The Play Versus Story Divide in Game Studies: Critical Essays

by Matthew Wilhelm Kapell (Editor)

Overview

Since the emergence of digital game studies, a number of debates have engaged scholars. The debate between ludic (play) and narrative (story) paradigms remains the one that famously "never happened."

This collection of new essays critically frames that debate and urges game scholars to consider it central to the field. The essayists examine various digital games, assessing the applicability of play-versus-narrative approaches or considering the failure of each. The essays reflect the broader history while applying notions of play and story to recent games in an attempt to propel serious analysis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786497232
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	11/30/2015
Series:	Studies in Gaming
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Matthew Wilhelm Kapell teaches American studies, anthropology, and writing at Pace University in New York.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Introduction: The Ludic and Narrative as Dialectic About "What Games Do" Matthew Wilhelm Kapell 1

Kentucky Route Zero: Or, How Not to Get Lost in the Branching Narrative System Lindsey Joyce 17

States of Play in State of Decay Andrew Wackerfuss 28

Game, Narrative and Storyworld in League of Legends Emily Joy Bembeneck 41

Narrative-Heavy Games as Neo-Gothic Literature: Beyond: Two Souls and the Player/Viewer in Contemporary Cultural Anxieties Eric W. Riddle 57

"Thou Arr I": The Interaction of Play and Narrative in Persona Mark Filipowich 69

The Power of Ludonarrativity: Halo as Participatory Myth Vince Locke 86

The Cyborg Game: Narrative/Ludic Fusion in Deus Ex: Human Revolution Alexandra Orlando Matthew Schwager 97

The Biopolitics of Gaming: Avatar-Player Self-Reflexivity in Assassins Creed II Tom Apperley Justin Clemens 110

BioShock Infinite: The Search for Redemption and the Repetition of Atrocity Amy M. Green 125

"All that's left is the choosing": BioShock Infinite and the Constants and Variables of Control Matthew Wysocki Betsy Brey 145

A Whirl of Warriors: Character and Competition in Street Fighter Nicholas Ware 158

Ecological Matters: Rethinking the "Magic" of the Magic Circle Robert Mejia 171

Conclusion: Of Lumpers and Splitters Matthew Wilhelm Kapell 187

About the Contributors 193

Index 197

Editorial Reviews

focused essays on a wide variety of games...uesful and readable models”—Choice; “excellent”—Press Start; “This volume is both a polemic and entirely pragmatic. Kapell’s offerings resurrect a dispute most games scholars pretend never happened and makes a convincing argument for not only revisiting but sustaining debate. The twelve new essays presented, grounded in game studies and propelled by insights from other fields, are exemplary. This is essential reading.”—Gerald Voorhees, University of Waterloo

From the Publisher