Visual Communication in New Media Narratives: A Computational Thermal Dramaturgy Analysis of ‘Death Stranding’

Abstract

Digital games, as one of today's most effective new media narrative environments, transform audiences from passive recipients into interactive experiencers. This study examines Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding (2019) as a visual communication plane in which cinematic aesthetics are reproduced in a digital environment. The main objective of the study is to reveal how the use of light, colour, and atmosphere in the game structures the emotional messages conveyed to the player. In this context, the game's visual language was examined within the framework of the ‘thermal dramaturgy’ model proposed and used in the research. Twenty-three key scenes representing the game's narrative flow were analysed using a Python-based image processing library (OpenCV), and the RGB colour intensities and visual heat values of the scenes were converted to numerical data. The algorithmic data confirm that cold (blue/grey) colour codes symbolise ‘isolation and uncertainty’. In contrast, warm (amber/orange) colour codes symbolise ‘connection and hope’ as part of a systematic communication strategy. The study reveals that the atmosphere in new media environments is a visual communication tool that can be measured using computational methods.

Keywords

• New Media
• Visual Communication
• Death Stranding
• Thermal Dramaturgy
• game atmosphere

Yeni Medya Anlatılarında Görsel İletişim: ‘Death Stranding’de Hesaplamalı Bir Termal Dramaturji Analizi

Abstract

Dijital oyunlar, günümüzün en etkili yeni medya anlatı ortamlarından biri olarak, izleyiciyi pasif konumdan çıkarıp etkileşimli bir deneyimciye dönüştürmektedir. Bu çalışma, Hideo Kojima’nın Death Stranding (2019) oyununu, sinematik estetiğin dijital ortamda yeniden üretildiği bir görsel iletişim düzlemi olarak ele almaktadır. Çalışmanın temel amacı, oyundaki ışık, renk ve atmosfer kullanımının, oyuncuya iletilen duygusal mesajları nasıl yapılandırdığını ortaya koymaktır. Bu bağlamda, oyunun görsel dili literatüre önerilen ‘termal dramaturji’ modeli çerçevesinde incelenmiştir. Araştırmada hesaplamalı görsel analiz yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Oyunun anlatısal akışını temsil eden 23 anahtar sahne, Python tabanlı bir görüntü işleme algoritması (OpenCV) aracılığıyla analiz edilerek, sahnelerin RGB renk yoğunlukları ve görsel ısı değerleri sayısal veriye dönüştürülmüştür. Elde edilen algoritmik veriler, soğuk (mavi/gri) renk kodlarının ‘izolasyon ve belirsizliği’, sıcak (amber/turuncu) renk kodlarının ise ‘bağ kurma ve umudu’ simgeleyen sistematik bir iletişim stratejisi olarak işlediğini doğrulamaktadır. Çalışma, yeni medya ortamlarında atmosferin hesaplamalı yöntemlerle ölçülebilen bir görsel iletişim aracı olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

• Yeni Medya
• Görsel İletişim
• Death Stranding
• Termal Dramaturji
• oyun atmosferi

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