The purpose of the article is to prove the continuity between the key principles of Tom Gunning’s “cinema of attractions” and the mechanics of contemporary interactive cinema, analyzing how the logic of spectacle, direct appeal, and affective impact is technologically reinterpreted in the era of digital media. The research methodology is determined by its interdisciplinary nature and relies on a comprehensive set of tools, including: first, a media archaeological approach that allows us to abandon linear models of progress and analyze the cyclical repetition of media forms, revealing the connection between early cinema and contemporary digital media; second, a comparative analysis used to compare the aesthetic principles of “cinema of attractions” and the functional mechanics of interactive cinema; and, third, a conceptual analysis that involves the application of Tom Gunning’s theoretical approach to interpret the evolution of the viewer/user experience. The results. The article proves that the central mechanics of interactive cinema “the point of choice” functions as a modern attraction. It is determined that the principle of “exhibitionism” is implemented through an interface that destroys narrative immersion and demonstrates its own constructedness. The affective impact is created not so much by the visual spectacle as by the psychological tension of the act of decision-making itself. It is analyzed that the mechanism of “limited agency” is not a drawback, but a key aesthetic technique for creating an attraction effect. It is also stated that the transformation of a public, shared attraction into an individualized, private, and data-driven algorithmic choice. The scientific novelty. For the first time in domestic film studies, an attempt has been made at a systemic analysis that establishes a direct connection between the theory of “cinema of attractions” and the specific mechanics of modern interactive cinema. The work fills the research gap between film studies, which studies attractions mainly in non-interactive media, and game studies, which analyze interactivity outside the context of film studies. A new theoretical approach to understanding interactive cinema as a cinematic, rather than a purely gaming phenomenon, is proposed. The practical significance. The results obtained can be applied in the modernization of curricula for the professional training of multimedia directors, producers and scriptwriters of interactive projects. The materials of the work are of practical value for researchers of the theory and history of cinema, modern screen culture and can be used in the development of teaching aids and lecture courses dedicated to interactive audiovisual arts.
Myslavskyi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.