Narratology of videogames (Case study: God of war)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Art Research Department, Faculty of Higher Arts and Entrepreneurship Research, Isfahan University of Arts (Corresponding Author).

2 MA., Department of Art Studies, Faculty of Research Excellence in Art and Entrepreneurship, Art University of Isfahan.

Abstract

Full dependency on human interaction, has made video game different from other narrative media. Two major viewpoints on narratology of video game are: Narratological and Ludological; The first one emphasizes the importance of narration and the necessity of its existence in video games, and the latter puts a fundamental distinction between video game and the literary narrative. The main purpose of this research is to review and compare the most important challenges and perspectives on the issue of narratology in video games and also to dissect the narrative of the game “God of War 2018” based on the examined perspectives. The research was enforced by a comparative-analytical method, whose qualitative data were compiled in a documentary manner with theoretical framework of narratology as its basis. In order to achieve the goal of the research two main points of view on video game narrative were deliberated and thereafter three categorizations of video game narrative were scrutinized and God of War’s narrative was reconciled with each of them. With all that the article shows a holistic scheme of video game narrative, plus using it on a specific game.
.

Keywords

References

منابع و مأخذ
Aarseth, E. J. (1997). Cybertext: perspectives on ergodic literature. Baltimore. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Adams, E. (1999). ‘Three Problems for Interactive Storytellers’. Retrieved May 27, 2019, from www.gamasutra.com
Arsenault, D. (2014). ‘Narratology’. In: M. J. Wolf & B. Perron (eds.), The Routledge companion to video game studies. New York: Routledge.
Barthes, R. (1966). ‘An introduction to the structural analysis of narrative’. L. Duisit, (tran.), New literary history, 6(2), 237-272.
Eskelinen, M. (2001). ‘The gaming situation’. Game studies, 1(1), 68.
Frasca, Go. (1999). ‘Ludology meets narratology: Similitude and differences between (video) games and narrative’. Retrieved May 27, 2019, from www.ludology.org
Frasca, G. (2001). Videogames of the oppressed. Atlanta: Georgia Institute of Technology: School of Literature, Communication and Culture.
Frasca, G. (2003). ‘Simulation versus narrative: Introduction to ludology’. In: M. J. Wolf (ed.), The video game theory reader. New York: Routledge, 243-258.
Jenkins, H. (2003). ‘Game Design as Narrative Architecture’. In: P. Harrigan & N. Wardrip-Fruin (eds.), First Person. New Media as Story, Performance, and Game. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Juul, J. (2012). ‘Narrative’. In: M. J. Wolf (ed.), Encyclopedia of Video Games, The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming (Vol. 1). Connecticut: Greenwood.
Klevjer, R. (2002). ‘In Defense of Cutscenes’. In: F. Mayra (ed.), Computer Games and Digital Cultures Conference Proceedings. Tampere: Tampere University Press, 191-203.
Laurel, B. (1986). Toward the design of a computer-based interactive fantasy system. Ohio: The Ohio State University.
Lebowitz, J. & Klug, Ch. (2011). Interactive storytelling for video games: a player-centered approach to creating memorable characters and stories. Burlington: Focal Press.
Majewski, J. (2003). Theorising video game narrative. Queensland: School of Humanities & Social Sciences Bond University.
Mateas, M. (2002). Interactive drama, art and artificial intelligence. Pittsburgh: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University.
Murray, J. H. (1997). Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in cyberspace. New York: The Free press.
Murray, J. H. (2005). ‘The last word on ludology v narratology in game studies’. In Worlds in Play. Proceedings of DiGRA 2005 Conference: Changing Views,Vancouver.
Rouse, R. (2001). Game design: theory & practice. Plano: Wordware Pub.
Ryan, M.L. (2001). Narrative as virtual reality: immersion and interactivity in literature and electronic media. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Ryan, M.L. (2002). ‘Ludology vs. Narratology? A critical investigation of the aesthetic properties of digital media’. Presented at the Web-based seminar contents for the course offered at the IT University of Copenhagen.
Şengün, S. (2013). Six Degrees of Video Game Narrative: A Classification for Narrative in Video Games. MA thesis. İstanbul Bilgi University.
Sheldon, L. (2004). Character development and storytelling for games. Boston: Thomson Course Technology.
Skolnick, E. (2014). Video game storytelling: what every developer needs to know about narrative techniques. New York: Watson-Guptill.
Smith, J. H. (2000). ‘The Road not Taken - The How’s and Why’s of Interactive Fiction’. Retrieved May 27, 2019, from www.game-research.com.
Solarski, Ch. (2017). Interactive Stories and Video Game Art: A Storytelling Framework for Game Design. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis.
Thabet, T. (2015). Video Game Narrative and Criticism: Playing the Story. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Journal of Culture-Communication Studies
Volume 22, Issue 56 - Serial Number 88
January 2021
Pages 195-218

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics