Ludic Modernism : The Legacy of Modernist Literature in Video Game Narratives
Oksala, Ville (2024)
2024
Kielten maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in Languages
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-05-20
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202405025187
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202405025187
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the manner in which general narrative techniques and ideals from modernist literature have been adopted into video game narratives. A single game from each successive video game generation from the sixth to the eight generation of home consoles will be utilized to elucidate how, over a century after its inception, literary modernism continues to exert influence on the storytelling of contemporary video games. The game chosen for the thesis are Yume Nikki, Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Disco Elysium. Furthermore, it will be discussed how the narratives from the chosen games conform to and deviate from the more general narrative tenden cies of their respective genres, which enables a broader perspective on the relationship between modernist narrative tendencies and video games.
While literary modernism was a widely heterogenous movement, it is possible to make some rather sweeping generalizations of the movement’s narrative tendencies for the purpose of the analysis, as evinced in the works of some of the best-known modernist writers, such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. Namely, that modernist narratives often include a de-emphasis of overt plot progression and action in favour of more subdued, character-driven stories, an emphasis on the characters’ subjective perspectives and inner states, as well as creative narrative experimentation, which aims to subvert more traditional narrative conventions and forms. The focus of the analysis will be on how these narrative features have been realized in video game narratives in terms of both story and gameplay. Video games – owing to the interactive nature of the medium – provide ample opportunity for subversive and unorthodox approaches to narratives, which mirrors the novel and narratively revolutionary role modernist literature had during its heyday. This analogous position between video games and modernist literature as explorers of new narrative possibilities renders video games a fruitful target of analysis on the enduring legacy of the modernist movement.
While literary modernism was a widely heterogenous movement, it is possible to make some rather sweeping generalizations of the movement’s narrative tendencies for the purpose of the analysis, as evinced in the works of some of the best-known modernist writers, such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. Namely, that modernist narratives often include a de-emphasis of overt plot progression and action in favour of more subdued, character-driven stories, an emphasis on the characters’ subjective perspectives and inner states, as well as creative narrative experimentation, which aims to subvert more traditional narrative conventions and forms. The focus of the analysis will be on how these narrative features have been realized in video game narratives in terms of both story and gameplay. Video games – owing to the interactive nature of the medium – provide ample opportunity for subversive and unorthodox approaches to narratives, which mirrors the novel and narratively revolutionary role modernist literature had during its heyday. This analogous position between video games and modernist literature as explorers of new narrative possibilities renders video games a fruitful target of analysis on the enduring legacy of the modernist movement.