Videogames como narrativas interativas: integração de gameplay e narratividade na análise de Red Dead Redemption

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes videogames from their narrative potential. The popularity of videogame consoles and the spread of personal computers and the Internet over the past two decades have facilitated the access to these technological products, also causing the academic interest in such games to increase. Much of the literature on the subject revolves around the debate “Narratology versus Ludology”, where theorists of opposing sides believe that electronic games can be understood either by their ludic aspects, directly related to the action of the player (gameplay), or only by its narrative characteristics. Throughout this thesis, we present the thoughts of the main Ludologists (Jesper Juul, Gonzalo Frasca, Espen Aarseth) and the Narratologists, of which Janet Murray is the principal exponent. Our goal in describing the two theories is to demonstrate the need to incorporate them both in order to achieve a broader understanding of electronic games, unlike the opposition between the two theoretical approaches proposes. Hence, our hypothesis is that it is only taking into account both gameplay and the narrative potential of videogames that one can analyze these games in which Marie-Laure Ryan, Santaella and Galloway consider its most distinctive feature: interactivity. To do so, we use Ryan’s concept of "interactive narratives" (2009), which proposes that the narrative in video games is directly related to gameplay, as each narrative element is constructed from actions taken by the player and materialized inside the game through an avatar, and, moreover, every action taken is determined by the narrative plot that is designed. As a consequence, ludic and narrative elements are inextricable to the understanding of electronic games in their full potential. As an example of this trend, we will analyze the game "Red Dead Redemption" for Xbox 360, created by Rockstar Games, which we believe aggregates all the characteristics of Ryan’s "interactive narratives".