bioshock infinite elizabeth from alexandra versus

BIOSHOCK INFINITE ELIZABETH FROM ALEXANDRA VERSUS SERIES

Moral decisions in videogames such as Mass Effect, Fallout 3, Deus Ex (and so on) often require the player to consider the practicality of their choice in the game world (“will releasing this murderer give me a good reward?”), and their own ethical standard (“will the murderer kill an innocent?”), which may also contrast with the player character’s moral compass. Furthermore, cultural theorists such as Homi Bhabha and Stam and Shohat can help clarify Infinite’s issues regarding representations of nationhood, race, identity, and politics–and how those representations are at odds with the actions of the player-character. For instance, the narrative theory of Uri Margolin, who discusses complications surrounding hybrid characters, can extend our reading of multi-layered, dissonant characters like BioShock: Infinite’s Booker DeWitt. Hocking’s theory proves to be a useful starting point for examining cohesion between play and narrative but it can be extended and provocatively complicated. These problems are often encountered in AAA blockbuster videogame titles which attempt to create serious and compelling narratives yet, follow strict generic and mechanical formulae known to players. In this inaugural installment the author will be examining Bioshock: Infinite as a case study for ludonarrative dissonance.Ĭlint Hocking coins the term, “ludonarrative dissonance”, where the player’s input in a game conflicts with an established element of the game itself. If you’re interested in contributing to this series, check out our About/Submissions page.

BIOSHOCK INFINITE ELIZABETH FROM ALEXANDRA VERSUS SERIES

The purpose of the series is to create a lexicon for discussing interactions between narrative and gameplay mechanics. This article is the first in an on-going series on ludonarrative cohesion in videogames. More specifically, she hopes to treat video games as literary text to examine the change from literary to digital narrative. Her research interests include narrative theory and game studies. Alexandra is a first year PhD student in the English department at the University of Waterloo and a copy-editor at First Person Scholar.

Bioshock infinite elizabeth from alexandra versus