Between the Game System and the Fictional World

This article discusses the relationship between the user interface (UI) and the game world in computer games, with point of departure in qualitative studies including players and game developers. The developers’ evaluation of the relationship from a design point of view will first be presented, before the article goes on to discuss the degree to which the players accept the presence of UI features within the game world. We will see that developers find it challenging to balance between functionality and fiction, but see system features as a necessity that must be present for usability purposes. From the point of departure of players, they rarely consider system features intrusive to the game world, but accept them as integrated to the conventions established within modern computer game aesthetics.

[1]  Alexander Galloway,et al.  The Unworkable Interface , 2009 .

[2]  Kristine Jørgensen,et al.  "I'm overburdened!" An Empirical Study of the Player, the Avatar, and the Gameworld , 2009, DiGRA Conference.

[3]  Rune Klevjer,et al.  What is the Avatar? Fiction and Embodiment in Avatar-Based Singleplayer Computer Games , 2006 .

[4]  Jonas Linderoth,et al.  Datorspelandets Mening. Bortom idén om den interaktiva illusionen , 2004 .

[5]  Jeannie Novak,et al.  Game Development Essentials: Game Interface Design , 2004 .

[6]  Espen Aarseth.  Doors and Perception: Fiction vs. Simulation in Games , 2007 .

[7]  Katie Salen,et al.  Rules of play: game design fundamentals , 2003 .

[8]  J. Murray.  Hamlet on the Holodeck , 1997 .

[9]  Peter Bayliss,et al.  Beings in the game-world: characters, avatars, and players , 2007, IE '07.

[10]  Karen Collins,et al.  Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design , 2008 .

[11]  M. Grimshaw,et al.  Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments , 2010 .

[12]  Brent Fox.  Game Interface Design , 2004 .

[13]  J. Bolter,et al.  Remediation: Understanding New Media , 1999 .

[14]  Jesse Schell,et al.  The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses , 2019 .

[15]  Kristine Jørgensen.  On Transdiegetic Sounds in Computer Games , 2007 .

[16]  Jesper Juul.  Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds , 2005 .

[17]  Erik Fagerholt,et al.  Beyond the HUD - User Interfaces for Increased Player Immersion in FPS Games , 2009 .

[18]  Mia Consalvo,et al.  There is No Magic Circle , 2009, Games Cult..

[19]  Soren Lauesen.  User Interface Design: A Software Engineering Perspective , 2004 .

[20]  Marie-Laure Ryan,et al.  Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media , 2000 .

[21]  Kristine Jørgensen.  Time for New Terminology? Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Sounds in Computer Games Revisited , 2010 .

[22]  L. Manovich,et al.  The language of new media , 2001 .