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Filmic framing in video games: a comparative analysis of screen space design

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Abstract

The screen space, also known as the eye space of players, is the main component of game design in that it has not only direct interactions with players but also profound impacts on gameplay. Screen space design in games appears to adopt multiple conventions from film theory; however, discussions of the influences or rules related to these patterns are rare. Therefore, the main question of this article concerns the possible relevance of framing the screen space in films and video games, primarily by the means of content analysis comparison. Games have a cross-disciplinary nature. In order to discover their unique mechanics, possibilities, and trends; this research, based on cinematic framing techniques, uses a qualitative descriptive approach to analyze the design and strategy of the visual perspective that is determined by monitors in popular and classic games. This work also attempts to identify the commonalities and differences between games and movies. It is hoped that this research will serve as a reference for future studies and provide some insights into both game design and other visual multimedia applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the committee members, in particular Dr. I-Ping Chen and Dr. Shih-Kai Chung for their insightful remarks and providing enlightenment and critique on an earlier version of this manuscript. We are also very grateful to the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and constructive suggestions for improving the paper.

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  1. Institute of Applied Arts, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu, Taiwan, 300, Republic of China

    Yu-Ching Chang & Chi-Min Hsieh

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  1. Yu-Ching Chang
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  2. Chi-Min Hsieh
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Correspondence to Yu-Ching Chang.

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Chang, YC., Hsieh, CM. Filmic framing in video games: a comparative analysis of screen space design. Multimed Tools Appl 77, 6531–6554 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-017-4564-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-017-4564-6

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