Georgia Arnoux NUA Games Art & Design blog: Research for Essay

For my essay in year two, we have to write a 3000 word essay about creating coherent worlds. For this we have to look at how old forms of entertainment and where games have gain their influences which helped them create the worlds within them.

I am currently looking at Alice in Wonderland, for not only being one of my favorite stories but it's quite a fascinating book as it explores the imagination and plays with logic.

For instance, one of my favorite quotes from the book it heavily implies imagination is a powerful thing:

“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Imagination is a rather important factor to games, either it be during the development for a game to the person whom is playing the game. To those whom play games will often find themselves lost within the game as it does fulfill the imagination of the player. Further more, games are often seen as a escape from reality (and for relaxation). This goes in part to this quote from Alice in Wonderland.

The idea of escaping reality to your own 'wonderland' can also been seen in the Tim Burton's adaptation of Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Alice finds herself in a world that is serious, finding herself in a dilemma and at risk of loosing herself, she then escapes to Wonderland. It's in wonderland, though she have to fight the Jabberwocky (like a gamer facing a boss fight in a game), she is in a familiar place she feels comfortable in. From this, she finds herself again and comes back to reality a stronger person for it.

From these, they remind me what someone would have to go through a game: finding themselves in a dilemma; go through missions or a long quest to fighting the final boss.

But also these remind me of what someone would gain from playing a game: Needing to escape reality, lose themselves in a world that they are familiar with and then reemerging back into reality feeling themselves again and feel better for it.