Ludic Mechanics, Psychic Mechanisms and Explorations of “Inner Space” in Mindwheel and Psychonauts
Rob Mayo
Games and Culture May 17, 2023 DOI: 10.1177/15554120231172614 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Embodied cognition Narrative Space punctuation Psychic Game studies Metaphor Epistemology Game mechanics Aesthetics Video game Literature Human–computer interaction Linguistics Media studies Multimedia |
| Key points | Argues that Mindwheel and Psychonauts both participate in the "inner space" tradition but develop different tones—adversarial or cooperative—through their mechanics, producing distinct forms of inner space exploration. |
Abstract
Robert Pinsky's Mindwheel (1984) and Tim Schafer's Psychonauts (2005) are dissimilar games in terms of player interface and ludic mechanics, but both participate in the creative tradition of “inner space,” which begins in science fiction literature and depicts the human mind metaphorically as a physical space which can be explored and interacted with. This essay examines how each game contributes to this tradition, with particular attention to how the mechanics of each game develops an adversarial or cooperative tone to the player's interaction with the game, and how this produces different forms of inner space exploration. This essay also draws on Lakoff's and Johnson's concept of “orientational metaphors” which are familiar from embodied experience and various conventional expressions, and examines how coherent each game's metaphors and narratives are.