The Princess is in Another Castle: Multi-Linear Stories in Oral Epic and Video Games.

My dissertation entitled The Princess Is in Another Castle: Multi-Linear Story Systems in Greek Epic and Video Games is an interdisciplinary investigation at the crux of two scholarly debates in classics and digital media studies. In this study, I offer an understanding of narrative that can be applied across media and across disciplines, reaching from the traditional practice of Classics to the new and developing study of games. With a perspective that incorporates both the past and the present, I present a theoretical model of story that provides new insight into the way we construct narratives and find meaning within them. My study finds the common thread between oral and game narratives by investigating and comparing their story structures and authorial processes. Bards and players do not fully create new stories, but neither do they only take pre-made stories and adjust them. Rather, they take pieces of narrative, scenes here and actors there, and combine them into a new linear sequence. Narratives of this kind, those telling a single story through many possibilities, are multi-linear narratives. In the Iliad, we hear of different histories of Achilles’ education, we see hints of other possible happenings at Troy, and we see familiar yet different events in the traditional tale. In games, players are able to choose different paths for their characters, experiencing familiar events but with different results and different actors. Richer meaning and more developed characters arise in the contrast and interplay between the two (or more) tellings. A multi-linear understanding of story as a system variably built from interchangeable narrative pieces allows us to see that meaning and interpretation of these stories is highly dependent on the audience’s awareness of other possible story paths. It takes many encounters with the story to fully understand all its possibilities and turns, not only because of its many possible interpretations, but because the story has many possible linear sequences within it. Through a multi-linear understanding of narrative, we can see that traditional notions of narrative construction are only part of the story, one dependent on audience members as co-authors of unique narrative experiences.PHDClassical StudiesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100055/1/emilyjoy_1.pd

Emergent Narrative: Stories of Play, Playing with Stories

Emergent narrative, a phenomenon of unexpected contextual stories arising through play, has been researched in the field of game studies since 1999. However, that discussion largely lies in the realm of theoretical stories which are generated by either the system or the player. The purpose of this dissertation is to deepen our understanding of emergent narrative by examining real-world examples of the phenomenon. Four hundred player posts were gathered from forums relating to the video game Skyrim (a large, open world fantasy roleplaying game) and analyzed using a mixed-method framework which is informed by digital ethnography, fan studies, and game studies. Using a cluster sampling method, the posts were divided into categories based on theme. This work outlines the historical trajectory of the term emergent narrative and proposes that player created emergent narratives are novel as they capitalize on random events during play in order to create stories which are both contextual and surprising. Each chapter explores a different kind of storytelling in one hundred of the posts, showcasing the diverse subjects that players explore. This work demonstrates that upon reflection, players are not passive recipients of information from games. By participating in these online activities, players become cocreators of their own stories. This work expands our understanding of players, interactive systems, and narrative by arguing that the act of play is collaborative rather than receptive

Active games: an examination of user engagement to define design recommendations

Active gaming is a form of video gaming that requires full body motion or varying degrees of physical activity to play a game. While active gaming has gained momentum, there is a lack of studies that provide insight on how they should be designed, specifically components of active games make them engaging. This study identifies, analyzes and categorizes specific design mechanics and features used in active games. It answers the question: Which, if any, game mechanics and features can a panel of experts in academia, health and the game industry agree on as valuable and impactful to the construction of successful and engaging active games? Using a Delphi study, nine experts answered questions related to active gaming. They reached agreement on 20 of the 21 inquiries regarding game design focused on motivation, social influences and flow. Their feedback offers recommendations on the design of future active games, and identifies emerging trends. This study shares their notes, and translates the findings into specific recommendations for developers on the design of active games