The becoming-flower of video games: a Deleuzoguattarian analysis of Thatgamecompany’s Flower (2009)

Abstract

Current prominent theoretical approaches within the field of video game studies tend to engage with video games in terms of narrative and gameplay because of the legacy of narratology and ludology. However, these approaches are potentially ill-equipped to adequately account for the specificity of certain video games that involve digital interactive experiences that are not primarily, or solely, focused on narrative or gameplay, but can rather be understood as video game multiplicities that consist of percepts and affects. A pertinent example of a game that functions as a video game multiplicity is Thatgamecompany’s Flower (2009), which is analysed through a Deleuzoguattarian lens in order to highlight the unique aesthetic and play elements, or ‘percepts’ and ‘affects’, that enable the potentially transformative experiences offered by the game. Theorisation of these elements is arguably important because they entail a movement beyond the essence-based representational models of video games that are generally advanced through narratology and ludology, toward a model of multiplicity and becoming. In particular, the article explores how the percepts and affects of Flower can potentially open the player to a form of “transversal becoming” known as “becoming-imperceptible”.