The Allegorical Role of the Gameplay of an Interactive Work
Abstract
This article proposes a new way of considering the narrative potential of the gameplay. Harmony between the two structural parts of a video game (gameplay and narration) is achieved by decoding the metaphors underlying individual game mechanics. The indicated allegorical nature has different degrees of development and can be extended both to interface elements and to the entire interactive text of the work. The applicability of the proposed method of understanding a video game is demonstrated using the example of the video game Ghost of Tsushima.
Downloads
References
Аристотель. (1998). Этика. Политика. Риторика. Поэтика. Категории. Литература.
Арутюнова, Н. Д. (1988). Типы языковых значений. Наука.
Арутюнова, Н. Д. (1990). Метафора и дискурс. В Н. Н. Арутюнова, М. А. Журинская (Ред.). Теория метафоры (сс. 5–32). Прогресс.
Белокурова, С. П. (2005). Словарь литературоведческих терминов. https://rus-literary-criticism.slovaronline.com/184-%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0
Ветушинский, А. С. (2015). To Play Game Studies, Press the START Button. Логос. 103(1), 41–60.
Лакофф, Дж., Джонсон, М. (2004). Метафоры, которыми мы живем. УРСС.
Aarseth, E. (1997). Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature.Johns Hopkins University Press.
Aarseth, E. (2012). A narrative theory of games. Proceedings of the international conference on the foundations of digital games, 4(1), 129–133. https://doi.org/10.1145/2282338.22823
Arjoranta, J. (2015). Narrative Tools for Games: Focalization, Granularity, and the Mode of Narration in Games. Games and Culture, 12(7–8), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120155962
Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive games: the expressive power of videogames. The MIT Press.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. (2007). Square Enix.
Dubbelman, T. (2016). Narrative Game Mechanics. In: Nack, F., Gordon, A. (eds) Interactive Storytelling. ICIDS 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10045 (pp. 39–50). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48279-8_4
Elden Ring. (2022). From Software.
Fernandez-Vara, C. (2009). Play’s the Thing: A Framework to Study Videogames as Performance. In 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory (September 2009). Digital Games Research Association. https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/100276
Fernández-Vara, C. (2015). Introduction to Game Analysis. Routledge.
Frasca, G. (2004). Videogames of the Oppressed: critical thinking, education, tolerance, and other trivial issues. In P. Harrigan and N. Wardrip-Fruin (Eds.) First Person: New Media as Story, Performance and Game (pp. 85–94). MIT Press.
Freytag, G. (1900). Freytag’s Technique of the Drama. Scott, Foresman and Company.
Ghost of Tsushima. (2020). Sucker Punch.
Gris. (2018). Nomada Studio.
Hoffman, R. (1985). Some implications of metaphor for philosophy and psychology of science. Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 29.
Järvinen, A. (2008). Games without Frontiers: Theories and Methods for Game Studies and Design. [Doctoral dissertation study for Media Culture University of Татрете, Finland].
Jørgensen, K. Between the Game System and the Fictional World: A Study of Computer Game Interfaces. Games and Culture, 7(2), 142–163.
Juul, J. (2001). Games telling Stories? Game studies? 1(1). https://www.gamestudies.org/0101/juul-gts/
Juul, J. (2005). Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. The MIT Press.
Juul, J. (2014). Gameplay. In M. L. Ryan (Eds.) The Johns Hopkins Guide to Digital Media (pp. 216–220). Johns Hopkins University Press.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance. (2018). Warhorse Studios.
Kirkpatrick, G (2013). Computer Games and the Social Imaginary. Polity.
Mäyrä, F. (2008). An Introduction To Game Studies: Games In Culture. SAGE Publications.
Metal Gear Solid 4 (2004). Konami.
Nguyen, T. C. (2020). Games: Agency As Art. Oxford University Press.
Nier: Reincarnation (2021). Square Enix.
Ryan, M. L. (2001) Narrative as Virtual Reality. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. The MIT Press.
Sicart, M. (2008). Defining Game Mechanics. Game Studies, 8(2). https://gamestudies.org/0802/articles/sicart
Spiritfarer. (2020). Thunder Lotus Games.
Zinken, J., Musolff, A. (2009). Metaphor and Discourse. Palgrave Macmillan.
Copyright (c) 2025 HSE University
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
