Gameworld Interfaces

by Kristine Jorgensen

An investigation into computer game interfaces, both naturalistic and symbolic, and the distinction between gameworlds and other kinds of fictional worlds.Computer games usually take one of two approaches to presenting game information to players. A game might offer information naturalistically, as part of the game's imaginary universe; or it might augment the world of the game with overlays, symbols, and menus. In this book, Kristine Jørgensen investigates both kinds of gameworld interfaces. She shows that although the naturalistic approach may appear more integral to the imaginary world of the game, both the invisible and visible interfaces effectively present information that players need in order to interact with the game and its rules. The symbolic, less naturalistic approach would seem to conflict with the idea of a coherent, autonomous fictional universe; but, Jørgensen argues, gameworlds are not governed by the pursuit of fictional coherence but by the logics of game mechanics. This is characteristic of gameworlds and distinguishes them from other traditional fictional worlds.

Jørgensen investigates gameworld interfaces from the perspectives of both game designers and players. She draws on interviews with the design teams of Harmonix Music (producer of Rock Band and other music games) and Turbine Inc. (producer of such massively multiplayer online games as Lord of the Rings Online), many hours of gameplay, and extensive interviews and observations of players. The player studies focus on four games representing different Crysis, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberian Wars, The Sims 2, and Diablo 2. Finally, she presents a theory of game user interfaces and considers the implications of this theory for game design.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2013

About the author

Kristine Jørgensen is a media scholar specializing in game studies. She is currently employed at University of Bergen.

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cool book! Recontextualized the way to think about video games away from a traditional fourth wall based view common in tv or movies, and away from thinking of elements of a game as in-fiction vs. out of fiction. Jørgensen instead proposes that every part of a videogame world acts as an interface to the games invisible systems, and it is much more helpful to critique or evaluate a game as being an effective or ineffective interface, rather than thinking in terms of "immersion" or something like that.

I really enjoyed this, read it for the Game Studies Study Buddies podcast, I think it's gonna change the way I think about and evaluate games in my head. Would recommend for sure!

4/5 stars