Exploring Interactive Narrative and Ideology in War Games

摘要

Given the immense popularity of information and communication technologies, it is a time of radical change. In contact with modern technology, people are spending their time in virtual worlds and a large part of this time is spent playing games. This brings into question the concept of identification and representation within game narrative. Within this paper, narrative or 'storytelling' is explored within the realm of videogames, with specific reference to 'interactivity' and 'character immersion' in two war game case studies, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Anglo-Boer War. Within the interactive realm of video games, players play an active role in determining the flow and outcome of the story. Critics have argued that games can transmit different ideologies to players. By actively identifying with the characters on screen (and determining their ultimate path) one may argue that playing a game set against a historical backdrop may have an active influence on their ideological perception of the historical events and in turn influence their own identity and how they navigate contemporary society. This paper is a proposal that the interactive quality of video game storytelling infers that narrative can be self-constructed, especially with the right design choices. But can games arguably be used as a tool for psychological warfare? The authors interrogate the 'interactive meaning making process' in the two games; and clarifies it by interviewing a developer of one of the games.