Demystifying the Structures of Ludic Textuality
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DEMYSTIFYING THE STRUCTURES OF LUDIC TEXTUALITY: NARRATIVE, RHETORIC, AND GENRE IN HYPERERGODIC COMPOSITION by JOHANSEN QUIJANO Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Arlington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON May 2015 Copyright © by Johansen Quijano 2015 All Rights Reserved ii Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. James Warren, whose feedback and conversation provided invaluable aid in the construction of the arguments made in this study. His insightful commentary and observations helped me shape and polish my study into its current form. I would also like to thank my other committee members, Dr. Tim Morris and Dr. Yuejiao Zhang, whose support and advice during my doctoral studies proved to be as irreplaceable as our conversations regarding the narrative configurations of ergodic textuality and the grammar of visual compositions. Finally, I would like to give special thanks to my family, especially my wife and son, without whose love and support I would not have been able to complete my studies. April 20, 2015 iii Abstract DEMYSTIFYING THE STRUCTURE OF LUDIC TEXTUALITY: NARRATIVE, RHETORIC, AND GENRE IN HYPERERGODIC COMPOSITION Johansen Quijano, PhD The University of Texas at Arlington, 2015 Supervising Professor: James Warren In an increasingly remediated world, it has become an increasingly relevant necessity not only to understand how immersive participatory experiences convey messages, but also to be able to convey to students the knowledge of how these contemporary systems might attempt persuasion. However, contemporary discourse surrounding the discussion of ergodic and ludic textuality often relies on one of many arguably underdeveloped theoretical frameworks. Just as ludocentric criticism of ergodic textuality often yields, at best, a limited understanding of the reader experience, the application of narrative criticism, as well as the use of theoretical frameworks, generally result in a misrepresentation of the ideas conveyed by the text. Even critics who acknowledge these texts as an amalgamation of several forms of art often fail to consider how the sometimes dissonant elements of narrative configurations and design structures might frame ludic engagement or aesthetic depiction. This study will propose that a comprehensive framework that allows the critic and student alike to develop a comprehensive understanding of ludic schemas should be adopted in order to unlock the meaning behind hyperergodic composition. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv List of Illustrations .............................................................................................................. ix List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Problem of Genre .............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Ludology and Narratology in Video Games .............................................................. 3 1.3 The Lack of a Unified Framework........................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 2: WHOSE GAME IS IT ANYWAY? ............................................................... 22 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 22 2.2 What is a video game? ........................................................................................... 25 2.3 A Framework for Understanding Types of Games and Players ............................. 39 2.3.1 Classifying the Player ...................................................................................... 39 2.3.2 Categories of Play by Frequency .................................................................... 43 2.3.3 The Union Between Player and Game ............................................................ 45 2.4 The Role of the Player ............................................................................................ 47 2.5 Video Games are Art .............................................................................................. 61 2.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 73 CHAPTER 3: HYPERERGODICITY, MECHANICS, AND TEMPORAL LINEARITY ........................................................................................................................ 74 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 74 3.2 A Taxonomy of Ergodicity ....................................................................................... 76 3.3 Linearity, The Story, and Narrative ......................................................................... 92 3.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 101 v CHAPTER 4: THE CHRONOTOPE AT PLAY ................................................................ 103 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 103 4.2 The Chronotope and Sideshadowing ................................................................... 104 4.2.1 The Chronotope at Play ................................................................................ 104 4.2.2 Endless Possibilities Shadowed .................................................................... 112 4.2.3 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 117 4.3 Multiple Layers and Time-Looped Narrative ........................................................ 118 4.3.1 A Multiplicity of Narratives through Player Identity ........................................ 119 4.3.2 Play Turning Back on Itself ............................................................................ 127 4.3.3 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 129 4.4 Space and Mechanics as Narrative ...................................................................... 130 4.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 148 CHAPTER 5: THE RHETORICAL SPECTRUM OF VIDEO GAMES ............................. 150 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 150 5.2 Design, Play Mechanics, and Remediation .......................................................... 151 5.2.1 Play Solvency ................................................................................................ 152 5.2.2 World Design ................................................................................................. 156 5.2.3 Remediating Space and Play ........................................................................ 162 5.3 A Rhetoric of Procedurality ................................................................................... 165 5.3.1 Where Process Comes From ........................................................................ 166 5.3.2 Application of Procedural Rhetoric ................................................................ 174 5.4 The Visual Rhetoric of Games .............................................................................. 181 5.4.1 Every Day the Same Dream .......................................................................... 182 5.4.2 A Visual Rhetoric of Games .......................................................................... 186 5.4.3 Games Making Visual Arguments: No Russian ............................................ 197 vi 5.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 204 CHAPTER 6: AUDIOVISUAL LUDONARRATIVITY ....................................................... 207 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 207 6.2 Ludonarrativity: Harmony of Dissonance ............................................................. 208 6.2.1 Ludonarrative Dissonance in Bioshock ......................................................... 209 6.2.2 Instances of Ludonarrative Dissonance ........................................................ 210 6.2.3 Opposing Dissonance: Ludonarrative Harmony ........................................... 217 6.3 Expanding Ludonarrativity .................................................................................... 221 6.3.1 Focus on Me: The Critic vs. The Text ........................................................... 222 6.3.2 Audiovisual Ludonarrativity ........................................................................... 224 6.4 Rhetoric and Audiovisual Ludonarrativity in The Last of Us ................................. 229 6.5 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................