The First but Hopefully Not the Last: How the Last of Us Redefines the Survival Horror Video Game Genre
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The College of Wooster Open Works Senior Independent Study Theses 2018 The First But Hopefully Not the Last: How The Last Of Us Redefines the Survival Horror Video Game Genre Joseph T. Gonzales The College of Wooster, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy Part of the Other Arts and Humanities Commons, and the Other Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Gonzales, Joseph T., "The First But Hopefully Not the Last: How The Last Of Us Redefines the Survival Horror Video Game Genre" (2018). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 8219. This Senior Independent Study Thesis Exemplar is brought to you by Open Works, a service of The College of Wooster Libraries. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Independent Study Theses by an authorized administrator of Open Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © Copyright 2018 Joseph T. Gonzales THE FIRST BUT HOPEFULLY NOT THE LAST: HOW THE LAST OF US REDEFINES THE SURVIVAL HORROR VIDEO GAME GENRE by Joseph Gonzales An Independent Study Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Course Requirements for Senior Independent Study: The Department of Communication March 7, 2018 Advisor: Dr. Ahmet Atay ABSTRACT For this study, I applied generic criticism, which looks at how a text subverts and adheres to patterns and formats in its respective genre, to analyze how The Last of Us redefined the survival horror video game genre through its narrative. Although some tropes are present in the game and are necessary to stay tonally consistent to the genre, I argued that much of the focus of the game is shifted from the typical situational horror of the monsters and violence to the overall narrative, effective dialogue, strategic use of cinematic elements, and character development throughout the course of the game. I also found that the game challenges notions of masculinity and femininity and takes inspiration from Bildungsroman, which are coming-of-age novels. I proposed a new genre called “Zombie Drama” which refers to texts that focus on character development in a zombie world backdrop. Next, I deconstructed the visual and auditory aspects of the game and how they contribute to the overall construction of the narrative. Lastly, I covered the filmic influences of The Last of Us and drew connections between the texts and the game. Key Words: survival horror, video games, narrative, genre ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to send a big thank you to everyone who has helped me to get where I am today, since I would not have been able to finish my Independent Study without all of your support. I want to specifically mention my family, who are my emotional rock whenever I call them from Wooster. It is not easy for me to attend college across the other side of the country, so I am grateful for all that they do for me. To my friends, thank you for being physically there for me and putting up with me and my wacky personality. I know that I am not easy to be around, so I appreciate all that you have done for me and accepting me as your own. I am going to miss all of you when we graduate, and I hope that you all have good lives in the future. I also want to thank Neil Druckmann, the writer and creative director of The Last of Us, for creating such a complex work of art. Your work has inspired me to pursue a career in storytelling, either through video games, film, or television. I do hope that I get to meet you in person and talk to you about my research on the game. Lastly, I specifically could not have succeeded in any of my classes without my professors, both past and present. I also want to specifically thank my advisor Dr. Ahmet Atay. You saw my potential as a student and a scholar and pushed me to become the person I am today. I do not think I would have been able to complete my analysis of The Last of Us without your support, so I thank you for everything you have done. To any future Wooster students who encounter this I.S. in Open Works and are interested in Game Studies, do not lose hope in your topic since it will open more doors for creating conversations on video games as works of art. New media is becoming an integral part of our society and research on media can push our technology in new directions. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 Purpose Statement ................................................................................................. 2 Rationales .............................................................................................................. 2 Background Information ....................................................................................... 4 Definitions............................................................................................................. 5 Method .................................................................................................................. 6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................ 9 History of Video Games ....................................................................................... 9 Political Economy of the Video Game Industry ................................................. 12 Genre ................................................................................................................... 15 Video Game Genre ............................................................................................. 15 Action-Adventure Video Game Genre ................................................... 16 Role-Playing Video Game Genre ........................................................... 17 Strategy and Simulation Video Game Genre .......................................... 18 Casual Video Game Genre...................................................................... 19 Sports and Driving Video Game Genre .................................................. 20 Music and Rhythm Video Game Genre .................................................. 21 Survival Horror Video Game Genre ....................................................... 22 Video Game Players ........................................................................................... 26 Video Game Narrative ........................................................................................ 27 Player Immersion .................................................................................... 28 iv Cutscenes ................................................................................................ 30 Characterization ...................................................................................... 31 Theories............................................................................................................... 32 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER III: METHOD .............................................................................................. 36 Justification of Method ....................................................................................... 36 Artifact ................................................................................................................ 37 Main Campaign ....................................................................................... 39 Prologue ...................................................................................... 39 Title Sequence ............................................................................. 39 Summer ....................................................................................... 40 Fall .............................................................................................. 41 Winter ......................................................................................... 42 Spring .......................................................................................... 43 Epilogue ...................................................................................... 44 The Last of Us: Left Behind .................................................................... 44 Present 1 ...................................................................................... 44 Flashback 1 ................................................................................. 44 Present 2 ...................................................................................... 45 Flashback 2 ................................................................................. 45 Present 3 ...................................................................................... 45 Flashback 3 ................................................................................. 45 Present 4 ...................................................................................... 46 v Flashback 4 ................................................................................. 46 Epilogue ...................................................................................... 46 Methodological Steps.......................................................................................... 47 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ..........................................................................................