The Shape of Games to Come: Critical Digital Storytelling in the Era of Communicative Capitalism
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The Shape of Games to Come: Critical Digital Storytelling in the Era of Communicative Capitalism by Sarah E. Thorne A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Cultural Mediations Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2018, Sarah E. Thorne Abstract The past decade has seen an increase in the availability of user-friendly game development software, the result of which has been the emergence of a genre of reflexive and experimental games. Pippin Barr, La Molleindustria’s Paolo Pedercini, and Davey Wreden are exemplary in their thoughtful engagement with an ever-expanding list of subjects, including analyses and critiques of game development, popular culture, and capitalism. These works demonstrate the power of games as a site for critical media theory. This potential, however, is hindered by the player-centric trends in the game industry that limit the creative freedom of developers whose work is their livelihood. In the era of communicative capitalism, Jodi Dean argues that the commodification of communication has suspended narrative in favour of the circulation of fragmented and digestible opinions, which not only facilitates the distribution and consumption of communication, but also safeguards communicative capitalism against critique. Ultimately, the very same impulse that drives communicative capitalism is responsible for the player-centric trends that some developers view as an obstacle to their art. Critical game studies has traditionally fallen into two categories: those that emphasize the player as the locus of critique, such as McKenzie Wark’s trifler or Mary Flanagan’s critical play, and those that emphasize design, as in Alexander Galloway’s countergaming, Ian Bogost’s procedural rhetoric, and Gonzalo Frasca’s theory of simulation. Yet, as a result of the decline in symbolic efficiency that is characteristic of communicative capitalism, these approaches are limited in their ability to effectively respond to the current social and economic situation. ii Dean’s conditions for critical media theory, however, provide a framework for theorizing how the complex interaction between a game’s narrative and mechanics might be adapted to resist and disrupt communicative capitalism. Drawing on Freudo-Lacanian psychoanalysis, this project analyzes a selection of narrative games through the clinical structures of neurosis, perversion, and psychosis to understand how players interact with these systems. This perspective provides the basis for examining the subject of communicative capitalism and imagining the shape of critical games to come. iii Acknowledgements This project would likely have taken a very different direction were it not for growing up in a household with a gaming console; for that, a special thank you is owed to my parents, and also to my brother and sister, who taught me determination by showing no mercy when we gamed. I am indebted to Dr. Brian Greenspan, whom I owe thanks not only for his support and supervision throughout this project, but also for opening up opportunities that I would never have imagined. Being a part of the Hyperlab has given me the chance to explore the practical side of theory and to collaborate on exciting digital projects. These experiences will be invaluable to future endeavours. I would like to thank Dr. Aubrey Anable and Dr. Chris Russill for joining my committee. Your feedback on this project has been insightful and very much appreciated. I would also like to thank Dr. Stephanie Boluk and Dr. Stuart Murray for taking the time to participate in the defense. I am also grateful to Trevor Smith, who has been a constant source of support and encouragement, and also an excellent sounding board. And, though there are too many of you to name, thank you to my friends and colleagues. Finally, I would like to acknowledge that this research would not have been possible without the generous funding provided through the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship and the J. James Mackie Endowment for Graduate Scholarships in Human-Technology Interaction. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ..............................................................................................................v List of Illustrations ......................................................................................................... vii Section I Narrative Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................1 1.1 Critical Digital Storytelling.....................................................................................1 1.2 Level Design ...........................................................................................................9 1.3 End Game ..............................................................................................................15 Chapter Two: The Digital Transformation of Storytelling .............................................17 2.1 Narratologies .........................................................................................................17 2.2 Wordplay...............................................................................................................18 2.3 Ludology Vs. Narratology ...................................................................................24 2.4 Against Transmediation ........................................................................................27 2.5 Does Tetris Have a Narrative? ..............................................................................30 2.6 Resurrection ..........................................................................................................32 2.7 What’s New about Narrative Games? ...................................................................34 Section II Agency Chapter Three: Decision Systems ...................................................................................43 3.1 The Myth ...............................................................................................................43 3.2 Branching Narratives ............................................................................................43 3.3 Infinite Worlds ......................................................................................................44 3.4 After BioShock .....................................................................................................46 Chapter Four: New Approaches to Narrative Agency ....................................................54 4.1 Algorithmic Approaches: The Novelist ................................................................57 4.2 Who Will You Become?: The Walking Dead ......................................................57 4.3 Players and Avatars...............................................................................................60 4.4 False Choices and Empty Gestures .......................................................................63 4.5 Agency and the Player-Avatar Relationship .........................................................66 v Section III: Enjoyment Chapter Five: Players as Authors ....................................................................................73 5.1 Narrating Play: Home ...........................................................................................74 5.2 A Psychoanalytic Approach to Games .................................................................77 5.3 Alterbiography ......................................................................................................77 Chapter Six: Perverse and Interpassive Gaming (Or, The Pervert’s Guide to Steam) ................................................................................77 6.1 Enjoy! ....................................................................................................................80 6.2 Perverse Enjoyment: Braid ...................................................................................82 6.3 Neurotic Enjoyment: Katamari Damacy ...............................................................84 6.4 Psychosis and Ethics: Violent Games ..................................................................92 Section IV: Critical Games Chapter Seven: Industry, Agency, and Critical Media Studies ......................................97 7.1 Art and Industry ..................................................................................................102 7.2 On Making Games: The Magic Circle ................................................................105 7.3 Communicative Capitalism .................................................................................117 7.4 Agency and the Critical Role of Narrative: The Stanley Parable .......................117 7.5 The Beginner’s Guide to Critical Media Theory ................................................117 Chapter Eight: The Shape of Games to Come ..............................................................126 8.1 “Games Can Change the World” ........................................................................135 8.2 The Subject of Communicative Capitalism .......................................................141 8.3 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................144