BEYOND CATHARSIS: THE EVOLUTION OF POPULAR TRAGEDY IN VIDEO GAME NARRATIVES

Abstract

“Beyond Catharsis: The Evolution of Popular Tragedy in Video Game Narratives,” establishes a connection between traditions of Tragedy and video game narratives, arguing that the ways in which tragedy manifests within interactive media is an extension and development of previous, more formal understandings of Tragedy. Using Oxenfree (2016), Elden Ring (2022), and Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023), this thesis claims video games feature adaptations of traditional tragedy and catharsis that expand the genre. Through players directly instigating the action of the game, the allowances and limitations of the player’s agency, and the instances of misfortunate fates, interactive narratives translate tragic concepts—outlined by figures such as Aristotle, Arthur Miller, and George Boas—into a new medium which might, in turn, expand scholarly understanding of emotional responses to fictional stories. Analysis from scholars such as James Coltrain and Stephen Ramsay, Craig Bourne and Emily Caddick Bourne, Eric Hayot, and Grant Tavinor accompanies the discussion of player agency and integration into the fictional landscape of a video game, laying a foundation of heightened connection between reader and text which, in turn, allows for different implementation of tragic elements and stories while preserving the overarching cathartic impacts. This thesis concludes with a question of how the translation of tragedy into a new medium might impact previous understandings and studies of the genre