Complexity and near-aha moments in digital narrative
- Author
- Marco Caracciolo (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- Faced with a puzzling narrative in film, literature, or video games, audience members may approach a sense of almost understanding of what is going on, how the events are related, and so on. This feeling – which I call a “near-aha moment” in this article – is particularly common when engaging with narratives that deploy various formal devices to create cognitive-level complexity. Exploring a concrete instance of this experience via Sam Barlow’s 2022 video game Immortality, this article argues that these near-aha moments shed light on the embodied nature of storytelling – how narrative builds on more basic, bodily and affective patterns of interaction with the world. Through playful complexity, the failure or disruption of narrative sense-making reveals the cognitive structures underlying narrative experience itself.
- Keywords
- embodiment, experience, interactivity, puzzle, surprise, OF-THE-TONGUE, COGNITION
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01KX0K1BW2MRZAJC63BTWSCSH5
- MLA
- Caracciolo, Marco. “Complexity and Near-Aha Moments in Digital Narrative.” FRONTIERS OF NARRATIVE STUDIES, vol. 12, no. 1, 2026, pp. 123–39, doi:10.1515/fns-2026-3008.
- APA
- Caracciolo, M. (2026). Complexity and near-aha moments in digital narrative. FRONTIERS OF NARRATIVE STUDIES, 12(1), 123–139. https://doi.org/10.1515/fns-2026-3008
- Chicago author-date
- Caracciolo, Marco. 2026. “Complexity and Near-Aha Moments in Digital Narrative.” FRONTIERS OF NARRATIVE STUDIES 12 (1): 123–39. https://doi.org/10.1515/fns-2026-3008.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Caracciolo, Marco. 2026. “Complexity and Near-Aha Moments in Digital Narrative.” FRONTIERS OF NARRATIVE STUDIES 12 (1): 123–139. doi:10.1515/fns-2026-3008.
- Vancouver
- 1.Caracciolo M. Complexity and near-aha moments in digital narrative. FRONTIERS OF NARRATIVE STUDIES. 2026;12(1):123–39.
- IEEE
- [1]M. Caracciolo, “Complexity and near-aha moments in digital narrative,” FRONTIERS OF NARRATIVE STUDIES, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 123–139, 2026.
@article{01KX0K1BW2MRZAJC63BTWSCSH5,
abstract = {{Faced with a puzzling narrative in film, literature, or video games, audience members may approach a sense of almost understanding of what is going on, how the events are related, and so on. This feeling – which I call a “near-aha moment” in this article – is particularly common when engaging with narratives that deploy various formal devices to create cognitive-level complexity. Exploring a concrete instance of this experience via Sam Barlow’s 2022 video game Immortality, this article argues that these near-aha moments shed light on the embodied nature of storytelling – how narrative builds on more basic, bodily and affective patterns of interaction with the world. Through playful complexity, the failure or disruption of narrative sense-making reveals the cognitive structures underlying narrative experience itself.}},
author = {{Caracciolo, Marco}},
issn = {{2509-4882}},
journal = {{FRONTIERS OF NARRATIVE STUDIES}},
keywords = {{embodiment,experience,interactivity,puzzle,surprise,OF-THE-TONGUE,COGNITION}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{123--139}},
title = {{Complexity and near-aha moments in digital narrative}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1515/fns-2026-3008}},
volume = {{12}},
year = {{2026}},
}
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