Let’s talk about realism. Realism in digital media is no longer about mimicking the real world; it’s about constructing realistic systems that one can relate to emotionally and that are symbolically true. As games and VR evolve, they increasingly blur the line between presence and performance.
Traditionally, realism was often equated with photo-realistic graphics: high-resolution textures, accurate lighting, and physically based rendering. However, as Elrich (2021) argues, “new forms of realism achieved through interaction design enable a move away from photo-realistic visual representations.” In other words, realism is no longer about surface fidelity. It’s about experiential coherence.
One of my favorite games, Assassin’s Creed III, simulates the American Revolutionary War through a fictional protagonist named Connor. He is a trained assassin with abilities beyond historical plausibility. Yet the game feels real because it constructs a symbolic system of oppression, resistance, and ideological conflict. The realism lies not in historical accuracy, but in the emotional and systematic logic of the world.
Hypermediacy, as defined by Bolter and Grusin (1999), is “a style of visual representation whose goal is to remind the viewer of the medium” (p. 271). In contrast to immediacy, which seeks to erase the interface, hypermediacy foregrounds it. Games like Cyberpunk 2077 embrace this through glitch effects, UI overlays, and stylized editing that are not distractions but elements reflecting the game’s themes of surveillance, fragmentation, and digital saturation.
Hypermediacy becomes a semiotic layer, a visible sign system that encodes meaning. The game reminds players that they are not only immersed in a world but also navigating constructed interfaces.
Virtual reality aims for immediacy to erase the boundary between user and world. This leads to hyperreality, a term coined by Baudrillard (1994) to describe “the generation by models of a real without origin or reality.” In VR, we don’t just simulate spaces; we simulate emotional truths. A VR war memorial, for instance, may not represent a real place, much like a live-streamed wedding where you don’t experience it physically by being present in the moment. However, it can evoke emotions like grief, reverence, happiness, joy, excitement, and reflection more powerfully than its physical counterpart.
While VR is often associated with immediacy, it can also embrace hypermediacy. For example, stylized interfaces and layered soundscapes remind us that we are in a simulation. This duality between immersion and awareness creates a reflexive presence. Moreover, VR can simulate not just visuals and audio, but temperature, wind, and haptics. Take the Sphere in Los Angeles, for example: these sensory extensions deepen immersion but also raise the question of whether it matters if we can simulate the feeling of autumn (the leaves falling, the wind brushing the skin) when it’s not real.
Conclusion
Games and VR are not just media; they are symbolic systems that simulate, stylize, and mediate reality. Realism is no longer about copying the world; it’s about constructing believable experiences through interaction, mediation, and symbolic logic. Hypermediacy foregrounds the medium, while VR and interaction simulate presence. Together, they move us from reality to hyperreality: a space where the simulated becomes more emotionally and symbolically real than the original.
References
Elrich, N. (2021). Interaction Design and the New Realism. Journal of Digital Media Studies, 45-62.
Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and Simulation. University of Michigan Press.
Bolter, J. D., & Grusin, R. (1999). Remediation: Understanding New Media. MIT Press.
