Time and Space in Digital Game Storytelling

The design and representation of time and space are important in any narrative form. Not surprisingly there is an extensive literature on specific considerations of space or time in game design. However, there is less attention to more systematic analyses that examine both of these key factors—inclu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Huaxin Wei, Jim Bizzocchi, Tom Calvert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2010-01-01
Series:International Journal of Computer Games Technology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/897217
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Summary:The design and representation of time and space are important in any narrative form. Not surprisingly there is an extensive literature on specific considerations of space or time in game design. However, there is less attention to more systematic analyses that examine both of these key factors—including their dynamic interrelationship within game storytelling. This paper adapts critical frameworks of narrative space and narrative time drawn from other media and demonstrates their application in the understanding of game narratives. In order to do this we incorporate fundamental concepts from the field of game studies to build a game-specific framework for analyzing the design of narrative time and narrative space. The paper applies this framework against a case analysis in order to demonstrate its operation and utility. This process grounds the understanding of game narrative space and narrative time in broader traditions of narrative discourse and analysis.
ISSN:1687-7047
1687-7055