A experiência da narrativa digital em videogames: Hollow Knight e Alice: Madness Returns

Abstract

This research objective is to follow a path of conceptual and theoretical Digital Literature connections, using two video games to analyze and exemplify some characteristic narrative elements of Digital Literature, such as: ergodic reading, rhizomatic logic and diffuse authorship. For this purpose, the games Alice: Madness Returns and Hollow Knight were chosen. Despite their almost opposite gameplay styles, both have a strong narrative presence, where the unfolding of the story is one of the incentives that moves the player. Through a bibliographic review, we will trace the historical and theoretical path of the development of Digital Literature and video games, verifying contact points between them, while still giving special attention and focusing on the proposed theoretical questions. Thus, we seek to explore the solution of puzzles and challenges, which are characteristic elements of video games, within the perspective of ergodic reading, as proposed by Espen Aarseth. In this reading modality, the reader needs to make a greater effort than is required to read a traditional work of literature, such as a printed book. We also examined the use of rhizomatic logic while reading games, according to Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's definition. Being a branching reading, the rhizomatic offers options of alternative paths, which enables us to observe it in the ramification of the physical spaces and the narrative offered by games, changing the player´s experience in its path. We also discuss the diffuse authorship, under Elaine Lima's perspective, that is present in the development of more complex narrative forms, such as Digital Literature and video games. Therefore, investigating these games under these Digital Literature narrative perspectives is relevant both to the games themselves and to literary studies. The former benefits from a more explored theoretical basis, and the latter is expanded with the contribution of yet another narrative format.