Date of Award
12-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Game Design
Department
Game Design
First Advisor
Jeremiah Ratican
Second Advisor
Piper Hutson
Third Advisor
Ben Fulcher
Abstract
This work investigates the benefits of interactive narratives in conjunction with flow state immersion for individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A specific focus is placed on narratives that contain dark or horror-based themes. In addition, the importance of selfauthorship, representation, and empowerment are explored. Accompanying the examination of flow state, concepts such as challenge, failure, and the motivation to succeed at challenging tasks are analyzed. This work also includes a survey pertaining to user preferences regarding media and genre preferences. The goal of this project is to design an interactive user experience that activates flow state while also providing an immersive and thematically dark narrative. Furthermore, this work discusses and proposes adjacent subjects for future research.
Recommended Citation
Barner, Tiffani, "The Intersection of Interactive Narrative and Flow State Immersion: An Exploration of Trauma, Resilience, and Post-Traumatic Growth" (2024). Theses. 1230.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses/1230
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
