I started reading through H. Porter Abbott's "Cambridge Introduction to Narrative" and am a little overwhelmed by the amount of detail that he has placed in here. Literally, any element of story or narrative-- and according to Abbott there is a huge difference between the two -- is listed out in painstaking detail.
At the suggestions of my Adviser, I am looking at Abbott's discussion on narrativity. As Washington and Lee University English professor Suzanne Keen words it, narrativity is “the set of qualities marking a narrative” (Abbott 25). The definitive elements of this narrativity vary depending entirely on the individual scholar, as the matter of narrative is entirely subjective. Another scholar, Marie-Laure Ryan, says that narrativity is the "ability to bring a world to life" (Abbott 25). Video games clearly have elements of narrative that accomplish both of these definitions, but I think it will be pretty boring if I just come up with a big list of narrative elements. I think I am going to review more of Abbott's book and try coming up with elements that are specific to video games, or function differently than they do in print. I already know that Gameplay or Interactivity & Immersion will be one element of narrativity that I want to explain. It is the key difference between print and video game, so I will explain how playing belongs in an English classroom.
Welp, that leaves me with some homework. I am housesitting for my neighbors this week, so it will be nice and quiet for the next few days. And it also means that I could get away with doing this without anyone giving me a weird look. Once I'm finished dancing, it's back to work!
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