Introduction

My name is Matt Doogan. I'm a graduate student pursuing an MA in English. The focus of my study can be broadly defined as looking at the ways in which people influence others through writing. In the course of my graduate education, I've become more and more interested in the differences in genre and how those differences affect the ability for authors to influence their audience. A poem is different from a novel which is different from a film which is different from a video game, and they will all influence their audience in different ways.

The focus of this blog will be on the genre of video games. I've been a PC gamer for quite some time, with occasional side trips into console gaming, and the medium has always fascinated me. It is my belief that video games qualify as a literary genre, and this genre offers unique options to writers for telling stories. Further, while texts are always experienced differently by different audiences, the interactive nature of video games allows for an even greater variety of experience on the part of people playing them. One person's straightforward adventure game is another person's subtle social commentary. One person's arch-villain is another person's noble antihero. Many video games offer the player the ability to create the story as he or she plays the game, and everyone will create something slightly different.

Because stories in video games are created through the player's actions, this allows writers to force players to look at those actions and what they mean. Planescape: Torment asks us to look at issues of life and death, sin and forgiveness. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic asks us to examine what redemption truly means. Bioshock asks us to examine the true nature of freedom and free will. None of these stories could have been told in the same way in any other medium; the interactivity brings the questions into sharper focus.

The focus of this blog will primarily be on the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution, though other games may be discussed at certain points. I will primarily be looking at two things: The game's thematic elements, and the way that the rewards associated with the choices offered to the player constitute an attempt (intended or not) to influence the player. The game deals with complex issues that are increasingly relevant today, so an examination of the way that the game presents these issues should prove interesting.