“You Are Dead. Continue?”: Conflicts and Complements in Game Rules and Fiction
Videogames may be the only narrative medium in which the death of the protagonist is entirely routine. This is not an inherent bias of the form, but a potentially problematic convention left over from a time when it only made sense to look at games from a rules-based perspective. Now, as game desi...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Septentrio Academic Publishing
2008-09-01
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| Series: | Eludamos |
| Online Access: | https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/eludamos/article/view/5981 |
| _version_ | 1797326527615991808 |
|---|---|
| author | Jason Tocci |
| author_facet | Jason Tocci |
| author_sort | Jason Tocci |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Videogames may be the only narrative medium in which the death of the protagonist is entirely routine. This is not an inherent bias of the form, but a potentially problematic convention left over from a time when it only made sense to look at games from a rules-based perspective. Now, as game designers become more ambitious with the sorts of stories they can tell, the “die-and-retry” approach presents an impediment to fictional coherence and enjoyment of story. This article proposes that players are more interested in enjoying games for their narrative elements than some developers and theorists recognize, and considers how a number of contemporary games have been designed to reduce conflicting elements and increase complementary elements between game rules and game fiction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:25:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a160b0d914a44ad8a6c076efed26633a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1866-6124 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:25:33Z |
| publishDate | 2008-09-01 |
| publisher | Septentrio Academic Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Eludamos |
| spelling | doaj.art-a160b0d914a44ad8a6c076efed26633a2024-02-03T14:58:31ZengSeptentrio Academic PublishingEludamos1866-61242008-09-012210.7557/23.5981“You Are Dead. Continue?”: Conflicts and Complements in Game Rules and FictionJason Tocci0Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania Videogames may be the only narrative medium in which the death of the protagonist is entirely routine. This is not an inherent bias of the form, but a potentially problematic convention left over from a time when it only made sense to look at games from a rules-based perspective. Now, as game designers become more ambitious with the sorts of stories they can tell, the “die-and-retry” approach presents an impediment to fictional coherence and enjoyment of story. This article proposes that players are more interested in enjoying games for their narrative elements than some developers and theorists recognize, and considers how a number of contemporary games have been designed to reduce conflicting elements and increase complementary elements between game rules and game fiction.https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/eludamos/article/view/5981 |
| spellingShingle | Jason Tocci “You Are Dead. Continue?”: Conflicts and Complements in Game Rules and Fiction Eludamos |
| title | “You Are Dead. Continue?”: Conflicts and Complements in Game Rules and Fiction |
| title_full | “You Are Dead. Continue?”: Conflicts and Complements in Game Rules and Fiction |
| title_fullStr | “You Are Dead. Continue?”: Conflicts and Complements in Game Rules and Fiction |
| title_full_unstemmed | “You Are Dead. Continue?”: Conflicts and Complements in Game Rules and Fiction |
| title_short | “You Are Dead. Continue?”: Conflicts and Complements in Game Rules and Fiction |
| title_sort | you are dead continue conflicts and complements in game rules and fiction |
| url | https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/eludamos/article/view/5981 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jasontocci youaredeadcontinueconflictsandcomplementsingamerulesandfiction |