Abstract
This research examines temporal continuities in videogames—the passing of time regardless of player action—and players’ understanding of it, taking into account videogame and media theory. It presents a chronology of schools of thought and an analysis of the application of the theory to two case studies, to determine the motives behind players’ actions over time.
Subjects played two videogames of different genres, and an analysis of mixed nature revealed a lack of consensus about who is in control of the passing of time in the narrative of videogames.
Results demonstrate the ambiguity in the awareness of the passing of time, showing that: (1) players distinguish narrative time and story time; (2) time can be studied through dynamic problems presented to players; (3) narrative cycles inform scene segmentation. The study corroborates previous hypotheses about the resolving of conflicts bringing an end to the narrative, thus also to the temporal continuity. Data shows evidence of the possibility of analysing time in videogames through some of the theories and frameworks tested.
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- 1.
In the original text, Branigan establishes a different terminology between the figure and the body of the text, hence the differences between the listed components and Fig. 1.
- 2.
In medias res: “a Latin expression that refers to a story, or the action of a play, etc. starting without any introduction” (Cambridge dictionary online, 2020).
- 3.
Usually, the title screen displays the title of a game alongside some artwork (in certain cases, the title screen is often where players may select to launch a new campaign) (Henkemans and Lee 2001, p. 372).
- 4.
“A non-player character (NPC) in a video game is a character who is not controlled by the player” (Wolf 2012, p. 464).
- 5.
“Hypertext, hypothetically, allows users to infinitely traverse between related materials on the web instantaneously” (Webb 2012, p. 5). George Landow describes such texts as metatexts. He suggests that we can use metatext to link cross-disciplinary media as well (1994, p. 18).
- 6.
A key component of interactive text production in videogames is the user's involvement in digital content. Aarseth uses the word ergodic to explain the difference of interaction like this and other forms of communication. Participation relies on the physical exercise of the interactors—their activity in the material world that is having the impact of feedback in the virtual environment. Aarseth emphasizes that the individual will have completed a semiotic series through immersive interaction with the virtual world, and this limited action is a function of physical construction that does not allow for the different definitions of reading. Media like novels, movies, or radio will not deliver this degree of ergodic participation, so Aarseth distinguishes ergodic participation from active reading. Instances of ergodic participation include clicking a mouse, tapping a key and moving a control stick (Nitsche 2007, p. 31–2).
- 7.
Classic and modern cognition approaches are involved in the same topics, that is, the essence of knowledge and intellect, but they are profoundly distinct in their approach to how these problems can be addressed (Susi and Rambush 2007, p. 731). Instead of researching cognition, or gameplay, through means of experiments, it is believed that the hypotheses of “situated cognition maintain that intelligent human action has evolved within and is shaped by and adapted to the specific forms of activity within which it occurs, and that cognition must therefore be understood and studied as an aspect of embodied practical activity” (O’Connor and Glenberg 2003).
- 8.
Time in the simulation is regulated by cycles. The simulation frame is the current cycle.
- 9.
At Instituto Superior de Ciências Educativas do Douro (ISCE DOURO).
- 10.
When the study was conducted, the character lore was the only part of the game containing the story. As the game is constantly being updated, it is possible that future versions contain more developments regarding the story.
- 11.
Authors’ translation of a participant’s answer.
- 12.
In the original works by Günther Müller in 1948, story time is described as erzählte Zeit and narrative time as Erzählzeit.
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Ribeiro, J.P., Carvalhais, M., Cardoso, P. (2021). Connection of Dynamic Temporal Continuities in Videogames. In: Raposo, D., Neves, J., Silva, J., Correia Castilho, L., Dias, R. (eds) Advances in Design, Music and Arts. EIMAD 2020. Springer Series in Design and Innovation , vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55700-3_14
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