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Narrative Structure of Videogames Basics and Analysis Narrative Structure of Videogames Basics and Analysis Sampo Besmond Bachelor’s thesis May 2019 School of Business Degree Programme in Business Information Technology Description Author(s) Type of publication Date Besmond, Sampo Bachelor’s thesis May 2019 Language of publication: English Number of pages Permission for web publi- 98 cation: Yes Title of publication Narrative Structures of Videogames Basics and Analysis Degree programme Business Information Technology Supervisor(s) Miikkulainen, Ilari Assigned by JAMK/Tiko, Miikkulainen Ilari Abstract This is a qualitative comparative bachelor’s thesis for Jyväskylä University of Applied Sci- ences. In 2018 students of Business Information Technology at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sci- ences were able to study a variety of game development related subjects. Narrative design was not one of those specializations. For that end, it was agreed that a study on the topic of narrative design would be a good way to gauge the viability of additional specialization. Data triangulation was used as the method for analysis, as it was to ensure viability of the results. In addition, a comparative study model was the most suitable style of study, due to the author’s lack of personal experience and compatibility of method and model. The three sources of data used were: authored literature, academic research, and thematic interviews. The main goal of this work was to answer if analysis of structure could further the under- standing of videogame narratives, and to provide a source of information on the topic to peers. The study was conducted sporadically between Spring of 2017 and Spring of 2019. This work starts from the basics of narrative and continued to show those same basics in vid- eogames. The author then examined an academic analysis framework for videogame narra- tive and applied it to an analysis of a videogame (The Garden’s Between). The results and discussion strongly indicated that analysis of narrative structure could bene- fit one’s understanding of narratives. The author concluded that this field of study might have possibly yielded multiple follow-up studies, such as comparing traditional media and game narratives, or the role of player agency on impact of videogame narratives, but that caution was recommended in support- ing those avenues of research. Keywords/tags (subjects) agency, character, design, embedding, interactivity, narrative, operational, plot, presenta- tional, setting, space, story, structure, text, theme, time, topography, videogame Miscellaneous (Confidential information) 3 Kuvailulehti Tekijä(t) Julkaisun laji Päivämäärä Besmond, Sampo Opinnäytetyö, AMK Toukokuu 2019 Sivumäärä Julkaisun kieli 98 Englanti Verkkojulkaisulupa myönnetty: Kyllä Työn nimi Narrative Structre of Videogames Basics and Analysis Tutkinto-ohjelma Tietojenkäsittelyn tutkinto-ohjelma Työn ohjaaja(t) Ilari Miikkulainen Toimeksiantaja(t) JAMK/Tiko, Ilari Miikkulainen Tiivistelmä Tämä on kvalitatiivinen AMK opinnäytetyö Jyväskylä Ammattikorkeakoululle. Vuonna 2018 Jyväskylän Ammattikorkeakoulun Tietojenkäsittelyn tutkinto-ohjelman opiske- lijoille tarjottiin useita eri pelinkehitykseen liittyviä osaamisen alueita. Narratiivin suunnitte- lua ei tarjottu. Tätä varten kirjoittaja ja henkilökunta sopivat, että tutkimus aiheesta olisi so- piva tapa arvioida narratiivin suunnittelun soveltuvuutta yhdeksi osaamisen alueeksi. Tiedon kolmiomittaus valikoitui tutkimusmetodiksi, sillä sen arveltiin parantavan tulosten luotettavuutta. Työ tehtiin vertailevana tutkimuksena, sillä se sopi hyvin tekijän oman koke- muksen puutteeseen sekä yhteen käytetyn tutkimusmetodin kanssa. Lähteinä käytettiin am- mattimaisesti kirjoitettua aineistoa, akateemista tutkimusaineistoa ja teemahaastatteluita. Tutkimuksen pääasiallinen tavoite oli vastata voisiko narratiivin rakenteen analyysillä kehit- tää videopelien narratiivin ymmärrystä, sekä tarjota tietolähde aiheesta muille aiheesta kiin- nostuneille. Opinnäytetyö tehtiin useassa osassa kevään 2017 ja kevään 2019 välillä. Opinnäytetyön sisältö alkaa narratiivin perusteista, ja näyttää kuinka esitetyt perusteet so- veltuvat videopeleihin. Tämän jälkeen käydään läpi akateemista tutkimusta analyysityöka- lusta, jota sovelletaan videopeliin The Gardens Between. Tuloksissa ja analyysissä löydettiin vahvoja viitteitä, että narratiivin rakenteen analyysillä voi- daan kehittää ymmärrystä narratiivista yleisellä tasolla. Loppupäätelmissä tekijä totesi, että aihealueesta olisi mahdollista tulevaisuudessa tehdä useita jatkotutkimuksia, esimerkiksi verrata perinteistä mediaa ja pelinarratiivia toisiinsa, tai pelaajan vaikutusmahdollisuuksien vaikutusta ja roolia pelinarratiiveissa. Tekijä myös suosit- teli varovaisuutta alan tutkimisen kannustamisessa, sillä aihe on vaativa. Avainsanat (asiasanat) agency, character, design, embedding, interactivity, narrative, operational, plot, presenta- tional, setting, space, story, structure, text, theme, time, topography, videogame Muut tiedot (salassa pidettävät liitteet) 1 Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 7 2 Methodology .................................................................................................. 9 2.1 Finding the subject ...................................................................................... 9 2.2 Method of Research .................................................................................. 10 2.3 Thematic Interview & Interviewee biographies........................................ 11 2.4 Research Questions and objectives .......................................................... 13 3 Elements of Narrative ................................................................................... 14 3.1 Plot ..................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Character ................................................................................................... 15 3.3 Setting ..................................................................................................... 17 3.4 Theme ..................................................................................................... 18 3.5 Basic Structure .......................................................................................... 18 4 Interactive Narrative ..................................................................................... 20 4.1 Game Narrative ......................................................................................... 21 4.2 Theme ..................................................................................................... 23 4.3 Interactivity ............................................................................................... 24 4.4 Player Agency ............................................................................................ 25 4.5 Character development & limitations ....................................................... 26 4.6 Interactive Cut Scenes and Cinematics ..................................................... 27 4.7 Railroading ................................................................................................ 27 5 Videogame Narrative Structure ..................................................................... 28 5.1 Linear Narrative Structure ........................................................................ 29 5.2 Branching Narrative Structure .................................................................. 32 5.3 Open Narrative .......................................................................................... 36 2 6 Analysis of Narrative Structure ..................................................................... 39 6.1 Time ..................................................................................................... 40 6.1.1 Order .................................................................................................... 40 6.1.2 Speed .................................................................................................... 41 6.1.3 Frequency ............................................................................................. 42 6.1.4 Polychrony ............................................................................................ 42 6.2 Space ..................................................................................................... 43 6.2.1 Topographical Structure ....................................................................... 44 6.2.2 Operational Structure ........................................................................... 44 6.2.3 Presentational Structure ...................................................................... 46 6.3 Composing Game Text .............................................................................. 48 6.3.1 Forms of Narrative Content ................................................................. 48 6.3.2 Narrative Embedding ........................................................................... 49 6.3.3 Narrative Interaction ............................................................................ 53 6.4 Organizing the Game Plot ......................................................................... 54 7 Game Analysis: The Gardens Between .......................................................... 58 7.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 58 7.2 Analysis ....................................................................................................
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