Tragedy as a Narrative Engine in Cinematic Video Games
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Abstract
Cinema and video games have long maintained an ambivalent relationship—marked by rejection, influence, and collaboration. From its early days, Ludology placed the core of the gaming experience in the player’s ability to exercise control and enjoy broad freedom within the game world. This perspective led to an understanding of video game ontology as inherently tied to actions that promote freedom and agency. Conversely, actions associated with the aesthetic pleasure of narrative have often been viewed as antithetical to the essence of gameplay, and thus relegated—often with a pejorative tone—to interactive stories or cinematic games.
In response, this article calls for a reconsideration of the ontological status of video games by reformulating the concept of agency. Building on Tanenbaum’s work, which expands the notion of agency to include meaning-making and emotional engagement with character and story, the article argues that cinematic language and the essential phases of Aristotelian tragedy—pity, fear, and catharsis—are fundamental to understanding the unique form of agency found in cinematic video games.
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