Quotation 2 - Participatory Narratives
In her work "Hamlet on the Holodeck", Janet Murray discusses immersion by analyzing the human connection to fiction and the reason as to why humans interact in fictional fantasies. Humans interact due to the desire to experience unobtainable. However, Murray raises questions about human involvement in the fictional world: "How can we enter the fictional world without disrupting it? How can we be sure that imaginary actions will not have real results? How can we act on our fantasies without becoming paralyzed by anxiety?"(103). In this passage, Murray argues that participatory narrative is difficult because it is difficult to participate in a fictional world without ruining its immersion, without becoming so entrapped in the fictional world that its actions start having real impacts and its choices start inducing real anxiety. For example, in Search of Lost Scroll, the player has to make the decision of whether or not to delete the AI, which bears great similarity to a real person. However, the player is unaware whether or not their decision will have a consequence. This leads the player to potentially feel "paralyzed by anxiety" after being subjected to an in-game choice.
The picture shows the world the player is left in after making the final verdict, and the liminality of the space has a real effect on their mind even though the choice was made in fiction.
