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One little change: exploring relationship abuse in a virtual reality narrative

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One little change: exploring relationship abuse in a virtual reality narrative

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One Little Change: Exploring Relationship
Abuse in a Virtual Reality Narrative

by
Kelsey Rice

A thesis presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(INTERACTIVE MEDIA)

May 2019
1
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my fantastic team of volunteers, listed in alphabetical order: Ahmad Mir
Mohammad Sadeghi, Anthony Sabatino, Blair Deveraux, Brooke Jaffe, Eli Bork, Elliott Mahler,
Jack Bailey, Maddie Emery, Roahith Rajendran, and Steph Ng. Thank you Meredith Agran for
lending your tarot knowledge, Chloe Wohnoutka for additional concept art, and Jung-Ho Sohn
for additional thesis advising. Thanks to Brooke Jaffe, Crystal Chan, Cuahtemo Marquez, Eli
Bork, Joanna Shen, Justin Camden, Nehemiah Westmoreland, and Roger Kyle for beautiful
voice acting.

Thank you Peter Brinson, Maureen McHugh, and Josh Scherr for your fantastic advice as thesis
advisors; Jeff Watson, Carl Schnurr, and Jane Pinckard for your guidance in thesis class; and
Dennis Wixon and Tracy Fullerton for serving on my thesis committee.

Finally I would like to thank my family; without their love and support none of this would be
possible.
Notes
Content warning for images and descriptions of relationship abuse and violence.

I use “they” as a gender-neutral singular pronoun throughout this paper.

Finally, One Little Change is a work in progress, scheduled to debut as a demo in May 2019.
Therefore some of this paper is speculative pending playtesting in the near future.

2
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 2
Notes 2
Table of Contents 3
List of Figures 4
Abstract 5
Keywords 5
Introduction 6
Project Description 8
Card Games & Tarot 9
Demons 13
Branching Narratives 14
Process 16
Virtual Reality 16
Look Based Interaction 17
Vignette Structure 19
Ambiguity & Limited Information 22
Story 25
Structure 27
Exhibition 28
Reflection 30
Simplicity & Editing 30
Working with difficult subject matter 31
Scoping Considerations 31
Final Thoughts 32
Works Cited 33

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List of Figures
Fig. 1. Screenshot of playable cards from One Little Change , my thesis project, 2019.
Fig. 2. Screenshot obtained from official Steam site for Cultist Simulator, Weather Factory,
2018. https://store.steampowered.com/app/718670/Cultist_Simulator/
Fig. 3. Card collection screenshot paintover for One Little Change , Kelsey Rice, 2019.
Fig. 4. Screenshot of falling snow in One Little Change , my thesis project, 2019.
Fig. 5. Screenshots from YouTube video Editing & Empathy in Big Little Lies, Michal Zak,
2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejd1EnlFdNs
Figs. 6 and 7. Screenshots from Netflix film The Ritual , David Bruckner, 2017.
https://www.netflix.com/title/80217312
Fig. 8. Promotional screenshot from official website of video game Return of the Obra Dinn,
Lucas Pope, 2018. https://obradinn.com/img/shots/People-10.png
Fig. 9. Promotional image for One Little Change , game and painting by Kelsey Rice, 2018.
Fig. 10. In-engine concept for resurrection scene in One Little Change ; concept by Roahith
Rajendiran, game by Kelsey Rice, 2018.
Fig. 11. Concept for summoning circle in One Little Change , Kelsey Rice, 2018.
Fig. 12. Floor plans for One Little Change demo at MFA thesis show, Kelsey Rice, 2019.

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Abstract
One Little Change is a virtual reality experience for Oculus Rift investigating the inner demons
that lead to relationship abuse and their effects on survivors. The player character, possessed by
a demon, is forced to confront a traumatic memory in a strange card game. Trapped in an old
cabin, actions limited by the cards in their hand, the player must reflect on their traumatic past
and look for agency where there appears to be none. Through use of flashbacks, limited agency,
and the immersive qualities of virtual reality, One Little Change strives to raise awareness of
relationship abuse and start a conversation about finding agency in toxic relationships.
Keywords
Virtual reality, relationship abuse, interactive narrative, game, trauma, memory

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Introduction
One Little Change uses a combination of classic interaction mechanics and contemporary
technology to tell a story about trauma and agency. These mechanics were chosen because abuse
has been around as long as human relationships, and a classic problem calls for a classic game
mechanic. As I will discuss later in this paper, abusers treat their manipulations as a kind of
game, something they can win or lose. To win they have at their disposal a set of techniques--a
metaphorical deck of cards--that they can draw from to manipulate their partners. Once we can
learn to spot these problematic behaviors, abusers lose a lot of their power. One Little Change
was created for this purpose: to investigate and bring to light abusive behaviors via metaphors of
card games and demons.
Card games have been around for thousands of years. They give the player a limited set
of options based on a combination of strategy and chance. Similarly, the
choose-your-own-adventure format of storytelling is iconic in game design, and currently in
resurgence in experiences such as Netflix’s Black Mirror episode “Bandersnatch” (2018). One
Little Change explores how these two classic formats, card games and branching narratives, can
work in tandem to tell a story of trauma and limited agency.
The current popularity of virtual reality (VR) presents a unique opportunity to make the
classic card game format more immersive and magical. VR’s unique strengths of physicality and
look-based interaction add an interesting layer of complexity to the project’s card playing and
flashback mechanics.
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The final key component to One Little Change is its story. The player character, Roger,
has been possessed by a demon for a year. The demon compels him to return to the place where
they first met, a cabin in the wilderness. Something very bad happened here, but Roger’s mind is
too clouded from months of demonic influence to remember what. The demon wants to clear up
Roger’s memory in hopes that what he remembers will convince him that “they were always
meant to be together.”
The demon’s efforts are misguided, however; what he sees as proof of his devotion to
Roger was actually a gruesome game in which he systematically isolated Roger from his friends
and loved ones. The game was simple: every day he chose one of the cabin’s residents and made
“one little change” to their personality, tweaking it just enough that they wanted to hurt people.
The game had only one rule: try to stay alive.
The demon created this game in a cruel attempt to show Roger how weak and fallible his
loved ones are, how he is “better off alone with [the demon].” At the end of three grueling days,
Roger was killed by one of his friends and resurrected by the demon. Now entirely dependent on
the demon for survival, Roger lived completely under the monster’s control. So when the demon
compelled Roger to return to the cabin, Roger obeyed.
In the events of the game, Roger uses a set of enchanted tarot cards to remember what
happened in the cabin. By the end of the game--outside of the scope of the demo--Roger will
have the opportunity to free himself from the demon’s control by creating new cards for his deck
that the demon did not want him to have. He is able to find a small amount of agency in his
world of abuse and use it to escape the demon’s clutches.
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All of these elements come together to form a thriller narrative that is an allegory for
domestic abuse. This essay will address the design, implementation, and final experience of One
Little Change. It will explain how classic gameplay mechanics can be used to evoke toxic
human interactions. Finally, it will explore abuse survivors’ perceptions of agency in their own
lives; in spite of their partners’ actions there is still hope for escape from abuse.
Project Description

Fig. 1: Playable Cards in One Little Change

One Little Change is a narrative virtual reality thriller in which the player character, Roger,
confronts a traumatic memory through a strange game of cards with a demon. The dynamic
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between the demon and Roger is designed to emulate an abuser-victim relationship. The cards,
used to advance the narrative, form a limited array of choices that evoke Roger’s lack of agency.
Echoes of Roger’s past trauma populate the player’s environment; by looking around the cabin
they can cue memories and flashbacks which which become playable cards they can use to
advance the game.
All of the gameplay elements described below were carefully selected for their
affordances and metaphorical significance after months of iteration. In the following paragraphs
I will explore each element in more detail, explaining why it was hand-picked for the project.
Card Games & Tarot
Abusers see relationships and communication as a “win-lose game” (Lancer). This is the
primary reason why One Little Change takes the form of a card game. Additionally, cards
represent a limited set of choices: when playing cards, we have some agency in choosing what to
play each round, but we cannot pick which cards we draw, and we must play to the hand we are
given. Similarly, perpetrators of abuse frequently work to diminish the agency afforded their
partners. This all comes down to control: in Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry
and Controlling Men , Lundy Bancroft writes: “[y]our problem is not that you lose control of
yourself, it’s that you take control of your partner. In order to change, you don’t need to gain
control over yourself, you need to let go of her” (Bancroft). In One Little Change , the player
character is forced to play a game designed by a demon, their choices limited to a small hand of
cards. The demon is straightforward in his motivations, lamenting: “I have control over your
9
body but not your heart” and beseeching Roger to “let go and commit fully to me.” Everything
he does is in pursuit of convincing Roger of one thing: “you are better off alone with me.”
In order to do this he needs to grant at least an illusion of agency, while keeping Roger’s
options limited enough to steer him to a particular conclusion. It is therefore fitting that the
demon chooses an interactive experience to deliver his message, and that One Little Change is
interactive as well:

[V]ideo games show us that, today, agency is, at the same time, part of
both emancipatory and alienating practices. Not only is agency linked to freedom,
empowerment, and autonomy, but it is also connected to submission, disempowerment,
and dependency. (Muriel & Crawford, 16)

Game designers directly control how much power players have--no more, no less.
Well-designed games clearly indicate the player’s affordances, showing what a player can and
cannot do. Sometimes their limitations are a key factor in the experience. Take for example the
horror game Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010), significant at the time of its release for having
no combat mechanics. When the player is pursued by monsters, all they can do is run and hide.
A conspicuous lack of combat actually makes the game more scary, and is arguably the unique
selling point of the game.
In One Little Change , the player has some agency in their ability to branch the game
narrative. However, their actions are completely limited to the cards in their hand. They cannot
walk, have no ability to leave the chair they are sitting in, and are stuck in a cabin in the middle
10
of nowhere. Although this is a very bleak situation, the player is still ultimately in control of
which cards they collect (see the “look based interaction” section for more information). By the
end of the game they will have the opportunity to collect a card they can use to escape the
demon’s clutches, but they will not know they have access to the card right away. This card was
added to the game to evoke an abused partner’s perceived lack of agency and suggest they might
have more power than they think. This is not to discredit abuse survivors who remain in
destructive relationships--leaving one can be incredibly difficult and dangerous--but it serves to
emphasize that there can be a way out, that survivors should not give up hope.
The demon manipulates the player character throughout the story because he is convinced
that he and the player character “were always meant to be together.” His belief in destiny echoes
the popular idiom “it was in the cards,” which is “a reference to fortune telling with tarot cards”
(Grammarist). Therefore, the game he uses to manipulate the player character reflects his
mindset on their relationship. His mindset is problematic, however, as is his view of tarot:

Traditionally tarot has been used for divination - as a method to ‘look into the future.’
However, this is absolutely not the most productive way to approach tarot.
A more interesting way to understand tarot - is as a tool to unravel the unspoken voice of
the self. Cards are something tangible on which we can project our feelings and
thoughts. (Gong)

While playing the demon’s game Roger must look within his own memories to find hidden
meaning in the cards he finds. Although the demon created the game with a selfish agenda,
11
hoping to stir up remembrances of inner darkness, unresolved anger, and malign motivations, he
does not directly control what his victims see. Although there is indeed darkness in humanity,
there is also light, something Roger must lean on to escape the demon’s control. Although he
has been beaten down, terrorized, and subjugated; although he has made mistakes and hurt the
people he loves, he can still rekindle his inner passion and kindness and learn to lean on loved
ones when he needs help. As much as the demon wants Roger to believe otherwise, he is not
alone, and he is loved.
There are two sides to every coin, both in tarot and in One Little Change . In tarot, if a
card is upside-down its meaning changes. It is still the same card, but its characteristics manifest
in different ways. Similarly, when the demon possesses a character in the story, he is preying on
anxieties and fears that were present in them all along. He realizes that personality traits that
aren’t inherently negative can be warped and distorted and uses this to his advantage. Although
inverted cards aren’t necessarily bad in tarot, they made for a convenient metaphor in One Little
Change .
Finally, the demon’s cards are a delivery mechanism for story. Each card played
advances the narrative, sometimes even changing its course. This mechanic is not without
precedent: Cultist Simulator (2018), a card-based simulation game by Weather Factory, proved it
is possible to communicate narrative through a card playing mechanic. Although the gameplay
is significantly more complicated in this title (see fig. 2), Cultist Simulator proves that cards can
indeed come together to tell a compelling story.

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Fig. 2
Demons
Demons are known for their corrupting influence, manipulating our inherent fears and
insecurities to do harm:

According to European folk belief, for instance . . . there is a whole slew of demons,
associated with Satan in his entourage, fallen angels and unredeemed humans, roaming
the earth, eager to possess, corrupt, and plague humanity . . . According to a
contemporary catechism, devils or demons represent temptation, confusion, deception;
they are inimical to humans, barring their entrance to heaven. (Goodman, 95)

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As corruptors they take advantage of mankind’s inner darkness to sew chaos. One Little Change
explores the monsters that reside in us all and ruminates on how they can cause damage in our
everyday lives. Can we acknowledge their existence without letting them take control? This
demon metaphor was chosen because it allows players to confront difficult issues from a safe
distance. One of the useful affordances of genre fiction--horror in this case--is its use of
metaphor; although mythological beings do not exist, they can serve as stand-ins for important
real-world issues which deserve discussion. Additionally, since the demon is a body-hopping
entity, the game can explore the many different faces of abuse: gaslighting, crazymaking,
physical violence, etc. Each character in the story manifests different abusive traits when
possessed, which reminds players that there is no perfect textbook example of abuse. Survivors
should not downplay their trauma just because it did not look a certain way.
In the previous paragraph I mentioned that the demon exploits insecurities inherent in all
of us. Before moving on I want to emphasize that many insecure individuals never become
abusive. As Lundy Bancroft writes in his aforementioned book, “he isn’t abusive because he’s
angry; he’s angry because he’s abusive” (Bancroft). Therefore we should not excuse abusive
individuals for their behavior; although abusers may be triggered by human and relatable
insecurities, they should still seek help in expelling their metaphorical demons.
Branching Narratives
One Little Change utilizes a branching narrative structure, which means that player choices
determine the outcome of the story. At key points in the game the player arrives at “make a
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choice” sequences which force them to choose between two characters, whether it’s who they
take with him while searching for a lost friend or who they choose to trust when making an
important decision. The demon, much like an abusive partner, frequently worries about where
he stands in the player character’s regard. He always wants to be put first. His attitude is in line
with abusive partners, who desire to be “the center of attention, with priority given to [their]
needs” (Bancroft). Therefore he is very interested in learning how the player character ranks his
friends and loved ones -- and who they are willing to sacrifice in moments of danger. This is a
metaphor for abusive scenarios in which survivors are isolated from their friends and must be
very deliberate when spending the limited free time allotted to them by their abuser. Over time
their friend groups tend to dwindle, and in particularly bad cases, survivors are left with no
support group at all. As the demon likes to say, “you’re better off alone with me.”
This branching narrative structure follows a rich history of interactive fiction in
choose-your-own-adventure books and games which are currently making a comeback in the
form of branching films such as Netflix’s interactive Black Mirror episode, “Bandersnatch”
(2018). A common theme in these experiences is that of agency; in “Bandersnatch,” protagonist
Stefan comments on a choose-your-own-adventure game he created and says, “I realized I just
had to give the player the illusion of free choice. I decide how the story ends.” Whether or not
“Bandersnatch” was a successful episode--or whether this is a valid design strategy--creating an
illusion of choice is undeniably manipulative.
In One Little Change the demon gleefully uses the same strategy. He says to Roger,
“[e]verything that has happened or will happen is your doing. Your victory. Your failure.” This
of course is a farce; all of Roger’s decisions throughout the story are influenced by the demon’s
15
machinations. This lie is a manipulation tactic: if Roger believes what occurred is his fault, the
demon can weaponize his guilt against him. Guilt is in important tool for abusers; “[v]ictims of
violence are likely to feel guilt, shame, and self-blame for being abused,” and “this can
contribute to a vicious cycle as victims who have negative self-images are less likely to take
steps to avoid or exit abusive relationships” (Karakurt 694-695). Therefore it is productive for
abusers to convince their partners that they have agency while simultaneously--and
secretly--taking it away.
Process
One Little Change utilizes many affordances of virtual reality technology as well as techniques
from games and film to further its message. These strategies are described in depth below.
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality (VR) affords a strong sense of physical presence in a virtual environment. It was
selected for this project to emphasize the player’s co-presence with the demon. VR is a rare
example of virtual media in which there is a one-to-one relationship between the player’s
movements and those of their virtual avatar. The player does not use a mouse to control a
character; if they want to move their avatar’s arms, they must move their own arms in the same
way. I chose this interactive mechanism hoping that if the player has a strong sense of their
physical body in VR, that body will feel invaded when a demon inhabits it. Finally, VR
encapsulates the character’s field of view in a head mounted display, cutting them off from the
16
real world, evoking a sense of isolation frequently experienced by abuse survivors. According to
breakthecycle.org, “one of the biggest red flags of dating abuse is when someone isolates their
dating partner from their friends and family” (2014). In One Little Change this is the demon’s
ultimate plan: to isolate the player character from everyone he loves so the demon can have
Roger all to himself.
Look Based Interaction
One final affordance of virtual reality, one that deserves its own section in this paper, is that of
the look-based interaction. Via head tracking a VR setup can also provide data on where the
player is looking. This data proved to be very valuable in One Little Change because it can be
used to emulate visually triggered flashbacks experienced by trauma survivors.

Fig. 3: Card Collect (Concept)
17

I used the affordances of look-based interactions in One Little Change when developing in its
card-creation system. As a player views relevant objects in VR, they hear a brief audio clip
associated with the object in question and a card is added to their hand (see fig. 3). If they play
the card, their vision clouds over and they hear a short audio-based vignette replaying a memory
the player character experienced in the cabin. Once the memory is finished, the environment
transforms in surreal ways to evoke what happened in that memory. For example, when the
player character recalls traveling outside, snow begins to fall inside the cabin, eventually
covering up the hardwood floor (see fig. 4) . These environmental transformations are meant to
evoke the intrusiveness of traumatic flashbacks and their disruption of everyday life.

Fig. 4: snow beginning to fall
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Vignette Structure
The audio vignettes described in the previous section form the structural backbone of the game’s
narrative. It is not a linear, easily comprehended story; it is delivered in fragments which are
sometimes messy and out of order. This structure was chosen for three reasons: first, it evokes
the disordered nature of human memory; second, it allows for the exploration of environmental
triggers, which prompt survivors to recall traumatic experiences. Psychology Today refers to
these types of triggers as “environmental cues,” which cause distress because they are
“reminiscent of places where [survivors] were disempowered or abused” (Ferentz). Finally, this
structure was chosen because it is smaller in scope, which is important when producing a
year-long thesis project.

Fig. 5

An important inspiration for the experience’s structure is HBO show Big Little Lies
(2017), based on the 2014 Liane Moriarty novel of the same title. It uses an editing technique
19
described by video essayist Michal Zak as the “thought cut” to depict traumatic memories. In his
video essay “Editing & Empathy in Big Little Lies” Zak provides an example scene from the
show in which a character is pulling into her driveway (see fig. 5). While performing this
mundane activity, flashbacks intrude on her consciousness; visuals cut between the driveway and
a recent memory from her home when she was attacked by her abusive husband, Perry.
Although the visuals cut between the driveway and her traumatic memory, the audio doesn’t
change; all we hear are crickets and ambient sound as Perry shoves her into a wall. Zak writes:

[J]ust like the annoying thought you can’t shake off, the scene flashes before our eyes.
Keeping the audio out both detaches the thought and grounds it in the moment, because
thoughts don’t make the world go away, they exist on top of it. (00:09:56 - 00:10:31)

This layering works well in a video format through the use of a cut. However, virtual reality is
panoramic and does not exist within the frame of a single camera; therefore, it cannot use film’s
language of cuts. It can still “layer,” however; One Little Change captures the spirit of the
thought cut by using other types of intrusions: snow falling indoors, voices echoing throughout
the house, and props appearing where they do not belong. Disparate moments in time and space
exist on top of each other, scattered into pieces and props layered into the environment.
This layering technique was also influenced by Netflix horror film The Ritual . An
ancient creature pursues a group of hikers who are lost in the forest, preying on their traumatic
memories as its source of power. The most vivid example of this comes in an unexpected form:
a convenience store. This location is significant to protagonist Luke because it is where his close
20
friend was killed by burglars. Even though Luke is hundreds of miles away from this location,
he begins to see it everywhere in surreal ways. Sometimes it looks mostly intact, marred only by
moss growing on the floor (see fig. 6). Other times it takes the form of ceiling lights hung
between trees (see fig. 7). It is past meets present, traumatic memories scattered like
breadcrumbs into an otherwise unrelated environment.

Fig. 6

21

Fig. 7

The technique is thematically effective and visually striking, influencing the art direction in One
Little Change . The primary difference between these works is what causes the memory
intrusions: in The Ritual , it is the monster’s evil machinations, while in One Little Change , it is
the player character glimpsing triggers in his environment. Although they are possessed by a
demon, it is ultimately their own traumatic memories that intrude upon the cabin.
Ambiguity & Limited Information
In One Little Change , memories are presented in vignette form because their loose structure
creates openings for thought and imagination in the user experience. The game’s fragmented
and nonlinear structure forces the player to fill in the gaps between vignettes to form a cohesive
22
story in their mind. This is significant because we do this all the time in our everyday lives,
piecing together memories and experiences to form a coherent, linear narrative of our own lives.
This technique of employing a series of short, vignette-style memories also promotes user
engagement in the story as they reconstruct what happened in their heads. A great example of
this is Lucas Pope’s PC puzzle game Return of the Obra Dinn (2018). In this experience, the
player is an insurance agent who must determine what happened to sixty passengers of a 19th
century ship which has returned to port empty. If the player finds a corpse aboard the boat they
can use a magical pocketwatch to see and hear the deceased character’s final moments. First
comes sound; the screen fades to black and the player must listen to what the character heard
before they died. At this time all the player can see are subtitles, which further force them to
focus on the sound.

Fig. 8
23

Once the audio memory is complete, the player can walk around a 3D scene (see fig. 8)
depicting the character’s death. Each scene is a vignette frozen in time; the player beholds
bullets suspended in air, faces fixed in eternal surprise, swords inches from their targets. They
must predict how the bullets arrived at their current location, why an individual was surprised,
where the sword eventually struck home. To understand the story they must fill in the gaps
between each vignette using the limited information in front of them. The player is an active
participant in the story; without their detective work the narrative throughline wouldn’t exist.
This creates player investment that perhaps would not exist in a linear, straightforward
experience.
Furthermore, the 1-bit art style reduces the available information even further; the player
must interpret its crude graphics, projecting personalities and motivations onto the simplistically
rendered characters. This allows room for player interpretation, which arguably strengthens the
player’s emotional connection to the story.
This format is very similar to One Little Change ; the player never sees the story in
motion because it is told via a collection of snapshots taken over time. In fact, the player’s point
of view is even more limited than in Return of the Obra Dinn ; they never see Roger’s friends as
character models in the game. The player hears their voices, fragments of the past echoing
through an empty cabin, but never see them in the world. They only visually appear in one
place: as painted portraits on tarot cards. They are memories, intangible and unmoving. The
demon wants the player character to feel isolated from loved ones, and has succeeded, separating
them to such a degree that they can’t see each other even in memories.
24
Story

Fig. 9: promotional art for game story

The story in One Little Change is as follows: a small group of friends flee to a cabin in the
wilderness when mysterious events (disappearances, unexplained incidents of violence, etc.) start
occurring in their city. Once they arrive at the cabin they realize that these events were caused
by demons, and one of them has followed them into the wilderness. He is here to play a game.
Once a day he chooses one person, making “one little change” to their personality: they want to
hurt people. At the end of each day he cedes control of that person and selects a new victim. He
25
is looking for a vessel, a body he can inhabit permanently on Earth. In the end, he picks Roger,
the player character.
Flash forward one year, which is when the game starts. The demon has been possessing
Roger since the events at the cabin, but he is frustrated by Roger’s recent listlessness and
emotional withdrawal. He compels Roger to return to the cabin, guiding him to remember a key
moment: his death at the hands of a friend. If Roger could only remember this, the demon
reasons, he will realize he is better off in his current situation. On top of that, the demon asserts
that Roger owes him an immense debt, for the demon resurrected him, saving his life (see fig.
10). Of course, without the demon’s machinations Roger would never have been killed in the
first place. Note that Roger’s emotional state at the start of the game is similar to that of abuse
survivors, who may experience “social withdrawal or loneliness” (Healthline), and Roger’s debt
to the demon evokes an abuser’s desire for “a sense of indebtedness” they can use to manipulate
their victims (Bancroft).

Fig. 10: resurrection and possession in-engine concept
26
Structure
The story unfolds in three phases dubbed “look,” “play,” and “choose.” During the look phase,
the player triggers brief auditory flashbacks when they view specific items in the room. Each
object viewed creates a new card which is then added to the player’s hand. For example, the
player might look at a bear trap leaning against the wall. As they do this, they hear a two second
memory of a character getting stuck in the trap, then the “bear trap” card is added to their hand.
Next is the play phase. The player can place available cards in any order into a
summoning circle floating above the table to hear a short auditory vignette depicting the
corresponding event in more detail. Once the vignette ends, the room transforms in surreal ways
to show Roger’s memories intruding on reality. For example, as they play the bear trap card,
trees sprout up through the cabin floor; the trap jumps to the center of the room, closed and
surrounded by blood; and they hear a longer (15 second) audio vignette involving the trap.
Finally is the choose phase. Events in the story lead to key moments which branch the
narrative. During each choose phase the player must play one of two character cards, prioritizing
one character at the expense of the other. For example, after the trap vignette plays, the player
must decide which of two imperiled friends to save: Andrea, stuck in the trap, or June, calling for
help in the distance. This phase is very similar to the play phase, but choices made here affect the
shape of the story.
27
Once choose phase is complete a new loop begins, starting with a new round of look
mode. These loops continue until the current day Roger is remembering is over. Note: the story
takes place over three days, but the demo will only contain events from Day One.
Exhibition

Fig. 11
It is important that the final presentation of this project helps communicate the tone of the
experience. For this reason, the play space will be closed off with curtains to isolate it from the
rest of the exhibition. This separation helps communicate a sense of isolation--important to the
game’s tone--before the player even puts their headset on. The space within the curtains is
designed to resemble the play area in the game, consisting of a table with tarot cards, a chair, and
a glowing summoning circle made of purple electroluminescent wire (see concept, fig. 11). All
of these preparations put the player in an appropriate headspace for experiencing the project.
Additionally, before the experience begins, the player will see a content warning that alludes to
28
the game’s themes. This way, if the experience could be triggering for a potential player, they
will know ahead of time.

Fig. 12: Layout Plans for Final Show
29
Reflection
Developing One Little Change has been an immeasurable learning experience; I learned so much
as a developer, an academic, and a person. In the following paragraphs I will describe some of
the key takeaways I gathered while working on the game.
Simplicity & Editing
I learned to really use user feedback to my advantage, using what users said they felt during
playtests to further distill the experience and scope down. For example, one playtester felt that
every decision he made in the game was a “Sophie’s Choice.” This quote refers to a dilemma
from a 1972 novel and 1982 film of the same title that can be defined as “a terrible choice
between two difficult options” (Rastogi). I realized this was an important observation because
abusers often overanalyze their partner’s actions and are known for their “hypersensitivity to
perceived slights” (Duxbury). They might notice a small decision made by their partner,
interpret it in the worst possible way, and turn it into an agonizing conflict. Thinking about this
abuser mentality helped trim down the experience; instead of presenting the player with a larger
array of less meaningful choices, I edited the game down to a small number of Sophie’s Choices.
30
Working with difficult subject matter
The subject of relationship abuse proved difficult in execution as well as in process. The key
seems to be in approaching the subject matter from a safe distance; genre fiction divorces the
player a bit from the painful reality of abuse without diluting the game’s core message.
It also proved difficult as a developer who has personal ties to the subject matter.
Establishing boundaries, practicing stress reduction techniques, and seeking agency in the real
world helped make the development process easier as well as provide new ideas for the
experience.
Scoping Considerations
Scope was an incredibly important factor to consider when working on One Little Change . One
important design influence on the project is Supermassive Games’ The Inpatient (2017), which
successfully pulled off a branching horror narrative in virtual reality. I soon realized, however,
that its cinematic approach was out of scope for my thesis. Instead of following its aesthetic I
considered the kinds of choices it gave players. Some of them are small, affecting the world
state but not the shape of the story. For example, one player decision affects the gender of an
important character but doesn’t change the plot. Others do branch the story, however--spoiler,
the player can become a Wendigo by the end of the game--and these choices feel like they have a
lot of weight. The cumulative effect here is that the player does have a lot of choices, and
though not all the choices are critical, enough of them are. I mentioned above that it was
31
important that all decisions feel like “Sophie’s Choices,” which might seem at odds with my
comments on non-critical choices. However I resolved this conflict by making choices that are
not critical to the plot still have a strong emotional impact. For example, Roger’s ex can die in a
dramatic moment in game, but her death does not impact the overarching story. Therefore, I
struck a balance in which players feel they have sufficient agency over the narrative, while the
scope of the story remained manageable.
Final Thoughts
Everything comes down to control and agency: One Little Change destabilizes the player’s sense
of agency through a combination of game mechanics, story elements, and technological
affordances. It evokes power dynamics in abusive relationships with the implicit goal of
bringing them to light for deep examination. If abusive dynamics are all about control, then we
must try to understand the techniques abusers use to get it. One Little Change explores these
techniques in a new format in hopes that its findings can raise awareness of relationship abuse as
well as help survivors find safety and agency in their own lives.

32
Works Cited
Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Windows PC version, Frictional Games, 2010.
Bancroft, Lundy. Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men .
Kindle ed., New York, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2002.
“Bandersnatch.” Black Mirror, 28 Dec. 2018. Netflix , https://www.netflix.com/title/80988062.
Cultist Simulator . Windows PC version, Weather Factory, 2018.
“Early Signs of Abuse.” Duckbury Police Department.
https://www.duxburypolice.org/domestic-violence/pages/early-signs-abuse.
Ferentz, Lisa. “Understanding and Working With Flashbacks, Part One.” Psychology Today , 24
June 2015,
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healing-trauma-s-wounds/201506/understandi
ng-and-working-flashbacks-part-one.
Gong, Tina. Golden Thread Tarot - Learn Tarot for Self Insight. Tina Gong, 18 Dec. 2015. Vers.
2.2.3. Apple App Store ,
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/golden-thread-tarot-learn-tarot-for-self-insight/id1063058
990?mt=8.
“In the cards and on the cards.” Grammarist .
https://grammarist.com/idiom/in-the-cards-and-on-the-cards/.
Karakurt, Gunnur et al. “Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Women's Mental Health”
Journal of family violence vol. 29,7 (2014): 693-702.
33
“Know the Signs: Spotlight on Isolation from Friends and Family.” Break The Silence , 2014.
https://www.breakthecycle.org/blog/know-signs-spotlight-isolation-friends-and-family
Lancer, Darlene. “The Truth About Abusers, Abuse, and What to Do: How to Spot an Abusive
Partner before it's Too Late.” Psychology Today , 6 June 2017.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/toxic-relationships/201706/the-truth-about-ab
users-abuse-and-what-do.
Muriel, Daniel, and Garry Crawford. “Video Games and Agency in Contemporary Society.”
Games and Culture , Jan. 2018, doi:10.1177/1555412017750448.
Rastogi, Nina Shen. “Sophie’s Choice and Other Choice Choices.” Slate , 12 July 2011.
https://slate.com/culture/2011/07/what-s-a-sophie-s-choice-what-about-a-hobson-s-choic
e.html
Return of the Obra Dinn . Lucas Pope, 2018.
The Inpatient . Supermassive Games, 2018.
The Ritual . Directed by David Bruckner, performance by Rafe Spall, 8 Dec. 2017. Netflix ,
https://www.netflix.com/title/80217312.
Vallée, Jean-Marc, director. Big Little Lies . HBO, 2017.

34

Abstract (if available)

Abstract One Little Change is a virtual reality experience for Oculus Rift investigating the inner demons that lead to relationship abuse and their effects on survivors. The player character, possessed by a demon, is forced to confront a traumatic memory in a strange card game. Trapped in an old cabin, actions limited by the cards in their hand, the player must reflect on their traumatic past and look for agency where there appears to be none. Through use of flashbacks, limited agency, and the immersive qualities of virtual reality, One Little Change strives to raise awareness of relationship abuse and start a conversation about finding agency in toxic relationships.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Rice, Kelsey Taylor (author)

Core Title One little change: exploring relationship abuse in a virtual reality narrative

School School of Cinematic Arts

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Interactive Media

Publication Date 04/28/2019

Defense Date 05/08/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag game,interactive narrative,memory,OAI-PMH Harvest,relationship abuse,trauma,virtual reality

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Wixon, Dennis (committee chair), Fullerton, Tracy (committee member), Watson, Jeff (committee member)

Creator Email kelseyri@usc.edu,riceke13@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-150197

Unique identifier UC11660827

Identifier etd-RiceKelsey-7308.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-150197 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-RiceKelsey-7308.pdf

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Document Type Thesis

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Rights Rice, Kelsey Taylor

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Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

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