Vacillate : Evoking the feeling of displacement through art and game mechanics

Sammanfattning

This thesis explores how game mechanics and aesthetics can evoke feelings of displacement in a player. Vacillate, a 2D side-scrolling platformer developed via research through design, allows players to navigate between two different states of belonging. Its core mechanics include the rotation of the environment and the resetting of the player’s position, and are intentionally designed to disorient players and simulate emotional and spatial displacement. Furthermore, the two worlds are created with visually contrasting art styles, watercolor and digital, further reinforcing the thematic dichotomy. Through mixed-method data collection from playtests, surveys, and interviews, the study examines how players’ emotional engagement has been affected. Results show that when mechanics and visual shifts evoke confusion, players experience metaphorical forms of alienation and uncertainty, feelings that ground the sense of displacement. This research contributes to emotional game design by demonstrating how metaphor, mechanical disruption, and aesthetic contrast can collaboratively evoke complex but engaging cognitive states, like displacement, within interactive experiences.