영웅서사에 기반한 인터렉티브 게임 시나리오 분석

Abstract

Video games are emerging as major entertainment in modern society. Moreover, video games have led to progress in various aspects such as art, music, and controls, and the complexity and depth of the game narratives have also increased. However, while the art, music, and control elements of video games are considered important, the narrative of video games has been dismissed as an additional element. Dramas and movies based on games are being actively produced, but relatively little research has been conducted on the protagonist's (hero's) narrative based on games' multi-scenario. The goal of this dissertation was to analyze, as narrative art, the heroic narratives of the protagonists in seven role-playing games (RPG) with multi-scenario structures. The 12-step Theory of The Hero's Journey, which was developed by the American screenplay consultant Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer's Journey, describes a step-by-step growth process. This theory can be frequently identified in traditional narrative structures where the protagonist goes on an adventure and overcomes difficulties. The current study analyzes seven RPG using this theory and presents a production theory that is useful for interactive content creators. In addition, this dissertation examined the six types presented in multi-scenario theory: (1) race, (2) dispersion, (3) aggregation, (4) dispersion and aggregation, (5) recurrence, and (6) iterative recurrence. Christopher Vogler's 12 stages of the hero's journey was used for analyzing the RPG. By symbolizing each function of Theory of The Hero's Journey. This dissertation explored the changing elements of the hero's narrative by analyzing each video game's heroic narrative, multi-ending, bad ending, and micro narrative in contrast to the macro narrative. The research subjects of this paper were (1) Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, (2) Persona 4, (3) Persona 5, (4) Fallout 3, (5) Fallout: New Vegas, (6) Fallout 4, and (7) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This study analyzed the narratives of RPG protagonists, excluding the following types of cases: where narratives were used as background elements of video game characters, where multiple endings were not supported, and where narrative selection was not possible. The results showed that the most common types of game multi-scenario structure were dispersion and recurrence. Each micro narrative of the video game had a race-type multi-scenario structure and was included in the macro narrative as a recurrence-type multi-scenario. In addition, the video game scenarios showed changes in functions, repetition of narratives, and omissions. This study on the heroic narrative of the game protagonist, without sufficient prior research, compared previous studies using the hero's journey theory and presented a differentiated analysis method by symbolizing each function and transforming the symbol. The results suggest the possibilities for follow-up research analyzing the heroic narrative of the game protagonist and provide guidelines for narrative planning in interactive content production. However, the study has certain limitations: it only analyzed the hero's narratives in seven RPG video games that included optional elements in the narrative, did not analyze important peripheral characters in the hero's narratives, and did not include the narrative analysis of Korea-developed video games and MMORPG. The combination of video game players' heroic narratives and interactive elements is an interesting topic for follow-up research.