Abstract
Video games are one of the main precursors of metaverse because they have constructed the digital living environment， which is the prototype of metaverse that we experience. The creation and transformation of the digital body in the world of games show that metaverse and the world we live in are simultaneously moving toward the full convergence of virtuality and reality. As a particularly important quality of video games， immersion is reflected in the presence brought about by the media environment created by immersive technologies and the flow experience generated by game activities. Immersion often requires the body's distraction from physical reality， in order to better engage with the virtual world. However， in the process of game， players in fact maintain attention to both virtual and real worlds. In other words， we are already familiar with the pace of switching between the two worlds， and it is in this trans-body that convergence first emerges. Metaverse creates a moderate immersion， which precisely implies a closer integration. The absent body becomes a representation of the integration of metaverse into the daily world and shapes the typical state of the phenomenology of the digital body. Technology has cut， pasted， and sewn our world back together， allowing “absence” to be present， re-structuring our bodily rhythm and changing our perceptual style. Therefore， the open world， which creates the open body， becomes foregrounded， and it is in this sense that metaverse is embodied in practice.
Keywords
metaverse, video games, immersion, absence, body, convergence
First Page
52
Last Page
60
Recommended Citation
Wei, Shiyi. 2023. "Toward a Convergent Metaverse： Video Games and the Transformation of the Digital Body." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 43, (1): pp.52-60. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol43/iss1/7
