Abstract
The article discusses – based on neurological and phenomenological theory - how the human embodiment supports and constrains the interaction between players and video games. It analyses embodied interaction with the specific hardware/software configuration of the Nintendo Wii and Wii Tennis as well as other game system configurations.
The article argues that playing video games may provide experiences of extended embodiment where players may experience ownership of both actions and virtual bodies related to the represented game world. The article shows how ownership may be related to differences in motor isomorphism when comparing the media-supported embodied actions with unmediated actions, e.g. that discrepancy between player motor actions and visual representation may hamper ownership. It also argues that the present interfaces tend to be more supportive of the player’s active agency than of the player as patient, i.e. being the object of another agent’s actions. Keywords: Video games, embodiment, interface, agency, action, control, cognition
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The video game theory reader 2 |
| Editors | Bernard Perron, Mark Wollf |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Publication date | 2008 |
| Pages | 65-83 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780415962834 |
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |