META-LUDOLOGICAL NARRATIVE IN DIGITAL GAMES: A STUDY ON ALAN WAKE II

Year 2024, Volume: 14 Issue: 3, 546 - 559, 01.07.2024

Kağan Depboylu

https://doi.org/10.7456/tojdac.1464059

Abstract

This study, examining the innovative perspectives and opportunities video games offer to narratology, particularly through the game Alan Wake II, scrutinizes the potential of digital games to develop new narrative forms and techniques beyond traditional narrative frameworks. Alan Wake II stands at the convergence of meta-fiction, meta-narrative, and meta-linear cinematic narration, adding new layers of meaning to the narrative through player interactions. It expands the boundaries of storytelling by employing methods such as creating stories within stories, transitioning between characters and fictional universes. This interactive storytelling grants players the freedom to explore different layers of the story while also allowing for deep inquiries into the structure of the narrative, fictionality, and reality. The layered structure of the narrative in Alan Wake II and the intertextual and intermedial integration of numerous story elements emphasize the meta-linear cinematic narrative, giving the player an active role in assembling the story. Through synthesizing traditional narrative methods with the techniques used in the analysis of digital games, this study opens a discussion on how video games can form a meta-ludological narrative form. It provides a comprehensive evaluation of the contributions of the structure formed by the combination of ludic and narrative elements to narratology, demonstrating how metaleptic transitions between different fictional planes on various layers can be integrated into gameplay.

Keywords

Narratology, Digital Games, Meta-narrative, Meta-ludological Narrative

DİJİTAL OYUNLARDA META-LUDOLOJİK ANLATI: ALAN WAKE II ÜZERİNE BİR İNCELEME

Abstract

Video oyunlarının anlatı bilimine sunduğu yenilikçi perspektifleri ve imkanları, özellikle Alan Wake II oyunu üzerinden inceleyen bu çalışma ile dijital oyunların geleneksel anlatı formlarının ötesine geçebilecek yeni anlatı biçimlerini ve teknikleri geliştirmekteki potansiyeli mercek altına alınmıştır. Alan Wake II, meta-kurgu, meta-anlatı ve meta-lineer sinematik anlatının kesiştiği noktada, oyuncuların hikâye üzerindeki etkileşimleri aracılığıyla anlatıya yeni anlam katmanlarının eklendiği bir yapı sunarken, hikâye içinde hikâye oluşturma, karakterler ve kurgusal evrenler arasında geçiş yapma gibi yöntemlerle anlatının sınırlarını genişletir. Bu etkileşimli hikâye anlatımı, oyunculara hikâyenin farklı katmanlarını keşfetme özgürlüğü verirken aynı zamanda anlatının yapısına, kurgusallığa ve gerçekliğe dair derin sorgulamalar yapma imkânı tanır. Alan Wake II'de anlatının katmanlı yapısı ve çok sayıda hikâye parçasının metinlerarası ve medyalararası entegrasyonu, meta-lineer sinematik anlatıyı vurgulayarak oyuncuya hikâyeyi bir araya getirme sürecinde aktif bir rol verir Bu çalışmayla geleneksel anlatı metotları ile dijital oyunların analizinde kullanılan yöntemlerin bir sentezi aracılığıyla, video oyunlarının meta-ludolojik anlatı biçimini nasıl oluşturabileceği tartışmaya açılmıştır. Oyunun ludik ve anlatısal öğelerinin birleşiminden oluşan yapının anlatı bilimine katkılarının kapsamlı bir değerlendirilmesi sunulurken, farklı katmanlarda yer alan kurgusal düzlemler arasındaki metaleptik geçişlerin oynanış ile bütünleştirilebileceği ortaya koyulmuştur.

Keywords

Naratoloji, Dijital Oyun, Meta-anlatı, Meta-Ludolojik Anlatı

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