As a reaction to developments being made by indie developers in the peripherals of the video
game industry, this paper has been authored with intent to contribute to an ongoing discourse
on interactive media. This paper details a study of Cardboard Computers project Kentucky
Route Zero, and the means by which the player in Kentucky Route Zero has their interactions
enabled within the game. A number of select scenes from the games were chosen prior to the
actual process of data gathering, and these scenes were then analysed using a custom method
by primarily combining methods described by Michel Chion as well as Jesse Schell. The
scenes were scrutinised in search of every possibility for player interaction, and then divided
into smaller, more manageable chunks where instances of interaction were further isolated
and then named after a number of common characteristics. The chunks containing these
instances of interaction were then compared to one another in search of functional
connections. The results of the study indicates that two major types of interactions, direct and
indirect, work in tandem to provide players with a mode of interaction within the game.
Further research into the studied field could build on the findings of this study to different
types or character of interaction, as well as the functions of more complex interactive systems.
2019.