I was talking to a friend about the (not)game I recently released, and the topic of interaction came up. It's basically the same type of concept as Dear Esther, all you do is walk around and explore while unfolding a story (but with the narration replaced replaced with events happening in the environment). I said something about how it indeed has no real interaction to speak of, but my friend said that he thinks just being in environments can be considered interaction.

This got me thinking. We tend to define interaction by all that black-box feedback crap: press a button, get a reaction (usually some sort of reward). Input, reaction. You do something, the game does something to let you know that you did something. Of course pressing keys and moving the mouse to move and look fits this definition from a minimalist view, but perhaps there are other ways of looking at interaction. Ways that are less scientific, and more emotional or spiritual.

Thoughts?

Hey there, my name is Tyler and I'm a fledgling developer.
I recently graduated with a degree in Game Art, and before that I studied architecture for a year and half (I had planned my whole life to be an architect).
My architectural background has had a big influence on my design philosophy, and is probably what led me here. My main interests lie in creating compelling virtual spaces overlaid with stories, utilizing minimalism and abstraction in various ways.

Here's my blog and portfolio site, if anyone is interested!
blog: www.tylersnell.wordpress.com
portfolio: www.trsnell.com