GAME COMPOSITION: WRITING WITH(IN) DIGITAL GAMES By KYLE BOHUNICKY A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2018 1 © 2018 Kyle Bohunicky 2 To Melissa, Dave, and Chuck for reading and revising my gameplay 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe my deepest gratitude to the committee for the innumerable contributions they have made to both the dissertation and to my development as a scholar. Their patience, insight, and shrewd judgement at critical junctures over the course of this project tempered my bouts of scholarly stubbornness and creative capriciousness, teaching me how to craft my writing into the manuscript you have before you. In particular, I thank Professor Dobrin, my director, for granting me what many graduate students working under scholars of similar renown rarely receive: space to play. Without his willingness to generously humor all nature of ideas, I doubt that I would have had the freedom to present what would eventually become this dissertation. Moreover, Professor Dobrin’s groundbreaking contributions to Writing Studies and Rhetoric and Composition need to be recognized as they made possible both my conception of writing as well as the conversations to which this project contributes. Without his direct and indirect efforts, this dissertation simply could not exist. Professor Harpold and Professor Gries have both been guiding lights throughout the years—I would be lost without their direction as committee members and mentors. In 2009, Professor Harpold kindly agreed to meet and discuss opportunities for graduate work with digital media in UF’s Department of English. This meeting with Professor Harpold, like those that were to follow, was both energizing and supportive, and his mentorship has been a significant source of inspiration for both my writing and research. I thank Professor Gries for first 4 introducing me to the field of Writing Studies and working tirelessly to create opportunities for my research and scholarship. It was with Professor Gries that I learned how to perform the vital work of a scholar including publications and conferences, and from her that I gained the skills to thrive within the academy. In the dissertation, as in all the projects that she has generously been involved with, Professor Gries saw what my writing could become—I thank her for helping me work towards that vision. I would also like to thank Professor Stenner, who was a source of great inspiration for this project and a boon to the Digital Assembly during our many events. I’d also like to thank Professor Jeanne Rose and Professor Sandy Feinstein at Penn State Berks Campus as well as Professor Hester Blum and Professor Michael Bérubé at Penn State for their tremendous support and encouragement during my undergraduate degree. I’m here because of them. To my parents and sister, who provided an endless supply of emotional support and good cooking, I owe a debt that can never be repaid. Teddi, Brian, and Jamie Bohunicky lifted me out of my hardest times, and they gave me hope when all seemed hopeless. I also thank my parents for providing my first game console and for being generous with “TV tickets.” This dissertation began in those early moments huddled in front of our old wood paneled Magnavox, laughing and learning as we stumbled through Hyrule together. Of the many colleagues in UF’s Department of English and elsewhere who have supported and patiently endured my verbal and written meanderings, I am 5 greatly indebted to Melissa Bianchi for creating numerous opportunities to work and publish together. I also thank her for the insightful criticism, delightful cats, and darn good D.Va POTGs. I thank my aqua fiend Phil Bratta for keeping me honest, Sam Hamilton for the confidence (and for the yappy pup story), Caleb Milligan for being there even when I wasn’t, and Jordan Youngblood for the A E S T H E T I C. I thank Andrew Wilson, Samantha Grenrock, Mitch Murray, Andrea Medina, Aaron Beveridge, Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Andrew Donovan, Jacob Green, Jacob Riley, Laura Chilcoat, John Tinnell, Stephanie Boluk, Patrick LeMieux, and Shannon Butts for offering their friendship and support. Additionally, I couldn’t have made it without many of my friends (both irl and online) including David P. Anderson, Chuck Emig, Greg Gonzalez, Phil Corrado, Cris Rivera, Kyle Varnadore, Joey Mock, Brent Lopez, Alexander Weiss, Chris Smaha, Thomas Storey, Ryan Wakeland, Melissa Munkel, and Ryan Hickey. I thank the Digital Worlds Institute and Professor James Oliverio for the ongoing support of my graduate (and post-graduate) work. Last, but not least, I extend my deepest appreciation to my two loving, wonderful, and snuggly cats: Lily and Pancake. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 9 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTERS 1 WRITING GAMES .................................................................................................. 11 Methods Overview .................................................................................................. 14 Theory Overview ..................................................................................................... 19 Theories of Writing, Games, and Play .............................................................. 24 Proceduralism in Writing Theory ...................................................................... 31 2 DEFINING PLAY AND WRITING ........................................................................... 39 Defining Games ...................................................................................................... 43 Games and Language ...................................................................................... 43 Games and Signs ............................................................................................. 47 Games and Systems ........................................................................................ 48 Games and Experiences .................................................................................. 51 Defining Play ........................................................................................................... 53 Play and Ambiguity ........................................................................................... 53 Play and Games ............................................................................................... 55 Play and Creativity ........................................................................................... 57 Defining Writing ...................................................................................................... 59 Writing and History ........................................................................................... 59 Writing and Play ............................................................................................... 63 3 WRITING WITH(IN) PRE-DIGITAL AND EARLY GAMES ...................................... 66 Dadaism and Surrealism ......................................................................................... 66 Dadaism, Writing, and Play .............................................................................. 67 Surrealism, Games, and Writing ....................................................................... 72 Writing and Wargaming .......................................................................................... 76 Writing in Early Digital Games ................................................................................ 81 Leaving the Cave .................................................................................................... 88 4 WRITING WITH(IN) DIGITAL GAMES ................................................................... 94 Writing Models ........................................................................................................ 99 Representing Writing in Undertale .................................................................. 101 Representing Writing in Ōkami ....................................................................... 107 7 Writing Tools ......................................................................................................... 110 Writing Spaces ...................................................................................................... 118 5 WRITING WITH(IN) GAMES ................................................................................ 131 Building a Theory of Post-Procedural Gameplay .................................................. 134 Popularizing Writing Games: Twitch Plays Pokémon ........................................... 140 Writing Genres ...................................................................................................... 151 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 159 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 163 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................... 173 8 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 3-1 Screenshot of Day of the Tentacle