The Experience of Character and the Framework of an Ideal Player: An Enactivist Approach to Character and Theme in The Last of Us
Brace, Brandi (2020)
2020
Master's Degree Programme in Game Studies
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-05-18
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004223516
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004223516
Tiivistelmä
This thesis explores enactivism as a framework to understand player interaction with video games as digital environments. It proposes a theory of an ideal player which takes into context the player’s socio-cultural familiarity, form familiarity, play setting, and player identity. Finally, the theme of good and evil is shown through characters as a contrast of connection and isolation.
Enactivism, a branch of cognitive science, explores the embodied interactions that the player has with the characters in a game. This experience will be affected by the context of their own lives. Players enact a new world through engaging with the game (Di Paolo, Rohde & De Jaegher, 2010). In order to look at how the characters in The Last of Us affect a player, personal context needs to be understood. Since enactivism examines how organisms (in this case, players) interact with their environment in order to build an understanding of the world and themselves, it is clear that not only will players bring context to the game, but through interaction with the game environment, they will redefine their own identity (Di Paolo, Rohde & De Jaegher, 2010; Caracciolo, 2012).
To draw comparisons to established literary theory, I compare enactivism to reader-response theory and explain the mimetic/synthetic division of a reader’s approach to character. Using this background, I establish the way that theme can be conveyed through character. This is especially crucial in terms of an emotional reaction to character which can affect a reader’s (and thus I posit, player’s) judgement of the larger work (Schneider, 2001).
In order to show how enactivism and the ideal player can be applied to an analysis of theme, I use The Last of Us as an example of connection as good and isolation as evil. Deconstructing four scenes, I break down how Joel’s character will be understood by an ideal player who I define, among other factors, as utilizing a mimetic approach to character. I look at how mental models are affected by each scene and break down the narratological and ludic design that supports this change. To finish, I evaluate how cyclical design mirrors Joel’s redemption arc, and the portrayal of character death is an extension of his processing of death.
I conclude that without a predefined ideal player, any analysis of any game’s design or theme is dependent upon the player’s own interpretation and is therefore less usable. Furthermore, I show that enactivism provides many potential avenues for exploration of identity formation and cultural change through the themes portrayed in games.
Enactivism, a branch of cognitive science, explores the embodied interactions that the player has with the characters in a game. This experience will be affected by the context of their own lives. Players enact a new world through engaging with the game (Di Paolo, Rohde & De Jaegher, 2010). In order to look at how the characters in The Last of Us affect a player, personal context needs to be understood. Since enactivism examines how organisms (in this case, players) interact with their environment in order to build an understanding of the world and themselves, it is clear that not only will players bring context to the game, but through interaction with the game environment, they will redefine their own identity (Di Paolo, Rohde & De Jaegher, 2010; Caracciolo, 2012).
To draw comparisons to established literary theory, I compare enactivism to reader-response theory and explain the mimetic/synthetic division of a reader’s approach to character. Using this background, I establish the way that theme can be conveyed through character. This is especially crucial in terms of an emotional reaction to character which can affect a reader’s (and thus I posit, player’s) judgement of the larger work (Schneider, 2001).
In order to show how enactivism and the ideal player can be applied to an analysis of theme, I use The Last of Us as an example of connection as good and isolation as evil. Deconstructing four scenes, I break down how Joel’s character will be understood by an ideal player who I define, among other factors, as utilizing a mimetic approach to character. I look at how mental models are affected by each scene and break down the narratological and ludic design that supports this change. To finish, I evaluate how cyclical design mirrors Joel’s redemption arc, and the portrayal of character death is an extension of his processing of death.
I conclude that without a predefined ideal player, any analysis of any game’s design or theme is dependent upon the player’s own interpretation and is therefore less usable. Furthermore, I show that enactivism provides many potential avenues for exploration of identity formation and cultural change through the themes portrayed in games.