Putting the player back in their place: spatial analysis from below

Theorists have long regarded spatiality as an essential facet of the videogame, and recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the emergence of space-focussed research. However, the figure of the player has been largely absent from this research, and the role of player action remains under-theorised in understandings of videogame spatiality. Generally, the internal, diegetic space of the videogame has been conceived of in static terms in order for any sort of analysis to be performed. In the language of De Certeau, videogame space is frequently imagined as 'from above', and outside of the direct experience of the player. This paper seeks to re-place the figure of the player as central within analyses of videogame space, and point towards the study of videogame space 'from below'. Unlike more traditional critical frameworks surrounding physical space, the spatial diegesis of the videogame is both conceptual and affordance-based. Consequently, though physical space may be repurposed and contested (as in Rasmussen's Experiencing Architecture (1959)), the player's place in videogame space is far more constitutive. Thus, the toolset and possibilities for action of the player form a critical frame for spatial design. Therefore, this paper argues that the design of videogame space is fundamentally inseparable from its use. Through close analysis of Valve's Portal (2007) from the perspective of space/use and the figure of the player, this paper will examine the possibilities of spatial analysis 'from below'