Shoot, Strafe, Soliloquy: A Crisis in Videogame Narratives
Justin Mahboubian-Jones
Contents
| Abstract.................................................................. | 1 |
| The Rise of the Videogame....................................... | 1 |
| A Crisis of Form....................................................... | 2 |
| Academic Practice.................................................... | 3 |
| Narrative Integration in Half-Life 2........................... | 4 |
| Nonlinear Narratives, a Deus Ex Machina?................ | 5 |
| The Fall From Rapture............................................. | 7 |
| Works Cited............................................................ | 9 |
Key Terms
FPS - First Person Shooter
RPG - Role Playing Game
RTS - Real Time Strategy
FMV - Full Motion Video
NPC - Non-Player Character
TBS - Turn Based Strategy
The field of games studies has adopted a complex lexicon derived from a range of humanist and scientific disciplines, much of which is included in this dissertation. With this in mind I have provided extensive definitions of jargon and technical language as footnotes indicated by roman numerals: (i)(ii)(iii).
Each video has been filmed using a screen capture application called FRAPS.