At the Intersection of Digital Ecosystems - Media Archaeology of the Interplay between Animation, Cinema and Video Games (1970–1995)

Sep 4, 2026

Uploaded by Jake

The article reveals and analyses key vectors in the interplay between animation, cinema, and video games during the formative period 1970–1995, treating them as separate yet interconnected digital ecosystems. Using a media-archaeological approach, it reconstructs technological, aesthetic, and narrative borrowings that shaped later audiovisual culture, and offers systematic reconstruction of early convergence rather than linear technological progress. It shows that technological borrowings (e.g., rotoscoping) and experimental hybrid forms (laserdisc and FMV projects) formed an integrated process whose aesthetic innovations were later re-encountered at new levels.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Research aim and periodization

Media-archaeological approach and key concept of “topoi”

Relevance for contemporary transmedial and ecosystem models

DOI: 10.31866/2410-1176 .54.2026.362235 UDC 7-028.26:004 Research article © Ihor Pecheranskyi, 2026 At the Intersection of Digital Ecosystems: Media Archaeology of the Interplay between Animation, Cinema and Video Games (1970–1995) Ihor Pecheranskyi Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Kyiv, Ukraine Abstract. The aim of the article is to reveal and analyse key vectors ofthe interplay between animation, cinema and video games during the formative period of 1970–1995, considering them as separate but interconnected digital ecosystems, applying a media-archaeological approach, as well as to reconstruct those technological, aesthetic and narrative borrowings that determined the subsequent formation of the modern audiovisual landscape. The results consist of a systematic reconstruction of early forms of convergence between animation, cinema, and video games, which until now have been considered mostly in isolation or through the lens of linear histories of technological progress. It is proven that technological borrowings (rotoscoping, adaptation of military developments, abstract animation) and experimental hybrid forms (laserdisc games Dragon’s Lair, FMV projects Night Trap and Sewer Shark) were not isolated phenomena but constituted an integral process in which the possibilities of combining linear and interactive experience were tested. It was revealed that even technologically constrained solutions became a source of aesthetic innovations, which were later rediscovered ata new level. The scientific novelty of this article grounds on the fact that for the first time in Ukrainian art studies, a comprehensive media-archaeological analysis of the early convergence of animation, cinema and video games as separate digital ecosystems is offered. Conclusions. The conducted media-archaeological research testifies that the period of 1970–1995 was an independent formative stage within which animation, cinema and videogames developed that repertoire of techniques, aesthetic solutions, and narrative strategies that determined the subsequent development of audiovisual culture. The analysis of cases such as Karateka, Dragon’s Lair, Night Trap and others demonstrated that even technologically constrained solutions became a source of aesthetic innovations, later rediscovered at a new level. The application of the offered media-archaeological perspective made it possible to overcome teleological distortions and reconstruct the cultural imaginaries that circulated in the media imagination long before technical realisation. The identified topoi did not remain in the past but return in contemporary hybrid forms, demonstrating that media evolution is rather a cyclical return to fundamental cultural intuitions that receive new technological embodiment each time. Keywords: media archaeology; ecosystem convergence; digital audiovisual ecosystems; animation; cinema; video games; rotoscoping; FMV games; topoi For citation Pecheranskyi, I. (2026) . At the Intersection of Digital Ecosystems: Media Archaeology of the Interplay between Animation, Cinema and Video Games (1970–1995) . Bulletin of Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts. Series in Arts, 54, 75–82. [https://doi.org/10.31866/2410-1176.54.2026.362235](https://doi.org/10.31866/2410-1176.54.2026.362235) Introduction The modern digital audiovisual landscape is characterised by an unprecedented convergence of screen forms, where the boundaries between cinema, animation, and video games are becoming increasingly permeable. Still, this convergence did not emerge suddenly. It was preceded by at least two decades of experiments, mutual influences, and technological "cross-pollination" that began long before the digital revolution reached maturity. The period between 1970 and 1995 constitutes a critically important formative era, during which animation, cinema, and video games — each developing asa separate ecosystem with its own technological infrastructures and ae

FAQs

What is the article’s main goal for 1970–1995?

To reveal and analyze the key vectors of interaction between animation, cinema, and video games in 1970–1995 by treating them as interconnected digital ecosystems.

Which approach does the article use to study early convergence?

A media-archaeological approach that avoids linear teleology and reconstructs cultural units (“topoi”) shaping interaction before technologies fully realized them.

What evidence of convergence does the article emphasize?

Technological borrowings such as rotoscoping and experimental hybrid forms, including laserdisc game Dragon’s Lair and FMV projects like Night Trap and Sewer Shark.

Sep 4, 2026

Uploaded by Jake