Compromised Agency: Between Player and Character

Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Producer
Director
Performer
Choreographer
Costume Designer
Music
Videographer
Lighting Designer
Set Designer
Crew Member
Funder
Rehearsal Director
Concert Coordinator
Moderator
Panelist
Alternative Title
Department
Haverford College. Department of English
Type
Thesis
Original Format
Running Time
File Format
Place of Publication
Date Span
Copyright Date
Award
Language
eng
Note
Table of Contents
Terms of Use
Rights Holder
Access Restrictions
Open Access
Tripod URL
Identifier
Abstract
This paper engages with an alternative mode of examining foundational elements of the academic discourse of videogames; specifically, the concept of “player” and “character” and the relationship between them. The fiction of videogames is steeped in literary and cinematic traditions, but has elements unique to the medium that need to be examined. In this paper, the notion that the player and the played character are distinct entities or that the character is merely a frivolous extension of the player are challenged fundamentally: without compromising agency the player cannot interface with the game nor can the character take action to pursue the character’s programmed destiny. In this compromised agency, a new narratological element emerges which is part player and part character. This new concept changes how videogames can be examined and demonstrate how videogames can be literary without being literature.
Description
Citation
Collections