Quotations from “Video Game Spaces” by Michael Nitsche

• Five conceptual planes for the analysis of game spaces:
  • Rule-based (algorithm, hardware)
  • Mediated (what appears on the screen)
  • Fictional (what is in the head of the player)
  • Play (where the player is)
  • Social (other players).
• On narratives:
  • “A fundamental function of narrative is that of providing a way of comprehending space, time, and causality”.
  • “Narrative can be thought as systems of verbal or visual cues prompting their readers to spatialize storyworlds into evolving configurations of participants, objects and places”.
  • “Games position their evocative elements to make sure that a location is not only a visual cue or a point in coordinate system, but also can be a feared obstacle, a safe home base, or a crowning achievement”.
• Examples of spatial structures:
  • Tracks: capture, intensify, and lengthen key racing moments.
  • Labyrinths: monotonous repetition without significant differentiation.
  • Arenas: open structures with one dominating demarcation line, the surrounding enclosement. In contrast to the labyrinth, they feature few visual clues that draw attention to the place as such; they provide the canvas for a performance. They are more social than labyrinths (the labyrinth is usually the one to fight against).
  • Bridges: enablers, channels for interaction.

Read more in the book: Video Game Spaces by Michael Nitsche