Between Illusion and Reality: A Philosophical Reflection on the Fantasy Created by Video Games

As a long-standing issue, the relation between illusion and reality has been analyzed and explored in many fields, from philosophy to psychology, films to video games. The intertwining between illusion and reality is not only a common narrative element for increasing tension of plots, but also serves as a reflective method on the essence of video games. This paper starts with a philosophical explanation of illusion and reality, introducing a perspective for game analysis, and interpreting the narrative potential of video games as a medium for creating a fantasy that allows players to experience the perspectives of others. This phenomenon is uncommon in traditional art forms where audiences are only witnesses, without being actively engaged in a narrative structure. This paper further analyzes how illusion merges with reality through the process of defamiliarization according to Shklovsky's theory, using What Remains of Edith Finch as the main case study. This part demonstrates how video games achieve the process of defamiliarization through gameplay, which provides a way for players to access unique individual worlds and gain authentic understandings of the life situations of other human beings.