At the boundaries of reality: Is the interactor a character? An interdisciplinary inquiry in interactive art and narrative studies

Resumen

The rise of new interactive devices and installations has given way to a new type of spectator, who functions as a narrative component: the interactor. Also part of the narrative, the character has been understood as a fictional entity distinct from others, endowed with agency and an inner life (Eder, Jannidis & Schneider, 2010). Can the interactor be considered a character? This paper explores areas of blending, ambiguity, or even transgression that emerge when the two concepts intersect, in order to identify conditions under which this may occur. The reflection is prompted by artistic forms such as interactive digital art created by Bianchini (2004), or Davies (2013). These works invite us to navigate thresholds by: (a) using Symbolic Interactionism to highlight how artworks are embedded with perceptual boundaries, whereby the interactor is perceived as a spectator by some and as a character by others; (b) conceiving of metalepsis as inherent to the interactor, who acts as a transgressive agent crossing the boundaries between the real and fictional worlds; and (c) questioning the limits of the concept of character, particularly the criterion of fictionality. We argue that the interactor can be understood as a character, considering theoretical, media-based, subjective and relational conditions.