For this project, I have chosen to study a video game—Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The game was recently released for the PC, the Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3. The version that I will be playing for the project is the PC version, though all the versions are identical save for technical specifications. I will be supplementing my analysis of the game’s story elements with other opinions from the Steam forum for the game (found at http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=233), but my primary focus will be the game itself.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the prequel to Deus Ex, a game that came out in 2000. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is set in the year 2027, at a time when cybernetic enhancements of humans (or “human augmentation,” as it is termed in the game) is becoming increasingly commonplace. Gameplay is from a first-person perspective; the player controls Adam Jensen, the game’s protagonist, and sees the world through his eyes. The game could best be described as an action RPG (role-playing game), where the player is faced with obstacles that must be overcome in order to accomplish goals. The player usually has the choice as to how to achieve a particular objective; the player could choose to fight the guards blocking the way, find a way to sneak past them, or hack the security systems to distract the guards, for example.
The goal of this project is to examine the potential for video games as a literary genre. And so my research for this project will consist of playing the game and analyzing its story elements. Specifically, I plan to focus on two things: First, what are the game’s thematic elements and how are they conveyed through the medium? The overall theme of the game is humanity, and what makes a person human; does a person cease to be human when a certain percentage of their body has been replaced with cybernetic implants? Or is there more to being human than just biological characteristics? The theme of humanity is present throughout the game, and is featured heavily in some of the advertising for it, such as here:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution "I Never Asked For This" from Jaclyn Yuan on Vimeo.
This is a serious question that is becoming more relevant by the day, and so I feel that a game that deals with it is a good choice for analysis. The question I will ask is: What are the advantages (and disadvantages) that the video game medium offers with respect to storytelling? How does storytelling differ thanks to the interactive format?
Deus Ex: Human Revolution "I Never Asked For This" from Jaclyn Yuan on Vimeo.
This is a serious question that is becoming more relevant by the day, and so I feel that a game that deals with it is a good choice for analysis. The question I will ask is: What are the advantages (and disadvantages) that the video game medium offers with respect to storytelling? How does storytelling differ thanks to the interactive format?
The second object of focus will be the way that gameplay elements impact story elements, such as characterization. Specifically, I will be looking at the way that the developers influence these story elements through the options they give to the player. While the video game genre offers more choices to the player in experiencing the story than other genres (such as films, novels, etc.), choices are not unlimited, and game developers may offer a lot of choices in one area while restricting choice to almost nothing in other areas. Also, even when the player does have choices, the developers can influence the choices made through the rewards offered to the player. Since this effects the overall experience of the story, this practice also warrants analysis.
Again, I chose this game not because it has what I feel is the best story ever in a video game, but because it has good potential for analysis of both these areas. I hope to develop this area of study and advance the potential for video games to be seen as legitimate vehicles for storytelling through this project.
When I first began reading your planned attack for this research, I have to admit that I panicked thinking that my lack of experience in gaming would perhaps make me feel excluded from this particular subject. Your initial descriptions of the genre of the game you chose to represent were extremely helpful without seeming too out of reach for amateurs and too explanatory for those more advanced.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have a pretty good grasp on what you want to discover from participating in this particular narrative, clearly delineating two directions you wish to take this research. One thing that I was curious about, and forgive me if it reveals my ignorance toward this game, but is there a community involved in your research? Like I say, I am not familiar with this game but is it an interactive world similar to World of Warcraft? Are there interactions amongst community members and if so, how do these interactions shape and change the narrative? How do these interactions reflect back upon the theme? Maybe I am taking this in the wrong direction, but I was wanting to know more about the social aspect of gaming and the gaming narrative since without the social aspect it seems very similar to book narratives.
Considering this social aspect, I was curious if this week’s reading of McClean’s “A Space Called Home” might be an interesting avenue to explore. How identities change and can be manipulated in order to partake in different cultural groups or narratives might be interesting since the theme of humanity and humans becoming more cyborg-esque resonates throughout the game. This seems like a truly intriguing strand of research and I look forward to discovering more about it.
Matt, I am very interested in reading your research on this topic. For years I have been trying to explain the narrative qualities of RPG games to my friends, but they have always met my arguments with skepticism. I have never played Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but I have played other RPG games like Dragon Age, Dragon Age II, Oblivion, and Mass Effect, so I do have some experience with your genre of study.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would be interested in knowing, as an RPG fan, is how much control players have over their character’s identity. Is the main character in Deus Ex: Human Revolution customizable in any way? Can players choose the race and/or gender of the character? The games I play, like WoW, have customizable characters with little background information provided by the game’s author. Players seem to have a lot more control over who their character is, and will concoct backstories for their characters. In a way, I feel this aspect of gameplay really separates video games from other sorts of narrative. However, Dues Ex: Human Revolution seems to have a different setup, where players must assume the identity of an established character instead of creating a character themselves. This seems more akin to a narrative, but how does it influence how people relate to the game and their avatar/character?
Are there opportunities for character development within the game? A lot of RPG games nowadays have romantic subplots players can choose to engage in or not. Does Deus Ex: Human Revolution have anything like that? Does it have subplots players can choose to engage in or not?
Is everyone’s game experience the same or has it been monetized in some way? A lot of RPGs today have add-ons or downloadable content that players can purchase to expand the game’s story, however, only people with the money to buy the extended content have access to that part of the story. Does Deus Ex: Human Revolution have an DCLs that expand game content.
Another issue that I have heard a lot of RPG gamers talking about recently is the issue of re-playability. After you have completely played through a game once, is there any incentive to go back and play it again? Presumably, you already know how it ends, so why play it again. For some RPG players, re-playability is the difference between purchasing a game and renting or borrowing it. How can you make a game re-playable without sacrificing narrative?