Słowa kluczowe

assemblage |archive |new materialism |media culture |game studies |software studies |art and science

Streszczenie

"Nuclear Gandhi" is a surprising and controversial image of an Indian leader - Mahatma Gandhi. Often portrayed against the backdrop of nuclear explosions, his poses and styles clearly are suggesting awe and admiration for the ongoing mass destruction. This image is related to Sid Meier’s Civilization VI – one of the most influential video games in the history of gaming. The aim of the article is to analyse this particular case study and consider processes from many different angles that led to the emergence of this controversial phenomenon. To do so, the notion of archiverse is introduced - an assemblage (after Jane Bennett) of all cultural, political, economic and technological archives performed by the user. By following the connections between different, often seemingly distant data and contexts, it is possible to propose an archive-centric perspective on video game study.

Słowa kluczowe

science fiction |imperialism |digital games |colonialism |game studies |Victorian novel |Mass Effect

Streszczenie

The paper offers a reading of "Mass Effect: Andromeda" (BioWare 2017) vis-à-vis lost world romance (also dubbed “lost race romance”, or “imperial romance”), a late-Victorian area novelistic genre originating from H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" and serving as a major tool for British Empire propaganda - and as a source of the early science-fiction conventions. We claim the narrative failure of the ill-received game stems from its adherence to the rigid principles and forceful themes of the genre and the colonial and imperial imaginary informing it. Our analysis aims at highlighting the way 19th Century novelistic convention can be remediated as contemporary digital games, and to expose the link between imperial imaginary and the way open-world digital games are structured, on both narrative and gameplay levels - even when they do not directly refer to the historical colonial legacy.

Słowa kluczowe

Blair Witch |contemporary psychological horror games |psychological horror games |digital games |companion character

Streszczenie

This paper highlights the manner in which contemporary psychological horror games rely on repetitive storylines and plot twists, resulting in predictability of new titles, and the way in which this negatively affects immersion and players' emotional investment. Through examining the game Blair Witch (2019) developed by Polish studio Bloober Team, and its inclusion of an animal companion, the article demonstrates how shifting the players' affective identification from the avatar to the companion character can cause the players to overlook the shortcomings of the game. At the same time, by juxtaposing Blair Witch with other similar digital game texts, the paper showcases how linearity and reliance on predictable tropes in a game can be masked by the effective inclusion of an interesting companion with appropriate mechanics.

Słowa kluczowe

environmental storytelling |evocative narrative elements |emergent narrative |reactive games |gameworld

Streszczenie

There are many types of digital games—some focus more on new gameplay mechanics while others focus more on new ways to tell and deliver their stories. Some games, in their goal of creating more engaging narratives, push the environmental storytelling and evocative narrative elements to their limits, allowing for a unique emergent narrative experience for the players. Consequently, a specific type of games is now recognized by players, referred to as “reactive games”, in which the events and story of the gameworld occur without the need for the input of the player, who instead must react to the events and problems the game sends their way. This article presents two examples of reactive games which create a unique gameplay experience by exploiting the limits of environmental storytelling, evocative narrative elements and emergent narrative: Dwarf Fortress and RimWorld.

Słowa kluczowe

game studies |replay story |replayability |replay value |tellability |digital games |video games

Streszczenie

The article explores the notion of replay story by Janet Murray. Replay story – a game telling the story through choices and allowing the player to access all of their outcomes – was supposed to be a step in the process of games becoming the most important narrative medium of a new era. Soon after that, the reasonable critique emerged: not every story can, and should, be told though a replay story. Some can even be highly controversial if told in such form. However, new ways of storytelling through replay emerged in the last years: New Game +, multiple routes that influence one another, games that are conscious of previous playthroughs. Three years ago, Ian Bogost stated that the possibilities of development of narrative games are already played-out; and yet, there still is a chance that replay story is once again a keystone in the evolution of games.