THE LUDIC GARDEN: THE WORK OF PLAY IN COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC By JACOB EUTENEUER Bachelor of Arts in English University of Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska 2009 Master of Arts in English Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas 2012 Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing University of Akron Akron, OH 2015 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May, 2019 THE LUDIC GARDEN: THE WORK OF PLAY IN COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC Dissertation Approved: Joshua Daniel-Wariya Dissertation Adviser Lynn Lewis Anna Sicari Tutaleni Asino ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the unending support of my wife, Jamie. Her guidance, encouragement, love, and support are the unseen threads that hold this work together. In addition to Jamie, I would like to thank our two sons, Oliver and Peter. Their curiosity and joy are what have driven me throughout this long process. Many of the video games mentioned throughout this dissertation were played with them at my side, stomping Koopa Troopas or vanquishing evil from the land of Hyrule. I would also like to thank the members of my dissertation committee, Joshua Daniel- Wariya, Lynn Lewis, Anna Sicari, and Tutaleni Asino. Their knowledge, wisdom, mentorship, energy, and labor have made this all possible. As a long time English major, it is common to see acknowledgement sections with nods to the authors and writers who have blazed the trail before them and inspired them to take up the study of language and literature. While there is a great number of writers who I have looked to for guidance and inspiration, there is one man who is responsible for putting me on this path of writing, thinking, and studying video games in relation to composition and rhetoric. That man is Shigeru Miyamoto. Never has a human whom I’ve never met given me such joy. Mario, Link, Fox McCloud, Captain Olimar, and more have provided me with countless hours of entertainment, joy, and an insight into what make games so special. Thank you all. iii Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University. Name: JACOB EUTENEUER Date of Degree: MAY, 2019 Title of Study: THE LUDIC GARDEN: THE WORK OF PLAY IN COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC Major Field: ENGLISH Abstract: This dissertation explores the intersections between play and game studies and composition and rhetoric. Through an analysis of the provenance of the five canons of ancient rhetoric, invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery, this dissertation argues that new media, exemplified by video games, can help us reconceptualize and revitalize composition and rhetoric for our increasingly digital world. In Chapter 1, memory is examined in relation to identity and agency in order to demonstrate the productive overlaps between the act of writing and the act of playing. Invention is the focus of Chapter 2. Breaking down games into the constituent parts of materials, limits, and goals allows composers to create games that model systems or ideologies. Composers can then play these created games as a way to formulate, understand, and test their understanding of the world. Chapter 3 looks at style and differentiates between three types of style operating in digital games: representational style, procedural style, and ludic style. Emphasizing the actions and decisions of the player, ludic style can be a powerful tool to help composers identify, experience, and enact tropes and schemes. Chapter 4 looks at both arrangement and delivery and argues that in new media, the two happen simultaneously. Through an analysis of propaganda in video games, this chapter argues that the patterning of objects in games and subsequent delivery of the propaganda through the performance of the player represents a powerful new avenue to disseminate propaganda. The dissertation is concluded with Chapter 5, a pedagogical take on how the ancient canons of rhetoric can help identify conspicuous computing through the use of play and games to subvert hegemonic views and dominating ideologies. Taken as a whole, this dissertation demonstrates how play and writing can inform each other and promote understanding of the ways new media shapes how we communicate, how we make meaning of the digital world, and how we can use this to produce better writers, players, and citizens. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. DEVELOPING A LUDIC IDENTITY: PLAYING AND WRITING, WRITING AND PLAYING .........................................................................................................1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Finding the Flow ......................................................................................................5 Memory, Identity, and Agency ................................................................................8 The Magic of Magic Circles ..................................................................................12 Iterative Processes ..................................................................................................20 Playing and Writing as Praxis ................................................................................24 Models, Systems, and Texts ...................................................................................27 Heuristical Writing/Heuristical Play ......................................................................30 Conclusion .............................................................................................................33 II. THE GAME OF INVENTING: LUDIC HEURISTICS, ONTOLOGICAL PLAY, AND PLEASURABLE RESEARCH ....................................................................35 Introduction ............................................................................................................35 Tracing the History of Games and Invention .........................................................40 Playing with Materials ...........................................................................................48 Finding the Limits ..................................................................................................51 Constructing the Goals ...........................................................................................54 The Ludic Heuristic in Action ...............................................................................56 Conclusion .............................................................................................................64 III. TOWARD A LUDIC STYLE: COMPLEX OBJECTS, DYNAMIC VERBS, AND THE FREEDOM OF POSSIBILITY SPACES .....................................................66 Introduction ............................................................................................................66 Styled, Styles, Will Style .......................................................................................71 A Brand New Style ................................................................................................77 Style and Videogames ............................................................................................81 Turning Play into Language ...................................................................................86 Style in Videogames ..............................................................................................90 Conclusion .............................................................................................................99 v Chapter Page IV. ARRANGING POSTERS AND DELIVERING BULLETS: PROPAGANDA AS PLEASURE IN WOLFENSTEIN II: THE NEW COLOSSUS .............................101 Introduction ..........................................................................................................101 Putting Together the Pieces of Arrangement and Delivery .................................105 Overlapping Delivery and Arrangement ..............................................................108 The Rise of Interactive Propaganda .....................................................................111 Boiling the Frog ...................................................................................................115 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................129 V. CONSPICUOUS COMPUTING: GAMIFIED BODIES, PLAYFUL COMPOSITION, AND THE MONSTERS IN YOUR POCKET ......................131 Introduction ..........................................................................................................131 A Post-PC Age .....................................................................................................132 Conspicuous Consumption Leads to Conspicuous Computing ...........................135 Wearables in the Classroom and Beyond ............................................................139 Writing with/through Machines ...........................................................................142 Creative Misuse and Subversive Play ..................................................................144 Resisting Commodification and Finding Our Limits...........................................146 Phallic Jogs and a Lame-Fish President ...............................................................147 Updates and Keeping Up to Date .........................................................................154 Conclusion