Player Perspectives to Unexplained Agency-Related Incoherence

Miika Pirtola, Yun-Gyung Cheong, Mark J. Nelson

Abstract: Anachrony in game stories causes incoherence, if the player’s actions cause a future that differs considerably from the one already presented. Such game story quirk, if not addressed by design, causes an occurrence of unexplained agency-related incoherence (UARI). Current game studies literature views the issue as problematic. To study the significance and meaning of UARI to players, both anachronic and linear UARI-featuring games were developed. A grounded theory on the topic was devised upon 20 player accounts. Three main perspectives to UARI were identified: With anachrony, an acceptive-ludic perspective views the UARI as inevitable and natural. With both anachronic and linear game stories, an acceptive-diegetic perspective views the UARI as part of the story. With both anachronic and linear game stories, a rejective-logical perspective views the UARI as an unacceptable error in the game’s causality.