Scholarly Sources on Video Games

Three sources after the jump:

Gee, James Paul. “Videogames and Embodiment.” Games and Culture 3.3-4 (2008). 253-263. Web. 6 Nov. 2011.

This article explores one way in which players interact with video games; specifically, the interaction between gamers and the characters they play. The article deals with the concept of “embodiment” (meaning “involving the body”) and how players become embodied in the characters they control in video games. Gee argues that games are simulations, and can be seen as similar to simulations that people create in their minds as part of everyday life. These simulations then influence the real world. Gee writes “Our models and the real world are always interacting on each other. The world offers us raw materials for our simulations, and our simulations cause us to act in the real world in ways that change it to better resemble or model simulations” (257).

This idea is useful for an analysis of the influence of video games, and of Deus Ex: Human Revolution in particular. Although in the case of video games, the simulation is constructed by someone other than the player, it is nonetheless a simulation. In the case of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a significant part of the “raw materials” for this simulation is the increasing number of real-world “cyborgs”—i.e., people who have some kind of artificial body part. So since the simulation has real-world significance, it is certainly possible that, as players develop their attitudes toward cybernetic augmentation within the game, it will translate to a change in their attitudes in the real world. As Gee states, players may end up acting in the real world in ways that are in accordance with their experience and attitudes in the simulation.

In this article, Gee also discusses the “projective stance.” This is what happens when a virtual character becomes the surrogate mind and body for a player. The concept of a virtual mind may seem strange at first, but Gee describes it as “As a player, you must . . . attribute certain mental states (beliefs, values, goals, feelings, attitudes, and so forth) to the virtual character. You must take these to be the character’s mental states; you must take them as a basis for explaining the character’s actions in the world” (258). And inhabiting the virtual mind of a virtual character, the player takes on that character’s goals, at least within the context of the game. However, Gee argues that players also have their own goals when playing a game, independent of the character’s goals (for example, the player may want to traverse an area by sneaking past all the guards, while the character only wants to traverse the area), and so these goals will interact with and influence each other. Gee writes “So in playing a game, we players are both imposed on by the character we play (i.e., we must take on the character’s goals) and impose ourselves on that character (i.e., we make the character take on our goals)” (260).

This type of interaction between the virtual and the real world is at the core of any analysis of the real-world influence of video games. In Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the player controls Adam Jensen, and Adam has the overarching goal of unraveling a conspiracy and finding out the truth behind the attacks on the biotech company he works for. In the course of pursuing that goal, he must make a choice about how he feels about human augmentation (indeed, the game cannot end without that choice being made). If the player imposes his or her initial attitude toward cybernetic augmentation onto Adam, then as the game progresses, the possibility certainly exists that, as Gee states, they will be “imposed upon” by Adam, and thus their attitude toward the issue he is dealing with (cybernetic augmentation) will be influenced by their virtual experience.

Lankoski, Petri and Staffan Björk. “Gameplay Design Patterns for Believable Non-Player Characters.” Situated Play: Digital Games Research Association Conference, September  2007. Ed. Baba Akira. Web. 6 Nov. 2011.

Presented at the 2007 conference of the Digital Games Research Association, this paper goes into what constitutes a believable NPC (non-player character) in a video game. The paper uses five criteria from cinema studies to denote believability:

1. Human body

2. Self-awareness, intention states, and self-impelled actions

3. Expression of emotions

4. Ability to use natural language

5. Persistent traits (417)

The paper then analyzes a character from the game Oblivion to show these criteria in action. The paper argues that creating a fully believable NPC may be impossible, given the limitations of technology and the need to fit the narrative into a game system, but ultimately a high degree of believability may nonetheless be achieved.

This paper is useful for an analysis of the influence of video games because in order for video game characters to be influential, they must first be believable. If characters do not at least have a modicum of believability, then they are likely to be dismissed by the player as having no connection whatsoever to reality. A game without believable characters might still be enjoyable to players, but it would be unlikely to be influential.

Analyzing Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and David Sarif in particular, in terms of Lankoski and Björk’s criteria for believability reveals that Sarif is a fairly believable character, and is thus at least potentially influential. To briefly look at each criterion:

1. Human body—Sarif possesses a human body. It is rendered within the game engine, but it is human in appearance.

2. Self-awareness, intention states, and self-impelled actions—Sarif is self-aware and will respond to the player’s actions and dialogue choices within the game. And he takes self-impelled actions; indeed, as Adam Jensen’s employer, it is his actions that, in large part, drive the game’s narrative.

3. Expression of emotions—Sarif expresses different emotions at several points in the game, including anger when challenged by Adam, and sympathy for both Adam and other characters in the game.

4. Ability to use natural language—Sarif communicates both verbally and non-verbally in the game, and the player can learn a lot about him through observing these forms of communication.

5. Persistent traits—Sarif has persistent traits such as his physical appearance, but his most significant persistent trait is his unfailing belief in the potential of cybernetic augmentation to better humanity. Indeed, this trait has a major impact upon the game’s story and helps the game present an argument about an issue with real-world significance.

Based on these criteria, Sarif is at least somewhat believable, and thus can at least potentially be taken seriously by players within the game. And this means that his words and beliefs may potentially be taken seriously as well.

Ip, Barry. “Narrative Structures in Computer and Video Games: Part 2: Emotions, Structures, and Archetypes.” Games and Culture 6.3 (2011). 203-244. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.

This article analyzes several different video games, looking at a wide variety of story-related factors. The factors examined were the portrayal of emotions in the game’s characters (the number of emotions displayed in the game were quantified, as well as the number of characters who displayed them), narrative structures (each game’s story was analyzed in terms of how many parts of the classic hero’s journey it contains, as well as story classes and overall plot structure), and the presence of archetypical characters (hero, mentor, guardian, herald, shapeshifter, shadow, ally, and trickster). Ten games were analyzed and the results were presented for each game. Overall, more recent games tended to have more complex stories in terms of overall number of story elements.

This article can serve as useful background information in an analysis of the potential influence of video games. Since these story elements (the hero’s journey, for example) have been present in a wide variety of cultures for a long time now, and no one denies that they have been influential on both a personal and a cultural level, showing that they are present in video games allows for the potential for games to be just as influential as other genres of writing. If video games can convey the same narrative structures and archetypical characters as other genres, this is a powerful argument for their literary potential.

In addition, this article is useful for an analysis of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and the character of David Sarif in specific. Sarif fits the “mentor” archetype (at least for much of the game; he transitions out of it somewhat toward the end of the game), and this role arguably has more significance in a video game because the player controls the “hero” character; this is not the case in other genres. According to Ip, the mentor characterizes “the higher-self, which depicts wisdom, nobility, and/or godliness” (226), and “offer[s] added depth to the development of the . . . central characters” (226). Sarif mentors the hero (Adam Jensen) even as he pursues the goal of protecting Sarif industries; by fighting for Sarif Industries, Adam is indirectly fighting for the future of human augmentation. Sarif guides the hero, and by extension, the player, throughout the game, and therefore exercises influence over the player that may extend beyond the game. Sarif’s role as a mentor amplifies his voice when it comes to the issue of human augmentation, and as previously noted, he is the voice for the pro-augmentation side of the argument, so this argument may ultimately carry more weight with players as a result.

This article offers support for the idea of the importance of mentors in video games in general, and David Sarif as a mentor in Deus Ex: Human Revolution in specific.