The Princess Is in Another Castle: Multi-Linear Stories in Oral Epic and Video Games

THE PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE: MULTI-LINEAR STORIES IN ORAL EPIC AND VIDEO GAMES by Emily Joy Bembeneck A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Classical Studies) in The University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Professor Ruth S. Scodel, Chair Associate Professor Gordon Calleja, University of Malta Associate Professor Basil J. Dufallo Associate Professor J. Mira Seo, Yale-NUS © Emily Joy Bembeneck 2013 DEDICATION For Vanessa ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe my utmost gratitude and respect to my chair, Ruth Scodel, who has continually challenged and encouraged me to pursue my ideas and interests. Even in my least lucid moments, she found meaning in the possibilities of my studies and was a constant presence of stability throughout my graduate career. Without Mira Seo, the writing you read within these pages would be far from comprehensible and the ideas within it too muddled to understand. Her help and advice has been invaluable. I am so grateful to Basil Dufallo who has always prompted me to be doubly sure of my decisions. He has taught me to only follow those goals and ideas that I believe are truly profitable for study, regardless of the traditional expectations and fears I may encounter. With the help of Gordon Calleja's encouragement and feedback, I have been able to more easily bridge the gap between the fields of Classics and Game Studies to, I hope, the benefit of all my readers. His ideas on storytelling and narrative within games have vastly influenced my own understanding of the player's narrative experience and are a constant source of inspiration. I am blessed to have had David Potter as a mentor throughout my higher education. He has been a scholarly role model and an example of what true brilliance in the field looks like. For constant encouragement and faith, I am so grateful to Barbara Coulter, my piano instructor. She had a vast influence on my own self-confidence and continually inspired me to push myself further and open my mind to new possibilities. To those who have remained with me in this long journey, I wish especially to thank Matt Cohn, without whose friendship I would be entirely destitute. Although I have said it many iii times, truly I would do anything for that man. To my dear friend Brianne Hawes, without whose emotional support in my lowest times I would never have survived. Let us never forget Gabii and all the lessons learned there. To Matt Newman, who knows my secrets and keeps them safe. To Matthew Mirse, who has truly been a Saint and heard more confessions than I think any human deserves. To my children, who have made this experience even more meaningful, and who have colored the days of drudgery with laughter and joy. To my cats, who hold the keys to my sanity in their adorable paws. To all my colleagues and friends, in both real and virtual space, who have touched me in ways they will never know, but without whom I would be some other possible me. And of course, to all the myths and storytellers, the games and game creators, who have fashioned in me this love of stories that challenge ideas of linearity and offer us possibilities much grander than we could ever hope to fully explore. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1. Multi-Linear Theory 13 Defining Narrative 13 Possible-Worlds Theory 19 The Story Universe and Its Subordinates 24 The Story Toolbox 31 Construction of Multi-Linear Narrative 35 Defining Games 39 An Introductory Case Study: Dragon Age: Origins 41 An Introductory Case Study: The Embassy of Iliad, Book 9 48 Rules of Multi-Linear Systems 52 2. The Story Toolbox 59 Settings and Locations 59 The City: Civic Setting as Multi-Linear Template in the Iliad 62 The City in Games 68 Settings and Locations as Narrative Sequence 72 Characters 78 v Possibilities of Character Biography 79 A Character-Template Scene in Dragon Age: Origins 85 Characters and Upward Mobility 89 Scenes 92 Homeric Scenes - A New Understanding of the Motif 93 The Homeric Scene 95 Scenes in Video Games: Quests 98 3. Rules and Narrative 107 Rules and the Boundary of Text 109 Rules of Plot 111 Plot and the fabula 114 The Multi-linear fabula 116 Negotiating Rules of Plot 123 Rules of Physics 127 Physics in Fictional Worlds 127 Physics in Games 132 Metaphysics of Player Death 135 Negotiating the Rules of Physics 137 The Physics of the Gods 138 A Continuum of Genre 140 The Continuum in Games 142 Rules of Truth: Quantum Stories 145 Rules of Discourse 150 Rules of Discourse in Oral Epic 151 Rules of Discourse in Games 154 vi Achievements as Discourse 157 Discourse Literacy 160 4. Co-Authorship 164 Developing a Story World 165 Proliferation in Action 166 A Case Study: the Warcraft Universe 168 Troy as a Proliferating Story World: Troilus 172 Choice and Agency: Meaningful Illusions 175 Choosing a Narrative Path 177 Dragon Age Choice: the Arl's Son 177 Choice in Facade 180 Achilles' Choice 182 Medea's Choice 185 5. Post-Primary Reception and Hermeneutics 189 The Hermeneutic Spiral 190 Emergence in Narrative Systems 194 Emergence in The Sims 196 Emergence in Troy 200 The (Un-)Changing Text 206 Revealing a Dragon Age 207 A (Post-)Primary Troy 211 CONCLUSION 217 BIBLIOGRAPHY 220 vii INTRODUCTION The last century has seen dramatic developments in the study and understanding of narrative. From the early days of the Russian Formalists' work on narratology to the structuralism of Genette, both of which focused primarily on the novel, more modern definitions of narrative by Ryan and Fludernik now attempt to account for the narrative forms found in non- print media.1 These theories however are primarily focused on linear narratives. These are the narratives familiar to us from the modern novel and our own experience; their story flows from one point in time to another, with all story events connected causally along this one linear timeline. The narratives we tell of stories we have heard, the happenings of our day, and the events of history typically fall into this form. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end, always in that order. Although the presentation of such a story may adjust the order with which we meet these three parts, whether through the use of flashbacks or other narrative tools, the logical order of the story's events always follows this tripartite configuration.2 Some narratives are more complex than this, however. In oral epic, particularly the Homeric poems, narrative is multi-linear. Instead of having one strict timeline of events, there are variable possibilities of timelines. We also find this kind of narrative structure in many video games, especially those which offer players choice and interaction within the game’s story. The many possibilities of narrative expression within such a story system will be the subject of this study. 1 Genette 1980; Ryan 1991; Fludernik 2009. See Chapter 1 for fuller theoretical discussion. 2 One may recall the elementary school exercises in which students are asked to label a series of pictures with the correct order in which they must have logically happened. In narrative theory, this logical order of events is called the fabula. We will discuss it more in Chapters 1 and 3. 1 Understanding the commonalities of these two forms of storytelling in particular can help us better understand each. For Homeric studies, an understanding of multi-linear theory as applied to video games can uncover new methods of analyzing narratives, but also of understanding the practice of composition and the effects of reception and audience negotiation. On the side of game studies, an understanding of how multi-linear theory applies to the Homeric poems can provide an alternative perspective that allows scholars to consider games as examples in the evolution of multi-linear storytelling. As is commonly noted, games offer us a different form of narrative than those commonly found in novels or film, yet with an understanding of multi-linear theory as applied to the Homeric poems, we can see that video games are not entirely different from all former narrative forms. In addition, a theory of narrative in video games is still lacking in the field of game studies. Although numerous attempts at creating such a theory have surfaced over the last decade, my offering of multi-linear theory is a new answer to the question of how narratives in games are different. As we will see, my theory allows for a great variety of difference, but also accounts for the similarities we can see between this modern form and the ancient examples of multi-linear storytelling in the Homeric poems. Why Multi-Linear? Humans understand much of their experience in the form of a narrative. Our reliance on time in everyday experience leads us to place a high emphasis on the order of events and the origins of causes. We normally think of the narratives we encounter in everyday life as simple linear narratives. We come, we leave, and then we return. However, much of our actual narrative understanding of the world relies on possible narratives. We think of various ways in which our partner may react when we tell him or her a secret. We think of possible consequences of our 2 actions. But not only do we rely on possibilities for the future – we also think in terms of possibilities in the past. We know that Athens and Sparta were at war, but why they were at war is less easy to understand.

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