The Pleasures of Immersion and Interaction: Schemas, Scripts, and the Fifth Business

Pres e ntly, des igners of intera c tive narra tive s and vide o ga me s have only a s le nde r unde rs ta nding of the ae s thetic e xpe rie nc e s the ir a udienc e s a nd us e rs s e e k. U s ing s c he ma theory this study a rticula tes the tw o va rietie s of a es the tic plea s ures us ers of intera c tive w orks enjoy: immers ion a nd e nga ge ment. This study us e s s c he ma theory to de fine the c hara c teris tic s of immers ion a nd e nga ge me nt in both c onve ntiona l a nd ne w media . A fte r e xa mining how re a ders ' e xpe rie nc e s of thes e two diffe re nt a e sthe tic s may be e nha nc e d or diminis he d by inte rfac e des ign, options for na viga tion, and othe r fe a ture s , the e ss a y conc lude s by looking be yond imme rs ion a nd e ngage me nt to “ flow, ” a s tate in w hich re ade rs a re both imme rse d a nd e nga ge d. K EYW OR D S: inte ra ctive na rrative s, vide o game s , ga me de sign, a e s the tic s, re ading. “ It mus t be gra nted that there is s ome va lue in mys tific a tion, la byrinth, or s urpris e in the e nvironme nt . . . This is s o, howe ve r, only under tw o c onditions . Firs t, the re mus t be no da nge r of losing ba s ic form or orie ntation, of ne ve r c oming out. The s urpris e mus t oc c ur in an over-a ll fra me w ork; the c onfus ions mus t be s ma ll re gions in a vis ible w hole . Furthe rmore , the la byrinth or myste ry mus t in its e lf ha ve s ome form that c a n be explore d a nd in time a pprehe nded. C omple te c ha os w ithout hint of c onne c tion is ne ve r plea s urable .” —K e vin Lync h, The Im age of the City [57]. “ Thos e role s w hic h, be ing neithe r those of H e ro nor H e roine , C onfida nte nor V illa in, but whic h w e re none the le ss e s se ntial to bring a bout the re c ognition or the dé noue me nt, w e re c a lle d the Fifth Bus ines s in dra ma a nd ope ra c ompa nies orga niz ed a c cording to the old s tyle ; the pla ye r w ho a c ted thes e parts wa s ofte n re fe rre d to a s Fifth B usine s s.” —Robe rts on Da vie s, The Fifth Busine s s: The D e ptfor d Tr ilogy [22]. INTRODUCTION: SCHEMAS AND THE PLEASURE