“IF THE DOG DIES, I QUIT”: BLAIR WITCH AND THE PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAMES
This paper highlights the manner in which contemporary psychological horror games rely on repetitive storylines and plot twists, resulting in predictability of new titles, and the way in which this negatively affects immersion and players’ emotional investment. Through examining the game Blair Wit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wydawnictwa AGH
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Studia Humanistyczne AGH |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.bg.agh.edu.pl/STUDIA/2021.20.2/human.2021.20.2.57.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797719146333470720 |
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| author | Katarzyna Marak |
| author_facet | Katarzyna Marak |
| author_sort | Katarzyna Marak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper highlights the manner in which contemporary psychological horror games rely on repetitive storylines
and plot twists, resulting in predictability of new titles, and the way in which this negatively affects immersion
and players’ emotional investment. Through examining the game Blair Witch (2019), developed by the Polish studio Bloober Team, and its inclusion of an animal companion, the article demonstrates how shifting the
players’ affective identification from the avatar to the companion character can cause players to overlook the
shortcomings of the game. At the same time, by juxtaposing Blair Witch with other similar digital game texts,
the paper showcases how linearity and reliance on predictable tropes in a game can be masked by the effective
inclusion of an interesting companion with appropriate mechanics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:01:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e19fb03f3c9491ab45963994ea42abc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2084-3364 2084-3364 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:01:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Wydawnictwa AGH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studia Humanistyczne AGH |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e19fb03f3c9491ab45963994ea42abc2023-09-02T15:38:43ZengWydawnictwa AGHStudia Humanistyczne AGH2084-33642084-33642021-06-012025770https://doi.org/10.7494/human.2021.20.2.57“IF THE DOG DIES, I QUIT”: BLAIR WITCH AND THE PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAMESKatarzyna Marak0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4073-8889Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w ToruniuThis paper highlights the manner in which contemporary psychological horror games rely on repetitive storylines and plot twists, resulting in predictability of new titles, and the way in which this negatively affects immersion and players’ emotional investment. Through examining the game Blair Witch (2019), developed by the Polish studio Bloober Team, and its inclusion of an animal companion, the article demonstrates how shifting the players’ affective identification from the avatar to the companion character can cause players to overlook the shortcomings of the game. At the same time, by juxtaposing Blair Witch with other similar digital game texts, the paper showcases how linearity and reliance on predictable tropes in a game can be masked by the effective inclusion of an interesting companion with appropriate mechanics.https://journals.bg.agh.edu.pl/STUDIA/2021.20.2/human.2021.20.2.57.pdfblair witchcontemporary psychological horror gamespsychological horror gamesdigital gamescompanion character |
| spellingShingle | Katarzyna Marak “IF THE DOG DIES, I QUIT”: BLAIR WITCH AND THE PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAMES Studia Humanistyczne AGH blair witch contemporary psychological horror games psychological horror games digital games companion character |
| title | “IF THE DOG DIES, I QUIT”: BLAIR WITCH AND THE PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAMES |
| title_full | “IF THE DOG DIES, I QUIT”: BLAIR WITCH AND THE PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAMES |
| title_fullStr | “IF THE DOG DIES, I QUIT”: BLAIR WITCH AND THE PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAMES |
| title_full_unstemmed | “IF THE DOG DIES, I QUIT”: BLAIR WITCH AND THE PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAMES |
| title_short | “IF THE DOG DIES, I QUIT”: BLAIR WITCH AND THE PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAMES |
| title_sort | if the dog dies i quit blair witch and the problems of contemporary psychological horror games |
| topic | blair witch contemporary psychological horror games psychological horror games digital games companion character |
| url | https://journals.bg.agh.edu.pl/STUDIA/2021.20.2/human.2021.20.2.57.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT katarzynamarak ifthedogdiesiquitblairwitchandtheproblemsofcontemporarypsychologicalhorrorgames |