(1997), Unreal Tournament (1999), Grand Theft Auto (1998) and Grand Theft
Auto San Andreas (2004)18 offer the possibility of reducing the physical and
symbolic mediation necessary in order to translate the actions of the user
into activities within the synthetic environment. In other words, these games
increase the freedom of movement and actions of the players within the
game.
Realism in videogames decisively contributes to the enjoyment of the
game, although consistency and playability are fundamental factors that
make a game successful. Andrew Darley observes that ‘the increasing sense of
presence in a three-dimensional world that the best games offer comes when
interactivity and visual realism combine to augment the impression of
kinaesthetic presence or involvement in the image’ (Darley, 2000: 159).
However, it is important to point out that totality of realism and involvement
is not desired by every videogame player as maintaining a certain ‘distance’
from the diegetic worlds of the videogames is often essential to enjoy a
variety of videogames genres. Realistic games produce more intense
behavioural and emotional responses in the player and sometimes these
feelings can exceed the limits of enjoyment as can be the players’ experience
of games such as Bully (2006) and Grand Theft Auto IV (2008). The grade and
quality of the involvement of the player in videogames depends on several
factors: the actual game is obviously an essential one, but the personality and
contextual moment of each individual are also fundamental contributory
components. Nonetheless, from a global perspective, it is possible to observe
that whilst in traditional narratives (print media) readers use imagination to
be involved in the text, technological media ‘immerses’ the player with an
elevated level of participation, becoming an ‘extension’ of our central
nervous system. eXistenZ certainly reflects the potential development of
videogames when the game converges in the player. Cronenberg expresses his
intentions in eXistenZ, saying:
literally in the role of the protagonist. Half Life creates a reality that is self-contained, believable and
thoroughly engaging’ (King, 2002: 40).
18 This example is particularly interesting because, apart from offering the possibility of choosing your
own virtual actions, the game is not only limited to the missions the players have to complete: it has
games that can be played inside the game, being an incipient idea of the phenomena described in
eXistenZ.
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