AVANCA | CINEMA 2023

Videogames as Interactive Cinema - New Perspectives

Sofia Figueiredo
ESEV, CI&DEI, IPV, Portugal
Catarina Carneiro de Sousa
ESEV, CI&DEI, IPV, Portugal

Abstract At the time, we concluded that interactive cinema

was (and still is) a highly experimental field, and that,
The concept of interactive cinema has been explored due to its connection to a classic and established
in depth since the first incipient manifestations of (non- medium, as well as public expectations, it may never
interactive) cinema. If our first attempts at creating have a clear-cut definition. However, the analyzed
interactive experiences out of narrative, linear film experiences revealed new possibilities, not only for
objects have been notoriously clunky and awkward, creating interactive works but also for understanding
with the birth of videogames new attempts have been how users/players/viewers engage with different media.
made, bringing fresh ideas and possibilities unto the In this paper we aim to revisit this past exploration,
table. Interactive works that include films as objects confronting it with recent writings and works on the
are common today. However, interactive cinema as a subject, and we once again explore two video games
concept appears to have been abandoned. and a virtual environments exhibition, in an effort
Cinema continues to be largely non interactive, this to understand if these categories are useful, if they
dimension seemingly relegated to videogames, apps correspond to the observed creative practices, if they
and websites. can be used to conceptualize and understand hybrids
We consider that some videogames can be as much as pure forms. (Can a videogame ever be in
considered interactive cinema. The Last of Us is an a “pure” form? Here’s a discussion for another day.).
example that set the trend of mostly linear, narrative
games. Other games have explored this model, What is interactive cinema?
achieving better and worse results. We propose that
these games could be categorized as interactive Cinema is widely considered to be the most
cinema. significant medium of the 20th century, and has been
In this paper we aim to continue an exploration extensively studied and described by many authors
of this idea - that there can be interesting, elegantly for its diverse possibilities. Its widespread influence
implemented creations we can name interactive on society has created both concrete and vague
cinema - distinguishing them from video games. We expectations of what cinema is and what it can achieve.
analyze two video games in this light, ‘Pentiment These expectations and notions have also
and Everything, trying to understand how they relate influenced other creative media related to cinema. The
to, and differ from, classic cinema and the classic concept of interactive cinema has been around for a
video game experience. We will also discuss the while, but turning cinema into interactive experiences
exhibition “Mundos Paralelos” (Parallel Worlds), on is more complex than it may seem.
display at the the 25th edition of the Avanca Film We believe that this complexity stems from cinema’s
Festival, to understand the cinematic characteristics profound impact on humanity. We yearn to immerse
of the artworks presented. We conclude by proposing ourselves in films, and this desire to expand the
that, perhaps, closed categories might not serve us concept of cinema is driven by the profound impact it
when creating new objects, and that hybridization is has had on our lives.
beneficial, creative, and should occur. The traditional way of watching movies, where
the audience sits in front of a screen and passively
Keywords: Avatar, Interactive works, Interactive watches, doesn’t offer much interactivity beyond
cinema, Video games choosing the film and time. Television initially had
similar limitations, but with the rise of second screens
Introduction and intelligent TV sets, viewers can now choose
alternative content, access additional information, and
The term “interactive cinema” has been used to watch programs in a different order.
describe many different things, but its definition remains Some experimental attempts have been made
unclear. In a previous paper, we aimed to explore to break the linearity of traditional cinema, such
the various ways in which the concept of interactive as dividing the screen or using non-linear editing.
cinema has been conceived, theorized, imagined, and These experiments are more commonly found in
reformulated (Figueiredo, 2021). We examined Kevin experimental cinema, which explores diverse forms
Veale’s (2012) hypothesis to identify possible objects of expression. Two early examples of experimental
that may be considered interactive cinema but are cinema are Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt
currently categorized as video games. We have then (Ruttman, 1927), which shows city life accompanied
analyzed three interactive works, presented as video by symphonic music without a conventional narrative,
games but analyzed under Veale’s proposal. and Napoléon (Gance, 1927), which uses innovative

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camera movements and editing techniques, including of tasks is adapted to each individual player (Chen,
screen division. These films were made during a 2006). Therefore, interaction design should ideally
time when cinematic conventions were still being anticipate and consider specific situations. Despite
established and allowed for more exploration of new the challenges associated with implementing it, the
forms of expression. idea of interactive cinema continues to captivate
In addition to the challenges mentioned earlier, authors, researchers, and the public, inspiring ongoing
there is also the issue of the limited nature of the theoretical discussions.
original office metaphor for interaction. Although it has Video games have become an increasingly
expanded to include gestures and touches, it still has important and dominant medium, both commercially
limitations in terms of dimension and its relation to the and artistically. As an interactive and narrative form of
body beyond just the hand. This has led to a neglect expression, they have garnered significant attention
of the body and the use of specific peripherals such from researchers and developers exploring the
as keyboards and mice, which excludes other forms possibilities of interactive cinema. The technical and
of interaction. Simon Penny (2011) suggests that aesthetic aspects of video games, as well as their
this behavior has been questioned by performative cultural and social meaning, have been subject to
artistic practices that have programmed other forms intense discussion in recent years. In fact, some have
of interaction free from the constraints of the universal predicted that video games will be the predominant
format. Over time, as the computer medium has medium of the 21st century, much like cinema was in
matured, some of these alternative forms of interaction the 20th century. This prediction seems to be coming
have grown and been adopted by the industry, such as true, at least commercially.
hand gestures on tablets and cell phones, or even the Despite their recent history, video games have
use of the whole body to control platforms like the Wii or evolved from their incipient form, drawing on the
Kinect. Therefore, the form of interaction in interactive traditions of non-digital games and eventually
cinema does not necessarily have to be limited to just becoming integrated as a support for artistic content.
clicking a button to advance the narrative. This evolution is similar to the past questioning of
The traditional way of watching movies, either in whether photography could be considered art or the
a cinema or on television, lacks interaction beyond initial perception of cinema as mere comical images
choosing the film and time to watch it. While television without any reflective content. Today, video games
has become more flexible with the addition of second are overcoming this perception, and while not always
screens and intelligent features, the limitations of successful, they are pushing the boundaries of
interaction still exist. Some experiments have been computer-generated art.
made to break the linearity of cinematography, such as The field of video games is currently one of the most
non-linear editing and screen division. However, these prolific areas of narrative creation and consumption,
experiments are more commonly found in experimental while the same cannot be said for interactive
cinema. The interaction in computer mediums is cinema. Despite attracting interest from creators and
limited to gestures and touches and the use of specific researchers, interactive cinema tends to be limited
peripherals, which excludes other forms of interaction to experimental creations without much impact on
and forgets the body. The computer medium has mainstream filmmaking. However, there are lessons to
matured over time, leading to alternative forms of be learned from the video game industry, even though
interaction being used in the industry. Works like interactive cinema may not necessarily take the form of
Liquid Time (Utterback, 2000-2002) and Manual Input a video game. Veale (2012) suggests that perhaps we
Sessions (Levin, Lieberman, 2004) attempt to innovate are looking at the wrong works and proposes exploring
the modes of interaction, but the field has been more games that could be considered interactive cinema but
explored in relation to video games. The audience of are not labeled as such by the video game industry.
interactive cinema is adapted to an existence shredded On the one hand, incorporating interactivity into
into small segments, and the gamification effort is used a medium that appears to be self-contained is a
to motivate students and workers. It is important to challenging endeavor. It is important to continuously
note that interactive cinema should not be converted question the rationale behind adding this feature to
into a game. However, some movies have involved both live-action and animated cinema.
the target audience in the creation of contexts and When comparing cinema and video games, one
interpretations, leading to interpretations by scholars of the most commonly cited distinctions is the level
like Daly (2010) and Jenkins (2008). of passivity versus involvement they tend to elicit
The increasing prevalence of technology in our in their viewers/players, respectively. This disparity
lives not only complicates matters, but also shapes can be traced back to the origins of each medium:
our emotional connection with interactive objects while cinema inherited the narrative conventions of
and the world around us. This connection is not traditional analog film, video games were born and
solely based on transparent forms of interaction, but developed in the context of computers as interactive
also on well-designed and constructed methods, multimedia machines. As digitalization permeates
which can lead to identification and the assertion all forms of media, including cinema, it becomes
of personal identity (Fritsch, 2011). The concept of feasible to consider interactivity as a possible aspect
flow, often used in video game design, suggests that of cinematic works.
optimal immersion is achieved when the difficulty

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One possible answer to the question “what is transmission, it is feasible to create an experience that
interactive cinema?” is a specific genre of video users will perceive as a narrative, while still maintaining
game that emerged in the 1990s. This genre utilized a complex and multilinear form of interaction. The
pre-existing animation and footage and allowed for author’s emphasis on providing high-quality interactive
limited interaction, but it quickly faded away when it experiences leads him to categorize different types of
could no longer compete with other emerging genres. interaction and to avoid, as far as possible, providing
While the genre commonly referred to as interactive so little interaction that it results in user dissatisfaction
cinema may or may not be of interest, its existence - “A media object with very limited interactivity can
and commercial success demonstrate the public’s actually be less satisfying than had it no interactivity at
fascination and interest in this form of expression, all” (Jones, n.d.).
even if their expectations may have been too high for Another possible answer to these questions is the
its initial iteration on a large scale (Lessard, 2009). concept of “game cinema” proposed by Jesper Juul
The term “interactive cinema” has lost its popularity (2001). According to Juul, game cinema is a type of
due to its association with linear and limited games. game that, instead of having a fixed narrative, offers a
In some cases, it is even used negatively to describe set of tools for creating narratives. This means that the
games that feature non-interactive narrative player is not simply following a predetermined story,
exposition scenes, also known as cut scenes. These but is actively creating their own story as they play. Juul
cut scenes have been a topic of discussion among argues that game cinema has the potential to create
both researchers and players, as they remove agency more emotionally engaging experiences than traditional
from the player and may be included in games as cinema, as the player is not just a passive observer,
a way to compensate for deficiencies in narrative but an active participant in the story. However, Juul
transmission. Celia Pearce (2004) argues that also acknowledges that game cinema is a challenging
rewarding play with passivity goes against the idea concept to implement, as it requires designers to
of play, and therefore, cut scenes are counterintuitive. balance player agency with narrative coherence.
It is unlikely that the solution for creating interactive Overall, these different perspectives suggest that
cinema will rely solely on incorporating previously there are multiple ways to approach the concept of
recorded material in games. interactive cinema, and that the field is still evolving.
However, there are other approaches, such as that While some researchers are focused on creating new
of Kristen Daly (2010), which are gaining popularity. forms of interaction, others are exploring how existing
Daly sees the experience of watching a movie in the games and films can be reinterpreted as interactive
cinema today as part of a larger overall experience, experiences. Ultimately, the success of interactive
which may include internet searches, attending events, cinema may depend on finding the right balance
and other forms of content interconnection. This between interactivity and narrative coherence, and on
understanding of the cinema experience reflects our creating experiences that are emotionally engaging
interconnected, hybrid, and modular lived experiences, and meaningful for users.
according to the author. The discovery of the pattern We posit that interactivity in cinema is relevant
or algorithm (Manovich, 2001) becomes the metaphor because users derive pleasure from interacting with
through which we enjoy cinema, constructed from media (drawing on Janet Murray’s (2000) concept
modular elements that come together according to a of agency) and are drawn to such experiences. We
logic that the viewer (Daly, 2010) must discover. This further argue that physical interaction, which involves
approach to interactive cinema not only includes the gestures beyond the hands, is more challenging to
community of people who create cinematic works, but implement as it requires interpretation and conversion
also the viewers, who are also content creators in their of the user’s gestures into meaningful units. We cite
own experience. Davenport (1993) to emphasize that users should not
We also believe that a third perspective is worth experience discomfort due to constant interruptions for
considering: Could there be existing objects that are interactive participation.
enjoyable and meaningful for users, but that we are To explore the concept of interactive cinema further,
labeling differently? Are there games that possess we can revisit Kevin Veale’s (2012) approach, which
cinematic characteristics that we may not have yet analyzes works categorized as video games but
recognized? And, can we identify the features of these questions their designation due to their linearity and
works and incorporate them into the development of depth. Veale argues that the engagement processes
interactive cinema? of viewers/users differ too much between cinema
We have identified two possible approaches to and interactive objects to create a work of interactive
these questions. Adam Jones (date unknown) has cinema in the conventional sense. He notes that
developed an object-oriented interactive cinema the feeling of inevitability that sometimes arises in
project to explore how it is possible to create cinema, where viewers cannot interfere in the action,
interactive cinema that is not a game, but still provides is an essential part of the cinematic experience.
an engaging interactive experience for viewers. Additionally, the emotional involvement generated by
The author examines what constitutes a narrative the inescapable nature of the narrative is also a crucial
in the context of interactive cinema, and suggests aspect of cinema. Veale proposes that interactive
that by expanding the possibilities for constructing a cinema should create deep emotional involvement
narrative that is effectively tailored to the medium of while using the engagement strategies of video games,

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which he terms “situated immersion,” a concept he While “Everything” may not fit within the traditional
derives from Laurie Taylor’s work (2002). definition of interactive cinema, it could be argued that
The author Kevin Veale (2012) presents a hybrid it pushes the boundaries of what interactive storytelling
experience that combines the user engagement can be, and offers insights into how interactivity and
processes of video games with a guided, linear procedural generation can be used to create new
structure, which he believes has not been fully explored forms of artistic expression.
in previous works. While this hybrid experience may not By looking at “Everything” from a different angle, we
be the perfect definition of interactive cinema, it is the discover that as we become everything in the game,
only possible designation for the works he analyzes. things start to lose their distinctiveness. As Allan Watts
Interactive cinema is an audiovisual expression suggests about the meaning of existence and our
form that enables viewers to interact with the narrative, insignificant place in the universe, we begin to realize
giving them the ability to influence the story’s direction that nothing truly matters. The game can feel repetitive,
based on their choices. This interactivity can be either intentionally or accidentally conveying the notion
achieved through different means, such as buttons, that all narratives are the same - all the game loops
motion sensors, or artificial intelligence. Interactive repeat themselves - leaving us with a highly interactive,
cinema is considered an evolution of traditional emotional, and personal narrative of the entire universe,
cinema, which presents a linear and fixed narrative. all contained within ourselves. In this way, the game is
The introduction of interactivity transforms the viewer truly cinematic, allowing us to immerse ourselves in the
into an active participant in the cinematic experience, meanings it strives to convey and follow the actors we
creating a more dynamic and participatory relationship choose into a state of meaninglessness.
between the audience and the work.
Although still in development, interactive cinema is Pentiment - Sawyer e Obsidian
being explored by various creators and has enormous Entertainment, 2022
potential for the creation of new cinematic and
interactive experiences. “Pentiment” immediately brings to mind memories of
“The Name of the Rose” (Annaud, 1986) - particularly
Videogames/Interactive works Analysis the film adaptation, as it presents several striking
images. From the very beginning, we are immersed in
Keeping in mind the previous exploration and past a medieval mystery as an artist seeking to learn from
analysis of video games as interactive cinema, we now copyist monks.
offer a possible shift in perspective when considering As an interactive work, “Pentiment” is not particularly
the two videogames “Everything” (OReilly, 2017) and groundbreaking, featuring interactions such as clicking
“Pentiment” (Sawyer, Obsidian Entertainment, 2022). on clickable items or characters, and choosing among
Although both games are interactive, they differ in their a limited list of possible answers or actions. Our
approach to the narrative space. “Everything” enables choices have an impact on the story, and there are
players to embody anything that has been modeled multiple possible endings to the game.
and introduced to the game, while “Pentiment” is a The game’s theme of erasing and rewriting history in
more traditional RPG that presents players with a set manuscripts (pentimento is the practice and evidence
of choices at specific moments in the game. Veale of erasing and repainting in medieval illuminures),
suggests that both games should provide narrative and the fact that we play as a historical character -
immersion and a sense of experiencing a single story, illustrated in the style of an illumination - being recorded
and we argue that both games achieve this goal in their for posterity, invites us to reflect on the nature of linear
own unique ways. narratives as we play. We contemplate our choices,
as these games compel us to do, realizing that they
Everything - OReilly, 2017 will be engraved for plausible future historians. Certain
choices lead to the same outcomes, and the inevitable
“Everything” is a video game that incorporates sense of doom can feel more potent than in cinema,
interactive elements and procedural generation, which as it is a choice made by the developers rather than a
are, obviously, different from the traditional cinema necessary technicality.
medium. However, the game does explore themes At some point, we assume the role of a different
that are also relevant to interactive cinema, such as character, with our original character’s story now
the relationship between the viewer/player and the being told as a tale. We observe this new character
simulated world, and the ability to manipulate and from several perspectives, aware that her storyline
control the objects within that world. is, in some ways, predetermined, as a woman artist
From an interactive cinema perspective, in medieval times. We first met her as a child through
“Everything” could be seen as an experimental or our original character’s eyes and context. As we make
avant-garde approach to interactive storytelling, as it choices for her, informed by these perspectives,
uses interactivity and procedural generation to create we see how some choices are never recorded and
a unique experience for the player/viewer. The game become lost to the future.
challenges traditional notions of narrative structure and Due to this reflective quality and its homage to
allows the player to create their own narrative based on painters, illustrators, film directors, and past works of
their choices and interactions within the world. art, “Pentiment” is a cinematic experience, allowing us

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to choose while evoking a slight feeling of determinism, case, machinimas — audiovisual pieces created from
of immutability and regret in how things have been and real-time captures in digital environments generated
how they could have been. by three-dimensional rendering platforms. Thus,
machinimas appropriate different spaces and avatars
Parallel Worlds to tell new stories. Artistic projects carried out in SL
and OS have an ephemeral and volatile nature. In most
Parallel Worlds was an exhibition included in the circumstances, it is not possible for authors to archive
25th edition of the Avanca Film Festival, which took their work in its entirety, thus resorting to machinima
place in the Casa Municipal da Cultura de Estarreja. as a form of registration that documents their work or
This exhibition showcased works developed on the that of others. Capturing moving images on screen
Second Life (SL) and OpenSimulator (OS) platforms, became a way of trying to register the spatiality
these are creative collaborative virtual environments and interactivity of these environments, as well as
(CCVE) (Eustáquio and Sousa, 2018). In previous performative activities. However, these can not be set
studies, we had already tried to analyze works on as substitutes for the artwork and do not replace the
this type of platform (Figueiredo, 2021). This time aesthetic experience in the virtual world. Machinimas
we will explore some of the works presented in this derived from interactive artworks rather occupy two
exhibition to try to understand if they have cinematic ambivalent places in aesthetic experience – on the
characteristics. It is problematic to characterize these one hand, they trigger new aesthetic experiences,
platforms as video games, although the interactivity, and on the other, they are the result of an aesthetic
immersion and graphic appearance are very close experience that has a creative dimension to it (Sousa
(especially with online multiplayers). Thus, we and Eustáquio, 2015). They are the result of lines of
consider the analysis to be relevant in this context. flight between artworks and digital platforms, and, in
Playing in these CCVE is primarily associated with a some cases, between different instances of the real
paidia dimension. Ludus games define winners and — the virtual and the tangible. Although they present
losers, while paidia games do not (Frasca 2007, 39). themselves in a specific medium, they are already
Winnicott locates this in “a potential space between hybrid in their creative process.
the individual and the environment” (Winnicott 2009, It is worth highlighting, in this context, two of the
135), which is the place of experience and the place machinima presented in the exhibition: Aural, by Bryn
where we play around, making play an aesthetic Oh and Morlita Qual, and Innominate, a machinima by
genre as according to Frasca, “play events are not Tizzy Canucci based on the virtual installation Tell me
fixed beforehand. Instead, they are constrained, and a story. This installation, created by Meilo Minotaur,
those limitations are the elements that constitute their consisted of a series of three-dimensional scenes that
aesthetic dimension” (Frasca 2007, 58). When one existed in a simulated open-air environment, without a
talks about residents playing with their avatars in these defined path between them.
virtual worlds, it usually refers not exactly to the display Aural is a machinima that documents the virtual
of particular skills to achieve a goal but mostly to the installation of the same name, which results from the
way they engage with the world and other residents. collaboration of two important Second Life artists:
They can play through avatar animation, interactions, Bryn Oh, an artist dedicated to the exploration of
contemplative journeys through the world, and through virtual installations and machinima, and Morlita Quan,
avatar customization. primarily a sound artist. Collaboration between visual
Parallel Worlds presented two interactive and sound artists is common in virtual environments.
environments where the public could wander and What makes this collaboration special is that it started
explore, using an avatar: Alpha Sea, aka. Dragon from the soundtrack to the virtual installation and not
Island, by Elif Ayieter, and The Sowing, by Meilo the other way around. Morlita Qual first devised the
Minotaur & CapCat Ragu. Despite the metaphorical sound sequence, from which Bryn Oh made a series
and narrative aspects of these virtual installations, of three-dimensional scenes, creating a path, led
this exploration was primarily contemplative in nature. by sound. The machinima of the same name was
Still, they involved basic interactions between the directed by Bryn Oh and has a documental nature.
avatar and the virtual world. The narrative did not The machinima itself is not interactive, but a document
arise from a specific pre-programmed interaction, but of the interactive nature of the artwork. The Aural
rather from the wandering itself. More than watching, installation invites the user to a poetic walk along a
as a spectator, the user inhabits the narrative. In this three-dimensional path, led by sound and the virtual
way, we cannot consider that the artists designed a architecture of the place.
predefined narrative structure, but rather its evocation. Innominate was one of the responses to the call for
The narrative emerges, therefore, from the lived artworks that came from the installation Tell me a story.
experience of users in the virtual environment. This installation, created by Meilo Minotaur, consisted
In addition to these artworks, the exhibition also of a series of three-dimensional scenes that existed in
presented derived artworks. We consider as derived a simulated open-air environment, without a defined
the artworks that are drawn from these virtual worlds path between them. In addition to these scenes,
and consist of art practices that are extracted from Meilo Minotaur also created a set of avatars that she
this environment, but not necessarily constructions offered to users. The artist then made the invitation
of these worlds (Sousa and Eustáquio, 2015). In this for a participatory aesthetic experience, asking users

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to tell their stories, connecting the scenes. These What defines a cinematic experience or interactive
participations had different natures: written narratives, cinema might be becoming diluted in recent years.
virtual photographs and machinima as Innominate. Indie video games are more and more experimental
All these works presented in Parallel Worlds had with narratives and ways to tell them, objectives and
cinematic characteristics, in one way or another. Artistic achievements. Artworks such as the ones presented at
works in CCVE, commonly referred to as Metaverse, Parallel Worlds show us how interactivity can be a part
like video games, also approach the desire to “get of an experience, but not the whole and only reason for
inside” the screen that we have already mentioned. the experience, and that the open narratives created by
There are points of contact between the aesthetic each participant are interesting and appealing to them
experience of cinema and that of these worlds. In and others, as valid as closed film narratives. Cinema,
relation to traditional cinema, we can say that the main the traditional kind, hasn’t always been linear, as
difference is the participation in the narrative through Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt showed us in 1927.
an avatar. The difference with traditional video games Still, Veale’s concept of what constitutes a cinematic
is the ambiguity of the narrative and the impossibility experience is, in our view, meaningful. Cinema might
of an endpoint. Unlike a video game, in a virtual be a possible answer to the question: how to show
installation there is no final moment, it is in the user’s someone what we are imagining? Parallel Worlds,
hands to leave the story when and how they want. videogames, VR, might be another answer to the
same question.
Conclusions

Once again, we confront the notion of interactive

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Other referenced works

Alpha Sea, aka. Dragon Island. 2016 - 2021. Elif Ayieter

AKA Alpha Auer
Aural. 2021. Bryn Oh & Morlita Quan
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Ruttman.
Everything. 2017. David OReilly. https://www.
davidoreilly.com/everything
Fugitive. 1996-1997. Simon Penny.
Innominate. 2018. Tizzy Canucci AKA Tess Baxter
Liquid Time. 2000 - 2002. Camille Utterback.
Manual Input Sessions. 2004. Golan Levin & Zach
Lieberman.
Napoléon. 1927. Abel Gance.
Pentiment. 2022. Josh Sawyer & Obsidian
Entertainment. https://pentiment.obsidian.net/
Tell me a story. 2018. Meilo Minotaur AKA Sameiro
Oliveira Martins
The Name of the Rose. 1986. Jean-Jacques Annaud.
The Sowing. 2016 - 2021. Meilo Minotaur & CapCat
Ragu

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