Experiencing Gameworlds : Understanding Zelda and Mario Through the Lenses of Art History and Phenomenology
(2025)- Abstract
- This thesis examines the immersive experiences of players in video game worlds, focusing on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Drawing on art historical concepts such as perception, reception and perspective in academic painting, as well as phenomenological insights into embodied perception and atmospheres, the study explores how visual design, game mechanics and narrative structures cultivate a sense of presence in gameworlds. By analyzing the interplay between the sensory elements of games and the player’s ability to project themselves into these virtual environments, this research provides an understanding of how gameworlds foster engagement.
The thesis argues that the immersive quality of a cohesive... (More) - This thesis examines the immersive experiences of players in video game worlds, focusing on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Drawing on art historical concepts such as perception, reception and perspective in academic painting, as well as phenomenological insights into embodied perception and atmospheres, the study explores how visual design, game mechanics and narrative structures cultivate a sense of presence in gameworlds. By analyzing the interplay between the sensory elements of games and the player’s ability to project themselves into these virtual environments, this research provides an understanding of how gameworlds foster engagement.
The thesis argues that the immersive quality of a cohesive gameworld is shaped by the player’s engagement in three intertwined modes: Play, Place and Story. These modes correspond to the player’s main activities: following rules, exploring environments, and uncovering storylines embedded in the designed gameworld. Furthermore, the study highlights parallels between traditional perspective drawing and the three-dimensional modeling techniques used to construct gameworlds, illustrating common challenges and solutions for visualization. By considering video games as complex, interactive images, this work places them in a broader historical context of visual storytelling and shows how they extend a tradition of immersive visual narratives. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- This thesis examines the immersive experiences of players in video game worlds, focusing on
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Drawing on art historical
concepts such as perception, reception and perspective in academic painting, as well as
phenomenological insights into embodied perception and atmospheres, the study explores how
visual design, game mechanics and narrative structures cultivate a sense of presence in
gameworlds. By analyzing the interplay between the sensory elements of games and the
player’s ability to project themselves into these virtual environments, this research provides an
understanding of how gameworlds foster engagement.
The thesis argues that the... (More) - This thesis examines the immersive experiences of players in video game worlds, focusing on
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Drawing on art historical
concepts such as perception, reception and perspective in academic painting, as well as
phenomenological insights into embodied perception and atmospheres, the study explores how
visual design, game mechanics and narrative structures cultivate a sense of presence in
gameworlds. By analyzing the interplay between the sensory elements of games and the
player’s ability to project themselves into these virtual environments, this research provides an
understanding of how gameworlds foster engagement.
The thesis argues that the immersive quality of a cohesive gameworld is shaped by the player’s
engagement in three intertwined modes: Play, Place and Story. These modes correspond to the
player’s main activities: following rules, exploring environments, and uncovering storylines
embedded in the designed gameworld. Furthermore, the study highlights parallels between
traditional perspective drawing and the three-dimensional modeling techniques used to construct
gameworlds, illustrating common challenges and solutions for visualization. By considering video
games as complex, interactive images, this work places them in a broader historical context of
visual storytelling and shows how they extend a tradition of immersive visual narratives. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/59a879f4-2fd4-4df4-a59c-9ad17bc36b56
- author
- Fritz, Björn LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- professor Hans Sternudd, Linnéuniversitetet
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-04-17
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Art history, phenomenology, video games, Nintendo, Visual Culture, perspective, Space, Architecture, Narratology, Ludology, Game Studies
- pages
- 207 pages
- publisher
- Lund University
- defense location
- LUX C121
- defense date
- 2025-05-16 13:00:00
- ISBN
- 978-91-8104-442-3
- 978-91-8104-441-6
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 59a879f4-2fd4-4df4-a59c-9ad17bc36b56
- date added to LUP
- 2025-04-04 10:12:55
- date last changed
- 2025-08-05 08:48:49
@phdthesis{59a879f4-2fd4-4df4-a59c-9ad17bc36b56,
abstract = {{This thesis examines the immersive experiences of players in video game worlds, focusing on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Drawing on art historical concepts such as perception, reception and perspective in academic painting, as well as phenomenological insights into embodied perception and atmospheres, the study explores how visual design, game mechanics and narrative structures cultivate a sense of presence in gameworlds. By analyzing the interplay between the sensory elements of games and the player’s ability to project themselves into these virtual environments, this research provides an understanding of how gameworlds foster engagement.<br/>The thesis argues that the immersive quality of a cohesive gameworld is shaped by the player’s engagement in three intertwined modes: Play, Place and Story. These modes correspond to the player’s main activities: following rules, exploring environments, and uncovering storylines embedded in the designed gameworld. Furthermore, the study highlights parallels between traditional perspective drawing and the three-dimensional modeling techniques used to construct gameworlds, illustrating common challenges and solutions for visualization. By considering video games as complex, interactive images, this work places them in a broader historical context of visual storytelling and shows how they extend a tradition of immersive visual narratives.}},
author = {{Fritz, Björn}},
isbn = {{978-91-8104-442-3}},
keywords = {{Art history; phenomenology; video games; Nintendo; Visual Culture; perspective; Space; Architecture; Narratology; Ludology; Game Studies}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{04}},
publisher = {{Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Experiencing Gameworlds : Understanding Zelda and Mario Through the Lenses of Art History and Phenomenology}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/215008893/Avhandling_Bj_rn_Fritz_LUCRIS.pdf}},
year = {{2025}},
}