jira and her children Pelle and Rosie. To my parents Marie and Peter, my sister Doris, her partner Steven, my brother Gijs and my sister in law Meike. You kept me standing when the burden of my research weighed heavy on my shoulders. I would also like to express my love for my partner’s family: Kees, Mieke, Klaas and Marieke. Thank you for encouraging me to continue when I felt like giving up. To the love of my life, Carolien, thank you for everything you have done for me. Being in your presence is a present for which I am grateful every day. x Introduction Why do I play games? The answer to this question lies close to the topic of this study.