Journal articles on the topic 'Psychological aspects of Scuba diving'

Four scuba diving deaths investigated by the Forensic Medicine Unit, University of Edinburgh Medical School, are reported. The pathological investigation of such deaths requires that a detailed history of the events prior to death is obtained and that the site of the accident is fully examined with underwater photographic recording where possible. The diving suits, breathing apparatus and other diving accessories also have to be examined carefully by experts and a complete autopsy with toxicological and histological examination is essential. The causes and mechanisms of death are discussed, as are the importance of special autopsy techniques and investigations. Possible interpretative problems are highlighted.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to describe the nature of regular medications taken by active comorbid scuba divers (having a declared medical comorbidity) and scuba divers and snorkellers who died following a diving incident. Methods: We undertook a retrospective, observational study from July to October, 2020. Data on 268 active comorbid divers were obtained through a 2013 survey of Divers Alert Network Asia-Pacific members. Data on 126 deceased scuba divers and 175 deceased snorkellers were obtained predominantly from 2001–2013 reports to Australian State Coronial Services. Results: The active comorbid divers were significantly older, less likely to be male, and more likely to be taking one or more medications than the two deceased subject groups (P < 0.001). Cardiovascular, endocrine and psychotropic medications accounted for 53.4%, 9.9% and 6.4% of all medications taken, respectively. Almost one tenth of the deceased divers took at least one psychotropic medication, a proportion significantly greater than the other groups (P = 0.01). Conclusions: Medication use among active comorbid divers is common which likely reflects their declared medical condition. Nevertheless, they appear to be diving relatively safely, often with conditions once thought to be absolute contradictions to scuba diving. The deceased divers took significantly more psychotropic medications. It is possible that their underlying psychological/psychiatric conditions rendered them more at risk of a diving incident. Increased vigilance for psychological conditions may need to be considered during diving medical examinations.

(Buwalda M, Querido AL, van Hulst RA. Children and diving, a guideline. Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine. 2020 December 20;50(4):399–404. doi: 10.28920/dhm50.4.399-404. PMID: 33325022.) Scuba diving is an increasingly popular recreational activity in children and adolescents. During the dive medical examination aspects of human physiology, anatomy, and psychology, that differ between adults and children, deserve our special attention. For example, lack of mental maturity, diminished Eustachian tube function and heat loss can pose problems during diving. It is important that children who wish to take up scuba diving are seen by a dive physician, with extra attention to Eustachian tube function. In children, asthma, bronchial hyperreactivity, pulmonary hypertension, and right-to-left shunts are contra-indications for scuba diving. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a relative contra-indication. This article provides a review of the current literature and presents recommendations for recreational diving in children and adolescents. These recommendations are based solely on ‘expert’ opinion and were accepted by the Dutch Society of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine in 2020.

Background: The experience of Recreational SCUBA Diving (RSD) is unique and exciting because participants can feel innermost and special sensations. Aim: By exploring the role of the senses in RSD This paper seeks to illustrate the complex, kaleidoscopic and inter-relational connections beginner SCUBA divers make with aquatic environment within the sensorium experience for the first time. Methods: The present research draws upon the qualitative inquiry away from the positivist approaches to capture insider views, meanings, and interpretations. Audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of 12 undergraduate students who had experienced a first-time SCUBA diving through Discover SCUBA Diving (DSD) Program were transcribed and thematically analyzed. A thematic analysis was performed with the Nvivo 11 Plus software package program. Results: Analysis illustrated that both positive and negative emotions are experienced due to (a) Diver Dimension of Marine Wildlife Touching, (b) Diver Dimension of Marine Wildlife Viewing, and (c) Diver Dimension of Marine Wildlife Hearing. Conclusion: The opportunity to experience aquatic environment for the first time during active leisure reflects participants’ ability, which offers encouragement, enthusiasm, well-being, and satisfaction. In unravelling the negative diving experience, as experienced by divers, we argue some physical and psychological distress and difficulty arise due to chemical and physical properties of aquatic environment, however. Keywords: Active Leisure, Aquatic, Sensorium, SCUBA Diving, Well-being.

Indonesian government currently has policies to improve the performance of the tourism sector, including marine tourism. One of the attractions of marine tourism is the coral ecosystem especially through scuba diving activities. The purpose of this study was to determine the suitability of the coral ecosystem on Saebus Island, East Java, to find appropriate locations for scuba diving activities. Purposive samplings were done around the island to determine four stations which will be assessed through suitability analysis. Tourism Suitability Index was used to assess all stations for scuba diving activities. The result showed that all four stations were categorized as very suitable with the score: 85%, 85%, 85% and 83%, respectively. Several aspects that need to be improved and anticipated for diving at all stations are coral coverage and water current. These results suggest that there are several spots around Saebus Island that are suitable for diving site, and can be promoted as marine tourism destination.

Safety procedures are explained during lectures in basic scuba diving courses, but these rules are often counterintuitive and difficult to remember; many accidents occur because divers do not put into practice what they have been taught. Diving accidents are at higher growth than the growth of activity in the world. This research used multimedia in a virtual environment to detect safety aspects of diving more forgetful among experienced scuba divers. This way it is possible to develop courses more effectively: less cost and time spent and lower accident rate. Were discovered the safety procedures recreational scuba divers more unknown among accredited divers. The results showed a large number of errors on all items in particular on the system to keep in pairs. Thus it becomes possible to improve diving courses and/or briefings before dives emphasizing these items, reducing cost and time. As a suggestion for future research, to find ways to improve the performance of divers in case of emergencies, through awareness, education and behavior.

There were few previsions to strongly expand the growth of scuba diving activity, and nowadays training standards are enforced for safety and also for respecting the natural space where dive tourism takes place. Based on literature review, environmental impacts were noted in terms of providing positive aspects, mainly represented by economic benefits and employment opportunities. The negative side was revealed by wildlife impacts whereby animals change their behavior due harassment or contact with nature-based users, with authors reporting their concerns and measuring the consequences and long-term learning impacts. The over-usage of the reefs can result in physical devastation and chemical contamination. Land development in support of scuba diving can also cause negative impacts and affect the surrounding infrastructure, with alternating living patterns and by creating economic differences among the local society. When dive techniques are mastered, scuba diving itself does not represent a threat to the environment, neither to marine animals, but bad dive practices, poor buoyancy control associated to the lack of awareness can contribute to damage the benthic zone. Divers physical impact on the reef can benefit some species looking for opportunity to feed or compete for space, although, it destroys the habitat and lifting up sediment affect negatively coral structures by inducing stress and reducing the average amount of light.

ABSTRACTTourism in Antarctica has grown substantially over recent decades and has diversified into different activities and modes of transport. This paper presents a first attempt to explore the implications of this diversification trend for Antarctic tourist experiences, wildlife and onsite management. Evidence from a passenger survey, participatory observations and expert interviews using video elicitation has been collected during, and in the context of, a diving expedition cruise. The data suggests that significant differences can be detected in the way divers and non-divers experience aspects of the trip, most notably regarding guides. The results also indicate that diverse activities generate a broader variance in attitudes and behaviours, which may have repercussions for wildlife, site use and onsite management. Given the diversification trend it is timely and necessary to revisit and consistently enforce site guidelines and visitor guidelines with an eye on multi-activity trips. In addition, further studies on the implications of this trend are needed by means of case studies, surveys looking at a wider range of tourist trips, and monitoring programmes assessing wildlife behaviour and impacts.

The population structure of Mithraculus forceps sampled monthly on Anchieta Island from January 1999 to December 2000 was studied. A total of 68 individuals were collected by SCUBA diving. The population presented normal and unimodal distribution, and the total sex ratio was 1·4:1·0 in favour of males. Ovigerous females were captured during all seasons. The pattern observed for the M. forceps population in Anchieta Island indicated the strategy favoured by environmental characteristics of the island and by coexistence with other decapod crustaceans in the studied area.

Abstract The aim of the article is to conduct a literature review in relation to the psychological aspects of diving. The acquired knowledge can currently be qualified as belonging to various branches of applied psychology, as well as underwater medicine, sports medicine, psychiatry and psychotherapy. The literature on this subject matter raises two main issues of the psychological perspective: the degree of psychological adaptation of an individual to the underwater environment, and the psychophysical condition of a man involved in a specific type of diving and the resulting skills/competences to perform underwater tasks. The article presents selected reports from around the world related to diving psychology resulting from the applied structure/classification of psychological theories, explaining various mechanisms of psychological functioning underwater. The paper presents studies from the perspective of psychodynamics, psychology of health/stress, psychology of individual differences and personality. The main conclusions indicate that in addition to the main problem of an optimal/lack of adaptation of humans to the underwater environment, there is insufficient psychological knowledge (including Polish reports) in the area of personality differences between various types of divers, their social functioning, mental health and psychoeducation with regard to underwater exposures.

Many recreational divers suffer medical conditions, potentially jeopardizing their safety. To scale down risks, medical examinations are mandatory and overwhelmingly performed using bicycle ergometry, which overlooks some important aspects of diving. Searching ergometric systems that better address the underwater environment, a systematic literature search was conducted using the keywords ‘diving’, ‘fitness’, ‘ergometry’, and ‘exertion’. All presented alternative systems found convincingly describe a greatly reduced underwater physical performance. Thus, if a diver’s workload in air should already be limited, he/she will suffer early from fatigue, risking a diving incident. How to assess fitness? Performance diagnostics in sports is always specific for a modality or movement. Therefore, professional scuba divers should be tested when fin-swimming underwater. For the vast number of recreational divers, the current screening can likely not be replaced. However, to prevent accidents, divers need to understand and be able to improve factors that limit their physical performance underwater. Other systems, presented here, will continue to be important tools in underwater research.

The little existing research on risky sports tends to concentrate on the demographic and psychological characteristics of individuals who participate in high-risk sports such as scuba diving, parachuting, spelunking, auto racing, mountain climbing, and hang gliding. This study considers another dimension: most risky sports are group sports. They involve other people as partners or members of support groups. A death, then, affects others. The study asks two questions: How do participants involved in the death itself handle such an event? In what ways does the death impact upon other members of the sporting community? Through interviews and official reports, the authors studied scuba divers' responses to four fatal accidents and found that accounts of deaths frequently blame the victim for the fatality, emphasizing and centering on perceived errors of judgment and skill. These accounts serve as mortality tales and as disclaimers of personal responsibility that mitigate grief and support continued participation in the sport.

The attempt to define the concept of „sports tourism‟ requires reference to the meaning of the basic terms, „tourism‟ and „sports‟. Sports tourism is an emerging field of economic growth of a nation. Sports tourism depends upon the geographical location and also related to the sociocultural heritage of a nation. There are indeed several destinations in India offering sports tourism. There are varied sports activity that one can indulge during vacation. Distinguished adventure sports: mountaineering, rock-climbing, scuba diving, water rafting, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, surfing, water scooting. The present article critically discussed the various aspects and scope of global sports tourism as well as sports tourism of India and the future scope of sports tourism in India

Introduction: The current practice in Hong Kong is to have potential recreational divers complete a Recreational Scuba Training Council self-declared medical statement (RSTC form) prior to participation in diving. There are no reports in the literature on the usefulness of the Chinese version of the form. Methods: The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) RSTC form (Chinese version) was completed by 117 research participants who were then individually interviewed (without examination) to establish whether relevant information was not captured by the form. Any discrepancies or problems identified were recorded for further analysis. Results: Among participants, 15.4% expressed difficulty in completing the RSTC form. Less than one-third (28.2%) replied ‘all negative’ to the questions. Some health conditions that could impose diving risks were not elicited by the questionnaire alone. Nevertheless, there was good sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value with the exception of a few questions. However, significant discrepancies were identified when comparing the English and Chinese versions. There was also uncertainty with aspects of implementation, including attitudes of the user and provider, reliability of self-declaration answers and the handling of completed questionnaires. Conclusions: Health screening with a questionnaire for recreational divers remains practical and acceptable. Full revision of the RSTC form in Chinese is recommended in view of problems with the construct validity and translation. People should be informed about the non-prescriptive approach of health assessment for recreational divers. Further research on the implementation of the form may help to improve the screening strategy in the future.

Abstract The article presents a characterisation of stress situations and psychological reactions during diving. It describes the fundamental personality dimensions and temperament features, and discusses the results of research into the methods of coping with stress as well as the levels of anxiety in candidates to the position of a professional driver.

In Mar del Plata the octocoral Tripalea clavaria is highly abundant on the different quartzitic rocky outcrops 18–20 m deep. Reproductive aspects of T. clavaria including its distribution and population structure have been described. Monthly sampling and observations were carried out by SCUBA diving from November 2000 to October 2001 at Banco del Medio (38°10′S 57°28′W). Tripalea clavaria occurs in patches; most colonies were 3·0–8·9 cm in height. The species appears to be a gonochoric brooder. Female colonies were significantly more abundant than males, which could be identified only from February to June, when spermaries were present. Oocytes were found even in very small colonies (from 3·5 cm height), being 40 to 200 μm in diameter, the predominant size-group around the year. Development of the oocytes required several months, beginning in May and ending with the production of larvae from March to May. Young, stalked oocytes were found at the base of the polyps attached to the mesenteries in May–June. During the following six months they grew in size; maximal oocyte diameter was 700 μm, observed in April/May. Asexual reproduction was negligible, indicating that population maintenance is based on sexual reproduction.

AbstractThe present study characterised the fecundity of the hermit crab Pagurus brevidactylus as well as the influence of shell type and size on fecundity using the morphometric relationship. Ovigerous females were collected monthly from January to December 1999 in the infra-littoral region of Anchieta Island, using scuba-diving methods. Only the ovigerous females with eggs in the early phase of development were selected for the fecundity analysis. The number of eggs carried by individuals of several sizes (SL, shield length), condition of development, and egg size were determined. A high percentage (77.0%) of ovigerous females with eggs in the early phase of development were captured, with a low frequency (9.2%) of females with eggs in the final stage of development. A total of 157 females with recently produced eggs were analysed. Individual fecundity ranged from 27 (SL = 1.25 mm) to 1075 eggs (SL = 3.19 mm) and mean fecundity was 158 ± 119 eggs. The number of eggs produced during spring was significantly higher than those produced in the other seasons of the year. Considering the two shells most occupied by P. brevidactylus (C. atratum and M. nodulosa), the highest fecundity was observed for ovigerous females occupying M. nodulosa ones, showing that shell type can influence the reproductive potential of ovigerous females. The reproductive aspects of P. brevidactylus were related to the shell species occupied and to strategies developed to compensate for interspecific competition, i.e., continuous reproductive effort and early maturity.

Coastal ecosystems are being extensively degraded by human activities. Benthic, slow-growing and long-lived species are highly vulnerable to these impacts. Marine protected areas might avoid biodiversity losses through habitat protection. The pen shell Pinna rudis is a protected species, but scarce data are available on its ecology and biology. The present study is a comprehensive ecological study encompassing several unknown aspects of the growth and inner record in relation to habitat types, density and size distribution. A total of 418 strip transects were conducted by scuba diving in the Marine Protected Area of Cabrera National Park (39.14° N, 2.96° E), during the summers of 2011, 2012 and 2013. Sampling was conducted across different habitats and depths exploring 152,146.35 m2 in total. Densities varied spatially within the park (from 0 to 6.89 ind./100 m2) corresponding to a wide range of sizes and ages. Most pen shells were patchily distributed and mainly concentrated in caves. Two hotspots with high densities represent the highest densities ever recorded worldwide, showing a possible link to high larval accumulation and settlement. The population size structure showed a unimodal distribution with shell width ranging from 6.2 to 25.0 cm, with an average shell width of 16.0 ± 3.4 cm. The absolute growth was asymptotic, with a maximum age and length of 28-31 years and 45 cm, respectively. This study on the biology and ecology of a well-established population of Pinna rudis in the Western Mediterranean could set a baseline for the conservation of this species in other areas.

AbstractCarbon dioxide absorbers have been used in anesthesiology for many years. However, this process is not limited to this field of medicine. Removing carbon dioxide from human environment is used in other areas as well: mining industry, submarines, scuba diving, space travel and many others. The rationale to remove carbon dioxide from confined spaces is that cannot be eliminated otherwise. Anesthesia practitioners are well aware of this component of the circle system, the carbon dioxide absorber. In daily practice the clinician is less concerned with what kind of substance fills the dedicated canister, as this is usually in the care of the maintenance personnel. The appearance of Sevoflurane and Desflurane, with their own chemical characteristics, prompted the clinician to dedicate new attention to these absorbents. The classical substances used for this purpose are different combinations of limes. The practical concern of the anesthesiologist is to notice when the absorbent is consumed and call for its replacement. Still, many other aspects remain: compound A formation with Sevoflurane, carbon monoxide formation with Desflurane and dry absorbent for instance. The latest member of these products in the medical field is the LiOH carbon dioxide absorbent. Although used for many years in the space exploration, its way into the operating room is a rather recent achievement. Special chemical properties and high absorptive capacity make this new type of absorbent an attractive option for modern anesthesia practice. The article below invites the reader through a short journey on the history of the CO2 absorbents and anesthesia circuits, Lithiumas a chemical element and, finally, to this new type of absorbent.

AbstractIntelligence and personality traits are currently considered effective predictors of human behavior and job performance. However, there are few studies about their relevance in the underwater environment. Data from a sample of military personnel performing scuba diving courses were analyzed with regression techniques, testing the contribution of individual differences and ascertaining the incremental validity of the personality in an environment with extreme psychophysical demands. The results confirmed the incremental validity of personality traits (ΔR2 = .20, f2 = .25) over the predictive contribution of general mental ability (ΔR2 = .07, f2 = .08) in divers’ performance. Moreover, personality ($R_L^2$ = .34) also showed a higher validity to predict underwater adaptation than general mental ability ($R_L^2$ = .09). The ROC curve indicated 86% of the maximum possible discrimination power for the prediction of underwater adaptation, AUC = .86, p < .001, 95% CI (.82–.90). These findings confirm the shift and reversal of incremental validity of dispositional traits in the underwater environment and the relevance of personality traits as predictors of an effective response to the changing circumstances of military scuba diving. They also may improve the understanding of the behavioral effects and psychophysiological complications of diving and can also provide guidance for psychological intervention and prevention of risk in this extreme environment.

Background: Immersion can cause immersion pulmonary edema (IPE) in previously healthy subjects. We performed a case-control study to better identify IPE risk factors. Methods: We prospectively included recreational scuba divers who had presented signs of IPE and control divers who were randomly chosen among diving members of the French Underwater Federation. We sent an anonymous questionnaire to each diver, with questions on individual characteristics, as well as the conditions of the most recent dive (controls) or the dive during which IPE occurred. Univariate logistic regressions were performed for each relevant factor. Then, multivariate logistic regression was performed. Results: Of the 882 questionnaires sent, 480 (54%) were returned from 88 cases (90%) and 392 control divers (50%). Multivariate analysis identified the following independent risk factors associated with IPE: • being aged over 50 years ((OR) 3.30, (95%CI) 1.76-6.19); • female sex (OR 2.20, 95%CI 1.19-4.08); • non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) intake before diving (OR 24.32, 95%CI 2.86-206.91); • depth of dive over 20 m (OR 2.00, 95%CI 1.07-3.74); • physical exertion prior to or during the dive (OR 5.51, 95%CI 2.69-11.28); • training dive type (OR 5.34, 95%CI 2.62-10.86); and • daily medication intake (OR 2.79, 95%CI 1.50-5.21); this latter factor appeared to be associated with hypertension in the univariate analysis. Conclusions: To reduce the risk of experiencing IPE, divers over 50 years of age or with hypertension, especially women, should avoid extensive physical effort, psychological stress, deep dives and NSAID intake before diving.

"Ethological and Ecological Aspects of Fish Cleaner Shrimp (Natantia: Palaemonidae, Hippolytidae, Stenopodidae)". Field observations by means of diurnal and nocturnal SCUBA diving, were made on the ethology of the fish cleaner shrimp of Santa Marta Bay (Colombia) and Young Island Channel (Saint Vincent Island, W. I.), from January to September 1976. Detailed notes on the cleaning behavior of two diurnal shrimp species and of three nocturnal ones were recorded, along with data on the frequency of cleaning particular fish species. The diurnal shrimp showed a preference in cleaning the mouth and gills of their hosts. The nocturnal ones showed a preference towards the external surfaces. The different poses assumed by the fish during day and night, suggest that these can differentiate the tactile stimuli of nocturnal and diurnal cleaners. In addition, some ecological notes on these shrimp and on other species considered as possible cleaners, were made.

"Doctor, will I live longer if I give up alcohol and sex?" "No, but it will seem like it." The paradigm of the self as it is conceptualised in Western society includes an implicit assumption that one of the primary activities of the self is to engage in protective behaviours. This is a basic assumption in mass media promotion of healthy behaviours: 'Quit smoking' to protect yourself from lung cancer; 'Work safe' to protect yourself from injury, etc. Mass media social marketing campaigns inform the general population of the dangers to the self's existence of smoking, drink-driving, unsafe sex, over-eating, under-exercising and so on. These campaigns are based on models such as the Health Belief Model (Janz and Becker), the Fear Drive paradigm (Janis; McGuire), the Parallel Response Model (Leventhal), Thayer's Arousal Model, Roger's Protection Motivation Theory (Rogers & Mewborn; Maddux & Rogers), Ordered Protection Motivation Theory (Tanner, Hunt and Eppright) and the Extended Parallel Process Model (Witte). Fundamental to all these models is the assumption that people are motivated to protect themselves from harm. Information is provided that warns of the severity and likelihood of consequences of unhealthy behaviours. In some cases this information does motivate people to give up harmful behaviours and adopt safer options. However, worldwide, we see an increasing prevalence of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer that are related to preventable causes such as obesity, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle. To meet this challenge, the media strategy has generally focused on how to get health information across more effectively, that is, by making it more persuasive, more vivid, more salient, more imminent, more probable, and so on. Media exhortations to: 'say no to drugs', 'Quit because you can!', 'Respect yourself' etc. do not always achieve the desired change and may increase frustration, hopelessness and even depression (Henley & Donovan). It may be helpful to consider that this protection motivation paradigm does not take into account the prevalence of paradoxical behaviours, that is, behaviours that are harmful to the self (Apter). When talking about health, I think it is useful to divide paradoxical behaviours into two categories: thrill-seeking behaviours such as sky-diving and bungie-jumping where the individual enjoys the experience of being at risk without (usually) craving it; craved or 'addictive' behaviours (using the term loosely), such as smoking, binge-drinking, over-eating, drug-taking, where the individual craves a certain sensation and the gratification of the craving supersedes protective impulses. In both cases, the individual knows the behaviour is potentially harmful but chooses to engage in it. In the first case, there is a conscious choice that the enjoyment of the thrill experience outweighs the risk. The person feels in control of the decision (even if the decision is to abandon oneself to the feeling of being temporarily out of control). In the second case, there is a need to gratify the craving, regardless of the risk. The person is fully aware that it is not in their long term self-interest but feels out of control of the decision (Lowenstein). This second category of paradoxical behaviours consists of many unhealthy behaviours targeted by health practitioners. This paper discusses 1) the concept of the self in Western society; 2) the concept of paradoxical behaviour, distinguishing it from deviant behaviour; and 3) the suggestion that people may engage in addictive paradoxical behaviours to satisfy the 'empty self' (Cushman). Finally, the paper suggests that this attention to the empty self may be in a perverse way protective (though not healthy), and calls for a health promotion approach that directly addresses the needs of the 'empty self'. Concept of Self The concept of the self varies across cultures and time. Cushman (599) defined the concept of the self as 'the concept of the individual as articulated by the indigenous psychology of a particular cultural group.... the self embodies what the culture believes is humankind's place in the cosmos: its limits, talents, expectations, and prohibitions'. The Eastern concept of self extends 'beyond one's physical and psychosocial identity to include all other people in the world' (Westman & Canter 419) while the concept of self as it has developed in Western society 'has specific psychological boundaries, an internal locus of control, and a wish to manipulate the external world for its own personal ends' (Cushman 600). This Western concept of the self has been traced to Augustine's Confessions, identified by Weintraub (cited in Freeman 26) as the first reflective, autobiographical review of a life history in which selfhood is examined and understood. The concept of self encapsulates the most profound sense of cosmic place, worth and meaning. One of the aspects of the Western concept of self is a sense of mastery, of being able to act upon the world. Paradoxical vs Deviant Behaviour Apter makes a distinction between deviant behaviour, which is defined by social norms, and paradoxical behaviour, which is defined as any behaviour potentially harmful either to the individual or to society. Parachuting would be an example of behaviour potentially harmful to the individual, while celibacy, by threatening the survival of the social group, would be behaviour potentially harmful to society. Neither of these behaviours would be regarded as 'deviant'. Apter (10) calls this sort of behaviour paradoxical 'because it has the opposite effect to that which, from a biological and evolutionary point of view, one would expect behaviour to have'. While there will be considerable overlap in practice between deviant and paradoxical behaviour - child abuse, vandalism, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, etc. would all be both deviant and paradoxical - there is a distinction in perspective between these two terms. Deviant behaviour, by definition, is always regarded by a society as anti-social (and therefore is often harmful); paradoxical behaviour is, by definition, always regarded by the individual's self-concept as harmful or potentially harmful (and therefore is also often anti-social). As our self-concept is socially learned, it is difficult to arrive at a true separation of these definitions but the following example may clarify the distinction: smoking was a widespread, socially acceptable activity in the 1950s, even glamorised by Hollywood. When the scientific evidence showed that it was harmful to the individual's health, that is, paradoxical behaviour, many people were sufficiently motivated to quit. Since the dangers of passive smoking have been highlighted and smoking is becoming regarded as socially unacceptable, that is, deviant behaviour, many more people are trying to stop, and succeeding. For many people, motivation for change is successful when an activity is recognised as both deviant and paradoxical. Social marketing campaigns have targeted these two areas for years, informing of health risks and dispelling the glamorous image. Yet, people still smoke, even when they know the health dangers and daily experience the open disapproval of others. At the extreme is the person who lies in a hospital bed with both legs amputated, being told and believing that continued smoking will result in the loss of remaining limbs, but who is still not motivated sufficiently to quit; this person is clearly exhibiting extreme paradoxical behaviour. It is useful to call this behaviour paradoxical rather than deviant because it is defined primarily by the extreme injury to the individual rather than the degree to which it departs from social norms. Why an individual would persist in such irrational behaviour is a seemingly unanswerable question. As Menninger has said, 'the extraordinary propensity of the human being to join hands with external forces in an attack upon his own existence is one of the most remarkable of biological phenomena' (cited in Apter 10). In trying to understand it, we look at three alternatives: 1) what people say their reasons may be; 2) how people defend against knowledge of risk; and 3) the role of visceral influences. Van Deurzen-Smith (165-6), an existential counsellor, gives some insight into the complexity of one of her patient's reasons for smoking: The dangers of heart disease or lung cancer had, far from making her want to give up smoking, been a real secret attraction which had been hard to give up. She had experienced smoking as playing with fire and that was highly enjoyable.... smoking in this sense had represented her experience of her body as concretely her own. Inhaling smoke was like breathing fire and feeling extra-alive; exhaling smoke was like seeing her own body's power being projected out of her mouth. Carrying cigarettes and fire on her every minute of the day used to give her a sense of oneness with the substances of the natural world; it was like possessing the secret power of some magical ritual. When smoking she was in command of the physical world, she was master of her own destiny. In other words, smoking had become an integral part of this person's self-concept. An alternative viewpoint is that smokers simply defend against knowledge of the health risks. In an examination of 'psychic defences against high fear appeals', Stuteville identified three techniques which people use to reduce fear-arousal: a) they deny the validity of the information; b) they unconsciously assert 'I am the exception to the rule - it won't happen to me'; and c) they defuse the danger by making it laughable or ridiculous. He suggested that campaigns can be more effective if they involve a threat to significant others, especially children, or are made to seem 'offensive to small group norms' (45), that is, seen as deviant rather than paradoxical. Lowenstein attempted to understand the discrepancies between what people do and what it is in their self-interest to do by postulating the operation of 'visceral factors', drive states relating to hunger, fear, pain, sex and emotions. He suggested that the need to satisfy these drives can supersede virtually all other needs, and that people consistently fail to recognise the strength of the influence of visceral factors in themselves and in others, despite all previous experience and evidence to the contrary. One of the characteristics of visceral factors is the effect of time-shortening so that immediate gratification outweighs long-term goals. Attempts to exercise self-control are made when thinking long-term and usually at the expense of short-term gratification (Lowenstein 288). Although this concept of visceral influences explains some irrational behaviour, Lowenstein made little attempt to explain why some people seem to be more at the mercy of visceral factors than others. For this, it may be helpful to explore Cushman's concept of the 'empty self'. The Hungry 'Empty Self' Cushman (600) identified the configuration of the concept of self in the United States as having developed into an 'empty self ... a self that experiences a significant absence of community, tradition, and shared meaning. It experiences these social absences and their consequences 'interiorly' as a lack of personal conviction and worth, and it embodies the absences as a chronic, undifferentiated emotional hunger'. It is this notion of emotional hunger that may have particular relevance to a discussion of paradoxical behaviours generated by cravings. Cushman referred to a strong desire for consumer products to assuage this hunger, but it may be useful when thinking of health to consider the hunger more literally, as a need to ingest substances (drugs, alcohol, food etc) and experiences (shopping, sex, speed, etc) to fill up the emptiness. Emotional hunger may lead to a number of self-destructive but self-nourishing and addictive habits, identified by Firestone as psychological defences against anxiety. Cushman identified advertising as one of the two professions responsible for healing the empty self (the other was psychotherapy), while recognising that it is also one of the professions that perpetuates and profits from the psychopathology. Perhaps the responsibility falls to social marketing which is concerned with the marketing of ideas, attitudes and beliefs, including health and safety lifestyle issues. At present, it could be said that health promotion tends to make people feel bad (Henley & Donovan), with an emphasis on the dire consequences of unhealthy behaviours. Is it reasonable to suggest that social marketing could be used to try to heal the empty self? Interestingly, this is already happening to some extent. Mental health is a priority issue and a recent mental health campaign in Victoria, Australia, 'Together We Do Better', stresses the need for community and social connection. Western Australia is exploring whether to undertake a similar campaign. The campaign includes messages relating to friendship, parenting, talking about problems, bullying, sledging, and inter-generational communication (Campaign materials). The overall aim is to work towards a more inclusive, caring, connected and tolerant society. Conclusion This paper has discussed the apparent limitation of the current paradigm in health promotion that people are primarily motivated to protect themselves by considering the prevalence of paradoxical behaviours, that is behaviours that are harmful to the self, especially those that are generated by a need to satisfy cravings. One explanation for such paradoxical behaviours is that they are motivated by visceral factors relating to physical and emotional drives. However, this does not explain why some people are more susceptible than others. Cushman's concept of the hungry, empty self, alienated from community and disconnected from social traditions and meaning, may go further to explain why some people are more susceptible to cravings than others. Social marketing could play a helpful role in healing people's sense of isolation in mental health campaigns such as VicHealth's 'Together We Do Better'. Finally, it may be more intuitive to understand apparently paradoxical behaviour as an urgent attempt to heal the empty self. This would make it in a perverse way protective, though not healthy. This way, people are seen as doing the best they can to protect themselves against the most immediate threat to the self, a sense of hollowness and isolation. If so, the fact that this need is able to supersede other major health needs suggests that it is one of the most urgent imperatives of the self. References Apter, M.J. The Experience of Motivation: The Theory of Psychological Reversals. London: Academic Press, 1982. 'Campaign Materials.' Victoria Health 'Together We Do Better Campaign'. http://www.togetherwedobetter.vic.gov.au... [accessed 26 Aug. 2002]. Cushman, P. 'Why the Self is Empty: Toward a Historically Situated Psychology.' American Psychologist (1990, May): 599-611. Firestone, R. W. 'Psychological Defenses Against Death Anxiety.' Death Anxiety Handbook: Research, Instrumentation, and Application. Series in Death Education, Aging, and Health Care. Ed. R. A. Neimeyer. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis, 1994. 217-241. Henley, N. & Donovan, R. Unintended Consequences of Arousing Fear in Social Marketing. Paper presented at ANZMAC Conference. Sydney, Nov. 1999. Janis, I. L. 'Effects of Fear Arousal on Attitude Change: Recent Developments in Theory and Experimental Research.' Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 3 (1967): 167-225. Janz, N. & M. Becker. 'The Health Belief Model: A Decade Later.' Health Education Quarterly 11 (1984): 1-47. Leventhal, H. 'Findings and Theory in the Study of Fear Communications.' Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 5. Ed. L. Berkowitz . New York: Academic Press, 1970. 119-86. Maddux, J. E. & R.W Rogers. 'Protection Motivation and Self-efficacy: A Revised Theory of Fear Appeals and Attitude Change.' Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 19 (1983): 469-79. Lowenstein, G. 'Out of Control: Visceral Influences on Behaviour.' Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes. 65.3 (1996): 272-92. McGuire, W. J. 'Personality and Attitude Change: An Information-processing Theory.' Psychological Foundations of Attitudes. Ed. A. G. Greenwald, T. C. Brock, and T. M. Ostrom. New York: Academic Press, 1968. pp. 171-96. Rogers, R. W. & C.R. Mewborn. 'Fear Appeals and Attitude Change: Effects of a Threat's Noxiousness, Probability of Occurrence, and the Efficacy of Coping Responses.' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34.1 (1976): 54-61. Stuteville, J. R. 'Psychic Defenses against High Fear Appeals: A Key Marketing Variable.' Journal of Marketing 34 (1970): 39-45. Tanner, J. F., J.B. Hunt and D.R. Eppright. 'The Protection Motivation Model: A Normative Model of Fear Appeals.' Journal of Marketing 55 (1991): 36-45. van Deurzen-Smith, E. Existential Counselling in Practice. London: Sage Publications, 1988. Witte, K. 'Putting the Fear Back into Fear Appeals: The Extended Parallel Process Model.' Communication Monographs 59.4 (1992): 329-349. Links http://www.togetherwedobetter.vic.gov.au/resources/campaign.asp Citation reference for this article Substitute your date of access for Dn Month Year etc... MLA Style Henley, Nadine. "The Healthy vs the Empty Self" M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5.5 (2002). [your date of access] < http://www.media-culture.org.au/mc/0210/Henley.html &gt. Chicago Style Henley, Nadine, "The Healthy vs the Empty Self" M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5, no. 5 (2002), < http://www.media-culture.org.au/mc/0210/Henley.html &gt ([your date of access]). APA Style Henley, Nadine. (2002) The Healthy vs the Empty Self. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5(5). < http://www.media-culture.org.au/mc/0210/Henley.html &gt ([your date of access]).

J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is appalled to learn that his lover is a victim of incest in Robert Towne and Roman Polanski’s definitive, yet subversive film Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974). Similarly, Ethan Mars (Pascale Langdale), the hero of the electronic game Heavy Rain (David Cage, 2010), is equally devastated to find his child has been abducted. One a cinema classic of the detective genre, the other a sophisticated electronic game: both ground-breaking, both compelling, but delivered in contrasting media. So, what do Chinatown and Heavy Rain have in common from the writer’s point of view? Can the writer of games learn from the legacy of film storytelling yet find alternative rules for new media? This article attempts to answer these questions making reference to the two works above to illuminate the gap between games writing and traditional screenwriting scholarship.Western commercial cinema has evolved to place story centrally and Chinatown is an example of a story’s potential as film art and entertainment concurrently. Media convention derives from the lessons of previous relatable art forms such as pictorial art, literature and architecture in the case of film; board games and centuries of physical gaming in the case of games design. Therefore, the invention of new media such as online and electronic gaming relies, in part, on the rules of film. However, game play has reassessed screenwriting and its applicability to this new media rendering many of these rules redundant. If Marshall McLuhan’s adage “the medium is the message” is correct, then despite the reliance of one medium on the traditions of its predecessor, gaming is simply not cinema. This article considers writing for games as axiomatically unconventional and calls for radical reinventions of storytelling within the new media.In order to investigate games writing, I will first revisit some of the rules of cinematic construction as inherited from an original Aristotelian source (Cleary). These rules require: a single focussed protagonist driving the plot; a consistent story form with narrative drive or story engine; the writer to avoid the repeated dramatic beat and; a reassessment of thematic concerns for the new technology. We should also investigate game-centric terminology such as “immersion” and “agency” to see how electronic gaming as an essentially postmodern phenomenon reciprocates, yet contrasts to, its cinematic predecessor (Murray, Hamlet 98/126). Must the maker of games subscribe to the filmmaker’s toolbox when the field is so very different? In order to answer this question, I will consider some concepts unique to games technology, firstly, the enduring debate known as ludology versus narratology. Gaming rhetoric since the late 1990s has questioned the efficacy of the traditional film narrative when adapted to game play. Players are still divided between the narratologists’ view, which holds that story within games is inevitable and the ludologists’ opinion, which suggests that traditional narrative has no place within the spatially orientated freedom of game play. Originally espousing the benefits of ludology, Janet H Murray argues that the essential formalism of gaming separates it from narrative, which Aarseth describes as representing “'colonialist' intrusions” on game play (46). Mimetic aspects inherited from narrative principles should remain incidental rather than forming an overarching hegemony within the game (Murray, "Last Word"). In this way, the ludologists suggest that game development has been undermined by the persistence of the narrative debate and Murray describes game studies as a “multi-dimensional, open-ended puzzle” worth solving on its own terms (indeed, cinema of attractions compelled viewers for thirty years before narrative cinema became dominant in the early twentieth century.Gaming history has proved this argument overblown and Murray herself questions the validity of this spurious debate within game play. She now includes the disclaimer that, ironically, most ludologists are trained in narratology and thus debate a “phantom of their own creation” (Murray, "Last Word"). This implies a contemporary opposition to ludology’s original meaning and impacts upon screenwriting principles in game making. Two further key concepts, which divide the medium of game entirely from the art of cinema are “immersion” and “agency” (Murray, Hamlet 98/126). Murray likens immersion to the physical sensation of being “submerged in water” pointing out that players enjoy the psychologically immersive phenomenon of delving into an undiscovered reality (Murray, Hamlet 98). Although distinct from the passive experience of cinema viewing, this immersion is like the experience of leaving the ordinary world and diving into the special world as Christopher Vogler’s screenwriting theory suggests. The cinema audience is encouraged to immerse themselves in the new world of Gittes’s Chinatown from the comfort of their familiar one. Similarly, the light-hearted world of the summer home contrasts Heavy Rain’s decent into urban, neo-noir corruption. Contrary to its cinematic cousin, the immediacy and subjectivity of the new media experience is more tangible and controllable, which renders immersion in games more significant and brings us to the next gaming concept, agency.To describe agency, Murray uses the complex metaphor of participatory dance, with its predetermined structures, “social formulas” and limited opportunities to change the overall “plot” of the dance: “The slender story is designed to unfold in the same way no matter what individual audience members may do to join the fun” (Hamlet 126-27). In electronic gaming, time-honoured gaming traditions from chess and board games serve as worthy predecessors. In this way, sophisticated permutations of outcome based on the player’s choice create agency, which is “the satisfying power to take meaningful action and see the results of our decisions and choices” (Murray, Hamlet 126). Bearing this in mind, when narrative enters game play, a world of possibility opens up (Murray, Hamlet).So where do the old rules of cinema apply within gaming and where is the maker of games able to find alternatives based on their understanding of agency and immersion? McLuhan’s unconventional scholarship leads the way, by pointing out the alternativity of the newer media. I consider that the rules of cinematic construction are also often disregarded by the casual viewer/player, but of utmost importance to the professional screenwriter.Amongst these rules is the screenwriting convention of having a single protagonist. This is a being fuelled with desire and a clear, visually rendered, actively negotiated goal. This principle persists in cinema according to Aristotle’s precepts (Cleary). The protagonist is a single entity making decisions and taking actions, even if that entity is a collection of individuals acting as one (Dethridge). The exploits of this main character (facing an opposing force of antagonism) determine the path of the story and for that reason a clear, single-minded narrative line is echoed in a single story form (McKee). For example, the baffling depth of meaning in Chinatown still emanates from protagonist J.J. Gittes’s central determination: to solve the crime suggested by the Los Angeles water shortage. The audience’s ability to identify and empathise with Gittes is paramount when he discovers the awful perversion his love interest, Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), has been subjected to. However, the world of Chinatown remains intriguing as a string of corruption is revealed though a detective plot fuelled by our hero’s steadfast need to know the truth. In this way, a single protagonist’s desire line creates a solid story form. Conversely, in computer games (and despite the insistence of Draconian screenwriting lecturers who insist on replicating cinematic rules) the effect of a multiple protagonist plot still allows for the essential immersion in an imaginative world. In Heavy Rain, for example, the search for clues through the eyes of several related characters including a hapless father, a hangdog, ageing detective and a hyper-athletic single mother still allows for immersion. The player/interactor’s actions still create agency even as they change avatars from scene to scene. The player also negotiates for mastery of their character’s actions in order to investigate their situation, facts and world. However, each time the player switches their character allegiance, they revert to square one of their potential identification with that character. Indeed, in Heavy Rain, the player keenly aware of the chilling effect generated by the father losing his child in a busy shopping mall, but then another avatar steps forward, then another and the player must learn about new and unfamiliar characters on a scene-by-scene basis. The accumulative identification with a hero like Chinatown’s Gittes, begins with an admiration for his streetwise charm, then strengthens through his unfolding disillusionment and is cemented with Polanski’s brilliant invention: the death of Evelyn Mulwray replete with its politico-sexual implications (Polanski). However, does this mean cinematic identification is superior to game play’s immersion and agency? McLuhan might argue it is not and that the question is meaningless given that the “message” of games is axiomatically different. Traditional screenwriting scholarship therefore falters in the new medium. Further, Heavy Rain’s multi-protagonist miasma conforms to a new breed of structure: the mosaic plot, which according to Murray mirrors the internet’s click and drag mentality. In this sense, a kaleidoscopic world opens in pockets of revelation before the player. This satisfies the interactor in a postmodernist sense: an essential equality of incoming information in random, nonlinear connections. Indeed electronic games of this nature are a triumph of postmodernism and of ludology’s influence on the narratologist’s perspective. Although a story form including clues and detection still drives the narrative, the mosaic realisation of character and situation (which in a film’s plot might seem meandering and nonsensical) is given life by the agency and immersion provided by gaming (Truby).Back in traditional screenwriting principles, there is still the need for a consistent and singular story form providing a constant narrative drive (McKee). As mentioned, this arises from the protagonist’s need. For example a revenge plot relies on the hero’s need for vengeance; a revelation plot like Chinatown hinges on detection. However, first time screenwriting students’ tendency to visualise a story based unconsciously on films they have previously seen (as a bricolage of character moments arranged loosely around a collection of received ideas) tends to undermine the potential effectiveness of their story form. This lack of singularity in filmic writing indicates a misunderstanding of story logic. This propensity in young screenwriters derives from a belief that if the rendered filmic experience means something to them, it will necessarily mean something to an audience. Not so: an abandoned story drive or replaced central character diminishes the audience’s enjoyment and even destroys suspension of disbelief. Consequently, the story becomes bland and confusing. On investigation, it appears the young screenwriter does not realise that they are playing out an idea in their head, which is essentially a bricolage in the postmodern sense. Although this might lead to some titillating visual displays it fails to engage the audience as the result of their participation in an emotional continuum (Hayward). In contradistinction to film, games thrive on such irregularities in story, assuming radically different effects. For example, in cinema, the emotional response of a mass audience is a major draw card: if the filmic story is an accumulation of cause and effect responses, which steadily drive the stakes up until resolution, then it is the emotional “cathexis” as by-product of conflict that the audience resonates with (Freud 75; Chekhov). Does this transfer to games? Do notions such as feeling and empathy actually figure in game play at all? Or is this simply an activity rewarding the interactor with agency in lieu of deeper, emotive experiences? This final question could be perceived as anti-gaming sentiment given that games such as Heavy Rain suggest just such an emotional by-product. Indeed, the mechanics of gaming have the ability to push the stakes even higher than their cinematic counterparts, creating more complex emotionality in the player. In this way, the intentional psychological malaise of Heavy Rain solicits even greater emotion from players due to their inherent act of will. Where cinema renders the audience emotional by virtue of its passivity, no such claim is possible in the game. For example, where in Chinatown, Gittes tortures his lover by repeatedly slapping her, in Heavy Rain the character must actively perform torture on themself in order to solve the mystery. Further, the potential for engagement is extended given there are fourteen possible endings to Heavy Rain. In this way, although the film viewer’s emotional response is tempered by guessing the singular outcome, the multiple endings of this electronic game prevent such prescience (films can have multiple endings, but game mechanics lend the new media more readily to this function, therefore, game books with dice-rolling options are a stronger precedent then cinema).Also effective for the construction of cinema is Aristotle’s warning that the repetition of story and expositional information without rising stakes or any qualification of meaning creates a sense of “dramatic stall” for the audience (Aristotle). This is known as a repeated dramatic story beat and it is the stumbling block of many first time screenwriters. The screenplay should be an inventive effort to overcome escalating obstacles and an accumulative cause and effect chain on the part of the protagonist (Truby). The modern screenwriter for film needs to recognise any repeated beat in their early drafting and delete or alter the repetitive material. What then are the implications of repeated dramatic beats for the game writer? The game form known as “first person shooter” (FPS) depends on the appearance of an eternally regenerating (indeed re-spawning) enemy. In an apocalyptic zombie shooter game, for example, many hordes of zombies die unequivocally without threatening the interactor’s intrigue. Presumably, the antagonists are not intended to pose intellectual opposition for the gamer. Rather, the putrefying zombies present themselves for the gamer’s pugilistic satisfaction, again and again. For the game, therefore, the repeated beat is a distinct advantage. They may come harder and faster, but they are still zombies to be dispatched and the stakes have not necessarily risen. Who cares if this is a succession of repeated beats? It is just good clean fun, right? This is where the ludologists hold sway: to impose principles such as non-repeated beats and rising stakes on the emergence of a world based on pure game play offers no consequence for the FPS game. Nevertheless, the problem is exacerbated in “role play games” (RPG) of which Heavy Rain is an example. Admittedly, the gamer derives effective horror as our hero negotiates his way amongst a sea of disassociated shoppers searching for his lost child. The very fact of gamer agency should abnegate the problem, but does not, it merely heightens the sense of existential hopelessness: turning face after face not finding the child he is searching for is a devastating experience exacerbated by active agency (as opposed to the accepting passivity of cinema spectatorship). The rising panic in the game and the repetition of the faces of impassive shoppers also supports the player’s ongoing disorientation. The iconic appearance of the gruff clown handing out balloons further heightens the panic the gamer/protagonist experiences here. These are examples of repeated beats, yet effective due to player agency. The shoppers only persist until the gamer masters the situation and is able to locate the missing child. Thus, it is the capacity of the gamer to circumvent such repetition, which actually propels the game forward. If the gamer is adept, they will overcome the situation easily; if they are inexperienced, the repetition will continue. So, why apply traditional narrative constrictions on game play within a narrative game?Another crucial aspect of story is theme, which in the young writer reflects a postmodernist fetishisation of plot over story. In fact, theme is one of the first concepts to be ignored when a film student puts pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) when designing their game. In this way, the themes students choose to ignore resurface despite their lack of conscious application of them. They write plot, and plot in abundance (imperative for the modern writer (Truby)), which the mosaic structure of games accommodates for seamlessly. However, plot is causative and postmodern interpretations do not necessarily require the work of art to “say” anything beyond the “message” trapped in the clichés of their chosen genre (McLuhan). In concentrating on plot, therefore, the young writer says what they are unaware they are saying. At its most innocuous level this creates cliché. At its worst, it erases history and celebrates an attitude of unexamined ignorance toward the written material (Hayward). In extreme cases, student writers of both media support fascism, celebrate female masochism, justify rape (with or without awareness), or create nihilistic and derivative art, which sensationalises violence to a degree not possible within film technology. This is ironic given that postmodernism is defined, in part, by a canny reaction to modernist generation of meaning and cynicism toward the technology of violence. In all this postmodernism, that illusive chestnut known as “originality” (a questionable imperative still haunting the conventional screenplay despite the postmodernist declamation that there is no such thing) should also be considered. Although the game writer can learn from the lessons of the screenwriter, the problems of game structure and expression are unique to the new medium and therefore alternative to film. Adhering to traditional understandings of screenwriting in games is counterproductive to the development of the form and demands new assessment. If gaming students are liberated from narratologist impositions of cinematic story structures, will this result in better or more thoughtful games? Further to the ludologists’ original protestation against the ““colonialist” intrusions” of narrative on game play, film writing must recede where appropriate (Aarseth). Then again, if a ludologist approach to game creation renders the student writer free of filmic dogma, why do they impose the same stories repetitively? What gain comes from ignoring the Aristotelian traditions of storytelling–especially as derived from screen culture? I suggest that storytelling, to echo McLuhan’s statement, must necessarily change with the new medium: the differences are illuminating. The younger, nonlinear form embodies the player as protagonist and therefore should not need to impose the single protagonist regime from film. Story engine has been replaced by player agency and game mechanics, which also allows for inventive usage of the repeated beat. Indeed, postmodern and ludological concerns embedded within mosaic plots almost entirely replace the need for any consistency of story form while still subverting the expectations of modernism? Genre rules are partly reinvented by the form and therefore genre conventions in gaming are still in their infancy. Indeed, the very amorality of nihilistic game designers opens a space for burgeoning post-postmodernist concerns regarding ethics and faith within art. In any case, the game designer may choose the lessons of film writing’s modernist legacy if story is to be effective within the new medium. However, as meaning derives from traditional form, it might be wiser to allow the new medium its own reinvention of writing rules. Given Heavy Rain’s considerable contribution to detective genre in game play by virtue of its applying story within new media, I anticipate further developments that might build on Chinatown’s legacy in the future of gaming, but on the game play’s own terms.ReferencesAarseth, Espen. Genre Trouble: Narrativism and the Art of Simulation. First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT P, 2004. Aristotle. Poetics. Australia: Penguin Classics, 1997.Chekhov, Michael. Lessons for the Professional Actor. New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1985.Chinatown. Roman Polanski. Paramount Golden Classics, 2011.Cleary, Stephen. “'What Would Aristotle Do?' Ancient Wisdom for Modern Screenwriters.” Stephen Cleary Lecture Series, 1 May 2011. Melbourne, Vic.: Victorian College of the Arts.Dethridge, Lisa. Writing Your Screenplay. Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2003.Freud, Sigmund. “On Narcissism: An Introduction.” On Metapsychology: The Theory of Psychoanalysis. 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