From Super Mario To Skyrim: A Framework For The Evolution of Video Game Consumption

Journal of Consumer Behaviour, J. Consumer Behav.
, 16: 101–120 (2017)

Published online 3 October 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/cb.1620
From Super Mario to Skyrim: A framework for the evolution of video game
consumption
ANDREW KUO1*, JACOB L. HILER2 and RICHARD J. LUTZ3
1
E. J. Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
2
College of Business, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
3
Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
ABSTRACT
In contrast with traditional forms of entertainment media (e.g., movies, novels, and television), video games are unique in their ability to
provide immersion, agency, and transformation (IAT) during the consumptive experience. As the video game medium has evolved over
generations of consoles, the experience of IAT has become increasingly complex from the perspective of consumers. To better understand
this phenomenon, this research presents a framework for understanding the consumption of video games by examining the intersection of
player, narrative, and gameplay. Our findings suggest that advancements in video game technology and design have gradually increased the
degree of integration among these domains. Although the subjective experience of IAT has generally improved as a function of greater in-
tegration, various conflicts arise from the tensions that exist between player, narrative, and gameplay. Consequently, this research explores
the specific nature of such conflicts to provide a richer understanding of video game consumption and the impact of its evolution on con-
sumers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
INTRODUCTION Activision an estimated $50–100 million each year

(Thielman, 2014).
In its relatively brief commercial history, console and PC Despite growing social and cultural importance, the
video gaming has attained a level of social and cultural influ- consumer behavior literature has yet to explore the
ence that belies its humble origins in Pong, the prototypical phenomenology of video games as a consumptive experi-
table tennis simulator. The release of Atari’s Home Pong in ence. Rather, consumer research has largely examined video
1975 brought the arcade hit from bars and taverns into the games as a new medium for advertising. Recent work, for ex-
living rooms of families across the USA for the first time. ample, has examined the impact of in-game advertisements
It was the runaway success of Home Pong—selling (Choi et al., 2015), product placements (Kuo and Rice,
150,000 units that Christmas season—that encouraged com- 2015), and violence in advergames (Jeong et al., 2011). Such
panies like Coleco and Nintendo to release the first gaming research explores the influence of video game-based
consoles, revolutionizing the consumption of computer en- marketing on subsequent consumer behavior, but it largely
tertainment (Dillon, 2011). A recent report released by the ignores the richness of gaming as a consumptive behavior
Electronic Software Association (2015) illustrates the preva- worthy of investigation in its own right. In the broader
lence of gaming today: 80% of households in the USA own a literature, where gaming has received greater attention from
device used to play video games, and 42% of Americans play academics, discourse has been organized around three areas
video games for at least 3 h per week. Furthermore, gaming of critical analysis (Konzack, 2007): product-oriented rhe-
has begun to displace other forms of entertainment, with toric (e.g., the technology and economics of video games),
nearly half of all gamers preferring video games to movies socio-culturally oriented rhetoric (e.g., issues pertaining to
and music (Electronic Software Association, 2015). Finan- anxiety, learning, gender, and ideology), and esthetically
cially, blockbuster video games are breaking not just video oriented rhetoric (e.g., story-telling and play). As noted by
game sales records but records for all entertainment products. Taylor (2007), however, most empirical research within
The popular crime-focused title Grand Theft Auto V these categories has focused primarily on PC-based mas-
surpassed $1 billion in sales just 3 days after release, making sively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs)
it the fastest grossing entertainment product in history such as the fantasy-themed World of Warcraft (WoW) and
(Wingfield, 2003). While gaming begins to supplant other space warfare simulator Eve Online.
forms of media entertainment, the costs of video game The Daedalus Project, for example, has tracked gamers
production have also increased in magnitude as publishers across the most popular MMORPGs to examine the social
compete for the growing market. In 2005, the total cost to norms, interpersonal relationships, and player life cycles that
produce and market Call of Duty 2 was $14.5 million; have emerged (Yee, 2014). Likewise, empirical research ex-
marketing alone for the Call of Duty franchise now costs ploring identity and social interactions most often occurs in
the context of MMORPGs, with emphasis on online avatars
and community organization (Kendall, 2002; Nardi, 2010;
*Correspondence to: Andrew Kuo, Assistant Professor of Marketing, E. J. Schaap, 2002). The prominence of MMORPGs in the extant
Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
70803, USA. literature, however, ignores the significant portion of gamers
E-mail: akuo@lsu.edu preferring predominantly single-player experiences such as
Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

102 A. Kuo et al.
the Grand Theft Auto, Far Cry, and Mass Effect series that the shifts in phenomenological experience that characterize
routinely top the sales charts each year (Electronic Software the experience of modern gaming.
Association, 2015). In contrast, WoW was the only traditional
MMORPG to rank in the top 20 games of 2014 with respect
to units sold. As such, it is clear that MMORPGs capture but
a fraction of all videogame-related behaviors. Furthermore, HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND CONCEPTUAL
when the scope of empirical studies is broadened to include BACKGROUND
video games in general, research goals are most often con-
cerned with gaming outcomes such as violence and addiction Video game and home console history in the USA
(Carnagey et al., 2007). In 1946, the USA military publicly revealed the electronic
One benefit of broadening the investigative scope to and numerical integrator and computer, a machine designed
include offline single-player video games is a richer socio- to compute the complex data needed to deploy the hydrogen
historical context in which to study individual gaming bomb in World War II. Within a year of its unveiling, this
behaviors. While the gameplay of WoW has remained technology was used to develop the first video game—a sim-
largely static, with only incremental updates since its release ple missile shooting game played on a cathode ray tube
in 2004, the popular single-player game Final Fantasy has (CRT) monitor. Since then, video games have come to play
undergone dramatic transformation because the title was an increasingly important role in our society, growing from
first published in 1987 on Nintendo’s Nintendo Entertain- niche hobby to national pastime. Following several decades
ment System (NES) platform. The original Final Fantasy, of development, the first hit in the video game industry was
for example, is rendered in two-dimensional sprites with Atari’s original arcade cabinet, Pong, in 1972. The extreme
an overall file size of roughly 150 kB. In contrast, the most success of Pong prompted Atari and a spate of competitors
recent installment of Final Fantasy (FF XIII) is over 60 GB, to develop the first generation of home consoles, including
taking place in a fully rendered three-dimensional (3D) uni- Home Pong, Taito’s Gunfight, and the Magnavox Odyssey.
verse spanning multiple planets. This tremendous increase Since then, each successive generation of consoles has
in graphical processing has greater implications beyond pushed the medium forward, with several important mile-
simple esthetics; the immersive, cinematic quality of mod- stones (e.g., 3D graphics) that have resonated both inside
ern video games allows for the morally complex and and outside the video game industry. While the term “video
open-ended narratives that characterize the medium today. game” encompasses numerous subcategories that have pro-
With an average age of 35 and 43 for male and female liferated over time (e.g., arcade games, PC games, and mo-
gamers in the USA, respectively (Electronic Software Asso- bile games), a large percentage of video game sales today
ciation, 2015), a large percentage of consumers have per- are composed of the console and PC titles developed for
sonally experienced the rapid evolution of videogames in the “hardcore” demographic of gamers. Consequently, as
their lifetime, from the original Super Mario Bros. in 1985 the cultural and social influence of this segment continues
to the recent blockbuster role-playing game (RPG), Skyrim. to grow, the present research focuses primarily on console
While early video games were largely tests of reflexes and gaming to explore the phenomenological experience of
skill (e.g., Pac-Man, Breakout, and Galaga), modern games long-term “hardcore” gamers.
strive to blur the line between the real and the virtual, such From the consumer perspective, the most discernible
that gaming experiences today are more personal, meaning- changes to occur between successive generations of video
ful, and ultimately, conflicting. Yet it is unclear how these game consoles are the enhancements to graphical realism.
changes have impacted the experiential aspects of gaming Technological advances in external media (e.g., CD-ROM,
from the perspective of consumers who have witnessed this DVD, and Blu-Ray) and CPU/GPU performance have sub-
evolution first hand. Although such technical and artistic stantially increased the size and scope of video games,
achievements suggest that modern video games offer greater transforming the overall esthetic from two-dimensional pixel
degrees of immersion, agency, and transformation (IAT) to art to fully rendered, 3D virtual worlds (McMahan, 2003).
players, researchers have yet to examine this assumption by The impact of graphical refinements, however, is not limited
documenting the lived experience of consumers as they con- to improved esthetics—the increasing realism of video
tinuously adapt to an evolving medium. In this research, we games has the additional effect of generating greater degrees
investigate the ways in which individuals must renegotiate of telepresence, defined as believable immersion within a
their relationship with video games as innovations are intro- mediated (e.g., virtual) environment (Steuer, 1992). While
duced with each new generation of consoles. Consequently, earlier games such as Super Mario Bros. contained thread-
we propose a framework for (1) conceptualizing the bare plots to provide basic motivations for the protagonist
evolution of videogames as the gradual integration of player, (e.g., save the princess), the immersive and transporting
narrative, and gameplay and (2) exploring how this evolution nature of modern games allows for greater complexity in
has simultaneously facilitated and disrupted the immersive, cinematic storytelling, such that game mechanics now exist
empowering, and transformative experiences that video to serve the broader objective of advancing narrative (Lahti,
games are designed to create. In the next section, we present 2003). As the core demographic of gamers has matured, so
a brief historical timeline of the evolution of videogames, have their games—simplistic storytelling tropes were
followed by a review of pertinent literature. Subsequently, gradually replaced with explorations of themes such as iden-
we report the results of 23 qualitative interviews that explore tity, gender, and politics (Voorhees, 2012).
Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Consumer Behav., 16: 101–120 (2017)
DOI: 10.1002/cb
A framework for the evolution of video game consumption 103
The shift toward narrative-driven games occurring in the touching an enemy in any other circumstance results in
fifth generation of consoles (i.e., Playstation and Nintendo death. Furthermore, a red mushroom can be consumed to in-
64) had the additional benefit of granting players a new level crease Mario’s size, giving him the ability to sustain damage
of agency during the gaming experience. Beyond control from one additional enemy before dying. To succeed (i.e.,
over the immediate, micro-aspects of a character (e.g., run- “beat” the game), players must learn and master the specific
ning, jumping, and shooting), modern games often give mechanics of a particular game.
players the opportunity to make in-game choices that eventu- Gameplay, on the other hand, represents the distinct com-
ally shape the macro-narrative of the entire game universe bination of mechanics that comprise a single game, as expe-
(Dovey and Kennedy, 2007). Unlike the one-dimensional rienced by the player. Evoking the Gestalt principle of
narratives of early games that clearly delineate between good totality, the individual mechanics of a game may not be com-
and evil, modern games present morally ambiguous scenar- pelling on their own, but the sum total of a game’s mechanics
ios that often lack a clear path to resolution (McDowell, creates a unique gaming experience for the player when com-
2012). In some instances, these choices have long-lasting bined during play (Arsenault and Perron, 2009). Unlike
consequences; in the Mass Effect series, for example, players movie genres, which are typically defined by theme (e.g.,
are asked to arbitrate disputes between races, decide the fate science-fiction, romance, and comedy), video game genres
of key characters, and align themselves with warring political are generally defined by their mechanics—in most
factions. To underscore the significance of these decisions, “platformers” like Super Mario Bros., for example, players
choices made in the first game persist throughout the entire must maneuver their character around obstacles and enemies
Mass Effect trilogy, such that the repercussions of a single in a multi-tiered, two-dimensional space. Consequently, two
action might continue to influence the narrative many years games of the same genre (e.g., Super Mario Bros. and Sonic
into the future (Call, 2012). the Hedgehog) may produce a similar gameplay experience
for the player, even when they differ drastically in theme,
A framework for gaming engagement: the player, the presentation, or tone.
narrative, and the gameplay The synthesis of narrative (i.e., story) and ludic (i.e.,
Despite the sheer breadth of formats, genres, and platforms gameplay) elements results in a set of experiential outcomes
encompassed by the category, the general consensus among unique to the video game medium (Murray, 1997; Delwiche,
academics is that video games are a unique form of entertain- 2007; Kaneva, 2007): (1) a high degree of immersion within
ment media due to their ludic (i.e., play-focused) orientation a computer-generated virtual world; (2) the agency to mean-
(Henton, 2012). Unlike other forms of media (e.g., film, tele- ingfully dictate one’s own experience within the game (i.e.,
vision, and literature) that rely on narrative transportation for interactivity); and (3) the process of transformation, whereby
engagement, video games combine both the narrative and gamers come to psychologically embody their avatars during
the ludic as integral components of the consumption experi- the course of play (i.e., identification). Although traditional
ence. Within this context, video games have generally ad- media such as film is capable of achieving audience immer-
hered to traditional storytelling conventions that structure sion (e.g., through cinematography, set design, or special ef-
narrative as “a sequence of events … based on simulations fects), video games are unique in their ability to provide both
of experiences in which there is a constant interaction of per- agency and transformation during the consumption experi-
ceptions, emotions, cognitions, and actions,” (Grodal, 2003). ence. In combination, these factors change the fundamental
In combination with play-focused interactivity, however, relationship between consumer and narrative—passive
video game narratives diverge from the modes of passive viewers become active co-producers of content when they
consumption that characterize other storytelling media. assume the role of protagonist in a virtual world (Bu-
Super Mario Bros., for example, is defined by both its chanan-Oliver and Seo, 2012).
narrative components (i.e., a quest to save Princess Peach By taking on the role of protagonist, players experience
from the tyrant Bowser) and its ludic components (i.e., game video games as simulational rather than representational
mechanics such as running, jumping, and collecting items). (Frasca, 2003)—while traditional media presents narrative
While some authors argue that video games can exist in a predetermined sequence of events, plot development is
entirely without narrative (Juul, 2011), others argue that contingent on player actions or interventions in a video game
even puzzle-based games such as Tetris contain dramatic (Grodal, 2003). Consequently, a traditional medium such as
content as interpreted by the player (Murray, 1997). film can produce only secondary identification, wherein the
Nonetheless, story-telling in modern games has become in- audience may empathize with the actors from a third-person
creasingly nuanced and sophisticated such that some critics perspective (Rehak, 2003). In contrast, the interactivity of
have argued for the reclassification of video games as art video games can lead to primary identification, such that
(Robinett, 2003). player and avatar (i.e., the on-screen presentation of the
For the purpose of examining and discussing the ludic as- player) merge to become one and the same (Filiciak, 2003;
pects of gaming in finer detail, the terms game mechanic and Murphy, 2004). Under such circumstances, virtual identity
gameplay will be utilized throughout this research. A game becomes an amalgamation of a player’s self-concept—an in-
mechanic refers to a specific rule that governs interactions dividual’s “belief about himself of herself, including the per-
within the virtual world of a video game (Call et al., 2012). son’s attributes and who and what the self is” (Baumeister,
In the original Mario Bros., for example, enemies can be 1999)—and in-game avatar. The degree to which primary
defeated with a well-timed “stomp” to their heads, but identification occurs, however, can vary across individuals;
DOI: 10.1002/cb
104 A. Kuo et al.
Eldahari (2007) notes that player identification can range complexity) has effectively increased the degree to which
from role play to the development of true, in-game personas. the domains overlap. For example, modern games often con-
Whereas player and avatar may be experienced as separate tain dynamic storylines that adapt to player decisions (player/
entities during role play, individuals no longer recognize narrative integration), sophisticated game mechanics that
such a distinction when they establish personas within the bolster interactivity (player/gameplay integration), and seam-
virtual world. less transitions between segments of exposition and play
Along the continuum of identification, role play (i.e., the (narrative/gameplay integration). Over successive genera-
lowest degree of identification) occurs most frequently when tions of consoles, the introduction of such conventions has
some amount of visual separation exists between player and fundamentally redefined the experience of gaming for many
avatar; in games played from a two-dimensional or isometric individuals.
perspective (e.g., Super Mario Bros.), the avatar appears
more as a digitally manipulable puppet than an on-screen Conflicts endemic to video game consumption
representation of self. However, as gaming technology has Mick and Fournier (1998) employed the concept of paradox
evolved to create realistic 3D gamescapes (often experienced to characterize the multiple dimensions of conflict emerging
from a first-person perspective), the separation between from the adoption of new technology. Likewise, several con-
player and avatar diminishes such that individuals feel a flicts endemic to modern gaming have been identified and
heightened sense of telepresence within the virtual world. discussed in the extant literature. As video game technology
This degree of immersion is often further reinforced by has evolved over time, consumers must continuously renego-
character creation systems that give players minute control tiate their relationship with the games they play. Oftentimes,
over the appearance of their avatar, from facial structure to this can lead to situations in which individuals must attempt
body type (Martey and Consalvo, 2011). When given the op- to reconcile opposing truths that characterize their gaming
portunity to thoroughly embody their digital avatars (i.e., in habits. The gameplay of MMORPGs, for example, is rou-
both perspective and appearance), players instinctively allow tinely described as a “grind” because of the vast amount of
for their own personalities and characteristics to emerge time completing repetitive tasks (e.g., gathering resources)
during the course of play (Costa Pinto et al., 2015). As noted for the purpose of leveling (i.e., improving the attributes of)
by Belk (2013), this process of reembodiment redefines the a character (McGonigal, 2011). What ostensibly starts as
role that physical bodies play in the process of digital play can quickly devolve into work, which highlights the
self-extension. complex role of video games as a form of entertainment. Fur-
In accordance with the preceding discussion, the model in thermore, the anonymity and flexibility of online identity
Figure 1 depicts the critical components (i.e., domains) of a bring the promise of virtual communities unburdened by
gaming experience—player, narrative, and gameplay—in re- the social constructs of race and gender, yet the presence of
lation to one another. Unlike other forms of entertainment racism and sexism in MMORPG communities is often mag-
media, video games are capable of integrating all three do- nified rather than diminished (Yee, 2014). Finally, much
mains to create a consumptive experience characterized by clinical research has been devoted to video game addiction,
IAT. As we will argue, the evolution of video games over which has plagued gamers of all demographics. Drawing
time (i.e., advances in graphical realism and narrative comparisons to substance abuse, gamers’ desire for leisure
Figure 1. A framework for the evolution of video game consumption.
DOI: 10.1002/cb
and recreation can quickly transform into a state of “gamer are essentially weightless—such choices reflect not the
regret” when their patterns of consumption become character of the player but the character of a fictional
problematic or pathological (Thompson, 2007). Counter to protagonist taking scripted actions. But when a video game
initial motivations, managing time spent gaming can become convincingly immerses the player into a virtual world as a
its own source of anxiety. version of himself or herself, those same choices become
While past research has identified concrete examples of moments of profound introspection. The player must ask:
the paradoxes that characterize gaming in its current state, Could I commit genocide, even for the greater good? In the
the goal of the present research is to consider how the evolu- following section, we present the results of 32 qualitative
tion of narrative and gameplay has fundamentally redefined interviews that examine how such conflicts manifest as a
the experience of gaming as experienced by consumers. To consequence of video game evolution. Although not always
summarize the preceding discussion, these changes have oc- cognizant of the dissonance that often accompanies the
curred in two specific areas of gaming: (1) the continual im- gaming experience, players nonetheless organize their in-
provement of video game graphics to create increasingly game behaviors around these conflicts as they navigate the
realistic, immersive, and interactive virtual worlds and (2) boundaries between reality and fantasy in the virtual world.
the maturation of video game narratives, from the thin
plotting of early games to the complex, morally ambiguous
storytelling found in games today. These two areas of METHOD
evolution are distinct, yet interrelated—the cinematic quality
of modern games creates the suspension of disbelief Sample
necessary for players to fully embrace their role as leading For the purposes of this study, 23 informants (Table 1) were
man or woman in the fantastic, sometimes bizarre, stories purposively sampled primarily based on specific criteria
that video games tell. critical to the study. In order to participate in the study, an
As we will demonstrate, the consequence of this evolution individual had to identify as a “hardcore gamer” (i.e., a
has been an increase in the degree to which the domains of colloquial term used in the gaming community to signify a
player, narrative, and gameplay are integrated. This process serious commitment to video game culture) by meeting the
of integration, however, requires the careful coordination of following qualifications derived from the Entertainment
technological innovation and artistic direction. Thus, oppor- Software Association (2015): (1) spending a minimum of
tunities for conflict abound where each pair of domains inter- 10 h per week playing video games; (2) owning at least one
sect. For example, the integration of player and narrative current generation console (i.e., PlayStation 4, Xbox One,
makes it considerably more difficult—perhaps impossible— and Wii U); and (3) playing at least one console RPG within
to resist investing an avatar with one’s own personality and the past year. Additionally, informants must have spent a
characteristics (i.e., transformation). When a player views significant portion of their lives gaming, with an average
his or her time within a video game as mere play acting, time span of 14 years across three generations of consoles
difficult choices presented by the game (e.g., Mass Effect 3 within our sample. The informants were largely from the
asks the player to consider genocide for the greater good) southeastern USA but also represented various other regions
Table 1. Informant characteristics

Participant Occupation Age Sex Ethnicity
Annie Librarian Early 30s Female Caucasian
Blake College student Early 20s Male African–American
Brady Small business owner Early 60s Male Caucasian
Brian College student Early 20s Male African–American
Caleb Product manager Mid 30s Male Caucasian
Carly Software engineer Late 20s Female Asian
Chris Waiter Early 30s Male Caucasian
Damian Theater technician Mid 30s Male Caucasian
David Sales manager Mid 20s Male Caucasian
Gabby Retail manager Early 30s Female Caucasian
Greg Information systems designer Mid 40s Male Caucasian
Hailey College student Early 20s Female Caucasian
James Medical resident Mid 20s Male Asian
Katie Music educator Late 20s Male Caucasian
Kendrick Waiter Mid 20s Male Caucasian
Kyle College student Early 20s Male Caucasian
Lacy Teacher Mid 20s Female Pacific islander
Laine Assistant manager Early 20s Female Caucasian
Martha Accounting Mid 20s Female Caucasian
Nate Graphic designer Early 30s Male Caucasian
Roger College student Early 20s Male Caucasian
Will Construction Mid 20s Male Caucasian
Zeb College student Early 20s Male Hispanic
DOI: 10.1002/cb
106 A. Kuo et al.
of the USA as well as Canada. Pseudonyms are used to pro- naturalistic inquiry supplemented our analysis by offering a
tect the identities of the gamers, and all identifiers have been more robust understanding of gaming-related thoughts and
removed or modified. behaviors in settings familiar to participants (Thompson,
1997; Wilson, 2012).
Data collection The strength of these combined interpretivist approaches
The aforementioned 23 informants were interviewed using allowed the authors to unpack very rich data through multi-
an interpretivist interview approach during the data collec- ple modes of analyses. Although the collection of data was
tion phase of the research from the fall of 2014 through the not structured longitudinally, the recollection of prior gaming
summer of 2016. A number of these informants also experiences also served as an important context for analysis.
participated in one or two additional follow-up interviews Cross-referencing personal accounts with the extant literature
to further explore their consumption experiences. Although yielded a high degree of convergence, corroborating the va-
a loose discussion guide provided basic structure for the in- lidity of informants’ autobiographical memories. The data
terviews, they were largely conversational in nature. The from the interviews and self-narration exercises were re-
interpretivist data collection method also allowed two of examined and discussed among the authors throughout the
the authors’ personal gaming experience and interests to gen- entire data collection process iteratively and comparatively
erate a significant amount of rapport and credibility with the (Glaser and Strauss, 1967).
gamers interviewed (Tumbat and Belk, 2011). The conversa-
tional tone of the dialog allowed for informants to feel com-
fortable in revealing difficult, confusing, and emotional FINDINGS
experiences related to their gaming behaviors (Branthwaite
and Patterson, 2011). The phenomenological experience of video game evolution
The interviews were conducted in locations that were Throughout the interviews, there emerged an understanding
most convenient for the informant (e.g., office settings, of the gaming experience as a triadic relationship among
public settings, or online). The interviews themselves were player, narrative, and gameplay. As video games have
focused primarily on console gaming (e.g., Nintendo, Xbox, evolved over time, the degree to which the domains overlap
and Playstation), although a few informants did speak to their has steadily increased. As lifelong gamers, many of our in-
experiences with a selected few PC games (e.g., WoW). The formants have experienced this evolution of video game nar-
discussions focused on the consoles and games that were rative and gameplay first hand. Those who started gaming
most salient and relevant, as the goal of the interviews was before the fifth generation of consoles (i.e., Playstation and
to better understand the consumptive processes experienced Nintendo 64) recall an era of games defined by blocky pixel
by these informants from their early youth to the present art and simplistic narrative. In contrast, modern games have
day. In addition to the primary and follow-up interviews, introduced increasingly sophisticated storytelling techniques
two informants also participated in a self-narration exercise and graphical realism to the medium. Brady, a small
whereby they narrated their thoughts for approximately 1 h business owner with 40 years of gaming experience,
while playing games of their choice (Kozinets et al., 2004). recounts his earliest interactions with video games starting
All interviews and self-narration exercises were recorded with Home Pong:
and transcribed, which yielded approximately 694 single-
spaced pages of textual data for analysis. Interviewer: Do you remember how you were introduced
to gaming to begin with?
Analysis Brady: Yes, I remember when my daddy brought home a
The analysis of the data was conducted using a phenomeno- Pong game that we connected to the television. Every-
logical (Thompson et al., 1994) and hermeneutic (Arnold thing on the screen was black and white—no colors yet
and Fischer, 1994; Thompson et al., 1994) approach while —it was a little white ball on the screen, and there wasn’t
also relying on models of naturalistic inquiry (Belk et al., much to be done in that game except move the paddle
1988). A phenomenological framework was applied for the around. You hit a ball back and forth.
purpose of understanding the lived experience of gamers in
a time when video games have undergone constant evolu- With each successive console, however, graphical realism
tion. The process of exploring individual consumption improved:
stories allowed for the identification of broader thematic Interviewer: What are some of the biggest changes you’ve
patterns and the dialectical tensions that exist among them experienced in gaming after all these years?
(e.g., conflicts between player, narrative, and gameplay).
Additionally, a hermeneutic framework was applied for the Brady: Well, I guess I have always looked at the games
purpose of examining the socio-cultural and historical forces that come out and compared them with what I’ve played
actively shaping the relationship between gamers and the before. And early on, there were some pretty big steps
video games they play. In keeping with the hermeneutic made pretty quickly. We went from having a little white
tradition, the social-cultural discourse and historical perspec- ball on the screen [in Pong], to having colorful little Space
tives fundamental to the consumption of modern video Invader creatures. Then you went from no colors to
games provided important context by which personal ac- colors, and they added personality to them eventually.
counts could be interpreted. Finally, data collected through They weren’t just little blocks of light.
DOI: 10.1002/cb
Interviewer: When did you start noticing that the charac- robots. Okay. He’s a bad guy. We have to jump on his
ters had personality? head several times for him to die. I was a bit older for
Super Mario, but it didn’t really matter why those turtles
Brady: There was Donkey Kong. He had a big face—he
were bad—I was having fun doing whatever the game
was made out of blocks—but he had a face that kind of
required.
had some expression. You could tell when he got mad
or when he was happy. And then, as you went through Interviewer: What about storytelling in games today?
the Mario Brothers games and they began look like real
Nate: I usually stick with RPGs for story, but I was
entities…Now you have games like Destiny—it’s the best
completely caught off guard from Call of Duty. You ex-
looking game I’ve ever seen. Sometimes I just sit there in
pect it to be this dumb shooter, but it is like the best action
the game and look up at the sky. Then you’ve got the
movie you can play through, more grandiose than Rambo
guardians—they look like actual people running around.
and Terminator put together…The bad guys have real mo-
David, a sales manager, has a comparatively shorter tivations. You start caring about the characters, especially
history with video games—his earliest memories take place the ones on your team. With all the twists and turns, dou-
during the fourth generation of consoles, shortly before the ble crosses, it’s very much like playing through a movie.
transition to 3D visuals. As David explains, the graphical
As recounted by Brady, David, and Nate, the evolution
realism and narrative complexity of fourth generation games
of modern games has significantly transformed the
was rudimentary:
experience of gaming. Their recollection of earlier console
Interviewer: You mentioned earlier that Ninja Turtles was generations brings the role of narrative complexity and
one of the first games you played on the Sega Genesis. graphical realism into greater focus. To better understand
their impact, the following sections examine the effects of
David: Yeah, that was one of my favorites growing up.
video game evolution within the context of single-player
Thinking about it now, I don’t think it was very good.
“hardcore” games. Using the framework depicted in
You kind of go along the bottom of the screen, and you’re
Figure 1 and Figure 2, the presentation of data is organized
just walking in one direction, beating up the same bad
by each area of intersection that exists between the domains
guys. It’s very linear…I remember that the Turtles looked
of player, narrative, and gameplay.
pretty bad, nothing like the cartoon at all—everything
looked very flat.
The intersection of player and narrative
Interviewer: What was the storytelling in games like that
As noted in the preceding discussion, the IAT framework
back then?
represents a relatively recent shift in video game design—
David: I’d say it was really plastic. That’s the word I’d use through the fourth generation of consoles, technological
to describe it—it’s really cliché. When you think about limitations constrained the degree to which gamers could
the Mario narrative, just think about how thin that is. experience true IAT. In many games, including Nintendo’s
Peach gets taken by Bowser, Mario goes and tries to save flagship Super Mario Bros., pixel-based two-dimensional
Peach. There was no depth. graphics and a lack of narrative depth created gameplay
experiences focused primarily on the mastery of game
By the fifth generation of consoles, however, program- mechanics (e.g., running, jumping, and shooting). As such,
mers developed graphics engines capable of generating 3D player-controlled characters were treated not as on-screen
virtual worlds. David vividly recalls his first experience with representations of self (i.e., avatars) but as digital icons to
a fifth generation console game, Super Mario 64: be maneuvered around or against in-game obstacles (Rehak,
David: One of my earliest memories of gaming was get- 2003). Even as milestone games improved upon storytelling
ting my Nintendo 64 for Christmas. I just remember techniques (e.g., Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, and
playing [Super Mario 64], and just experiencing the game Secret of Mana), narrative exposition remained linear,
on a whole new level. I think part of that was the fact that giving players minimal influence over scripted events and
it was 3D—Mario could walk in every direction. I felt like outcomes. While “retro” games of this era may have
I was in the game, as opposed to just playing it. excelled at generating psychological flow through
achievement-oriented challenges (Camper, 2009), the shift
Like David, Nate started gaming seriously during the toward cinematic narrative did not occur until subsequent
fourth generation of consoles as well. He compares the rela- generations.
tive lack of narrative complexity in early games with the As new technologies emerged, however, players were
depth of storytelling found in games today. Even in games given more opportunities to meaningfully shape narrative
not focused primarily on narrative (e.g., Call of Duty), the as developers became more ambitious with storytelling in
maturation of storytelling in video games is apparent: video games. Coupled with greater degrees of transformation
Interviewer: What role did story play in games back then? (i.e., identification with an avatar), video games have become
an ideal platform for individuals seeking interactive fantasy
Nate: I think story back then, outside of a few RPGs, was in a virtual world. Consequently, this intersection of player
just bare bones objectives. Like in Sonic, Why is [Dr. and narrative has become a distinguishing feature of modern
Robotonik] the bad guy? He wants to turn critters into games—many gamers intuitively understand that the agency
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108 A. Kuo et al.
Figure 2. The integration of player, narrative, and gameplay over time.
provided by such games is an important factor that motivates explains how this mechanic enhances agency and immersion
their play. When asked to describe the appeal of video during the gameplay experience:
games, Roger describes the role of agency as an integral
Roger: You can choose between paragon and renegade,
component of the medium:
and whenever you do a good decision, your paragon goes
Interviewer: What draws you to gaming as a form of up, and whenever you do a bad decision, your renegade
entertainment versus other types of entertainment? goes up, and that opens up different types of choices that
you can make in the game. If you’re a renegade, you don’t
Roger: Against movies, the fact that you get to make your
care for anyone else. I really love that about games where
own choices instead of watching a movie…I like actually
you actually have to choose your own decisions. Who I
having control over the story, I can decide if I want to stop
am matters in the game, and that actually affects the
the story and do something else, or continue the story, or
gameplay.
do something different in the story that they weren’t
expecting. In a movie, you’re just there for the ride. The inclusion of a reputation meter heightens the degree
to which Roger identifies with his avatar (i.e., transforma-
Likewise, Gabby, a retail manager and veteran combat
tion); the choices he makes within the game reflect his own
medic, reiterates the importance of agency as a defining
character in a tangible way that meaningfully impacts the
characteristic of video games. Although she sees less
metanarrative. This deep level of identification, however,
differentiation between video games and other forms of me-
can undermine the very sense of agency that Roger expects
dia, Gabby acknowledges that the capacity for freedom and
to find in a video game—what he initially describes as free-
control over narrative draws her to the video game medium:
dom and control over narrative begins to feel much more
Interviewer: Are there certain aspects of games that you constraining when taken in the context of actual gameplay.
like more? Because he is not engaging in mere role play, Roger feels re-
stricted to the choices that he would make in reality; despite
Gabby: Story and world are kind of intertwined for me.
the opportunity to play as a renegade antihero, he cannot bear
One of the functions of fantasy literature is escape. I think
to take actions that are not true to himself. In some ways, the
that’s probably the reason I like video gaming in general.
choices offered in the game exist only to give him the illu-
It fulfills all the functions of fantasy literature—escape,
sion of agency. When Roger begins to realize this during
recovery … but with modern gaming, the escapism is
the interview, he is strongly conflicted:
more of an experience you get to customize yourself.
Interviewer: Do you find yourself leaning one way or the
When asked to give examples of meaningful agency
other whenever you play these games?
within a video game, Roger also brings up Mass Effect 3, a
science-fiction RPG in which players unite various alien races Roger: [Long pause]. I usually try to go the “right” way.
to combat an intergalactic threat. The Mass Effect series is no- [Long pause]. In the Mass Effect series, you can be a ren-
table due to its use of a reputation “meter” that keeps track of egade, and I really wanted—I’ve tried to be a renegade,
players’ choices throughout the game (Travis, 2012). Roger but I just felt terrible.
DOI: 10.1002/cb
Interviewer: It’s difficult for you to play as the renegade? home mom, experiences a similar moral conflict—although
the “evil” choices seem more fun, they conflict with her spir-
Roger: I don’t like that if you’re a renegade, you can push
itual beliefs:
people away from you that would’ve helped you later on,
or everyone respects you, but they secretly hate you, and Interviewer: What are some of the ways that games make
so they won’t help you as much, or just the fact that you feel like a part of the bigger story?
you’re being terrible to this group that you have no idea
who they are, and just leaving them to themselves instead Carly: Well, there’s more games now where you can de-
of helping them. I don’t like not being a helper. cide whether you want to do good or do evil, so that’s a
big thing now. Are you going to be a good guy or a bad
Interviewer: But you still want to play as the renegade guy? It just destroys me because I cannot be the bad
sometimes. guy, like ever. I’m just going to do the right thing. But
Roger: [Long pause]. I want to, sometimes. I mean, it most of the times, the bad stuff is what’s fun, right?
should be more fun to play as a renegade and to not care, Interviewer: Being bad is fun?
to not always be thinking about what’s right in every sit-
uation…Sometimes I go into a game thinking that I’m go- Carly: I think most people want to play games to do
ing to choose renegade this time, but it never ends up things that they can’t do in real life. Things like Grand
going that way. I end up making the paragon choices be- Theft Auto. You can just run over people. I think people
cause I can’t not think about what I would do in that find that fun because they can’t do that in reality. They
situation. try to do those kinds of bad things that you can get away
with in game, but not in the real world.
Roger then recalls an instance in which he chose the ren-
Interviewer: You don’t like to play that way?
egade option during an important sequence of events. In the
particular section of Mass Effect 3 he references, the player is Carly: It just feels bad, yeah. It’s probably my conscience.
given the option of rendering an entire alien race (i.e., the For some reason, I just feel like, if it’s my decision, this
Krogans) infertile, effectively committing genocide. In the means something, right? For me to make those decisions,
game, Krogans are a warmongering race of reptilian human- that’s almost like I’m the one doing those things…If I
oids responsible for devastation throughout the galaxy, and want to do [bad things], what does that mean, for me as
the player must decide to either show mercy (i.e., the paragon a person? Why do I want to do that?
choice) or inflict retribution for their war crimes (i.e., the
Interviewer: Even having the desire to be the bad person
renegade choice). Roger struggled with the implication of
seems like it’s a dangerous path.
his actions:
Carly: It just feels weird, but that might just be because
Interviewer: Have you ever made a decision that was on I’m a Christian, you know? It might be different just for
the renegade side and then felt really bad about it? nonbelievers. They might just be like, Ugh, you know,
Roger: Yes. The first time I played Mass Effect, the whatever, it doesn’t affect me literally. But for me, I know
species that you got rid of were actually a whole bunch spiritually, it has some kind of effect sometimes.
of murderers at one point, but then they promised to not
As noted by Baumeister (1991), escapism can be con-
do it anymore, but I was like, No, you’re dead. Because
ceptualized as a disassociation of the self from itself—a
you see it happen, I felt terrible after that, and so I had
temporary reprieve from reality achieved by shifting con-
to make a whole other play through of doing everything
scious awareness away from the self. Often, the opportunity
right.
to experience transformation via the creation of a new in-
Interviewer: You replayed everything up until that part? game identity allows gamers to explore versions of their
ideal or aspirational selves (Kozinets and Kedzior, 2009).
Roger: Yeah, because I didn’t have the save point, so I
In this regard, Roger and Carly’s experiences are the
couldn’t go back and be like, I change my mind. I don’t
antithesis of escapism; instead of creating a fantasy
want that to happen.
gamescape unburdened by the stresses of reality, certain
From Roger’s perspective, the renegade option exists games ask Roger and Carly to make difficult choices that
solely to create the impression that he is exerting influence become tests of their character (i.e., their actual selves). Al-
over the metanarrative. Despite the opportunity to enact an though such choices exist as fictional scenarios within a
exciting fantasy persona (i.e., the renegade antihero), he is video game, they carry real weight when experienced in
held captive by his own conscience, even in a virtual world an immersive virtual world that encourages deep emotional
where those choices will never have any real-life conse- investment. In the one instance where Roger chose the
quences. At one point in the interview, Roger expresses sud- renegade option, the subsequent guilt and regret forced
den excitement when recounting in-game moments that him to restart the entire game, replaying 5–10 h of
tempted him to choose the renegade option (e.g., punching previously completed content.
an unscrupulous journalist in her face). His desire to explore For some individuals, this exercise in constant self-
the renegade identity is self-evident, yet he never follows reflection produces tremendous stress and anxiety as the lines
through when asked to make a decision. Carly, a stay-at- between fantasy and reality are blurred. Gabby, for example,
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110 A. Kuo et al.
finds a shared trauma between her military experience as a Interviewer: Why do you think that is?
combat medic and her time with Mass Effect 3:
Gabby: Part of it, I think, is just my conscience is very
Gabby: There were certain points in [Mass Effect 3] where naggy. I try really hard to be a good person all of the
it would be two o’clock in the morning, and something time…When you’re in the military, it’s very easy to lose
traumatic would happen, and I would just start crying. yourself. It’s very easy to give into post-traumatic stress,
That’s probably one of the reasons I like Mass Effect 3, and to anger, and all the bad feelings that can come with
because it has such a deep, personal meaning for me as being a soldier. To me, there was a very distinct moment
a soldier…When I finished that game, I probably sat on where I realized I had a choice. I could be this angry
the couch for 30 minutes. My girlfriend at the time came person and lose myself, or I could be a better person.
in, and she was like, You all right? I was like, I don’t think
Interviewer: It sounds like you try to extend that part of
so.
yourself into the game.
Interviewer: Mass Effect 3 reminds you of your military
Gabby: Yeah. I don’t want to make it seem like video
experience?
gaming is this big weighty thing for me. Well, I think part
Gabby: To me it was the most realistic war game that I’ve of it is, but part of it is my nagging little conscience. [The
ever played. With all the bureaucracy and the bull and decision to shoot Legion] was so rough. It still is when I
constant arguing over what the best course of action is. think about it. At the end, Legion asks you, “Does this
The fact that, no matter what you do, and no matter the unit have a soul?” I’m like, “Yes, you do.” That’s when
choices you make, sometimes people die, and sometimes I lost it.
things just turn out crappy.
Like Roger, Gabby’s relationship with Mass Effect 3 ex-
Much like Roger’s experience with the game, Gabby has emplifies the conflict that occurs at the intersection of player
clear recollection of the difficult choices she was forced to and narrative. Although she is initially drawn to the game’s
make over the course of Mass Effect 3. She points to another promise of freedom and control (i.e., agency), her own iden-
critical juncture within the game’s narrative, where the player tity and past experiences become self-imposed constraints
must decide the fate of the Geth, a race of robotic artificial in- within the virtual world. Ultimately, Gabby’s journey through
telligence. Originally created by the nomadic Quarians as the narrative of Mass Effect 3 proves fatalistic—every choice
worker drones, the Geth eventually gained sentience and re- she makes must conform to the moral standards emerging
belled for their independence. In the game, allowing the Geth from her identity as a soldier. Even within the virtual world,
to live comes at the cost of losing the Quarians as an ally. deviations from that standard can result in great emotional
Gabby recounts this moment vividly: distress. Whereas video games have traditionally been
criticized for a distinct lack of morality (e.g., indiscriminant
Interviewer: In Mass Effect 3, there are certain points
violence) (Konzack, 2007), games such as Mass Effect 3
where you’re asked to make some really hard choices.
actively encourage players to engage in moral reasoning, or
Was there a choice that was particularly difficult?
the deliberate consideration of information to reach an
Gabby: Yes. I still have nightmares. When you’re trying evaluative (i.e., good versus bad) judgment (Haidt, 2001).
to decide whether to side with the Geth or side with the In granting players, the agency to meaningfully influence
Quarians, it comes down to that moment where Legion narrative outcomes, moral emotions such as guilt, disgust,
[the Geth leader] is uploading a program into the Geth and contempt (Haidt, 2003), may be elicited as challenging
to make them completely sanctioned. The Quarians are dilemmas are imperfectly resolved. Years after finishing the
targeting them. Tali [the Quarian leader] is yelling at game, for example, Gabby continues to experience such
you, and everybody is yelling at you. You’re trying to emotions over her decision to kill Legion.
make a value based decision. What’s moral? What’s The tension existing between identity and narrative in
going to help me win this war? There’s so many factors modern games harkens to the paradoxes of technology
that you’re trying to weigh. I shot Legion. I regret it to identified by Mick and Fournier (1998). Specifically, their
this day. paradox of freedom/enslavement refers to the phenomenon
whereby consumers feel both liberated and constrained by
Gabby’s description of her experience with Mass Effect 3
their technology. Smartphones, for example, allow indivi-
stands in sharp contrast to her earlier comments portraying
duals to stay connected on the go, but overuse of this tech-
video games as a means of escape and recovery. Rather than
nology can lead to addictive or compulsive behaviors.
an empowering sense of agency, Gabby is plagued with re-
Gamers immersed in modern RPGs such as Mass Effect,
gret—she is bound by her conscience and past experiences
Fallout, and Dragon Age are subject to their own variation
such that genuine freedom and control are fleeting:
of freedom/enslavement—video games grant immense
Gabby: It still bugs me. I still try to decide whether or not agency over narrative in a virtual world, but the
it’s in line with my morals, and I don’t think it is. I think immersiveness of new technologies encourages a level of
that’s probably the reason it bothers me. I’m the type of transformation beyond mere role play. Consequently, players
person, even in a video game, I can’t deviate from my like Roger, Carly, and Gabby find themselves captive to their
morals, or it makes me feel bad. Some people can play own identities, unable to shape the narrative in ways that
the good side and the bad side, I can’t. contradict their own values. Despite a multitude of possible
DOI: 10.1002/cb
narrative outcomes (Mass Effect 3 has eight discrete modeled after table-top RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons,
endings), players “enslaved” by the process of transforma- combat was a slow and methodical affair. With the introduc-
tion experience little of the agency promised by the medium. tion of real-time mechanics, in-game combat has become in-
creasingly dynamic and interactive. This integration between
player and gameplay, however, extends beyond the tradi-
The intersection of player and gameplay
tional mechanics that have defined gaming. Beyond fighting
Just as modern video games have increasingly integrated
and world exploration, video games have attempted to
player and narrative, game mechanics have developed in their
increase immersion by introducing mechanics that mirror ac-
complexity, giving players access to new modes of play.
tivities in the real world (e.g., sleeping, eating, and bathing).
Whereas early games restricted players to a limited set of ac-
As Carly points out however, such mechanics can have the
tions, modern games offer a plethora of options with respect
paradoxical effect of reducing immersion:
to player controls. In the original Super Mario Bros., for ex-
ample, players are limited to the mechanics of running and Interviewer: Do all these new mechanics make games
jumping within a two-dimensional virtual space. In contrast, more realistic?
modern games such as Skyrim require lengthy in-game tuto-
rials to teach players the various intricacies of the gameplay. Carly: For the most part they do, but I think some games
With a greatly expanded set of game mechanics, players can take it too far. I don’t like games like Elder Scrolls be-
translate their every physical impulse into a corresponding cause you end up spending all of your time doing random
in-game behavior. As such, players have tremendous agency stuff instead of actually playing the game. It’s kind of like
within the virtual world to engage in activities such as The Sims—who would actually want to do, like, daily
exploration (e.g., horseback riding), combat (e.g., intricate things? You have to take a shower, you eat, and you go
swordplay), and the crafting of supplies (e.g., brewing to work, and clean up. Why would you do that kind of
potions). Brady describes the increasing complexity of stuff in a game?
gameplay mechanics over his long history with gaming: Carly’s comments highlight one of the fundamental ten-
Brady: Part of gameplay is not just what’s on the screen, sions between modern video game mechanics and the desire
but what’s in your hand, and what that can do. When for greater realism. To increase player immersion, developers
we started playing video games, we had some little knob have purposely designed gameplay systems that reflect be-
that we would turn to move the paddle up and down to havior in the real world. Yet these additions come to violate
hit the ball. And over time, that has evolved into a joystick the basic tenets of play—that it should be intrinsically moti-
that had one button on it, and you could move in all direc- vating, affectively stimulating, and performance oriented
tions. And now, we have these things that have a whole (Holbrook et al., 1984). Mundane tasks (e.g., eating,
bunch of buttons on them. Triggers and things, and we’ve sleeping, and bathing) may increase the perceived realism
had to learn to push the right buttons, in the right circum- of interactions within the virtual world, but such mechanics
stances, to make things happen can be tedious, affectively disengaging, and without mean-
ingful challenge. For Carly, these game mechanics become
For Brady, the integration between player and game a hindrance to immersion by distracting from the core
mechanics manifests as greater control over his avatar’s in- gameplay. When discussing the evolution of video games,
teractivity within the virtual world. From the bi-directional Carly points to another game mechanic that adds unneces-
paddle of Home Pong to the intricate move sets of Destiny, sary realism to the virtual world:
video games have steadily increased the complexity of
gameplay over the last 40 years. Even within the span of a Interviewer: What are some of the biggest changes to
single series, however, the relationship between player and videogames that you’ve experienced?
game mechanics can change drastically. Having played
Carly: Everything is so realistic now. The 3D world is
through most installments of the Final Fantasy series, Carly
coming out so much that everything has to be from your
describes the ways in which game mechanics have evolved:
first person angle. I think that’s the biggest change, and
Interviewer: How has the gameplay in Final Fantasy of course, the graphics are getting more and more realistic
changed over time? to the point where it’s unnecessarily realistic.
Carly: I think we’re more into real-time combat now. Interviewer: The graphics can be too realistic?
Before, Final Fantasy was turn-based—everything would
Carly: Well, I guess it’s not graphics, but games like El-
pause before a fight and you would give each of your
der Scrolls—it gets to a point where the game lets you
party members a command, like fight or defend. Now, I
pick up every single thing, right? You can pick up stuff
think we’re more geared toward, Everything’s live!
that’s not even usable. Why did you put that in there to
You’ve got to do it right now, or you’re going to mess it
confuse me? You can go into any house available, with ta-
up! I think that’s a major thing because [the game] wants
bles, forks, spoons, and knives, and you can pick anything
to be more realistic, so of course they’re going to get rid
up. I would start opening drawers because in [older
of the turn-based type games.
games], you usually open a drawer to find useful stuff…
The transition from turn-based to real-time combat repre- But in Oblivion, you just end up picking up useless trash.
sents a major shift in the development of RPGs. Originally Then I have to throw it all away because you can’t carry
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112 A. Kuo et al.
everything. I couldn’t really get into that because it was Nate: Yeah, I’ve found that being bad in those kind of
too realistic. games—it limits your options. I accidentally killed some
In an attempt to heighten realism, developers often give townspeople once, and after that, people are trying to
players the ability to interact with nearly every modeled ob- chase you off, and the police want to kill you. You might
ject in the virtual world. Just as individuals are capable of not be able to get any quests from that entire town…Pick-
rummaging through a real-world kitchen to find an ing good or bad always limits your choices. By having to
assortment of items, both useful and useless, players can pick one, it always limits the choices, but I want to be able
thoroughly ransack the virtual kitchens of modern video to make all the choices.
games. But, as Carly indicates, older games followed a very
different design philosophy—within a game world, the mere Interviewer: How do you know which choice to make
presence of an interactive object implied utility. When given beforehand?
the capacity to pick up every visible object, however, Carly Nate: Either guides or reading ahead. I actually hate doing
spends an inordinate amount of time sorting through items that because it takes you out of the game. The last thing I
to determine their value. Consequently, this further escalates want to do is pause the game and look something up on
into a cumbersome inventory management system that the internet, but that’s the only way to make sure I make
disrupts Carly’s experience of immersion: the right choices.
Carly: I think some people enjoy having the freedom to
pick up anything. I don’t like it because then you have In Fallout 3, the choice between good and evil is, osten-
to sell stuff to make sure you’re not carrying too much sibly, a means of increasing realism, agency, and
and that it all fits in your inventory. I get what they’re try- immersiveness—just as crimes committed in the real world
ing to do—no one can walk around with five hundred are met with punishment, so too are those committed in the
pounds on their back, right? You want [the game] to get game. Nate, however, views the issue of morality as one me-
more realistic, but then it can’t be too realistic. chanic within a larger system of gameplay defining the
boundaries of a virtual world; choices in Fallout 3 are only
From the player’s point of view, game mechanics function right and wrong to the extent that the outcomes work in his
as the formal rules that regulate players’ actions within the favor. To achieve the best results, Nate must temporarily re-
virtual world. Essentially, the mechanics described by Carly move himself from the virtual world to determine the best
are codified systems that determine the permissibility (e.g., way forward in any given circumstance. Although the
which objects can be picked up by the player) and necessity developer’s intent was to create realistic immersion for the
(e.g., how much food the player must eat to survive) of in- player, the gameplay quickly becomes an exercise in
game behaviors. To that end, the morality meter in Mass Ef- carefully measured actions designed to manipulate a
fect 3 can be viewed as a game mechanic insomuch as it de- predetermined set of virtual laws.
fines the finite set of possible actions and outcomes for any In theory, realism in video game mechanics should foster
given scenario. In the portion of gameplay recounted by greater agency and immersion for the player. Creating ava-
Gabby, for example, a binary choice of either saving or tars with the need to eat, drink, and sleep better replicates
destroying the Geth was presented. Strictly from the perspec- the experience of everyday life, but paradoxically, the real-
tive of game design, this choice is significant not because it ism of such mechanics breaks immersion by detracting from
reveals the character of the player but because it determines the core gameplay. Likewise, the ability to interact freely
the eventual allegiance of the Geth’s adversaries—to save with objects or individuals in a detailed virtual world may
the Geth is to relinquish Quarian support. In a game deter- seemingly increase telepresence, but gamers like Carly and
mined in part by alliances formed, the morality meter is no Nate find the enhanced interactivity both superfluous and
less a game mechanic than other systems governing the vir- overwhelming. Although gamers today have an unprece-
tual world. When a morally complex choice is transparent dented degree of control over the actions of their avatars,
in its purpose, that decision becomes a calculation designed the inclusion of such game mechanics turns video games into
to manipulate in-game variables for the player’s benefit. life simulators, thereby contradicting the notion that “the im-
Nate, in the context of the post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 3, portance and meaning of play … would appear to be in its af-
explains how such decisions can limit, rather than expand, fective functions; in a word, play is fun” (Lewis, 1982). As
the gameplay experience: frustration with a system of gameplay grows, players eventu-
Interviewer: In Fallout, you’re sometimes given the ally reject hyperrealism as a mechanic that undermines their
choice of helping the people you meet or hurting them. enjoyment of the overall experience. Again, this conflict be-
How do you make those decisions? tween realism and immersion can be framed as an extension
of Mick and Fournier’s (1998) work on technological para-
Nate: I almost always end up playing moderately good,
doxes—as technology becomes more focused on simulating
just because I know if you play an evil character, you’ll
everyday life (e.g., virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and
get run out of town. You can’t go buy items, and now,
robotics), modeling certain aspects of reality can inadver-
everyone’s trying to kill you all the time. It makes for a
tently detract from consumers’ willingness to accept the
harder game experience.
virtual as real.
Interviewer: So you’re driven mostly by how your choices Despite thematic similarities, it is also important to distin-
affect the gameplay? guish the game mechanics described by Carly and Nate from
DOI: 10.1002/cb
the notion of work in video games. As described in the extant characters] look short and blocky, but once you get to a
gaming literature, work typically refers to the repetition of cutscene, they suddenly look like a normal human be-
certain in-game activities to (1) increase the level of an avatar ing…At that time, it wasn’t a big deal for me, because it
or (2) acquire better gear (McGonigal, 2011). In many RPGs, was something to look forward to.
for example, players can obtain the most powerful endgame
As the graphical capabilities of gaming engines improved,
weapons or armor only by defeating specified enemies or
developers could rely less on pre-rendered video cutscenes to
bosses. However, the probability of obtaining such gear upon
advance narrative. Rather, cutscenes today increasingly are
victory (i.e., the drop rate) is often miniscule, well below 1%.
rendered using the in-game graphics engine, allowing for
Consequently, players may spend days, if not weeks, “grind-
seamless transition between narrative and gameplay. Conse-
ing” the same enemy or dungeon in hopes of acquiring the
quently, abrupt shifts between narrative and gameplay occur
desired item. Although tedious, grinding is an entirely op-
less frequently, allowing for greater immersion during the
tional activity in most video games; content can generally
experience. Nate describes the integration of narrative and
be experienced in its entirety without maximizing an avatar’s
gameplay in the context of Max Payne 3:
level or gear. In contrast with this self-imposed work, game
mechanics are the inescapable laws that govern interactions Nate: There’s a scene in Max Payne 3 where these young
within the virtual world. As experienced by players, these punks come into a bar, and they’re the sons of some crime
laws can be both oppressive and ubiquitous, demanding con- boss guy. They’re physically accosting a woman—and
formity to the idiosyncratic rules prescribed by developers. Max says, Hey, leave her alone, and they start giving
him hell. As the cutscene is happening, it seamlessly turns
The intersection between narrative and game mechanics into a video game, and you have a shootout, and it esca-
With the development and maturation of video game narra- lates from there…It’s a camera change from [the
tive and game mechanics, finding methods of meaningful in- cutscene] being a movie, to people shooting at you, and
tegration has been an area of recent innovation. Although now you are in control.
video games have offered interactive stories for many gener-
As gaming technology steadily improved, developers
ations of consoles, the elements of narrative and gameplay
eventually introduced a new mechanic to further integrate
are often presented as discrete components to be experienced
narrative and gameplay—the quick time event. First made
separately by the player. A typical formula, for example, is to
widely popular in sixth generation console games like
alternate sections of expositional narrative (e.g., cinematic
Resident Evil 4 and God of War, quick time events are
cutscenes) with sections of play. As such, the gameplay itself
interactive cutscenes that allow players to maintain their
is rarely tasked with the function of advancing the broader
sense of agency during narrative events. In earlier games,
narrative. Nate explains this phenomenon as being “on rails”:
cinematic cutscenes were, for all intents and purposes, video
Interviewer: Video games are one part story and one part clips presented between segments of gameplay that required
gameplay—do games ever have problems balancing the no input from the player. In a quick time event, however, the
two? cutscenes themselves remain interactive by displaying button
prompts at specific moments during the narrative exposition
Nate: You can run into this issue where it’s like a game on
(e.g., press the X button). While quick time events are often
rails, where you just go through a hallway, you do a
used at the end of major fights to execute a finishing blow,
couple things, and a cutscene happens. Final Fantasy X
they are also used for mundane tasks such as opening doors
kind of felt like one big hallway, and you ran straight
or picking up objects during a cutscene. Whereas previous
down the hallway, and things happened to you. The story
games would simply animate the character opening a door,
better be over-the-top great if it’s going to be ninety-
a quick time event may pause the exposition until players
percent watching cutscenes. You pay sixty bucks for a
enter the correct sequence of buttons to complete the action.
game, and you’re expecting to play a game, and you get
As such, players maintain a sense of agency, even in cine-
mostly movie.
matic cutscenes designed for the sole purpose of advancing
The alternating sections of narrative and gameplay de- narrative. Carly recounts her first experiences with quick
scribed by Nate resulted, in part, from the limitations of con- time event:
sole technology. While cinematic cutscenes can be pre-
Carly: I remember the first time a quick time event
rendered and compressed as a video (thereby bypassing the
happened in a game. I was like, I see what they’re doing
graphics engine), the visuals presented during player-
there—they’re making it so it’s interactive, and you’re
controlled segments are generated dynamically during play.
not just watching a movie. I wasn’t expecting to do any-
Due to hardware restrictions, graphics during gameplay
thing. And all of a sudden, Oh crap, I have to press
could not match the quality of pre-rendered cutscenes, often
something!
leading to very different visual styles. Carly explains this
disparity: Likewise, Nate explains how quick time events sustain
immersion during narrative sequences in a video game:
Carly: [In Final Fantasy VII], you could only get the nice
graphics through your cutscenes, and you couldn’t get Nate: The first time a quick time event happened, I was
that through the actual gameplay. The cutscenes were re- dead. I was like, This is a thing now? I want to say it
ally realistic. When you’re playing the game, [your was God of War—the first special non-little skeleton
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114 A. Kuo et al.
baddie had some super death effect. It was like, X-circle- in first-person shooters, RPGs, and even sports simulators
square to stab it a million times, and then triangle to rip (e.g., Madden NFL 15). An integral component of many
Medusa’s head off and feed it to the Minotaur. games, the process of upgrading an avatar fulfills the player’s
need for meaningful growth and progression over the course
In the quick time events described by Nate, failure to enter
of gameplay. In the context of modern games, however, such
the correct sequence of buttons can lead to immediate death,
mechanics may seem out of place when they exist alongside
thus requiring a player to restart the entire encounter. Thus,
recent innovations.
quick time events integrate narrative and gameplay by effec-
The most recent Tomb Raider game, for example, is a
tively turning narrative cutscenes into gameplay. As noted by
franchise reboot serving as the definitive origin story for
Grodal (2003), players intuitively understand that gameplay
the famed protagonist, Lara Croft. Lauded for its rich story-
is an iterative process of cyclical death and resurrection—to
telling and fine-tuned game mechanics, the game follows
overcome challenging segments of gameplay, an individual
Lara in her radical transformation from an archeology
must fail multiple times to gradually master the skills neces-
student to fearless explorer after she is marooned on an un-
sary for success. When narrative becomes part of this itera-
charted island. By the end of a 12–15-h campaign, Lara has
tive process, however, the cyclical nature of gameplay
become an Olympic-level gymnast, expert markswoman,
forces players to watch the same expositional sequence re-
and world-class hand-to-hand combatant. Yet to undergo
peatedly when a quick time event is failed:
such drastic change in a compressed time period seems
Interviewer: Do quick time events aid in immersion implausible, particularly when situated within an otherwise
during gameplay? believable narrative:
Nate: I think it’s fun for a while, but once you see it one Interviewer: Are there any recent games that stand out to
time, and you go through it once, it then becomes you in the way they combine story and gameplay?
repetitious…I think it was Bayonetta where I kept dying
because it was too many buttons all at once. I probably Nate: I think the new Tomb Raider game. Everything felt
played the same scene twenty times, and it was horrible natural through the progression, through the storytelling,
because you’re just watching yourself die over and over and just the exploration of the game. I think everything
again. I think I stopped playing Bayonetta after that, and about that game works well. I think the upgrading
I never bothered to finish it. system—it’s not bad, it just feels a little tacked on.
Interviewer: That sounds really frustrating. How is that Interviewer: Tacked on? How so?
different from dying in other parts of the game though? Nate: They picked up from RPGs that everyone likes to
Nate: Well, it usually makes sense when you die, like, improve and develop and build their character, but now
maybe I shouldn’t have run into that room with ten guys they’re just slapping [experience] bars and skill trees on
with machine guns…In [a quick time event], you die be- anything and everything. Lara Croft has a “survivor” skill
cause you press a wrong button or you miss it by a sec- tree—it lets you recover arrows or be able to see animals
ond. If you pressed X instead of triangle, now your head at night.
is separated from your body! Then you have to start the
Interviewer: That’s not realistic to you?
whole thing from the beginning.
Nate: Well, the gameplay and the story seem so great and
Nate’s experience with a difficult quick time event illus-
polished, like a realistic experience. Those things—
trates how certain aspects of narrative are fundamentally in-
they’re not bad. It just seems a little out of place…The
compatible with gameplay. Even when a story branches as
game has kind of a simple, lazy solution. Like, if you kill
a function of player interaction, the overall narrative is expe-
a certain number of animals, now you can see animals in
rienced as linear from the player’s perspective (Grodal,
the dark. How does that make sense?
2003). Whereas players expect to repeat challenging portions
of gameplay, endless repetition of a quick time event creates Interviewer: Would you say it hurts immersion when
cyclical narrative, analogous to rereading a single passage of things like that happen?
prose ad infinitum. For Nate, challenging portions of
Nate: Yeah, it seems pretty separate. In a movie, you’d
gameplay encourage repetition as a means of developing
probably see some kind of training montage. Instead, I
new strategies, but the monotony of watching one exposi-
play the game, go through the story, but when I’m about
tional—albeit, interactive—sequence play out repeatedly
to quit, let me stop at a campfire, put my points in stuff.
led him to quit Bayonetta before finishing the game.
When narrative and game mechanics properly align, how- The specific upgrading mechanic that Nate references in-
ever, video games become extraordinarily immersive, volves reaching a designated save spot in the virtual world
allowing players to simultaneously experience transporta- of Tomb Raider. In this safe zone, players can start a camp-
tion, telepresence, and transformation. Ironically, when this fire, which grants access to an upgrade menu. The experience
occurs, it is the long-standing game mechanics prevalent in points accumulated by completing specified activities (e.g.,
various genres that eventually detract from believable im- hunting a certain number of deer) can then be spent
mersion. The process of upgrading a character’s skills, upgrading a variety of in-game skills. As Nate points out, this
weapons, or vehicles, for example, is a game mechanic found system is a conventional mechanic found in many games, yet
DOI: 10.1002/cb
it feels contrived when juxtaposed with the overall realism of experience of gaming has evolved beyond the previously
Tomb Raider. Likewise, the process of upgrading Lara’s established IAT framework (Murray, 1997). Although the
weapons leads to a similarly disjointed experience: framework remains valid as a broad representation of modern
gaming, it is clear that the individual constructs of IAT have
Interviewer: Are there other parts of Tomb Raider that feel
become increasingly complex over successive generations of
out of place?
consoles. The gradual evolution of these core constructs has
Nate: Well, you find scraps whenever you’re out and been simultaneously quantitative and qualitative in nature—
about, and then you just take this scrap pile and turn it into modern video games elevate the degree to which IAT can be
a gun silencer. I found a potato, let me turn it into a rocket sustained, but more importantly, the phenomenological
launcher! I don’t know what you would do instead. It’s experience of IAT has undergone significant change from
like the game is too game-y, which is funny. the perspective of consumers (Table 2). As such, the
following section presents a critical reevaluation of the IAT
Nate’s last comment alludes to the inherent absurdity of
framework for the purpose of exploring the theoretical impli-
his critique—that a video game can be undermined by its
cations of this research.
very nature as a game. The standard mechanics that have de-
fined generations of past games have come to feel archaic,
yet they are essential to the medium. In Tomb Raider, what Immersion
is the alternative? To leave Lara Croft on the island for a de- Since the introduction of the first home consoles, the phenom-
cade as she develops her trademark skills? Just as other forms enon of psychological flow has been an integral component of
of media are subject to their own limitations, storytelling in the gaming experience (Delwiche, 2007). Even in the most
video games necessitates a compromise between the ele- rudimentary games (e.g., Home Pong), gameplay is opti-
ments of narrative and gameplay. Players want to feel in- mized to satisfy the preconditions of flow (Csikszentmihalyi,
creasingly powerful over the course of a game, but 1991): (1) a balance between challenge and skill; (2) clear
character growth of such magnitude is rarely plausible in criteria for success (i.e., well-defined goals); and (3) regular
the context of an otherwise realistic narrative. As character- feedback to monitor progress. In particular, the adaptive
ized by Nate, modern games like Tomb Raider have yet to capacity of some video games to dynamically adjust difficulty
strike a perfect balance capable of sustaining player immer- in response to player performance ensures a constant balance
sion throughout the entire experience. Although the appeal between challenge and skill. Thus, even in the absence of nar-
of gaming lies partly in the fantastic process of gaining do- rative content and realistic graphics, video games sustain
minion over a virtual world, escape nonetheless functions player immersion through flow outcomes such as the
as catharsis (Russell et al., 2004)—there must be some distortion of time, the focusing of attention, and the loss of
grounding in realism lest the experience becomes pure self-awareness (Douglas and Hargadon, 2000).
whimsy, so divorced from reality that a genuine emotional
connection cannot be forged. Yet the very mechanics de- Transportation
signed to empower players (e.g., upgrading at the campfire As video games evolved in their narrative complexity and
in Tomb Raider) violate plausibility, thereby disrupting the graphical realism, new modes of immersion have been intro-
player’s experience of immersion within the virtual world. duced to the consumptive experience of gaming. The cine-
matic storytelling found in modern games, for example,
allows for greater degrees of transportation—“a convergent
THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS process, where all mental systems and capacities become fo-
cused on events occurring in the narrative” (Green and
The various conflicts arising from the synthesis of player, Brock, 2000). As noted in the interviews, however, attempts
narrative, and gameplay suggest that the consumptive at synthesizing the various forms of immersion have not been
Table 2. Evolution of immersion, agency, and transformation framework

Dimension Early video games Modern video games
Immersion ▪ Balance between challenge and skill ▪ Balance between challenge and skill (psychological flow)
(psychological flow) ▪ Sophisticated storytelling (narrative transportation)
▪ Hyperrealistic three-dimensional visuals (telepresence)
Agency ▪ Limited control over an avatar’s actions ▪ Access to complex move sets for avatars
(e.g., running and jumping in Super
Mario Bros.)
▪ Limited interaction with the virtual world ▪ Engagement with highly interactive virtual worlds
(e.g., interactive objects, non-player characters, and
environments)
▪ Experience of linear, non-branching narrative ▪ Ability to make choices that meaningfully impact narrative
outcomes
Transformation ▪ Identification in the form of role play ▪ Customizable appearance and thought-provoking decisions
(i.e., player and avatar remain distinct entities) encourage stronger forms of identification (i.e., development
of in-game persona by merging player and avatar).
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116 A. Kuo et al.
uniformly successful; the challenge required to sustain psy- with the virtual objects, non-player characters, and environ-
chological flow, for example, often necessitates a cycle of ments that populate their respective worlds. Although this
repetition that allows for players to develop their skills enhanced degree of interactivity better simulates certain as-
(Grodal, 2003). To the detriment of the overall experience, pects of reality (i.e., the ability to freely interact with sur-
overly challenging sections of gameplay in story-driven rounding objects), this feature inadvertently violates the
games can negatively impact the player’s experience of nar- metaphysical “laws” that players have come to expect over
rative. Segments of the plot may require multiple viewings as generations of RPGs. As Call et al. (2012) argue, there exist
the player works to overcome a particular challenge, or, in certain conventions that have become standard practice as the
extreme cases, the narrative may cease to progress entirely genre developed. In the first console RPGs, for example, in-
when a challenge becomes impassable. In response, video teractivity generally implied utility—the very fact that an ob-
games gradually have become easier over time (e.g., remov- ject could be picked up or examined signified its usefulness
ing permanent death in favor of checkpoints), so as to avoid at some later point in the game. This expectation may not
such immersion-breaking frustrations (Camper, 2009). Re- be realistic (i.e., interactivity does not imply utility in the real
moving the consequences of death or failure, however, de- world), but it nonetheless creates an internal logic that
tracts from the tension between challenge and skill (Juul, players rely upon to navigate the virtual world.
2011), and thus, improving the experience of narrative trans- Ultimately, this observation implies that agency in video
portation may unintentionally decrease the likelihood of psy- games is more a function of perceived control than freedom.
chological flow. Although bolstering all forms of interactivity (e.g., with ob-
jects, non-player characters, and the environment) lessens
Telepresence the artificial restrictions traditionally imposed on players, it
Just as narrative complexity permits narrative transportation subverts their “cause-and-effect” understanding of the com-
to occur within the context of video games, advancements mon game mechanics that govern play in a virtual world.
in graphical realism have increased the degree to which In contrast with the carefully structured virtual worlds of
players can experience telepresence, defined as believable early RPGs, the sheer interactivity of modern games creates
immersion within a mediated environment (Li et al., 2002). a degree of ambiguity for the player: What should I pick
The prerequisites for telepresence—vivid sensory engage- up, when I can pick up anything? Who should I talk to, when
ment and interactivity (Steuer, 1992)—are areas in which I can talk to anyone? Where should I go, when I can go any-
video games have improved markedly with each new gener- where? The experience of agency is fundamentally an issue
ation of consoles. In particular, the shift toward 3D graphics of perceived control—it requires both unambiguous objec-
and first-person perspectives allows for greater degrees of tives (e.g., heal an injured character) and a clearly defined
immersion through the “creation of a stronger experiential path for achieving success (e.g., speak to a cleric or find a
homology between the fictional world of the game and the salve). Although the freedom to act without restriction can
real world” (Lahti, 2003). The extraordinary realism of such initially feel empowering to players, unfettered interactivity
virtual worlds, however, creates the conditions by which eventually erodes the experience of agency by introducing
common mechanics (e.g., upgrading the skills of an avatar, the uncertainties of reality to the virtual world.
crafting weapons, and healing from injuries) begin to feel
contrived despite a long history of acceptance in previous
generations of video games. Thus, the inherent absurdity of Transformation
certain mechanics—like healing from critical gunshot The current academic discourse on the topic of transforma-
wounds by using painkillers in Max Payne 3—can detract tion in video games is often focused on the distinction be-
from the experience of telepresence by undermining the sus- tween primary and secondary identification (Filiciak, 2003).
pension of disbelief that allows for believable immersion to In taking on the role of protagonist, players allow for their
occur. As the evolution of video games has expanded the ex- identities to emerge through the in-game avatars they control
perience of immersion to include both narrative transporta- (i.e., primary identification). In contrast, other forms of me-
tion and telepresence (i.e., in addition to psychological dia can only encourage consumers to empathize from a
flow), the willingness of players to overlook such incongrui- third-person perspective (i.e., secondary identification). Most
ties may wear thin if the advancement of graphical realism often, the metaphor of “avatar-as-mask” is employed to de-
continues to outpace the development of gameplay scribe the process of transformation in video games (Belk,
innovations. 2013)—through sophisticated character creation engines,
players are given tremendous freedom in crafting the perfect
Agency avatar to “wear” within the virtual world. Yet the language of
One of the primary issues raised by the interview data con- this metaphor is self-circumscribing; if an avatar functions
cerns the relationship between interactivity and agency. Al- primarily as a mask, physical appearance becomes the focal
though the extant literature often conflates the terms point of subsequent analyses. Indeed, discussions of transfor-
(Kaneva, 2007), it appears that greater interactivity can para- mation within the extant literature frequently emphasize the
doxically reduce the degree to which a player experiences role of physical appearance in facilitating the transfer of iden-
agency within the virtual world of a video game. Modern tity from player to avatar (Kozinets and Kedzior, 2009). Con-
RPGs such as Dragon Age and Skyrim, for example, give sequently, the avatar-as-mask metaphor presumes that
players an unprecedented amount of freedom in interacting modeling an avatar to represent some facet of the self—
DOI: 10.1002/cb
whether grounded in reality or fantasy—provides the mecha- The maturation of video game narrative has allowed an aging
nism by which transformation can occur. demographic of gamers to explore themes of greater personal
In contrast with this characterization of transformation, relevance. Likewise, vast improvements to video game
however, our interview data suggest that an avatar’s physical graphics have yielded virtual worlds that are increasingly re-
appearance is but one variable contributing to the process of alistic and immersive. As evidenced by our data, the progres-
identification. For example, both Roger and Gabby chose to sive integration of player, narrative, and gameplay has
ignore the robust character creation engine in Mass Effect gradually increased the degree to which consumers experi-
3, opting for the stock avatar without customizing any fea- ence IAT through video game consumption (Figure 2). This
tures beyond gender. It is clear from their interviews, how- evolution, however, has not been without conflict—as the
ever, that Roger and Gabby both experienced a substantial domains of player, narrative, and gameplay continue to inte-
degree of transformation during play—the extent to which grate, opportunities for tensions arise as gamers adjust to the
they wrestle with the moral implications of their in-game de- new experience.
cisions indicates a level of identification far exceeding role Through the integration of player and narrative, gamers
play. Despite a complete lack of attachment to the physical are given more agency in their role as main protagonist.
appearance of their avatars, their transformation into the While older games were linear in their approach to storytell-
main protagonist—Commander Shepard—occurred none- ing, modern games like Mass Effect 3 present branching
theless without hindrance. For Roger and Gabby, the physi- storylines that hinge on decisions made by the player. Thus,
cal appearance of their avatars is tangential to the broader two individuals playing the same video game may have
gameplay experience. vastly different experiences (Grodal, 2003). With the prolif-
As video game narrative has matured alongside its core eration of interactive storytelling, gamers have come to ex-
demographic of consumers, the phenomenon of transforma- pect freedom in exercising control over video game
tion appears to have shifted emphasis from physical appear- narratives, and many cite this form of agency as a factor mo-
ance to personality-centric modes of identification. In Mass tivating their play. Yet in the context of the actual game,
Effect 3, for example, the reputation meter allows for players players often experience a profound lack of freedom—video
to shape the personality of their character, from subtle varia- games have become so immersive that, through the process
tions in conversational dialog to in-game decisions that irrev- of transformation, players cannot help but invest their own
ocably change narrative outcomes (e.g., Gabby’s choice to identities into the avatars they control. Consequently, an in-
shoot the Geth leader). In contrast, previous research has dividual’s conscience, past experiences, or spiritual beliefs
generally examined transformation in the context of become self-imposed constraints on in-game behavior. Even
MMORPGs, which most often resemble the single-player when there is a strong desire to explore an alternate persona
campaigns of earlier video games with respect to storytelling (e.g., the renegade in Mass Effect 3), players find themselves
(i.e., linear plotting without meaningful agency over the pro- beholden to their own identities.
gression of narrative). As every player in an MMORPG must Whereas the integration of player and narrative gives indi-
coexist within the narrative of a single universe, there are few viduals greater control over plot development, the integration
opportunities for any one individual to freely deviate from a of player and gameplay broadens the possibilities of
predetermined script, lest the shared experience becomes gameplay itself. Functioning as the rules that govern a virtual
needlessly fragmented. Consequently, there are few circum- world, game mechanics reflect the ludic aspects of gaming;
stances in which the personality of an individual holds any they define what actions a player can take, how the player
real significance, and thus, physical appearance becomes is to survive, and ultimately, how the player can win. Over
the principal means by which identification occurs. On the time, game mechanics have become more complex to better
contrary, modern single-player games (e.g., the Mass Effect simulate reality—eating, drinking, and sleeping, for exam-
and Fallout series) present an alternate model for achieving ple, are common mechanics found in games today. These ad-
transformation—one that emphasizes the role of personal ditions, however, paradoxically reduce immersion for some
choice over esthetics. When an individual possesses the ca- individuals when such mechanics become overly mundane,
pacity to meaningfully dictate the character arc of his or her defying even the broadest definitions of play. When
avatar, physical appearance is ancillary to the unique person- gameplay becomes monopolized by seemingly trivial me-
ality emerging from the cumulative choices made throughout chanics (e.g., the need to constantly manage inventory), the
the course of play. hyperrealism begins to undermine immersion with its over-
whelming tedium.
In the last area of intersection, the integration of narrative
GENERAL DISCUSSION and gameplay represents the seamless blend of story and
play. Prior to the development of modern graphics engines,
Profound changes in the consumptive experience of gaming narrative exposition in video games occurred via pre-
reflect the radical evolution of video game technology and rendered cutscenes interspersed throughout segments of
design, a phenomenon that prior research has not adequately gameplay. As graphics engines improved, however, mechan-
recognized and explored. Throughout the course of inter- ics such as the quick time event were introduced, allowing
views conducted for this research, the most prominent areas for player engagement during interactive cutscenes. Yet as
of evolution—narrative complexity and graphical realism— the integration of narrative and gameplay improves, the very
were generally met with a positive response from informants. mechanics that have long characterized the medium become
DOI: 10.1002/cb
118 A. Kuo et al.
increasingly disruptive to player immersion. For example, the original Super Mario Bros. appears primitive by the
the process of distributing experience points to upgrade an standards of our current generation, consumers may one
avatar’s skills is a conventional system that players expect day consider games like Skyrim to be mere preludes to vir-
to find in most games. In the context of a realistic character tual reality—precursors to a truly integrated experience of
arc, however, it becomes a conspicuously implausible me- gaming in a virtual world.
chanic for representing player growth.
Despite the many conflicts that exist between each pair of
domains, videogames nonetheless engender greater degrees BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
of IAT with each generation of consoles. Arguably, it is the Andrew Kuo (PhD, University of Florida) is an assistant professor of
very immersiveness of modern gaming that spurs conflict marketing at the E. J. Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State
when juxtaposed with incongruous video game mechanics. University. His research interests include branding, corporate social
When asked to speculate on the future of gaming, informants responsibility, and new media.
uniformly responded with a generalized description of virtual Jacob L. Hiler (PhD, Louisiana State University) is an assistant pro-
reality—fully immersive gaming environments with head- fessor of marketing at the Ohio University College of Business. His
sets, treadmills, and body sensors that create an unparalleled research interests include retailing, consumer culture, and relation-
experience of realism. Peripherals such as the Oculus Rift ship marketing.
and upcoming PlayStation VR are bringing that vision closer Richard J. Lutz (PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
to reality, and motion-sensing technology (e.g., Nintendo’s is the JCPenney professor of marketing at the Warrington College
Wiimote, PlayStation’s Move, and Microsoft’s Kinect) has of Business, University of Florida. His research interests include
consumer behavior, advertising response, and services marketing.
been available for several generations of consoles. With var-
ious technologies working in tandem, virtual reality may
soon resolve the underlying conflicts that players currently
experience. The imminent arrival of virtual reality technol- REFERENCES
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Journal of Consumer Behaviour, J. Consumer Behav.

, 16: 101–120 (2017)

INTRODUCTION Activision an estimated $50–100 million each year

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Figure 1. A framework for the evolution of video game consumption.

Table 1. Informant characteristics

Figure 2. The integration of player, narrative, and gameplay over time.

Table 2. Evolution of immersion, agency, and transformation framework

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