Narratology in Video Games - the study of Ludology

"The game designer shouldn't be making a world in which the player is just a small part. The player's the boss; it's your duty to entertain him or her."

- John Carmack, on the creative ethos of DOOM

Despite a mass of the public attempting to disprove the fact the Video Games can hold the cultural capacity to be considered an 'art form' or a 'story-telling device', they tend to overlook the plethora of evidence which proves that Video Games indeed use traditional aspects of narrative and Narratology; as well as aspects exclusive to Video Games. A none-gamer looking in on the culture tends to only see the surface of Video Games; the simplicity of Pac-man and the mindless violent fun of Grand Theft Auto often spring to mind to their minds when making a statement on the subject. There has certainly been an evolution in Video Game narrative; to a point where Video Games dominate the study of Ludology. Most Video Games adopt a linear narrative, which is most obvious in 'Stone Age Video Games' such as Super Mario Bros, Pong, Tetris and Pac-man. A to B, nothing else to it. A lot of modern Video Games also adopt the linear narrative, A to B, but it comes with a carefully crafted illusion of choice.

The illusion of choice can be seen commonly in Sandbox such as Grand Theft Auto, Prototype, Deadrising, and Open-world games such as, Skyrim, Fallout, The Witcher, etc. You start at A, and you are given the illusion of being able to do whatever you want to your heart's content. Between A and B, the player can fulfil side-tasks or sate their boredom with mindless antics, explore the world or destroy the world, in the end, to complete the game you must reach B. This is why freedom in Video Games is a simple illusion,

Narrative in Video Games

Article 1:
Narrative in Video Games

by Patrick Holleman 

Holleman discusses the concept of narratology present in Video Games. Not necessarily an opinion article, which means there'll be no or little to no bias on the topic. A neutral source of information is important to an academic article. Holleman hones in on four major factors of narrative in Video Games, "Character', "AI", "Setting" and "Challenge".

General:

To some up: Holleman wants to find the appropriate way to study 'artistic games'.

• "Although today’s videogames use both design elements from traditional games and narrative elements from traditional works of art, they are fundamentally different from what has come before."

Agreed, previous instalments of Video Games; (the Stone Age of Video Games if you will), were hardly considered an art form; their simplicity and lack of story made them a kin to digital tabletop games.

Challenge:

• "The spike in difficulty must not be caused by the appearance of enemies who are unfair or “cheap.” The new challenge must be organic and somewhat familiar, even if it arrives suddenly."
• "Challenge is the final aspect, and perhaps the most idiosyncratic aspect, of how videogames use unique narrative tools."
• "The challenge level across the game must go up and down in sync with the narrative. This may result in sections that are easier than what came before, but this is okay. These are good for "catching your breath," in a figurative sense, as well as introducing new gameplay skills."

MS3 Disagreement Article: Do first-person shooter games cause real-world violence?

Do First-Person Shooter games cause Real-World violence?

Article: 
Shoot to Kill: The Real Impact of Violent Video Games (2014)

by Art Bamford

Summery:

This article written by Art Bamford, references his personal experiences and other people's academic studies on the direct effects of violent video games, drawing attention to first-person shooters in particular. His views are negative towards the idea of violent video games, supporting and backing-up the texts he references when talking about the effects of violent video games.

Quotes:

• "There is now enough evidence to comfortably say that playing first-person shooters can be a hindrance to the formation and wellbeing of today’s young people."
• "But I do want to urge Christian parents and leaders to stop and think about whether you want to allow first-person shooter games into your home or church."
• "I was impressed by how consistently studies found substantial effects—such effects are not typically found with other media, especially screen media like televisions or computers."

Secondary Article:

The Psychological Effects of Video Games on Young People (2013)

by McLean, L., & Griffiths, M. D.

Summery: 

Research has indicated that most young people spend more time watching screen media than in any other activity apart from sleeping (Strasberg, 2004). In Ireland, a large longitudinal study of children has indi- cated that over half of nine-year old children are playing videogames daily, while the international adolescence literature indicates that the rate of game play is growing year on year (Gentile, 2008). There is a concern that the effects of videogame playing are larger than the effects observed with television and film viewing (Anderson, Gen- tile & Buckley, 2007), and that children and young people may be at a greater risk of negative effects as a conse- quence of exposure to violent videogames. This literature review aims to explore the role and impact of videogames in the lives of young people within a technological society, and how this impact can occur. The exposure of young people to violent videogames may be viewed within the context of risk factors for the development of aggression, and as such an understanding of the research within this area may be paramount to allow a full consideration of levels of “exposure” to such a risk. Variables that may impact on the usage and effects of violent video game use are discussed, such as developmental stages, gender, individual characteristics, culture and game structure and content. Recommendations from key research in relation to monitoring of video game usage are also discussed.

Quotes:

• "The students who were playing violent games took 450% longer to respond to the person in need than those playing the non-violent games."
• “[One] cannot ignore the comprehensive reviews that indicate violent game play has a significant effect on aggressive behavior, affect, cognition and empathy across work conducted with over 130,000 participants…"

  

MS3 Media Research

ASA | American Society for Aesthetics

Aaron Smuts | Video Games and the Philosophy of Art

The article written by Aaron Smuts; on behalf of the ASA (American Society for Aesthetics), is a scholarly article regarding video games of a philosophical nature and how video games can ultimately be considered an art form. I chose this article because, as previously mentioned, it's a scholarly article; written with the intention of providing fact and sturdy ground to debate on. In other words, the article is a trustworthy source of information.

The point Aaron attempts to drive across, is the fact that video games have recently (as of the time this article was written (2005)) have peaked the interest of many sectors in Academia. Aaron further talks about how "a few MFA programs exist to train artists in the technology used in game development" and that even "Ph.D. programs devoted to the study of video games and interactive media" are beginning to pop up.

As Aaron states; "The primary question for philosophical aesthetics is whether some video games should be considered as art." Aaron talks about how video games have progressed past their "primitive" era, referencing an icon in video gaming history; 'Pong'. Later, Aaron references modern games relative to '2005', i.e: 'Halo' and Max Payne'.