BELIEVABILITY, ADAPTIVITY, AND PERFORMATIVITY: THREE LENSES FOR THE ANALYSIS OF INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING by Joshua Tanenbaum B.A. University of Redlands, 2002 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the School of Interactive Arts & Technology © Joshua Tanenbaum 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. 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APPROVAL Name: Joshua Tanenbaum Degree: Master of Arts Title of Thesis: Believability, Adaptivity, and Performativity: Three Lenses for the Analysis of Interactive Storytelling Examining Committee: Chair: ________________________________________ Dr. Tom Calvert Professor Emeritus, Graduate Program Chair, Simon Fraser University, School of Interactive Arts & Technology ________________________________________ Mr. James Bizzocchi Senior Supervisor Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University, School of Interactive Arts & Technology ________________________________________ Dr. Magy Seif el-Nasr Supervisor Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University, School of Interactive Arts & Technology ________________________________________ Dr. Celia Pearce External Examiner Assistant Professor, School of Literature, Communication and Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology Date Defended/Approved: ________________________________________ ii SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or Iimited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Fall2007 ABSTRACT In this thesis I present a methodology for performing analyses of Interactive Narrative experiences, and use this technique both to explicate a particular game—The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion—and to demonstrate the utility of approaching the game via three different analytical perspectives. This methodology is a form of close reading, a technique which was developed in literary theory for the explication of narrative experiences, with roots in earlier epistemological practices such as theological exegesis and hermeneutics. I have focused this thesis on examining and clarifying a technique for reading and explicating these experiences. Interactive Narratives are problematic due to their indeterminate nature and often unwieldy scope; in this thesis I propose a solution to these two problems. My solution takes the form of a series of constrained readings, which I argue allows me to productively explicate specific aspects of my play experiences. By using the notion of analytical lenses to filter my playings, I hope to simultaneously overcome issues of indeterminacy by narrowing the focus of my playing to observations of specific phenomena within the game, and also address issues of scope by reducing the undifferentiated experience of the game to a series of more readily assimilated sub‐experiences. I believe that the method demonstrated within this thesis has utility for theorists of Interactive Narrative and Games, and I contend that the lenses presented herein provide three good examples of possible “constrained close readings”. Keywords: Interactive Narrative; Game Studies; Close Reading; Believability; Adaptivity; Performativity Subject Terms: Storytelling; Computer games; Literature and technology; Belief, Problem of (Literature); Improvisation (Acting); Adaptive computing systemsedication iii For Karen; my collaborator, my co‐conspirator, and my partner in all things, without whose support, I would never have even made it in the door here. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Putting the finishing touches on this thesis doesn’t feel like closing a book so much as turning a page. I am grateful for this because I would hate to close the book on the wonderful collaborations that have made this experience such a pleasure to pursue. The members of my committee: Dr. Magy Seif el‐Nasr, Dr. Celia Pearce, and Mr. Jim Bizzocchi have all contributed to this work in innumerable ways. Jim, in particular, has played a profound role in shaping how I understand scholarship at a fundamental level, and I will forever be indebted to him for opening the intellectual window through which I have so happily jumped. Magy’s work was central to the research I wished to pursue long before she joined the program, and her knowledge, critiques, and insights have proven invaluable over the last year. Finally, I am grateful to Celia for taking the time to participate in this process; this opportunity to engage in a dialogue with a theorist whose work has shaped my ideas over the last several years has truly been an honour. The community of colleagues and friends that I have found here at SIAT has also contributed greatly to the development of this research. In particular, conversations with Jason Boileau, Nis Bojin, Greg Corness, Beth Dillon, Douglas Grant, Kirsten Johnson, Aaron Levisohn, David Milam, Vicki Moulder, Michelle Nilson, Michael Nixon, James Phillips, Jack Stockholm, Angela Tomizu, Ben Unterman, and Veronica Zammitto have all forced me to question assumptions, challenge easy answers, and generally be a more rigorous scholar than I might have been if left to my own devices. Many of these people also made the mistake of lending me books and papers, for which I will be eternally grateful, and which allowed me to write and think in avenues which would otherwise have been closed to me. I’d like to thank Douglas and Michael in particular for being patient and thorough readers; their attention to detail and command of the domain has certainly saved me from a number of embarrassing mistakes. v Lastly, I would like to acknowledge