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The Dynamic Game Character: Definition, Construction, and Challenges in a Character Ecology

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The Dynamic Game Character: Definition, Construction, and Challenges in a Character Ecology The Dynamic Game Character: Definition, Construction, and Challenges in a Character Ecology Joleen Blom Center for Computer Games Research IT University of Copenhagen This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at IT University of Copenhagen. July 2020 Title: The Dynamic Game Character: Definition, Construction, and Challenges in a Character Ecology Candidate: Joleen Blom Supervisor: Espen Aarseth Evaluation Committee: Martin Pichlmair IT University of Copenhagen Rachael Hutchinson University of Delaware Akinori Nakamura Ritsumeikan University This research has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No [695528] – Making Sense of Games). ii Abstract This study presents a theory about dynamic game characters within a broader character ecology in which characters are constantly produced and reproduced in a variety of media. Characters do not appear only in games, they migrate from one medium to another. They are independent from any medium in particular: a character does not require a specific medium to come into existence. Authoritative forces try to shape the overall interpretation of circulating characters transmedially in comics, television series, films, games and more through different venues of control, such as authorship, canonisation and ownership or intellectual property. This study addresses the struggle for interpretive authority by explaining how the player constructs the identity of dynamic game characters in digital games, and by discussing how dynamic game characters connect to and influence other character manifestations within a broader media ecology in which characters circulate. The research question of this study is: What are dynamic game characters? Through reader- response theory adapted for cybermedia phenomena such as games, this study approaches characters as a player-constructed phenomenon, in which the game character needs the player in order to be invoked, but the game encourages the meaning-making process with different means to different effects. Dynamic game characters are those game characters whose development structures branch into different outcomes, each of which are undetermined until the player actualises one or more possibilities that steer that direction onto distinct paths with a specific outcome. Dynamic game characters have become a phenomenon that challenges practices of (trans-)media control. A theory of dynamic game characters tells us about the migration of entities via different works, and how the perceiver comes to understand them within a context saturated with characters, stories and a variety of media platforms. Digital games are just one of the many media platforms that participate in this character ecology, and they allow characters to challenge the idea that within a single piece of work the character must maintain a linear, continuous and coherent identity that stretches the understanding of characters as authored and predictable within a single work. This study argues that dynamic game characters are a type of quasi-person in digital games whose development consists of multiple outcomes. Digital games accelerate a dynamic game character’s identity within a single work, unlike non-cybermedia in which a character’s identity is constructed over multiple works. They challenge venues of control, because the player has creative agency over the dynamic game character’s characterisation process within a single work. However, once dynamic game characters transfer to other works, authoritative institutions break the player’s participation in the dynamic game character’s development. These transfers sacrifice player participation to create the illusion of a coherent identity between the manifestations of the character over multiple works. iii Resumé Denne afhandling præsenterer en teori om dynamiske spilkarakterer, som er situeret i et større økosystem af karakterer og derfor konstant produceres og reproduceres i forskellige medier. Karakterer figurerer ikke kun i spil, da de migrerer fra et medium til det næste. De er uafhængige af specifikke medier, hvilket betyder, at en karakter ikke kræver et specifikt medium for at kunne eksistere. Autoritetsfigurer prøver at styre den overordnede fortolkning af karakterers transmediale cirkulation mellem tegneserier, tv-serier, film og spil m.m. gennem forskellige kontrolpunkter, såsom forfatterskab, kanonisering, ejerskab og immaterialret. Dette forskningsværk adresserer striden om fortolkning ved at forklare, hvordan spilleren konstruerer dynamiske karakterers identiteter i digitale spil, og ved at diskutere, hvordan dynamiske spilkarakterer kobler sig på og influerer andre karaktermanifestationer i den overordnede karakterøkologi, hvor karaktererne cirkulerer. Problemformuleringen for denne afhandling er: Hvad er dynamiske spilkarakterer? Gennem receptionsteori tilpasset cybermediale fænomener såsom spil, griber dette forskningsværk karakterer an som et spiller-konstrueret fænomen, hvor spilkarakteren har brug for spilleren, for at blive fremkaldt, og hvor spillet inspirerer en fortolkningsproces med forskellige midler, der har forskellige virkninger. Dynamiske spilkarakterer er spilkarakterer, hvis udviklingsstruktur fordeler sig i forskellige slutscenarier, som ikke afgøres før spilleren aktualiserer en eller flere muligheder der styrer udviklingen hen imod specifikke retninger med specifikke udfald. Dynamiske spilkarakterer er blevet til et fænomen der udfordrer etablerede praksisser for (trans-)medial kontrol. En teori om dynamiske spilkarakterer informerer os om migrationen af enheder via forskellige værker, og om, hvordan modtageren kan forstå dem i en kontekst der er fyldt af karakterer, historier og et væld af forskellige medieplatforme. Digitale spil er kun en ud af mange medieplatforme som medvirker i denne karakterøkologi, men spil lader karakterer udfordre den grundlæggende idé om, at en karakter skal fastlåses til en lineær, kontinuerlig og sammenhængende identitet indenfor et isoleret værk, og den åbning udvider den nuværende forståelse af karakterer som værende forfattede og forudsigelige indenfor et enkelt værks rammer. Denne afhandling argumenter for, at dynamiske spilkarakterer er en slags kvasipersoner i digitale spil, og at deres udvikling kan munde ud i flere forskellige udfald. Digitale spil accelererer en dynamisk spilkarakters identitet indenfor et enkelt værk, i modsætning til ikke-cybermedier, hvor en karakters identitet konstrueres henover flere forskellige værker. Spil udfordrer gængse kontrolpraksisser, fordi spilleren har kreativ autoritet over den dynamiske spilkarakters karakteriseringsproces indenfor det enkelte værk. Når dynamiske spilkarakterer overføres til andre værker, træder toneangivende instanser dog ind og bryder med spillerens deltagelse i den dynamiske spilkarakters udvikling. Under disse overførsler, ofres spillerens deltagelse for at skabe illusionen om en sammenhængende identitet iblandt karakterens manifestationerne i forskellige værker. iv Acknowledgments A PhD is so much more than just writing a research dissertation. I think that the process of a PhD is a journey during which a person grows not only as a researcher but also as a human being. I certainly have. Over the past three years, I evolved, grown more robust, and become comfortable with who I am and who I want to be. I became louder and bolder—to the surprise of some, though to some it was not much of a surprise at all—but I am happier than ever. This dissertation is the final result of my journey. It is not only the fruit of my own labour, but also involves the support of those on whose shoulders I could stand during its creation. I wish to express my gratitude to them here. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Espen Aarseth for his continuous support throughout the process. Not only was his guidance one of the most important elements of my journey, but his endless encouragement gave me the motivation to start, continue and finish writing this work. My sincere thanks to Hans-Joachim Backe for his aid during the many, many times I knocked on his door asking for help on the things I was struggling with. He was a co-supervisor in all but name. This dissertation echoes many of the conversations we have had over the years. I would like to acknowledge my colleagues in the MSG project: Michael Debus, Paweł Grabarczyk, Milan Jaćević, Rune Nielsen and Miruna Vozaru for their assistance at several times during the process. To Ida Jørgensen I would like to express my gratitude for being such a kind officemate the past three years. And, I want to thank Nina Houe for the Danish translation of this dissertation’s abstract. I am thankful to my midway committee for their involvement in the process: Torill Mortensen, Miguel Sicart and Susana Tosca. Their feedback and helpful suggestions—both during the evaluation as well as during the three years of my PhD journey—shaped the dissertation as it is now. I would also like to express my gratitude to the PhD School for their aid behind the scenes, helping me to go to many a conference, workshop and PhD course around the globe. I am grateful for the opportunity to go to the Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto for my international exchange in Spring and Summer 2018. I would like to thank Hiroshi Yoshida for hosting me, and the kind persons of the Ritsumeikan Center for Game Studies for their aid
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