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Shoot, Strafe, Soliloquy: A Crisis in Videogame Narratives

Justin Mahboubian-Jones


Contents


Abstract.................................................................. 1
The Rise of the Videogame....................................... 1
A Crisis of Form....................................................... 2
Academic Practice.................................................... 3
Narrative Integration in Half-Life 2........................... 4
Nonlinear Narratives, a Deus Ex Machina?................ 5
The Fall From Rapture............................................. 7
Works Cited............................................................ 9



Key Terms


FPS - First Person Shooter

RPG - Role Playing Game

RTS - Real Time Strategy

FMV - Full Motion Video

NPC - Non-Player Character

TBS - Turn Based Strategy


The field of games studies has adopted a complex lexicon derived from a range of humanist and scientific disciplines, much of which is included in this dissertation. With this in mind I have provided extensive definitions of jargon and technical language as footnotes indicated by roman numerals: (i)(ii)(iii).


Each video has been filmed using a screen capture application called FRAPS.

 

Contents . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9