The Role of Narrative Units in the Design of Coherent Plot Structures for Single-Player Action Video Games
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The Role of Narrative Units in the Design of Coherent Plot Structures for Single-Player Action Video Games by Natalie Gene Funk M.Sc., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006 B.A., Antioch University, 1999 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Natalie Gene Funk 2018 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2018 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Natalie Gene Funk Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Interactive Arts and Technology) Title: The Role of Narrative Units in the Design of Coherent Plot Structures for Single-Player Action Video Games Examining Committee: Chair: Marek Hatala Professor Jim Bizzocchi Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Steve DiPaola Supervisor Professor Richard Smith Internal Examiner Professor Communications and Centre for Digital Media Dene Grigar External Examiner Associate Professor Digital Technology and Culture Program Washington State University Date Defended: April 23, 2018 ii Abstract The implementation of interactive narrative in video games has been a challenge for game designers since the earliest days of text adventures. One way to address this challenge is to explore the relationship of narrative units and game mechanics. During the rise of structuralist attitudes in the early twentieth century, the categorization of constituent units in narrative was foregrounded in the work of the Russian Formalists, and in the writings of the literary semioticians who followed. Conversely, in contemporary Game Studies, it can be argued that narrative in games has not been adequately investigated at such a granular level. I use the classic humanities technique of close-reading to identify and analyze the role of modularized narrative units in a selection of commercial single-player game titles: NHL12, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, and the Deus Ex franchise. By looking at these artifacts, I have compiled a list of characteristics that affect the design of interactive narrative in digital games. My work concentrated on the identification and understanding of the various manifestations of the narrative arc within the experience of the unfolding story. As my basic observational tool, I relied on the phases of the narrative arc as defined by Kristin Thompson (1999): setup, complication, development, and resolution. Using these concepts, I identified distinct instantiations of the narrative arc at various scales across each game. I observed the boundaries of the narrative arcs in each game, which provided insight into how these arcs inter-relate. I noted a hierarchical system: smaller narrative modules are systematically embedded within the larger narrative arcs. In addition, I found that the narrative units were cumulative in their effect on the ongoing game story. Narrative knowledge accumulates as more modules are played. In some instances the modules are designed so that the narrative experience works regardless of the order in which they are played. This research reveals design poetics that can be applied to future interactive narrative projects. A better understanding of how to integrate story into the gameplay experience in a satisfying way benefits analysts, designers and players. iii Keywords: Narrative Structure; Game Narrative; Interactive Narrative; Narrative Design; Micronarrative; Modular Narrative iv To Dad… v Acknowledgements With a full heart, I must express my immense gratitude for all of the benevolent hands that have helped to guide me along this journey. I would not be in this hoped-for place of culmination and commencement without the support and generosity of so many friends and colleagues. I’m thankful to my fellow students and researchers at the School of Interactive Arts and Technology who have contributed so much insight and perspective during our time on campus together. Aaron Levisohn, Ying Deng, Michelle Nilsson Levisohn, Huaxin Wei, Josh and Karen Tanenbaum. And especially the members of our informal but powerful Thesis Support Group: Vicki Moulder, Dinara Moura, Michael Nixon, Jeremy Owen Turner, Ben Unterman and Aynur Kadir. I am indebted to Tiffany Taylor for the consideration, clarity and humor she has always brought to her communication at the times when I needed level-headed advice. Many thanks go out to Tina Kong for her friendly and timely assistance with department procedures as my thesis neared completion. I am especially grateful for the tireless support and ongoing encouragement of my com- mittee advisors: Jim Bizzocchi and Steve DiPaola. Thank you both for your patience and the opportunities you have provided over these many years. Jim, you helped to kindle the fire when I needed it most. For my examiners, Dene Grigar and Richard Smith, I deeply appreciate your intellectual generosity in contributing your time and expertise to engage with my evolving academic ideas. Finally, it is hard to briefly encompass a lifetime of thanks to my family: My parents Fred and Becky Funk, who made financial sacrifices and helped in all the ways that they could to support my academic pursuits, though this journey has taken me far from home; My sister Amy, who has carried so many burdens in my absence; And especially my husband Jim Andrews, who has endured my late nights and necessary seclusion, who has held down the fort and kept me nourished and comforted me through the most difficult times - thank you for all that you’ve given to enable me to continue this work. I look forward to our new adventures together. vi Contents Approval ii Abstract iii Dedication v Acknowledgements vi Table of Contents vii List of Tables xi List of Figures xii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Context of the Study ............................... 2 1.2 Motivation for the Study ............................. 4 1.3 Aim and Scope .................................. 5 1.4 Significance of the Study ............................ 6 1.5 Overview of the Thesis .............................. 8 2 Foundations in the Literature 10 2.1 Discussion of Terms ............................... 11 2.1.1 Drama and Narrative ........................... 11 2.1.2 Diegesis and Mimesis .......................... 12 2.1.3 Defining Narrative ............................ 13 2.1.4 Narrative and Plot ............................ 14 2.1.5 Narrative Knowledge ........................... 15 2.1.6 Immersion ................................ 16 2.1.7 Personal Narrative ............................ 17 2.1.8 Micronarrative .............................. 18 2.1.9 Action Games .............................. 19 2.2 Conceptual Framework ............................. 20 vii 2.2.1 Narrative Analysis and Games ..................... 21 2.2.2 Essential Properties of Interactive Media . 23 2.2.3 Narrative Architecture and Games ................... 27 2.2.4 Games and Narrative Systems ..................... 28 2.3 Traditional Narrative Structure: Arcs and Acts . 29 2.3.1 Narrative Units in Theatre ........................ 30 2.3.2 Narrative Units in Film .......................... 34 2.3.3 Narrative Units in Television ....................... 38 2.3.4 Narrative Units in Folktales ....................... 41 2.3.5 Narrative Units in Literature ....................... 43 2.4 Interactive Narrative Structure: Graphs and Rhizomes . 48 2.4.1 Narrative Units in Interactive Media . 48 2.4.2 Narrative Units in Games ........................ 54 2.5 Summary of Narrative Units ........................... 56 3 Research Design and Methods 57 3.1 Methodological Approach ............................ 57 3.1.1 Formal Analysis: Games as Texts ................... 60 3.1.2 Close Reading of Games ........................ 68 3.1.3 Hermeneutics and Poetics ....................... 72 3.1.4 Summary of Methods .......................... 76 3.2 Research Design: Data Collection ....................... 76 3.2.1 Games as Texts for Study ........................ 77 3.2.2 Gameplay and Recording Process ................... 80 3.3 Research Design: Data Analysis ........................ 83 3.3.1 The Lens: Four Act Structure and Narrative Units . 84 3.3.2 Thompson’s Model ............................ 84 3.3.3 Culler’s Advice on Narrative Units ................... 87 3.3.4 Methodological Limitations ....................... 88 3.4 Summary of Methodology ............................ 88 4 Close Readings of Games as Artifacts 90 4.1 Narrative Units in NHL 12 ............................ 91 4.1.1 NHL 12: Level 1 Unit (Game Match) . 92 4.1.2 NHL 12: Level 2 Unit (Game Periods) . 93 4.1.3 NHL 12: Level 3 Unit (The “Play”) ................... 93 4.1.4 NHL 12: Level 4 Unit (Encounter/Micronarrative) . 93 4.1.5 NHL 12: Summary ............................ 94 4.2 Narrative Units in Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor . 95 viii 4.2.1 Shadow of Mordor: Level 1 Unit (Game) . 96 4.2.2 Shadow of Mordor: Level 2 Unit (Mission) . 96 4.2.3 Shadow of Mordor: Level 3 Unit (Objective) . 97 4.2.4 Shadow of Mordor: Level 4 Unit (Micronarrative) . 97 4.2.5 Shadow of Mordor: Summary ...................... 98 4.3 Narrative Units in Deus Ex: Introduction .................... 98 4.4 Narrative Units in Deus Ex: Human Revolution . 100 4.4.1 Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Level 1 Unit (Game) . 101 4.4.2 Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Level 2 Unit (City) . 101 4.4.3 Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Level 3 Unit (Chapter) . 102 4.4.4 Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Level 4 Unit (Mission)