“It’s Time to Kick A** and Chew Bubble Gum”: An Ideological Critique of Narrative in Action Games. by Robert Cassar In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Arts and Culture Newcastle University May 2014 Abstract If videogames are carriers of ideological frameworks which work in favour of certain groups in society, how are such meanings divulged? Despite the achievement of important landmarks the academic field of game studies is still rife with gaps which need to be addressed. Hence, this study aims to provide for this general lack of tools by offering for scrutiny the means to carry out a systematic and analytical narrative analysis of games. What is proposed here is a comprehensive set of theoretical as well as methodological tools to deal more effectively and empirically with the kind of narratives emerging in games. In order to identify and study these narratives, two tools have been selected, each one to be used for a specific objective. The tools in question are narrative and content analysis. Whilst the former is used to address the narrative dimension of the games in question, the latter is used to identify and define their ideological nuances. In this thesis it will be argued that this content is mostly dispersed through narrative. Though it has been argued many times that videogame narratives are infantile and poor reflections of film and novel forms of storytelling, they nonetheless contain within them the same capacity of the older forms to dispense or insinuate ideological content. As such videogames are both influenced by ideological principles as well as cultural distributors of the latter. By being recruited by the forces of ‘good’ to defeat the forces of ‘evil’, the player is given an important role to play in an ideologically saturated fantasy. Nonetheless the nature of heroism present in these games is not of the conventional kind but has Nietzschian characteristics to it, in that it is bound to the idea of empowerment. The player is invited to partake in a fantasy where everything is possible and there are no barriers which cannot be overcome. The action component, or rather the acts of shooting and killing, so commonly associated with the action genre, become the primary source through which a sense of empowerment is channelled. At their core, action games are primarily about the illusion of control over the self, non- Western countries, cultures, ideologies, women etc. As a consequence of this, these games have become an important colonizing tool, which consolidates the hegemony of Western white men. This is also particularly evident in the way female characters are 1 represented. While male figures are portrayed as heroic, virile and empowered, female characters are objectified, sexualized and deemed of secondary importance. By exploring the ideological nature of action games, this project seeks to reaffirm the importance of studying popular culture artefacts, not solely in terms of their constituting elements but also in the wider context of their origin and point of consumption. 2 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my father Anthony and my late grandfather Joseph who always believed in me no matter what. 3 Acknowledgments Thanks go to: My tutors Professor Deborah Chambers and Dr Liviu Popoviciu for their endless support and counsel during these five years. Malta Government Scholarship Scheme for partially funding this research work. My wife Josephine for her patience. My family for always being there for me. My dear friend Anton with whom I spent hours talking about the wonderful and exciting world of games. My dear friend Etta who was kind enough to read every single word of this thesis. My friends and work colleagues: Marvene, Mario, Ronald and Sandra for their moral support throughout the whole journey. And last but not least to my beloved Lana who was always there with me day and night. 4 Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………...12 1.1 General Introduction .......................................................................................12 1.2 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................17 1.3 Research Methodology ...................................................................................19 1.4 Narrative and Content Analysis .....................................................................23 1.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................25 Chapter 2 Games, Play and Culture……………………………………………………. .27 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................27 2.2 Games and Culture .........................................................................................27 2.2.1 Defining Culture ..................................................................................29 2.3 Play and Games ..............................................................................................33 2.4 An ideological analysis of Game Narration ...................................................41 2.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................48 Chapter 3 Gramsci and Games………………………………………………………….. 50 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................50 3.2 Marxism, Critical Theory and Games ............................................................51 3.2.1 Ideology and Myth ...............................................................................53 3.3 Videogame and Ideological Frameworks .......................................................56 3.4 First Encounters ..............................................................................................59 3.4.1 The role of media and games in ideological dissemination .................63 3.5 Revisiting Gramsci .........................................................................................68 3.5.1 Gramsci, Hegemony and Videogames .................................................72 3.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................77 Chapter 4 Exploring Narrative in Games…………………………………………….…..80 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................80 4.2 Cultural Relevance of videogame narratives ..................................................80 4.3 Looking into the Importance of Narrative ......................................................82 4.3.1 Defining Narratives .............................................................................84 4.4 Videogame Narratives ....................................................................................86 4.4.1 Immersion in the Game World .............................................................90 4.4.2 Understanding and Scrutinising Videogame Narratives .....................92 4.4.3 Unit formation ......................................................................................97 4.5 Ways of Telling Stories ................................................................................100 4.5.1 Majewski’s Model ..............................................................................103 4.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................105 5 Chapter 5 Games Telling Stories, Yes but How?.............................................................107 5.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................107 5.2 The Ludological/Narratological debate ........................................................107 5.3 Problems with Structural Analysis ...............................................................109 5.4 Folktales and Fairytales ................................................................................111 5.5 Campbell’s monomyth and the Hero with a Thousand Faces or Was It ? ...115 5.5.1 Ideological implications of the Aristotelian Tripartite Structure ......122 5.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................125 Chapter 6 Research Methodology Chapter……………………………………………..126 6.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................126 6.2 Background to the study ...............................................................................127 6.3 A Humanist/Qualitative Approach to Game Studies ...................................129 6.4 The Issue of Subjectivity: Disadvantage of Qualitative Research? .............133 6.4.1 Mental-Written Protocol ....................................................................134 6.4.2 The Selection Process ........................................................................136 6.4.3 Identifying the Units of Analysis ........................................................139 6.5 Content Analysis ..........................................................................................143 6.6 Narrative Analysis ........................................................................................167 6.7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................172 Chapter 7 The Role of Narrative in Action Adventure Games……………………........175 7.1 Introduction