Blom, Johanna

Jørgensen, Ida Kathrine Hammeleff

The IT University of Copenhagen's Repository

Polyphonic	representation	in	games	narratives			Players,	designers	and	academics	alike	have	long	desired	the	experience	of	immersion	–	of	being	transported	to	another	world,	either	as	a	sensory	experience	or	merely	in	imagination.	The	foundation	for	such	an	experience,	whether	attainable	or	not,	is	the	existence	of	a	comprehensive	world	to	be	transported	into.	Such	a	world	can	be	represented	in	multiple	ways	and	using	many	different	materials	and	stimuli,	e.g.	through	an	extensive	virtual	space	that	the	player	can	traverse,	or	by	giving	the	player	the	possibility	of	rich	and	diverse	interaction	with	the	objects	in	the	game.		This	paper	however,	will	focus	on	how	worlds	may	be	represented	using	a	particular	narrative	device.		The	Soviet	literary	theorist	Mikhail	Bakhtin	(1984)	introduced	the	concept	of	polyphony	to	describe	a	certain	style	of	writing	that	he	found	particular	in	the	works	of	the	Russian	author	Dostoevsky.	Polyphony	can	be	understood	as	the	use	of	multiple	voices	to	represent	a	fictive	world.	While	the	world	is	represented	as	a	whole,	it	is	constructed	by	the	interaction	of	multiple	relatively	independent	points	of	knowledge	(Bakhtin	1984).	Contrary	to	the	monologic	novel	where	events,	characters	and	their	inner	and	outer	life	is	described	from	the	fixed	point	of	view	of	the	narrator,	in	the	polyphonic	novel	the	story	is	told	with	multiple	voices,	each	stemming	from	characters,	who	are	not	treated	as	objects	of	authorial	discourse	but	rather	subjects	of	their	own	directly	signifying	discourse.	Using	this	style	of	polyphony	the	author	is	able	to	represent	a	heterogeneity	of	materials	and	discourses	and	ideas	from	the	point	of	view	of	the	characters	who	inhabit	the	world	rather	than	the	narrator	(Bakhtin	1984).		While	the	concept	of	polyphony	is	presented	as	a	stylistic	device	of	the	written	novel,	it	also	offers	an	interesting	perspective	on	digital	games	as	well.	Games	with	strong	role-playing	elements	often	offer	rich	opportunity	for	the	player	to	engage	with	non-playable	characters	through	interaction	and	conversation.	Digital	games	seldom	makes	use	of	a	strong	narrator,	and	the	story	is	instead	often	told	through	a	fragmented	assemblage	of	e.g.	conversations	with	characters,	images	and	notes,	letters,	flash-backs	and	so	forth.	Furthermore,	the	concept	of	polyphony	allows	for	the	conception	of	characters	as	entities	that	are	relatively	independent	from	both	the	narrator	and	the	player	point	of	view,	which	in	games	make	senses	even	more	so	than	in	the	written	novel.		This	paper	will	use	the	concept	of	polyphony	to	shed	light	on	the	ways	in	which	digital	games	represent.	This	exploration	will	be	done	through	examples	from	at	least	three	games.	The	games	chosen	for	the	analysis	is	Final	Fantasy	VII	(Square	1997)	and	Bioshock	Infinite	(Irrational	Games		2013)	and	The	Elder	Scrolls	V:	Skyrim	(Bethesda	Softworks	2011).	While	all	games	contain	strong	role-playing	elements	and	is	populated	by	a	great	number	of	characters,	Final	Fantasy	VII	and	Bioshock	Infinite	are	relatively	linear	and	story-driven.	Skyrim,	on	the	other	hand,	offer	a	rich	open	world	that	can	freely	be	explored	by	the	player.	In	addition	in	Final	Fantasy	VII	and	Bioshock	Infinite	the	protagonist	and	the	player	is	left	with	the	task	of	making	sense	of	the	world	and	his	own	role	in	it.	This	is	in	part	done	through	engagement	with	the	many	voices	of	the	games,	either	by	talking	with	game	characters,	reading	letters	or	listening	to	audio	recordings.				Suggested	literature:	Bakhtin,	M.	1984.	Problems	of	Dostoevsky’s	Poetics.	Minneapolis/London:	University	of	Minnesota	Press.		Bakhtin,	M.	1986.	Speech	Genres	and	Other	Late	Essays.	Austin:	University	of	Texas	Press.	Calleja,	G.	2011.	In-game:	From	immersion	to	Incorporation,	Cambridge,	MA:	The	MIT	Press	Ryan	ML.	2001.	Narrative	as	Virtual	Reality.	Immersion	and	Interactivity	in	Literature	and	Electronic	Media.	Baltimore/London:	The	John	Hopkins	University	Press.			

Polyphonic Representation in Game Narratives

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Polyphonic Representation in Game Narratives

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