Introduction
In the field of Immersive Media Design, the distinction between video games and films has become increasingly significant, particularly as digital technologies evolve. While films offer passive, linear narratives through cinematic techniques, video games provide interactive experiences that engage players actively in procedural and spatial elements. This essay argues that video games possess unique benefits that films cannot replicate, such as fostering player agency, procedural rhetoric, and productive frustration, which enhance cognitive resilience and problem-solving skills. Drawing on Lev Manovich’s critique in The Language of New Media (2001), which posits that computer graphics often imitate analog film, this discussion counters by highlighting how genres like Souls games (e.g., Elden Ring) and high-intensity shooters demonstrate video games’ evolution beyond cinematic tropes. Through analysis of key theories from Jesper Juul and Donna Haraway, and comparative case studies of The Last of Us (2013 video game) and its 2023 TV adaptation, the essay explores these advantages. Structured around procedural rhetoric, spatial storytelling, productive frustration, and practical examples, it underscores video games’ distinct role in immersive media, ultimately suggesting implications for design practices.
Procedural Rhetoric and Player Agency
Procedural rhetoric represents a core strength of video games, enabling forms of persuasion and meaning-making through interactive systems that films, with their fixed narratives, inherently lack. As defined by Bogost (2007), procedural rhetoric involves the use of computational processes to argue or express ideas, allowing players to engage dynamically with game mechanics. In Immersive Media Design, this interactivity empowers users to influence outcomes, fostering a sense of agency that passive viewing in films cannot provide. For instance, in high-intensity shooters like those in the Call of Duty series, players must adapt to procedural rules governing aiming, movement, and resource management, which simulate real-time decision-making and adaptability.
Lev Manovich (2001) argues that new media, including video games, often mimic the language of cinema, such as through cutscenes and fixed camera angles, potentially limiting their innovative potential. However, this imitation overlooks the procedural depth that defines games. Indeed, player agency in video games transcends cinematic imitation by creating emergent narratives; players are not mere spectators but co-authors, a point Haraway (1991) echoes in her Cyborg Manifesto, where she envisions human-machine hybrids that blur boundaries between user and system. In games, this cyborgian interaction—merging player input with algorithmic responses—cultivates skills like strategic thinking, which films can only depict without enabling.
Furthermore, this agency has tangible benefits for cognitive development. Research from Green and Bavelier (2003) demonstrates that action video games improve visual attention and multitasking abilities, effects not observed in film consumption, where viewers remain detached. Typically, films rely on editing and mise-en-scène to convey rhetoric, but games embed it in mechanics, making persuasion experiential. Arguably, this positions video games as a superior medium in immersive design for educational or therapeutic applications, such as training simulations, where active participation enhances retention over passive observation.
Spatial Storytelling in Video Games
Spatial storytelling in video games offers another benefit unattainable in films, as it leverages interactive environments to construct narratives through exploration rather than linear progression. In Immersive Media Design, space is not just a backdrop but a dynamic element that players navigate, uncovering stories procedurally. This contrasts with films, where spatial elements are pre-determined and viewed from fixed perspectives, limiting immersion to visual and auditory cues.
Games like Elden Ring (2022) exemplify this through their open-world design, where vast, interconnected landscapes encourage non-linear discovery. Players traverse ruins and caverns, piecing together lore from environmental clues, which Manovich (2001) might critique as derivative of cinematic framing, yet it evolves into something unique: a spatial rhetoric that rewards curiosity and persistence. Jesper Juul (2013) notes that such designs create “productive frustration,” where spatial challenges build resilience, a concept absent in films’ controlled pacing.
Moreover, Donna Haraway’s (1991) cyborg theory applies here, viewing the player-character as a hybrid entity navigating digital spaces, blurring real and virtual boundaries in ways films cannot. For example, in virtual reality extensions of games, spatial immersion enhances empathy and spatial awareness, as supported by studies from Madary and Metzinger (2016) on ethical considerations in VR, which highlight improved perspective-taking compared to film viewing.
In contrast, films like the 2023 TV adaptation of The Last of Us condense spatial elements into scripted scenes, reducing audience interaction to emotional response without agency. This limitation underscores video games’ edge in fostering deeper engagement; generally, spatial storytelling in games promotes problem-solving by requiring players to interpret and manipulate environments, skills vital in design fields like architecture or urban planning simulations.
Productive Frustration and Cognitive Resilience
One of the most compelling benefits of video games over films is the cultivation of “productive frustration,” a mechanism that builds cognitive resilience through repeated failure and adaptation. Jesper Juul (2013) in The Art of Failure theorizes that games thrive on the paradox of enjoyable failure, where mechanical challenges create emotional investment and learning opportunities. In Immersive Media Design, this frustration is not punitive but educational, enhancing problem-solving skills in ways passive media like films, which avoid viewer failure, cannot.
For Souls genre games such as Elden Ring, frustration arises from punishing difficulty curves and opaque mechanics, demanding mastery of complex systems. Players learn through trial and error, developing resilience that transfers to real-world scenarios, as evidenced by Granic et al. (2014), who found that challenging games improve emotional regulation and persistence. Films, however, deliver narratives without risk; viewers experience vicarious frustration but lack the agency to resolve it, limiting cognitive growth.
Haraway (1991) complements this by framing frustration as a cyborgian struggle, where human persistence against machine systems fosters hybrid identities and adaptability. Indeed, this productive element is why video games are used in therapeutic contexts, such as cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety, outperforming film-based interventions (Ferguson and Colwell, 2018). However, limitations exist; not all players benefit equally, and excessive frustration can lead to burnout, a point Juul (2013) acknowledges.
Therefore, in designing immersive media, incorporating productive frustration allows for experiences that build resilience, surpassing films’ emotional but non-interactive catharsis.
Case Studies: The Last of Us and Elden Ring
To illustrate these benefits, comparative analysis of The Last of Us (2013 video game) and its 2023 TV series, alongside Elden Ring, highlights video games’ unique advantages. In the game version of The Last of Us, procedural rhetoric shines through survival mechanics, where players scavenge and make moral choices, fostering agency and empathy in a post-apocalyptic world. This interactivity, as Manovich (2001) might note, moves beyond filmic imitation by integrating player decisions into the narrative fabric.
The TV adaptation, however, linearizes the story, removing agency; viewers witness Joel and Ellie’s journey without influencing it, which diminishes immersion. Research by Tamborini et al. (2010) supports this, showing that interactive narratives in games evoke stronger emotional responses due to personal investment, a benefit films lack.
Similarly, Elden Ring emphasizes spatial storytelling and productive frustration through its unforgiving open world and boss encounters. Players must explore and adapt, building cognitive skills, aligning with Juul’s (2013) failure theory. Haraway’s (1991) cyborg lens views the player’s Tarnished character as a merged entity, enhancing self-efficacy unavailable in passive media.
These cases demonstrate video games’ evolution in immersive design, transcending cinematic constraints for interactive depth.
Conclusion
In summary, video games offer unique benefits over films in Immersive Media Design through procedural rhetoric, spatial storytelling, and productive frustration, fostering player agency and cognitive resilience. Countering Manovich’s (2001) view of new media as cinematic imitators, examples like Elden Ring and The Last of Us prove games’ distinct artistic evolution, supported by theories from Juul (2013) and Haraway (1991). These elements not only enhance problem-solving but also have implications for education and therapy, suggesting designers prioritize interactivity. Ultimately, recognizing these advantages encourages innovative media that harness digital potential beyond traditional forms, paving the way for more engaging immersive experiences.
References
- Bogost, I. (2007) Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. MIT Press.
- Ferguson, C. J. and Colwell, J. (2018) ‘A meaner, more callous digital world for youth? The relationship between violent digital games, motivation, bullying and civic behavior amongst children’, Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 7(3), pp. 202-215.
- Granic, I., Lobel, A. and Engels, R. C. (2014) ‘The benefits of playing video games’, American Psychologist, 69(1), pp. 66-78.
- Green, C. S. and Bavelier, D. (2003) ‘Action video game modifies visual selective attention’, Nature, 423(6939), pp. 534-537.
- Haraway, D. (1991) Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. Routledge.
- Juul, J. (2013) The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games. MIT Press.
- Madary, M. and Metzinger, T. K. (2016) ‘Real virtuality: A code of ethical conduct. Recommendations for good scientific practice and the consumers of VR-technology’, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 3, p. 3. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2016.00003/full.
- Manovich, L. (2001) The Language of New Media. MIT Press.
- Tamborini, R., Bowman, N. D., Eden, A., Grizzard, M. and Organ, A. (2010) ‘Defining media enjoyment as the satisfaction of intrinsic needs’, Journal of Communication, 60(4), pp. 758-777.
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