TO SERVE LIFE, NOT DEATH: AN EXPLORATION OF THE ARTISTRY AND PHILOSOPHIES OF HORIZON ZERO DAWN By Holly R. E. Harris Presented to the Faculty of Dallas International University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with major in World Arts Dallas International University April 29, 2021 © 2021 Holly R. E. Harris All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT TO SERVE LIFE, NOT DEATH: AN EXPLORATION OF THE ARTISTRY AND PHILOSOPHIES OF HORIZON ZERO DAWN Holly R. E. Harris Master of Arts with major in World Arts Dallas International University, April 29, 2021 Supervising Professor: Neil R. Coulter As artistic cultural products, games communicate cultural perspectives at the semiotic, narrative, and procedural level. Lived gameplay experiences may present an opportunity to communicate philosophy and invite the development of moral sensitivity. Aloy, the protagonist of Horizon Zero Dawn, exhibits a justified secular humanist philosophy, demonstrated through both the game’s narrative and procedural rhetoric. The characterization of the world, its peoples, invented cultures, and non-player character combatants are all filtered through Aloy’s perspective. This analysis of how Horizon Zero Dawn communicates lays groundwork for future research on purposeful implementation of techniques to develop philosophically purposeful games, which bears significant implications for the development of players’ ethical values and behavior in broader culture. Key Words: video game; Horizon Zero Dawn; secular humanism; art as culture; video game philosophy; ethical games; Schrag’s seven lenses DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my husband, James, without whom there would never have been a thesis to dedicate. I love you dearly, now and always. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge my family—James, Cassie and Dan, Bill and Robin—for your spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and financial support throughout the writing process of this thesis. Thank you for believing in both me and the work, and encouraging me throughout this much extended labor. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my advisory committee: Neil R. Coulter, Robert McKee, and Kevin Schut. Dr. Coulter in particular has been invaluable as my committee chair. Thank you for the work you have done to guide me through the process, critique my work, direct me to resources, and help me mature as a scholar. Thank you to my friends who have verbally processed this thesis with me for hours and hours over the last two years. Katie, Amanda, Sam, Megan, Miranda, Fiona, Alicia, Sarah, Zach, and Liana thank you for helping me sort my thoughts. I would also like to acknowledge the men and women at Guerilla Games who brought Aloy and her world to life; thank you for writing an engaging story, designing a strong, empathetic heroine, and making such a rich, inviting world that I could explore. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to acknowledge the Creator, who reveals his own attributes through the world he made. May people see the evidence of your character through the procedures and narratives of the world you made and worship you alone. April 12, 2021 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Why Study Video Games? ........................................................................................ 1 1.2 Why Study Horizon Zero Dawn? ............................................................................. 4 1.3 Personal Bias ............................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 2: A Review of the Literature ................................................................................ 8 2.1 History of Video Game Studies ................................................................................ 8 2.2 Video Games and Culture ......................................................................................... 9 2.3 Secular Humanism .................................................................................................. 13 2.4 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 15 2.4.1 The Formalist vs. Situationist Approach: Games as Both Object and Process 16 2.4.2 Procedural Rhetoric as a Perspective Between Object and Process ................ 18 2.4.3 Levels of Communication ................................................................................ 21 2.4.4 Summary .......................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Data Type ................................................................................................................ 25 3.2 Data Collection Method .......................................................................................... 26 3.2.1 Play as a Research Method .............................................................................. 26 3.2.2 Personal Context and Disclosure ..................................................................... 27 3.2.3 Data Collection Site ......................................................................................... 29 3.3 Schrag and Van Buren’s Seven Lenses .................................................................. 29 3.3.1 Making Arts for a Better Life .......................................................................... 29 3.3.2 The Seven Lenses ............................................................................................ 31 3.3.3 Distinguishing Real from Simulation .............................................................. 32 ix 3.4 Scope ....................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 4: The Skin and the Skeleton—Signs and Procedures ........................................ 35 4.1 Game Content Overview ........................................................................................ 37 4.2 Space ....................................................................................................................... 41 4.3 Materials ................................................................................................................. 46 4.4 Participant Organization ......................................................................................... 54 4.5 Performance Features ............................................................................................. 59 4.6 The First Four Lenses through Schut’s (2010) Layers ........................................... 64 Chapter 5: Putting Meat on the Bones—Narrative Content ............................................. 69 5.1 Shape through Time ................................................................................................ 70 5.2 Content .................................................................................................................... 76 5.2.1 Character Identities and Traits: Aloy ............................................................... 77 5.2.2 Character Identities and Traits: Player Foils .................................................... 83 5.2.3 Prominent Emotions, Moods, and Themes ...................................................... 86 5.3 Underlying Symbolic Structures ............................................................................. 87 Chapter 6: Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 92 6.1 Why does it matter? ................................................................................................ 93 6.2 Topics for Further Research ................................................................................... 97 Glossary .......................................................................................................................... 100 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 103 Curriculum Vitae ............................................................................................................ 112 x LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Actions separated into categories. ...................................................................... 62 Table 2. Quests separated into acts and episodes with activities and location type. ........ 75 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Aloy and Rost's home (top) compared to the city of Meridian (bottom). ......... 45 Figure 2. Aloy in modified Nora armor nocking an arrow on one of her bows. .............. 49 Figure 3. Nora protector heavy armor (left) and Oseram arrow breaker heavy armor (right). ............................................................................................................................... 50 Figure 4. Aloy tracking a machine with her Focus.