The usage of these terms, however, runs the risk of promoting a one-sided or incomplete view of aesthetic illusion whenever no references are made to the opposite pole of rational awareness (distance) or when the sole focus is on (hyper-)realistic (re)presentation.
[10]Kant speaks of a similar phenomenon when he discusses his transcendental illusion in his Kritik der reinen Vernunft (Critique of Pure Reason) (cf.
More recently, the concept has been revisited and examined by several academics, including philosopher Kendall Walton in his make-believe theory, literary scholar Marie-Laure Ryan in a number of articles and books (e.g. 1991,[4] 2015[5]), Emeritus Professor of Psychology Victor Nell (1988[3]) and numerous scholars in the field of game studies, though usually with a strong emphasis on immersion (see Cairns, Cox, & Nordin, 2014[12] for a review on research on immersion in video games).
English literature professor Werner Wolf developed a comprehensive theory of aesthetic illusion and provides a definition that encompasses various media, genres and modes of reception (cf.
This is exemplified by the first paragraph of the first chapter in the novel:On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-aged man was walking homeward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore, or Blackmoor.
The first paragraph also provides an alternative spelling of Blakemore, which is the first of many subtle pieces of information scattered across the novel with the goal to create an illusion of historical (and later also hereditary and other types of) authenticity.
Hardy uses all of these pieces of information to imaginatively draw his readers into his novel and create and embellish a specific image in their heads by maintaining a high level of verisimilitude (“life-likeness”).
Other illusionist and thus immersive qualities of the novel are, for example, its serious mode of writing (for the comical would require a certain unwanted rational distance in the reader in this case), a clear focus of the novel on the story-level while almost no attention is explicitly drawn to its form, a plot that is comparatively easy to follow and understand and that is highly consistent.
Importantly, while every element has the potential to immerse players, it is when they are believably interwoven with each other that they create a convincing, consistent and continual impression of Hyrule as an actual “living and breathing” place.
For example, jumping or falling off from a high elevation point leads to injury or death and activities like running, climbing and swimming drain the stamina of Link, who is the character the players embody in the game.
The language level presents highly vivid and filmic imagery and the extensive use of internal and end rhymes as well as other techniques help convey the increasingly intense image of being paralyzed in front of a big crowd in the listener's head.
Below is a text passage that exemplifies the effective use of language as just described: While the singer dramatizes his past experiences in rap battles, probably everyone can relate to experiencing or mulling over the general concepts that are central to the song, namely stage fright and the idea of seizing the moment.
On the acoustic level, intensity builds up throughout the verse, with instrumentation increased as the song continues and the vocals’ rapid, staccato-like delivery, ultimately culminating in the comparatively bombastic chorus.