Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Introduction: The Ludic and Narrative as Dialectic About "What Games Do" Matthew Wilhelm Kapell 1
Kentucky Route Zero: Or, How Not to Get Lost in the Branching Narrative System Lindsey Joyce 17
States of Play in State of Decay Andrew Wackerfuss 28
Game, Narrative and Storyworld in League of Legends Emily Joy Bembeneck 41
Narrative-Heavy Games as Neo-Gothic Literature: Beyond: Two Souls and the Player/Viewer in Contemporary Cultural Anxieties Eric W. Riddle 57
"Thou Arr I": The Interaction of Play and Narrative in Persona Mark Filipowich 69
The Power of Ludonarrativity: Halo as Participatory Myth Vince Locke 86
The Cyborg Game: Narrative/Ludic Fusion in Deus Ex: Human Revolution Alexandra Orlando Matthew Schwager 97
The Biopolitics of Gaming: Avatar-Player Self-Reflexivity in Assassins Creed II Tom Apperley Justin Clemens 110
BioShock Infinite: The Search for Redemption and the Repetition of Atrocity Amy M. Green 125
"All that's left is the choosing": BioShock Infinite and the Constants and Variables of Control Matthew Wysocki Betsy Brey 145
A Whirl of Warriors: Character and Competition in Street Fighter Nicholas Ware 158
Ecological Matters: Rethinking the "Magic" of the Magic Circle Robert Mejia 171
Conclusion: Of Lumpers and Splitters Matthew Wilhelm Kapell 187
About the Contributors 193
Index 197
