LUDONARRATIVE BORDER CROSSINGS: VIOLENCE AND MORALITY IN FAIRY TALES AND VIDEO GAMES

Laura Stortz

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Since Clint Hocking coined the term "ludonarrative dissonance" in response to the narrative twist in the game "BioShock," it has been used to negatively connotate breaks in the interplay between gameplay and storytelling in video games. But what if we view these breaks as opportunities? And what if modern narrative video games aren't actually as modern in their narrative structure as we think?

Reflecting on medieval short narratives, known as Mären, this volume examines video games as a form of cultural practice known as "storytelling as play," in which players themselves influence the narrative and its ethical and moral judgments through their decisions. Both medieval Mären and modern video games utilize a game world with its own logic, allowing players to actively "play with the world." The resulting ludonarrative dissonances can be understood, through this interdisciplinary perspective, as an invitation to players: those who engage with the narrative game and accept it as a boundary-crossing phenomenon between storytelling and playing, self-direction and being directed, can actively use it as a field for experimentation, radically challenging, confronting, or even solidifying their own values.

The content is clarified by numerous illustrations. Thanks to the detailed analysis of several Middle High German tales, the volume is also suitable for readers unfamiliar with medieval literature.

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PUBLICATION DETAILS

LANGUAGE	BINDING	EDITION	ISBN	YEAR	PAGES
German	Paperback		9783864882067	2025	174

OTHER NAMES

Ludonarrative Border Crossings - Violence and morality in fairy tales and video games

Ludonarrative Grenzgänge Gewalt und Moral in Märe und Videospiel

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Authors: #LauraStortz

Publishers: #VerlagWernerHülsbusch (Verlag Werner Hülsbusch)

Languages: #German

Format: #Paperback

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Year: #Year2025

Genres: #EthicsAndMorality #GameStudies #Violence

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#VWHGameStudies (VWH Game Studies)