Melissa Berman Narratology versus Ludology: 1)Definitions 2)The Narratologist’s side 3)The Ludologist’s side 4)Putting the theories into practice

Melissa Berman Ludology, a definition: “ We will propose the term ludology (from ludus, the Latin word for "game"), to refer to the yet non-existent "discipline that studies game and play activities". Just like narratology, ludology should also be independent from the medium that supports the activity (Frasca). ”

Melissa Berman Narratology: Game-story- Ken Perlin Cyberdrama- “ the enactment of the story in the particular fictional space of the computer. ” (First Person) Aristotelian dramatic model-coined by Brenda Laurel, continued by Janet Murray, explored by Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern.

Melissa Berman A narratologist, Janet Murray, on her side of the debate: “The opposition to narratology, and the imposition of the label on those who do not choose it, seems at times to be a complaint looking for a target. After lamenting the lack of debate in Umea, Aarseth issued this challenge: Hopefully there will be some strong "narratological" position paper at DiGRA, where the "ludologists" are met with rational counter- argument … and games are shown to be stories in a well-argued and defined way. Until then, the burden of argument rests with the narrativists.

Melissa Berman To which we have to ask whose burden? Who is obliged to defend the position that games are stories? What Aarseth his followers would like is a formalist argument, starting from the texts that have been most influential in European narrative studies (Eskelinen 2004). In fact, no one has been interested in making the argument that there is no difference between games and stories or that games are merely a subset of stories. Those interested in both games and stories see game elements in stories and story elements in games: interpenetrating sibling categories, neither of which completely subsumes the other. The ludology v narratology argument argument can never be resolved because one group of people is defining both sides of it. The “ludologists” are debating a phantom of their own creation.” -Janet Murray, “ The Last Word on Ludology v Narratology in Game Studies”

Melissa Berman Who is Jesper Juul? - video game theorist, master's thesis on interactive fiction. Juul says there are “some standard arguments for games being narrative. There are at least three common arguments: 1) We use narratives for everything. 2) Most games feature narrative introductions and back-stories. 3) Games share some traits with narratives. Juul’s reasons for describing games as being non-narrative: 1) Games are not part of the narrative media ecology formed by movies, novels, and theatre. 2) Time in games works differently than in narratives. 3) The relation between the reader/viewer and the story world is different than the relation between the player and the game world.” -Jesper Juul, “Games Telling Stories?” A ludologist’s take on the debate, Jesper Juul:

Melissa Berman Façade: Michael Mataes and Andrew Stern apply Murray’s theories of immersion, transformation, and agency to AI Emotional Gaming: Putting narrative empathy to the test gaming.html gaming.html