With the convergence of the video game and animation industries, game-based animation adaptations are increasingly becoming an important form of IP development. However, avoiding mechanical replication in the adaptation process and generating independ...
With the convergence of the video game and animation industries, game-based animation adaptations are increasingly becoming an important form of IP development. However, avoiding mechanical replication in the adaptation process and generating independent aesthetic value within a new medium has become a central concern for both academia and industry. Building on Viktor Shklovsky’s theory of defamiliarization, this paper integrates subsequent developments in film, architecture, animation, and game studies to construct a three-dimensional analytical framework of “removal of automated perception – creation of formal obstacles – prolongation of perceptual processes.” The framework inherits the core themes of perceptual renewal and formal resistance while incorporating rhythm, style, and reception psychology from film and animation studies, offering a methodological tool for analyzing the aesthetic mechanisms of game-based animation. Focusing on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners in comparison with its source game Cyberpunk 2077, the study demonstrates that defamiliarization functions not merely as a stylistic device but as a means by which the adaptation transcends dependency and achieves autonomous value. This research extends the transmedia applicability of defamiliarization theory and provides new methodological perspectives for future studies and creative practices in game-based animation.