Gamic Action, Four Moments

Abstract

This essay proposes a new hermeneutic for understanding the formal qualities of video games given the action-based nature of the medium and the interplay between diegetic and nondiegetic space. The framework has four parts: (1) diegetic operator acts such as in-world movement and expression, (2) nondiegetic operator acts such as the coded, pattern-based play that transpires in what I call spaces of configuration (e.g. display, set-up menus), (3) diegetic machine acts such as NPC behavior and immersive, ambient environments, and (4) nondiegetic machine acts like glitches and other technical artifacts.