Looks relevant:
Narrative in Videogames by Patrick Holleman on The Game Design Forum
Designing Game Narrative from HitBox Team: good graphics too
“In games, you can discover further depth from doing the scene. With interactivity, you now get to experience the story firsthand.”
“Narrative isn’t automatically a crucial component in games, as it often is in film or literature. Interactivity is the defining feature of games – and indeed, games that excel in their gameplay are most often great games.”
The difference between (video)games and narrative, which is an introduction to ludology
Games and Narrative: international research group on interactive and computer game narrative
Plot is Overrated: Game narrative is all about your characters
Narrative in Video Games Are video games an effective storytelling medium?
Narrative in Games, good introduction
NCTE on Videogames in the Classroom and Narrative
Using User Research to Improve Game Narrative
“gamers struggle to remember even their favorite game narratives (in contrast to other media), only remembering big moments or characters in isolation”
Narrative and Ludic Nexus in Computer Games, scholarly paper
Theorising Video Game Narrative, a master’s thesis
A Model of Videogame Narrative Architectures
Less useful to what I am looking for, but interesting:
Narrative, Games, and Theory on Game Studies
Narrative and Videogame Design, English course syllabus
Gamers often throw around the term “escapism” when talking about their hobby, but this is a hollow explanation for what actually motivates us to play games. In fact, the word “escape” contains some negative implications – suggesting that those who play games feel a need to break free from the mundane slavery of their reality. We enjoy retreats to other realities – ones more fantastical than our own – but we aren’t always driven to play games because we are trying to escape our lives. The real motivations for play are far more complex, and games fulfill several real-world human needs in a number of positive ways.
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