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Vulnerability and Growth in Video Game Narratives 2019

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Vulnerability and Growth in Video Game Narratives 2019 Master's thesis Thomas Fusdahl Vulnerability and Growth in Video Game Narratives 2019 Master's thesis Approaches to Storytelling in Dark Souls 3 and Thomas Fusdahl Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice NTNU May 2019 Faculty of Humanities Department of Design Norwegian University of Science and Technology Vulnerability and Growth in Video Game Narratives Approaches to Storytelling in Dark Souls 3 and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Thomas Fusdahl Medievitenskap Submission date: May 2019 Supervisor: Sara Brinch Norwegian University of Science and Technology Thomas Fusdahl Vulnerability and Growth in Video Game Narratives Approaches to Storytelling in Dark Souls 3 and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Master’s thesis in Medievitenskap Master’s thesis Master’s Supervisor: Sara Brinch May 2019 NTNU Faculty of Humanities Faculty of Humanities Faculty Norwegian University of Science and Technology of Science University Norwegian Thomas Fusdahl Vulnerability and Growth in Video Game Narratives Approaches to Storytelling in Dark Souls 3 and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Master’s thesis in Medievitenskap Supervisor: Sara Brinch May 2019 Norwegian University of Science and Technology Faculty of Humanities Faculty of Humanities Acknowledgments: After finally finishing I want to thank the people who believed in me when I didn’t. Most of all my parents for both financial and moral support. I couldn’t have done it without you. Additionally, I want to thank my supervisor Sara Brinch for her understanding and support and helping me believe in the project. Lastly, I want to give a shout out to the Easy Allies, an online media outlet that has made it fun to stay engaged in both the culture and business of video games. I recommend their podcast, and I think it's fitting to express their slogan here. "Love and Respect!" Abstract: This thesis examines the different approaches to storytelling in Dark Souls 3 and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. The analysis reveals how both games are subversive in relation to the most narratives within the video game medium. Dark Souls 3 more actively uses the game's mechanics to convey meaning to the player, while Hellblade is more directed, featuring fully developed, clear cut characters in its story. The majority of games in the action and roleplaying game genre, enables the player’s power fantasies. Though different in design, Dark Souls 3 and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice makes the player feel vulnerable instead. This creates a larger potential for a sense of growth when the player improves at the game mechanics or is able to complete a story arc by finishing a game’s narrative. Sammendrag: Denne mastergradsavhandlingen undersøker forskjellige teknikker for historiefortelling i Dark Souls 3 og Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Analysen avslører hvordan begge spill bryter med vanlige narrative konvensjoner i dataspill. Dark Souls 3 bruker i stor grad spillmekanikken til å formidle mening til spilleren, hvor Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice er tettere regissert av spilldesigneren for å fortelle en spesifikk historie. De fleste spill i rollespill og action sjangeren lar spilleren leve ut sine maktfantasier. Selv med ulike tilnærminger, får Dark Souls 3 og Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice spilleren til å føle seg sårbar i stedet. Dette skaper større potensiale for følelse av mestring når spilleren forbedrer seg i spillmekanikken, eller er i stand til å gjennomføre et tilfredsstillende narrativ. Table of Contents: 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Vulnerability and Growth .............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Selecting the Games .................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Agency and Ludonarrative Dissonance ........................................................................ 3 1.4 Motivation and Usefulness ........................................................................................... 4 2 Theory ................................................................................................................................ 7 2.1 Narrative ...................................................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 The “Realness” of Video Games ..........................................................................10 2.1.2 The Avatar ...........................................................................................................11 2.1.3 Identifying with the Avatar ....................................................................................13 2.2 The MDA Model ..........................................................................................................13 2.2.1 Mechanics ...........................................................................................................13 2.2.2 Dynamics .............................................................................................................15 2.2.3 Aesthetics ............................................................................................................15 2.3 Genre..........................................................................................................................15 2.3.1 Ontology of Video Games ....................................................................................16 2.3.2 Steam Tags .........................................................................................................18 2.3.3 Video Game Communities and Memes ................................................................19 2.4 Immersion ...................................................................................................................19 2.5 Difficulty ......................................................................................................................23 3 Method ...............................................................................................................................25 4 Analysis of Dark Souls 3 ....................................................................................................26 4.1 The Genre of Dark Souls ............................................................................................26 4.2 If You Get Frustrated ..................................................................................................27 4.2.1 Responsibility and Failure: Lesson of the Mimic ...................................................29 4.3 Tutorials ......................................................................................................................31 4.4 Dark Souls 3 Storytelling .............................................................................................32 4.4.1 Plot ......................................................................................................................32 4.4.2 Storytelling Through Item Descriptions? ...............................................................33 4.4.3 Four Endings .......................................................................................................34 4.5 Punishment .................................................................................................................36 4.5.1 Four Types of Punishment ...................................................................................36 4.5.2 Bonfire Checkpoint System ..................................................................................37 4.6 Huge and Powerful Enemies .......................................................................................39 4.7 Roleplaying .................................................................................................................41 4.7.1 Immersive Roleplaying .........................................................................................41 4.7.2 Fashion Souls ......................................................................................................42 4.8 Rewarding the Player ..................................................................................................44 4.8.1 Souls as a Reward ...............................................................................................44 4.8.2 Ambiguous Rewards ............................................................................................46 4.8.3 Patience ...............................................................................................................48 4.9 Music in the Dark Souls franchise ...............................................................................48 4.10 Dark Souls 3 Aesthetic ................................................................................................49 4.10.1 Praising the Sun ..................................................................................................51 5 Analysis Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.................................................................................53 5.1 The story of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice ....................................................................53 5.2 Female Protagonists in Gaming ..................................................................................54 5.3 Hellblade's Death Mechanic ........................................................................................55 5.4 The Voices ..................................................................................................................57 5.5 Senua's Ending ...........................................................................................................59
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