Archive: Through the Frame of Video Games
Foreword
This is something I wrote back in January 2022 for an end of module assessment in University. The module itself was about how storytelling had the potential to be changed with the rise of new technology, and one of the things that really stuck out to me was the concept of ‘space’. Not the physical space of sitting in your room with your console (although that’s interesting too in its own way), but the space within video games themselves. Where is the user positioned? Is the camera third or first person? How does the player interact with the space? Do they have a physical presence? What about VR and AR? There were so many questions that my curiosity was piqued, so when I saw this assessment question… Well let’s just say I was quite enthusiastic. Especially since the question itself involved a little bit of defining on what exactly is desire… and, if you couldn’t already tell, I’m a massive nerd who loves research. Video games + research = happy Sagi. That’s the gist of it all.
Now this will not exactly be the essay I wrote back then. Since lets face it, it wouldn’t be a very fun blog post otherwise. So there are a few pictures and other fun notes just to break up the text and make it easier to read. Otherwise… yuck. I’ve also included the bibliography in a drop down menu if you want to look into things yourself (and so I can show off how much I researched this thing haha). Let me know what you think. Do you want more essays like this? Another angle on the storytelling? Or maybe a more in depth case study for one of the games I mentioned, since there are a lot of them, and all of them are phenomenal.
“A frame is just a window. I mean, all the media that we watch – television, cinema – they’re these windows into these other worlds…. But I don’t want you in the frame, I don’t want you in the window, I want you through the window, I want you on the other side in the world, inhabiting the world.” Analyse the desirability of the position stated in the quotation in terms of how stories might be told. Be sure to draw on relevant theory and examples in your answer.
Introduction
Chris Milk, in his talk on ‘How virtual reality can create the ultimate empathy machine’ (2015), uses the titular quote specifically in relation to virtual reality. He argues that by putting on a headset the ‘frame’ between the real world and the fictional narrative disappears, resulting in a pure emotional connection between user and narrative. This sentiment of ‘removing the frame’ is not a new one. Surrealist artist René Magritte produced a series of four artworks all titled ‘The Human Condition’ (Magritte, 1933, 1935a, 1935b, 1945) that compares the wish to bridge the gap between fiction and reality to painting easels which perfectly line up with the environment behind them save for the edge of the canvas. However the concept of how desirable such a viewpoint is can be subject to some scrutiny. The definition of ‘desire’ itself is a flexible one and will be explored before comparing it to framing narratives, although it is far too consuming and redundant to fully evaluate the scope of storytelling through every piece of media.
Magritte’s ‘La Condition Humaine’ [The Human Condition] collection
Click for full image
To showcase topics and themes that both advocate and disprove this notion of desire by how the ‘frame’ interacts with the chosen narrative, several key case studies have been noted for further discussion. Notes on Blindness (Novelab, Atlas V, 2016) will be a medium to explore a non-interactive method of removing the ‘frame’ to experience stories, which will be accompanied by Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (Team ASOBI, Japan Studio, 2018) as a more interactive narrative experience. These will be compared to interactive experiences that do not have an invisible ‘frame’ like VR does but still touch on the same themes as Notes on Blindness, such as The Vale (Falling Squirrel, 2021), or deliberately use the ‘frame’ to enhance the narrative of the experience as in Undertale (Toby Fox, 2015). All four case studies will be subject to analysis against a basic understanding of ‘desire’ that will then evaluate how true the titular quote is, or whether desire is an inappropriate measure to compare the two experiences. To do this thoroughly, a true understanding of what desire is and what the emotion entails must be analysed and thought through.
Desire
Schroeder claims that desire has a two part structure; ‘there is the content of that desire and the attitude of desiring it’ (Schroeder, 2006). In other words, there is both the focus of a desire and a central drive towards that goal. From this sense, desire is not the same as needing. It is possible to desire something that is not needed, such as drinking a great amount of alcohol, and need something one does not desire, such as giving up a dangerous hobby. Need implies a more intrinsic ‘want’ that the individual isn’t necessarily aware of but will be beneficial towards their well-being or happiness, while desire is an emotion that is consciously ‘wanted’ by an individual even though it may not aid or improve their life in any way. Therefore need is often a subconscious emotion, and does not have the ‘attitude of desiring’ that is part of Schroeder’s concept of desire (Schroeder, 2006). This clear distinction between need and desire will be discussed and compared heavily against each other for each case study.
Bertrand Russell argued for a more cynical approach, that to desire an object or quality is nothing more than to be engaged in a so-called “behavior-cycle” which will keep feeding the existing desire unless interrupted by death, accident, or a new more powerful behaviour-cycle (Russell, 1921). This behaviour-cycle is the cause of numerous external stimuli that consciously or subconsciously embed themselves into the individual’s brain, thus creating a distorted sense that the individual wants that item. A good example of this are online advertisements; being surrounded constantly for a particular advertisement hopefully encourages potential consumers to want that product. These two concepts of desire together will form a basis on which analysis can take place on whether the ‘framing’ of the narrative really is something that is truly desired by the audience, or whether it is an emotion that has been manipulated by external stimuli into believing that it is something that is ‘desired’.
Bertrand Russell
Image Sourced from BBC Radio 4
The Narrative Frame
In addition to desire, a clear idea of what the ‘frame’ or ‘narrative frame’ entails is key to maintaining clarity and conciseness. As mentioned in the introduction the term revolves around the bridge between reality and narrative, demonstrated by Magritte’s series of paintings (Magritte, 1933, 1935a, 1935b, 1945). This ‘frame’ can be physical, such as the limits to a computer monitor or television screen, or a mental one, being emotional distancing or lack of connection with the work. Typically only the physical gap is focused on, as any mental gaps are reliant on the pieces of media themselves, and so only the physical ‘frame’ will be analysed alongside each case study. David Shields noted the potency of both sides of this frame, claiming a key motive behind this sensation was the audience’s wish for realistic authenticity alongside their wish to be deceived; "a blurring (to the point of invisibility) of any distinction between fiction and nonfiction: the lure and blur of the real" (Shields, 2010). This entails that to fully ‘remove the frame’ between reality and narrative these two areas must be near indistinguishable from each other, and thus is what will be focused upon when considering how a narrative is framed.
Empathy
Notes on Blindness (Novelab, Atlas V, 2016) is an impactful argument for the wish to remove the frame between audience and narrative. By being encompassed within VR and experiencing the sensory stimulations that are associated with being blind, such as ‘seeing with sound’, the audience can feel a sense of increased empathy with those who experience the same condition. Being blind is traditionally something that ‘sighted’ individuals have any method of fully understanding, save for if they lose their own sight themselves. In that case, experiencing the narrative through VR is seen as a positive; the impact would not be the same unless experienced through the same eyes as those that have experienced it (putting aside the nuances of using light to represent areas of sound). Chris Milk notes this emphatic impact, stating that through VR ‘we become more compassionate, we become more empathetic, and we become more connected. And ultimately, we become more human’ (Milk, 2015). In other words, VR becomes an ‘Empathy Machine’.
A still from Notes on Blindness (2016)
You can download this on your phone if you have a google cardboard by the way. Very highly recommend, there’s nothing else quite like it.
Image taken from Arte.tv
Grant Bollmer critiques this claim, stating that the value of VR being an ‘Empathy Machine’ is wholly reliant on the cliches of standing in someone’s shoes or seeing with their eyes. Using concepts of neuropsychology he notes, ‘the user of these technologies, instead of acknowledging another’s experience, hastily absorbs the other’s experience into their own experience’ (Bollmer, 2017). The technology does not encourage empathy in the user, but translates the experiences of others into an experience that the user has, leading to a situation ‘where your experience cannot be acknowledged as the basis for any political or ethical claim until it can be expressed in a form that I can directly experience’ (Bollmer, 2017). While this may be an extreme argument to make, it highlights the idea that as VR or other devices take on the roles of ‘Empathy Machines’ humans themselves lose the innate ability to empathize on their own. As Robert Hussan clarifies, ‘intimacy with one’s self cannot be a basis for the emotion of empathy’ (Hassan, 2019). In this case even if the user is experiencing the rendition through a seemingly ‘frameless’ media as VR, there is nothing to show that the experience and emotions the user gathers are comparable to those of people suffering with those individual conditions. Thus the argument that VR can be used to create empathy by ‘stepping into another’s shoes’ is inherently flawed. As of yet there is insufficient scientific or psychological proof to affirm or deny either argument, although research suggests there may not be a significant connection to experiencing empathy without a narrative frame (Barreda-Ángeles, Aleix-Guillaume and Pereda-Baños, 2020a). This same research group has done additional studies into this topic, eventually leading to findings that revealed focus groups in VR tended to have lower levels of focus and recognition when watching 360 films (Barreda-Ángeles, Aleix-Guillaume and Pereda-Baños, 2020b) This implies that any empathetic impact the media may have is diluted due to a lack of concentration, and such it depends on the media itself to create an effective emotional pull.
Compare these critiques to The Vale (Falling Squirrel, 2021), a computer based role playing game (RPG) that is fully blind accessible. As the main character is blind, there are no visual graphics save for minimal particle effects and all storytelling is conducted via 3D soundscapes through the user’s headphones. The frame of the narrative still exists; there is an edge to the monitor to where the story ceases to exist. However, some may argue that the interactivity and active participation within the story world is enough to make the experience all that more impactful. Bollmer’s argument still holds true here as even though the media frame has changed, the notion of inciting empathy has not changed from using VR. However, as the blindness within the story results from the central character herself being blind, it can be suggested that the experience comes from her as an intermediary and not one that all blind people face. Instead of the manner in which the media is framed, the emotive connection between player and character comes instead from the game using a more presentational concept of narrative and allowing the player choice and agency in what they decide to do and when (See Dubbelman, 2011). The frame of the game itself, specifically within a computer monitor, is just more effective for drawing the user in. By using prespecified mechanics and tropes that the user may be more familiar with such as enemy attack patterns, armour upgrades, and voice overs, the user can feel more immersed within the story even despite having a ‘frame of reference’ drawn over the narrative. A distinction which is not had for Notes on Blindness.
A still from The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (2021)
Don’t be thrown off by the screengrab, this game is amazing. There are literally no visuals except for these floating lights, but the sound design is absolutely phenomenal. Might write a post on its own for this at some point.
Image taken from RPG fan
As shown there are arguments for and against removing the frame between user and narrative, however using examples is not the most reliable way of enforcing this change. While there is an appropriate example of an effective use of using the frame separately from the narrative, one could argue that all that is needed is a more effective example counterarguing it. A well crafted VR experience with the same core elements of The Vale could be by far more impactful and immersive than the two previous examples combined. However a question remains as to whether this change is truly desired. It remains uncertain whether removing the frame for narratives for the sake of empathy is really needed, yet as discussed using Schroeder’s analysis, need is inherently different to desire. To desire is to have an abject drive towards the central focus of the desire (Schroeder, 2006). If the drive in this case is ‘empathy’, it can be argued that there is insufficient reasoning to have this as the focus for the desire of removing the narrative frame. As such there is no desire to remove the ‘frame’ from the narrative, at least in terms of empathy. Conversely, using Russell’s concept of ‘desire’, there are extensive external influences that could stimulate the core of this desire. As technology improves there are increased chances for emotive experiences to be publicized, be it in academic journals (See Daniel, 2018), promoted by influential filmmakers (See Cohen, 2013), or published in online and print magazines (See Marantz, 2016). Being surrounded in this sort of environment could, according to Russell, be the cause of a desire to remove the boundary between experience and narrative, however there is insufficient evidence to either support or deny that claim. The level of exploration and analysis for that topic greatly exceeds the scope of this essay. As such this will have to be left aside as a ‘potential’ for desire, rather than categorising it one way or the other.
Presentational Logic and Interactivity
As noted when comparing the two prior examples, an increased level of meaningful interactivity could possibly lead to a more gripping and immersive experience even with the ‘frame’ between reality and narrative still remaining in place. By giving the players the opportunity of meaningful choice, where their actions have impact over the path of the narrative, the experience is less like one that has been previously written and more like a story that the user is experiencing in the moment. This acts as a form of presentational logic, where ‘events seem to happen in the perceptual field of our direct, first-hand or lived experience, even when mediated through a screen or some other means of transmission’ (Dubbelman, 2011, emphasis added). The latter part of this quote is crucial for distinguishing presentational logic from the blurring of the narrative frame that has been discussed thus far. Presentational logic is when the user feels as if the narrative is unfolding around them in real time, whereas removing the narrative frame leads the user to believe they are an active part within the narrative (and by extension the narrative world) itself. The two are mutually exclusive, and while there may be extensive overlap between what is covered by presentational logic and the removal of the narrative frame, one does not directly imply the other. This distinction is important in order to evaluate the desire of blurring the narrative frame, as otherwise any piece of media which uses a great amount of presentational logic could be collated to being ‘without a frame’.
An example of both these topics existing within the same piece of media is the Playstation VR game Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (Team ASOBI, Japan Studio, 2018), a simple and intentionally delightful (See Kuchera, 2018) platforming game involving tiny robots. Within the game, events seem to revolve around the user and what they decide what to do and when. While only a platformer game, there is great freedom for the user to wander around and gather the relative parts to their story when and as they wish. While only being a singular story path, there is no compulsion to gather all the necessary collectables in the same order, or even all the user tools at their disposal. This form of presentational narrative logic, while not necessarily very potent, is still enough to engross players and convince them that the narrative is unfolding around them in real time. However its greatest strength is engulfing the user within the narrative world itself. Both the user themselves and the controller they hold are present within the environment and have direct impact on the story flow around them. The robotic characters acknowledge the user directly, waving when the user looks at them and splatting themselves against the VR headset if they get too close. The user can even see their robotic avatar in reflective surfaces in the game, and are able to watch their avatar and shadow change according to their own physical location. (See IGN, 2018) This brings a sense of closeness between the user and narrative world, further bridging the gap between reality and narrative.
A still from Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (2018)
Would you believe me if I said that I bought PSVR just to play this game after I wrote this essay? Since I did. And I do not regret the purchase in the slightest since this game is legitimately THE BEST VR GAME I HAVE EVER PLAYED! It’s so damn cute I mean look at the little guy he’s adorable! Most fun platformer I’ve ever played, and a great game to destress with.
Image taken from Amazon store page
The sense of physicality within the world itself, however, is the main focal piece of the experience. As the player physically exists within the virtual world, the user is invited to make use of that. There are obstacles that require physical movement to peer around and boundaries to look over to try and track the motion of your robot ‘companion’ within the game world, as well as actions which use motion such as headbutts to properly circumnavigate. In addition the lack of a controllable camera (aside from head movements) enables the user to experience physical distance from the controllable robot, leading one reviewer to describe it as feeling ‘like watching my kid playing in the street, knowing that if something went wrong I wouldn’t be able to get there in time’ (Kuchera, 2018). The emotive connection between the user and their companions is tangible due to the virtual environment, and allows the user to properly believe that they are a part of the narrative. The narrative frame has been effectively passed.
A still from Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (2018)
Again… LOOK AT HIM! HE’S SO CUTE! And you can see him physically interacting with you, the player, by balancing on your virtual controller (which is mapped to your PS controller in real life, so you genuinely think you’re in the game itself. It’s awesome. This is great. Everyone should go play Astro Bot.
Image taken from Christof Strauss.com
One potential argument against this particular example is that in many areas it is only through the manipulation of the game itself that the narrative frame has been bypassed, and that it is unreasonable to expect all other experiences to be held to the same standard. That line of reasoning would be incorrect. The example is not being used as a focal point to legitimize the removal of the narrative frame or not, but merely that it can be disassociated with if utilised in the correct way. There is potential for the frame between narrative and reality to be blurred, which can be seen as more important. As Astro Bot is an interactive experience the usage of presentational logic to ground the narrative in the acting present is an effective way to remove the narrative frame, but not an extensive one. The Under Presents (Tender Claws, 2019) is another VR experience, but one that focuses on the user building and retelling pre-existing stories. The user is still present and involved in the narrative world, yet they are seen more as an omnipresent god rather than the physical entity that progresses through the Astro Bot story-world. As such, it is unreasonable to suggest that presentational logic is reason enough to wish to remove the narrative frame, although it can be a great drive to do so. As to whether this is enough motive to ‘desire’ to remove the narrative frame, again there is insufficient evidence or reasoning to constitute this as ‘desire’, at least by Schroeder’s terms. There may be a ‘core’ to wishing for an experience like this, however there is too much variability to consolidate any one perspective. Likewise with Russell’s definition involving external stimuli; there has been an increase in surrounding media advocating for VR experiences such as this one (See Kuchera, 2018), yet there is not enough academic evidence to prove or deny whether this claim aligns. Experiences such as this one can be immensely effective, however the initiative behind creating this piece is what enables it to stand out from the rest. Removing the narrative frame was vital for the success of this particular case study, however it would be unreasonable to use this as a reason to advocate for the removal of the narrative frame in general.
Still from The Under Presents (2019), a performance of The Tempest
Yet another really cool and innovative game, which really took off during lockdown and the absence of any live theatre. Users in VR essentially become mute characters within the play alongside live actors, who then ‘perform’ a full play (The Tempest) within VR using limited hand gestures and virtual costumes. I haven’t experienced this myself (since I don’t have the space to do full body VR right now), but really really want to one day if they do more live performances.
Image taken from Tender Claws website: Highly recommend you go take a look at this if you’re interested in the project, they have an awesome teaser trailer for the performances themselves.
The frame itself
This essay thus far has talked extensively about the benefits of removing the narrative frame to engross oneself within the native story world of an experience. However in some occasions it is by having a ‘frame’ that a piece’s story is heightened to a new level of immersion. Toby Fox’s Undertale (2015) is one such example. The piece has a very distinct ‘game like’ frame, including menu based fight sequences and several floating user interfaces, which initially distances the player from the narrative world. This distancing is intentional, as then the player is deliberately invited to think of this world as a ‘game’; the characters and environments do not exist and the story will remain no matter what. However, this expectation is subverted almost immediately. One of the first experiences the player has within the narrative world is the difference between ‘killing’ and ‘sparing’. There is a meaningful choice between what the player decides to do in regards to these actions; a genocide route, a neutral route (where the user makes no commitment one way or the other) and a pacifist route. Both lead to very different unique outcomes, even within places which should remain ‘neutral’ such as combat spaces. One such example is how a character destroys one of the user’s main ‘action’ buttons that they were using for the majority of the playthrough thus leaving them surprised and without alternatives, another character deliberately attacks the user within the menu itself despite all combat until that point being turn based.
There are additional reasonings as to why this game manipulates its frame so excellently within its chosen setting (including how mechanics invite the player to not only resign themselves to fighting their favourite characters, but lead them to actively feel joy when they have killed a character), yet for the sake of argument this is more than sufficient. This conversation between game, player, and gaming conventions led one reviewer to describe the experience as, “playing with our expectations of what [a role playing game] should be, subverting them, and using them to drive a story unique to what games can do” (Plagge, 2018). This in itself does not sound majorly impactful or effective on its own, however the true element of Undertale’s charm revolves around the frame of being ‘a game’. By deliberately distancing the player and placing a framing device over the top of the experience, all events that happen throughout the game feel more natural and impactful to the user themselves. In addition, when characters actively speak to the user as opposed to their avatar, thus breaking the fourth wall, the user is left to question the meaning and morality of their actions outside of the frame present before them, increasing the attraction and empathy they have with the characters within the game world itself.
Still from Undertale (2018)
I love this game way too much. Again, could be a blog post in and of itself. Buuut mostly for the UI and game mechanics since again, I am a nerd who loves those sorts of things. Undertale is a phenomenal case study when it comes to storytelling of any sorts, and it’s obvious that a lot of love and passion was put into it. If you’ve never played, highly recommend you do so.
Image taken from fandom.com
There is a reason why this example has been chosen, especially in a discussion on whether the narrative frame should be removed. As Chris Milk mentioned in the TED talk in which he gave the titular quote, removing the frame (in this case by stepping within VR) should feel like, “you feel present in the world that you're inside and you feel present with the people that you're inside of it with” (Milk, 2015). However Undertale has achieved that very same feat, without the user blurring the boundaries between reality and narrative. Due to the very nature of the experience such a blur is impossible, yet the player still feels as emotively close to the characters and world the experience inhabits as if they were physically present within that environment: “Undertale has to be a game, and that’s the key to its brilliance” (Plagge, 2018). If the experience did not have that same frame of being external and having mediation between user and game, the impact of the experience would not be as great. From this there is a great motivation to maintain the narrative frame, so as to inspire more works like this one that can circumnavigate expectations.
Conclusion
Identifying the nature of ‘desire’ is not a simple task In this essay there have been two potential definitions postulated by different philosophers (Russell, 1921 and Schroeder, 2006) for the sake of simplicity and clarity in formulating arguments, however there are many other definitions and interpretations that can explain this emotional phenomenon. With the definitions of ‘desire’ suggested, the four case studies examined led to very different consequences. On the one hand the materials invested in blurring the narrative frame advocated towards desiring the narrative frame to be removed to properly immerse the user within the narrative world themselves, however other materials which relied upon distancing their players from the narratives found themselves to be more effective and emotionally impactful due to the existence of the frame in the first place. As such, it is reasonable to suggest that establishing the ‘desirability’ of this viewpoint is not an accurate enough emotion to investigate. Keeping or removing the narrative frame is wholly dependent on which style best fits with the narrative the experience is trying to convey, any other interpretation will fall short or be wanting for a better experience. There may be a ‘want’ to remove the frame but no form of ‘desire’ or ‘need’, and so every digital experience should choose the platform and perspective it is on to better portray their narrative.
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Finishing thoughts
Well did you find that interesting? It’s probably something you’ve never thought about huh? Well done for making it to the end! Now that you’ve seen some examples, can you name some games or experiences that you thought had a good use of space? One where you felt completely immersed within the experience, with or without a metaphorical ‘frame’. Post your answers in the comments! There are so many different types of games or experiences out there that it’s almost impossible for me to have experienced all of them, so give me your recommendations! If I get enough engagement, I might just post a follow up to this essay with your examples!
Thank you so much for reading! Looking forward to seeing you next time!
