Video Games: Investigating Genre, Narrative and Postmodernism

Gaming has long been held within the mainstream media as childish, frivolous, time-wasting, undemanding and simplistic - and yet it is a multi-billion dollar industry. Critics of gaming are looking increasingly like old fashioned fuddy-duddies as more and more media theorists explore the mass appeal of this booming industry.

Research Investigation

The essay will be an in depth investigation of a specific genre of video game - looking at how it uses narrative in terms of structure, setting, characters and iconography. By extension this essay will explore elements of games that could be considered 'postmodern'.

The essay has the potential to answer a variety of questions: As video games become more realistic are they becoming more like films? Do all games reference other games? Do games change or shape our perceptions of reality? Do video games tap into narrative structures and devices that an audience will recognise from other media or have a new set of narrative rules emerged?

Some fascinating areas to investigate and the potential to explore a medium which has not been fully dissected by theorists. This, however does mean that there are limited resources available out there specifically about gaming - and you will have to be analytical of other works written about Narrative, Genre and Postmodernism.

Obviously you'll need to think carefully about the genre you choose and the games you use to analyse.

Some ideas:

• First person shooters & Halo
• RPGs & Fallout
• Open World (sandbox) games & GTA
• Adventure games & Zelda

REMEMBER: This is not an audience study - these essays should not be about audience effects.

When posting research label it with your name and: Video Games; Genre, Narrative, Postmodernism

Media Product

You will create the cover for a video game which is based on the findings of your research investigation - you will also write a create a review of that game for a typical gaming magazine such as Edge. Entirely recreating the written style and mise-en-scene of such a magazine.

You must give the impression that your magazine is a typical high street gaming magazine whilst at the same time making sure that it is understood what was learned in your research investigation.

You will have to demonstrate that the game you have created has many of the Generic codes, Narrative conventions and Postmodern elements that you have discovered in your research.

To create the games cover you will need excellent skills in Adobe Photoshop to help you realise various effects that make characters look as though they are computer generated.

You must be able to think of complex narratives and themes that are subtle yet shine through in your game cover - this is not an easy project.

Done well this project can look stylish and interesting.

Done badly and it will look cheap and amateurish.

Click here to return to the nine coursework project choices.

Research

This is where you will find resources that we have collected that relate to the essay title Video Games: Investigating Genre, Narrative and Postmodernism

Some will come from me, but the majority will come from you! Whenever you post some research - choose to label it with your name (so that I know you've done some work) and also use the label Video Games: Genre Narrative Postmodernism

Then everyone can share resources - and there's no need to worry if someone is using the same research as you because everyone's project is different!

So to start you off, here is a video about Narrative in video games from the Smithsonian museum in America...

An excellent website is an online journal called Games Studies. Which describes its aims as:

"To explore the rich cultural genre of games; to give scholars a peer-reviewed forum for their ideas and theories; to provide an academic channel for the ongoing discussions on games and gaming."

Only you can decide whether it achieves it or not - and you can get there by clicking here.


This document is from another college. It appears to be a course booklet - it may not be exactly what you are looking for but it might get you moving in the right direction...

You should have found that there are a few key names in the study of video games.

Here are just a few, click on each one to go to a page from their website or an essay they have written...

• Brenda Laurel
• Henry Jenkins
• Janet Murray
• Espen Aarseth

In terms of narrative - these four links alone should be more than enough to keep you going!!

However there is one concept that should be explored and may even become central to your argument - that is the fight between...

Narratology Vs Ludology

 More to follow...

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."

Digital Games: Literacy in Action by Catherine Beavis, Joanne O'Mara, Lisa McNeice

HERE

“Narrative is central to the lives of humans, who make sense of the experience through the stories they tell.”

“the stories woven into game design are informed by ideologies and vale systems.”

“Narratives are generally produced retrospectively – that is, they begin with an end point, and show what led to this point and how.”

“Different game genres incorporate particular arrangements and combinations of features, elements and events.”

“Players who access a role-playing game such as World of Warcraft (WoW) are immediately situated in what Alexander Galoway describes as  ‘the game’s total world of narrative action’.”

“advanced players can develop modifications (mods) such as weapons, story lines, music and characters as well as resources including maps and calculation software. This capacity for players to introduce new elements into existing games pinpoints the most crucial difference between literary and games narratives.”

“videogames are not just images or stories or play or games but actions”

“The unfolding narratives of the gameplay thus shift between the remote and the immediate past, and the present of the player’s current game. They also shift between narrative point of view: at times players view their avatars as figures in landscapes and thus through a third-person perspective; at others they inhabit the figures of their avatars, seeing events and space through their eyes in what approximates first-person narration.”

“..these advanced players tend to value the narrative elements of the game very highly: ‘they … are dedicated to the back-story and narrative structure of the world. They game through developing characters, alliances, and plots.”

“it seems, then, that advanced players view narrative as a crucial aspect of the pleasures offered by gaming, and enhance their enjoyment by creating ever more complex and nuanced narratives.”

“Just as the ideological content of novels and films reside in the ‘how’ of narrative rather than the ‘what’ of storylines, so the ideological and world views of games are manifested through the ‘how’ of representation and game narratives."

"Games replay crucial episodes of WorldWarII, to explore consequences of alternative strategic approach"  (FOOTNOTE 1 WHAT BALL TO PLAY - JANET SIMONS)

The Last of us allows us to position ourselves as though we are in a zombie apocalypse. The game developing a bond between you and the young girl you are with differs the way you approach situations in the narrative; if your supplies are scarse you tend to avoid fights and approach situations more stealth like; providing the 'strategic approach' towards the narrative in order to keep all you hold dear to you, safe. This point is further emphasised when Joel says "if i get in trouble down there, you make every shot count" ( footnote 2 - the last of us cutcene/gameplay) prior to his Joel was teaching Ellie how to shoot a Rifle - further showing the 'strategic' sense the game has and needs; one man is incapable of taking out high hostile numbers without assistance from high ground in this case Ellie. The last of us uses real life war tactics/strategies in the narrative to  develop the story of the game. The main story being fixed the player Unintentionally building their own narrative; they decide how many people die and how many people live "characters are vehicles onto which they project their own goals, skills and experiences and understanding of the game" (FOOTNOTE 3 What Ball to play - Janet Simons) the narrative of the game allowing you to take multiple approaches allows it to best suit the gamers personality/play style best - Conservative and stealth like or Reckless and violent. The Last of us having a linear narrative can be argued that it can be shaped how you want it to be - Some ludologists argue that "a plot makes a story and rules make a game"(Footnote 4 WHAT BALL TO PLAY JANET SIMONS) , the Last of us supports this statement in its own way by allowing creation of various narratives which all lead to the same plot ending. 

What Ball To Play - Jan Simons 

C

1)

"players also know that whatever happens to their avatars in the game world, nothing nasty will happen too them. And more importantly to an external observer players often behave like characters in the story"

2

"As long as the player is experiencing a true sense of interactive freedom transformation as a variety is not an important design consideration"

3

"Narratives allow the exploration of what would or could of happened under even slightly different conditions" 

4

"Games replay crucial episodes of WorldWarII, to explore consequences of alternative strategic approach"

5

"Narratlogists might agree that a narrative is a sequence of casually and chronologically linked events, but when it comes to filling in the details opinions differ" 

6

"Narratives often play a significant part in role playing games"

7

" The difference between a narrative and a game is a matter of perspective" 

8

"For game players. characters are vehicles onto which they project their own goals, skills experiences and understanding of the game"

9

"for ludologists Juul and Aarseth a plot makes a story and rules make a game"

10 

Aarseth -
"What player would commit suicide, even virtually... Players crash cars, run over beat-up and shoot other players and happily voluntary run the risk of being virtually mugged"

MediaMagazine, The Great(est) Escape: Why Audiences Really Play Video Games

A

1: "Role-playing games such as the recent Elder Scroll V: Skyrim and the Dragon Age series allow the audience to recreate an alternate persona or avatar of themselves within some form of science-fiction or fantasy setting."

2: "...As the player progresses through the game's large and non-linear narrative they are rewarded with experience and treasure that will raise the level and capabilities of his ideal self. Within a conventional role-playing game, their characters' decisions and moral choices determine the path through this non-linear narrative."

3: "Gamers play these games because unlike other games, the character that they create has real consequences for the narrative journey. The gamer is fully actualising in a world abundant in magic or technology, this is in contrast to their own lives where they can effect little change."

Narrative in video games Patrick Holleman

A

1
"But the biggest difference between traditional games and video games is artificial intelligence which only video games have"


2
"But nearly all of them have an abundant use of discrete artificial intelligence"

For Number 2:

 The scene where you remain dormant and Ellie begins to say random words or ask Joel questions as to why you are standing there doing nothing or the scene where you are walking through the snow as Ellie.

Also you can enter certain buildings (not demanded by the narrative but will trigger a response from the AI - For example the toy store or the store full of music records)

3
"Video games have a discrete game world, not created by or orientated by any player. This is the primary design failure that separates  video games from their traditional counterparts" 


4
"The player is presented with a world that can be accessed largely out their own discretion. video games that are too linear... are often deprecated by critics and gamers" 


5
"It stands to reason, then that theme should be excellent video games which show how the narrative and gameplay can work together to create a unique artistic experience" 


6
"Every Location that the player visit suggests another turn in the story"

For Number 6:

 In the last of us the prime example would be when you are searching for the fireflies and you learn they are dead and Tess has been bitten; this changes the narrative as you are then expected to travel across country to their ‘base’.  Also you have lost an ally - one who is capable of defending herself as well as Joel in certain situations. Upon arrival you learn it is abandoned and a tape is the only thing leading you to your next destination; the narrative is further twisted when Joel is injured during this; so you are then forced to play as Ellie – unusual as you have been playing a masculine male throughout the game and now you are positioned in the shoes of a 13/14 year old girl. (The game uses a vast number of enemy's in the first scene as this character - this further emphasises the point that she is fragile and more in risk of danger and becoming hurt.

7
"But it is not possible to venture into a secret area of a book or a movie to have the pleasure of finding something which never even flashed before the eyes of other viewers who are reading the same book or watching the same movie at the same time" 

For Number 7:

In The Last of us there of numerous secrets you can undergo; for example when you are in the sewers looking for a way to the meeting point you can find numerous notes which have been left there by people who have died you learn the story of what happened to them prior there death and how they died (the man who killed the children so they didn’t starve to death) – and how your characters Joel and Ellie react to the story (not part of the main narrative of the game)

Another example within this game would be the ironic joke books that Joel finds for Ellie, throughout the main game in certain locations there is books you can pick up and give to Ellie; she will randomly start saying these jokes as you move throughout the story; During your play through as Ellie going into your inventory and hovering over items will trigger Ellie to respond to them and react – for example (some object of Riley) you learn about what happens to Ellie before the story had begun (Riley Being Ellies best friend before the narrative of the game takes place.)

8
"it is fairly obvious, and often argued, how video games have an advantage over other forms of narrative: the player often is the character whom the narrative is centred"

9
"games like 'Fallout, Bioshock, and Mass Effect all allow the player to choose the path of their character development. This obviously presents an enormous amount of narrative potential. If Characters - An indispensable part of any narrative - can be made by the player with creative freedom the player is in control of their artistic experience in a way nothing else can match"

The Video Game Theory Reader

B

1

"Failing to Reinvent the traditional narrative experience. They propose choices to the unfolding of the story that are often disappointing"


2
"The cultural, industrial and economic issues that surround gaming"


3
"failing to reinvent the traditional narrative experience, they propose choices to the unfolding of the story which are often disappointing" 


4
"Within massively multiplayer online role-playing games... To the model of subjectivity relayed by the postmodernist discourse, in which the subject, fragmented into monads can reshape itself at leisure"

https://www.jesperjuul.net/thesis/AClashBetweenGameAndNarrative.pdf
 
"The basic problem of the narrative is that fact that the narrative as phenomenon can not be viewed independently, an sich, but only through another medium like oral storytelling, novels, and movies. The classical argument for the existence of the narrative is the fact that a story can be translated from one medium to another:" -     Jesper Juul 


"Diverging from a story's path is likely to make for a less satisfying story; Restricting a  players freedom of action is likely to make for a less satisfying game" 

 

               

                                                                      Textual Analysis

                                                                         15:30 - 24:15

The Final Gameplay moments from the last of us are seen to be iconic throughout video games and their narratives; the long hall that Joel has to go down, symbolises the last steps of a game, it shows you are near completion and that the story is nearing its conclusion. Being the last stretch this tends to be the make or break point of the game, although being typic of video game and their narrative so far, The Last of us breaks that convention as there is no 'final boss' allowing it to deviate from other video games.

 

The line "come on baby girl...i gotcha" gives the strong impression that Joel cares for Ellie, the word baby symbolises that he considers her and treats her like his daughter; Similar to the opening of the game where Joel is seen carrying his actual daughter from danger he is now carrying Ellie. The way Joel moves and carry's Ellie is exactly the same as the beginning of the game. This could further give of the impression that Ellie is now being treated like she is Joel's Daughter, a possible replacement for his biological daughter - Sarah who dies at the beginning. Potentially being a (reinstatement of the equilibrium) as what was at the start is now reinstated at the end.

The final Cutscene of the game is a conversation between Ellie and Joel; this cutscene is shot in shot/reverse shot, this allows you to see how the characters interact with each-other and how they react. Emphasising this point is the final words by each character is also framed from a medium close-up shot, this allows you to focus on the characters and their final words; this tends to be how many video games where the narrative is dominated by cutscenes end; it allows the raw emotion of the characters to be expressed via the use of the close-up.

During your play through as Joel whilst you're in the hospital the mise-en scene pushes the narrative of the story forward; playing the game Joel is trapped in the dark hallways of the hospital, one of the few and the brightest sources of light is the elevator you are being pursued towards; the elevator is lit up so the story can progress and you have some-sort of idea where to go and what happens next

 

http://gamestudies.org/1102/articles/deen ---> Interactivity, Inhabitation and                                                               Pragmatist Aesthetics

  - by Phillip D. Deen 

" Players are encouraged to create their own challenges or game-worlds and share them online for others to play within them. "

This quote refers to games renowned as 'sandbox' games or 'open world games' these games tend to have more of a dynamic narrative rather then a linear; you can add your personal touches to your character and shape how the story is constructed. This forces the user or 'player' to make their own choices and decisions rather then following a traditional linear narrative; an example of this would be the game 'minecraft' a game where you are given a open world and you can personally choose what to do with it; build or explore and shape the world how you personally feel like it should be designed. 

Open world games tend to be full of 'side-missions' the player is allowed to move freely through the game and complete these in any order they feel necessary. 'sandbox' games tend to have a snowball effect; your previous actions will affect what happens later in the game/and or give you and your character new options each time you play depending on the actions you choose in certain places.  
' The issue is then not whether the medium is interactive, but whether a particular interaction constitutes ‘an’ experience. '









http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/EJ/1026-jul2013/EJ1026Exploring.pdf

Exploring the 

Boundaries of Narrative: 

Video Games in the 

English Classroom

even the simplest of video games ie, angry birds and Candy Crush can be argued to have a narrative, in this case the narrative could be you launch a bird into a poorly built structure in an attempt to knock it down and destroy/kill its inhabitants; giving suggestions that the two have fallen out of camera that we haven't seen giving this simple game  a narrative. "In other types of video games, the narrative arc plays much more integral role, as the genre of role playing games" these types of games tend to have more focus on the story and alot more dialogue and cutscenes then other games; for example angry birds, it is typical for games like this to undertake the approach of more time spent reading dialogue or watching cutscenes then you do performing the action part of the game 



theres a conflict between interactivity and story telling: most people imagine theres a spectrum between conventional written stories on one side and total interactivity on the other but i believe that what you really have are two self havens separated by a pit of hell that can absorb endless amounts of time, skill and resources  - Walter Freitag Game Designer (Platt 1995).

Aesthetic Theory and The Video Game by Graeme Kirkpatrick

Ludology, space and time quotes

DEFINITIONS:

Ludology - study of games and types of play

Narratology - study of narrative, narrative structure and how are perspective is affected.

Ergodicity - derived from the fusion of the greek words, 'ergon' meaning work and 'hodos' meaning path. "in ergodic literature, nontrivial effort is required to allow the reader to traverse the text."

Noematic - of or relating to the understanding.

QUOTES:

"The overall argument is that ludology correctly identifies what is essential to the video game as a cultural object, namely, its character as a from of structured play."

"...the discussion here acknowledges the importance of meaning-oriented video game analyses, which have forced ludology to reflect on the differences between traditional games and their modern, digital variant."

"Scholars who emphasize the story element in games jump the gun when they assert that attention to meaning and to the story telling dimension of video games is the correct way to address the deficit in ludology's approach."

"...the way they structure the temporality of gameplay - its rhythms - opens up the possibility of a formal aesthetic method of video game criticism that does not re-centre analysis on the meanings of play as projected by the game's ostensible narrative content."

"...the way video games play on our expectations creates and experience of 'time and space' that the form shares with dance."

"interactivity actually deprives us of any handle on their specificity, the thing that makes them interesting and distinct. Aarseth's preferred conceptual solution, in his pre-ludological work, was to introduce the notion of ergodicity, which he says is derived from a fusion of the greek words, 'ergon and hodos' meaning "work" and "path". in ergodic literature, nontrivial effort is required to allow the reader to traverse the text."

"the physical structure of the ergodic text is modified by its reader, or user, in ways that do not apply to other texts or media objects, but perhaps more importantly it also foregrounds the nature of the commitment that is required from the human subject of the text."

"Readers of books and films are 'safe' and their 'noematic responses' are limited to eye movements or turning pages, but playing a video game, or navigating a cybertext, involves the risk of rejection by the text - you can die in games."

"Aarseth's advocacy of 'ergodicity' became the starting point for modern ludology, the study of play and games. This view of video games situates them in the long history of games and prioritizes that lineage over more contingent associations, with visual or story-telling media."

"he proclaimed the cultural importance and newness of video games and the implicit conservatism of the methological programme of computer games studies - games as such pre-date even Classical culture and, as a cultural innovation, the video game bears comparison with the Greek chorus."

"it announces the arrival of something both new and profound, which is a highly unusual combination in the sphere of culture, if not science, the inauguration of game studies involved violence too."

in reference to sports games - "the player of a computerized version of a game is pursuing a completely different goal or end state than the people who play these other games. Indeed it seems that a lot of assumptions are imported into the discussion when we talk of video games as versions or 'counterparts' of other games."

^^^ - "We should not be misled by game packaging that projects a strong relationship between them - in aesthetic terms it might be more accurate to say that the resemblances of a video game to some real world counterpart are part of its charm, they do not touch on its substance."

"Video games provide experiences of emergence too, but they also contain an unusual gamic structure, which Juul calls progression. Progression is the facility for sequential exploration of a series of states or scenarios."

"games of progression that directly set up each consecutive challenge in a game, and games of emergence that set up challenges indirectly because the rules of the game interact. (2006: 67)"

"Adventure games, in which players explore scenarios and solve puzzles in order to move between them, are games of progression, while games like chess and Pong (Atari 1972) exhibit the 'more primordial' structure of emergence. Most video games involve some hybridity of the two forms, but its progression that distinguishes video games in the history of games."

"Play is enjoyable because of the emergence structure, which generates patterns, tension and other aesthetic properties that are enjoyed by players of chess. Games of progression, however, do not work like this. They may contain a puzzle element, but their central dynamic is one of exploration and the kinds of pattern unlocked through this process are enjoyed consecutively, rather than experienced as a surprising outcome of intervening unpatterned states."

"The pleasures of progression are essentially those of reading a visual image, or knowing the significance that is attached to a representation. Adventure games are enjoyable because by solving a puzzle (not strictly a part of progression) we are able to meet a new character, to find out something new about the game world, or simply to see something that we could not see before."

"..we have to concede that this aspect of video games makes them less abstract than traditional games. In this sense, games of progression are games that tell stories."

"In having fictional worlds, video games deviate from traditional non-electronic games that are mostly abstract, and this is part of the newness of video games. The interaction between game rules and game fiction is one of the most important feature of video games ... This interaction gives the player a choice between imagining the world of the game and seeing the representation as a mere placeholder for information about the rules of the game. (Juul 2006: 2)"