Fictionally Flipping Tetrominoes: Defining the Fictionality of a Videogame Player's Actions

The conceptual framework surrounding videogame interaction requires a rigorous distinction between mundane mechanical manipulation and genuine fictional engagement. Traditional applications of Kendall Walton’s make-believe theory often falter by over-extending the definition of fictionality, erroneously categorizing basic tasks like block manipulation in puzzle games as fictional events. While alternative theories relying on fictional affordances attempt to resolve this, they frequently suffer from conceptual ambiguity and fail to provide a clear boundary between the player’s external physical inputs and the internal logic of the game world.

A more precise definition of fictional action necessitates the player’s imaginative projection into a proxy character or entity within the game’s narrative space. This requirement serves as the critical threshold for distinguishing between real-world manipulations and true fictional participation. By adopting a role, the player bridges the gap between physical controller inputs and the game’s make-believe environment. In this model, the controller acts as a prop that facilitates the player’s imaginative immersion, transforming mechanical button presses into meaningful actions within the game’s internal reality.

Ultimately, this refined approach clarifies the player’s experience by grounding fictionality in the psychological act of role-taking rather than the mere presence of an avatar or game-world affordances. By synthesizing Waltonian principles with the necessity of imaginative projection, this framework successfully isolates the conditions under which a player’s actions transcend simple interface interaction. This distinction ensures that games like Tetris are recognized as mechanical challenges, while narrative-driven titles are understood as platforms for sustained, imaginative engagement, providing a robust foundation for analyzing the ontology of digital play.