Game Spaces Speak Volumes: Indexical Storytelling
Name
Game-Spaces-Speak-Volumes.pdf
Size
49.45 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
c4d5b3e3a412ae9e7460356d2f89c45f
Author(s)
Fernandez-Vara, Clara
Date Issued
January 2011
Journal
Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play
Publisher
Digital Games Research Association
Citation
Fernandez-Vara, Clara. "Game Spaces Speak Volumes: Indexical Storytelling." 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play (January 2011).
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
In the problematic exploration of the narrative potential of videogames, one of the clearest aspects that bridge stories and games is space. This paper examines the different devices that videogames have used to incorporate stories through spatial design and what is known as environmental storytelling, focusing on the design elements that make the story directly relevant to gameplay beyond world-building and backstory exposition. These design-related elements are accounted for with the term indexical storytelling. As a refinement of the concept of environmental storytelling, indexical storytelling is a productive game design device, since reading the space of the game and learning about the events that have taken place in it are required to traverse the game successfully. Storytelling becomes a game of story-building, since the player has to piece together the story, or construct a story of her own interaction in the world by leaving a trace.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
http://www.digra.org/digital-library/publications/game-spaces-speak-volumes-indexical-storytelling/
