Immersed In Difficulty: The Problem of Suspension of Disbelief in Transmedia and Vr Experiences

James Dalby 1 *
More Detail
1 University of Gloucestershire, USA
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 6, Issue September 2016 - Special Issue, pp. 67-85. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/5662
OPEN ACCESS   1477 Views   2129 Downloads   Published online: 01 Sep 2016
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

The term Immersion is used widely in professional discourse and industry publications within the UK/US TV and film industries, not only as a self-evident aim of Transmedia and VR content, but also as an achievable goal. Unlike games industries, TV and cinema have traditionally taken the notion of Suspension of Disbelief (SoD) as relatively self-evident, and Immersion appears as its logical extension. Beginning with Holland’s (1967) psychoanalytical approach to SoD as removal of the ‘desire to act’ function by ‘framing’ texts away from reality, this paper suggests that by including the ‘frame’ within the experience in Transmedia and VR, SoD is not achievable and therefore any attempts to approach Immersion in this way will fail. The paper argues that Immersion in such experiences is possible, if approached in the sense that Salen & Zimmerman (2004) suggest, where the actual act of involvement becomes the immersive experience, and not the displacement of sense and story.

CITATION

Dalby, J. (2016). Immersed In Difficulty: The Problem of Suspension of Disbelief in Transmedia and Vr Experiences. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 6(September 2016 - Special Issue), 67-85. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/5662

REFERENCES

  • Brown, DW. (2012) The suspension of disbelief in video games. (Doctoral Dissertation, Brunel University). Retrieved from http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7457
  • Dick, PK. (1957) Eye in the Sky. New York. Ace Books.
  • Dick, PK. (1969) The Electric Ant. Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine. October, 1969 ed.
  • Moore, R. quoted in Farber, A. (2016) Sky and BBC trial VR in bid to reach younger viewers. Broadcast Magazine. May 12th, 2016 ed. Retrieved from http://www.broadcastnow.com
  • Farber, A. (2016) Virtual Reality: the 360-degree challenge. Broadcast Magazine. January 7th, 2016 ed. Retrieved from http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk
  • Gorfinkel, E. quoted in quoted in Salen, K & Zimmerman, E. (2004) Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press.
  • Harris, RJ. & Sanborn, FW. (2014) A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication. 6th ed. Abingdon, Oxon. Routledge.
  • Holland, N. (1967) The ‘Willing Suspension of Disbelief’ Revisited. The Centennial Review. Vol. 11. No. 1. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23737977
  • Holland, N. (2003) The Willing Suspension of Disbelief: A Neuro-Psychoanalytic View. PsyArt. January 22nd, 2003 ed. Retrieved from http://www.psyartjournal.com/article/show/n_holland-the_willing_suspension_of_disbelief_a_ne
  • Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York. New York University Press.
  • Laramée, FD. quoted in Salen, K & Zimmerman, E. (2004) Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press.
  • Reilhac, M. (2016) Why the Future of Virtual Reality Isn’t Movies or Video Games. Indiewire. February 13th, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.indiewire.com/article/why-the-future-of-virtual-reality-isnt-movies-or-video-games-20160213
  • Reilhac, M. (2016) How Virtual Reality Will Make Us Re-Engage. Billionaire. May 11th, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.billionaire.com
  • Ryan, ML. (2001) Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media. Baltimore, Maryland. The John Hopkins University Press.
  • Salen, K & Zimmerman, E. (2004) Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press.