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A Multivalent Model of Interactivity
Each of the previous definitions foreground a particular aspect of interaction; in our view, they are all are useful ways of defining interactivity. Rather than try and distill them into a composite definition, we have elected instead to offer a model of interactivity that accommodates each of these definitions. The model presents four modes of interactivity, or four different levels of engagement, that a person might have with an interactive system. Most "interactive" activities incorporate some or all of them simultaneously. Mode 1: Cognitive interactivity; or interpretive participation
This is the psychological, emotional, and intellectual participation between a person and a system. Example: the complex imaginative interaction between a single player and a graphic adventure game. Mode 2: Functional interactivity; or utilitarian participation
Included here: functional, structural interactions with the material components of the system (whether real or virtual). For example, that graphic adventure you played: how was the interface? How "sticky" were the buttons? What was the response time? How legible was the text on your high-resolution monitor? All of these elements are part of the total experience of interaction.
Mode 3: Explicit interactivity; or participation with designed choices and procedures
This is "interaction" in the obvious sense of the word: overt participation like clicking the non-linear links of a hypertext novel, following the rules of a board game, rearranging the clothing on a set of paper dolls, using the joystick to maneuver Ms. Pac-Man. Included here: choices, random events, dynamic simulations, and other procedures programmed into the interactive experience. Mode 4: Beyond-the-object-interactivity; or participation within the culture of the object
This is interaction outside the experience of a single designed system. The clearest examples come from fan culture, in which participants co-construct communal realities, using designed systems as the raw material. Will Superman come back to life? Does Kirk love Spock? Some of these modes occur universally in human experience, such as Mode 1, cognitive interactivity. Yet not all of them do. For our purposes, Mode 3, explicit interactivity, comes closest to defining what we mean when we say that games are "interactive." An experience becomes truly interactive in the sense of Cameron's "direct intervention" only when the participant makes choices that have been designed into the actual structure of the experience. The rest of this chapter focuses primarily on explicit interactivity and how game designers can create the kinds of choices that result in meaningful play. However, even though we will be focusing on Mode 3, it is important to remember that the other three modes of interactivity are also present as players make explicit choices. For example, choosing whether to fold or not in Poker represents a moment of explicit interactivity. But at the same time, the material quality and size of the cards affect the functional interactivity; the fanciful images on the face cards might engender cognitive interactivity; and notions about what it means to be a suave card shark-or perhaps resentment at being trounced at the Poker table last week-represent forms of cultural participation that lie outside the bounds of the particular game being played. Interaction, even the explicit interaction of a seemingly straightforward game choice, is never as simple as it appears at first glance. But before we dissect the components of explicit interactive choices, let's pause to consider the role of design itself in creating interactivity.
