1. H O W A N D WH Y T O A N A L Y S E V I D E O
G A M E S , A P R E P A R A T I O N F O R N C E A
THE TOOLS OF
VIDEO GAME ANALYSIS

2. WHAT AM I TEACHING?
• So what are we doing today?
• Going to give you the basics of how video games
operate, and how best to approach and teach
them
• This is not an easy topic, and by no means will close
to everything regarding video game analysis be
covered
• Most terms used are my personal terms for said
elements, to my understanding there is no textbook
approach in existence as of yet

3. AND A QUICK DISCLAIMER
• I would personally recommend teaching this material at
Level 1/2+ but you should decide when it’s appropriate
• If you fully want to understand video games, you will
have to play them – it’s hard to understand a film until
you’ve watched one!
• I have intentionally chosen games to repeatedly
analyse, there are plenty of other games to choose from
(more on that later) but given time constraints I want you
to see the breadth of depth that the analysis can allow
• Will have a short Q&A time at the end if time permits, but
if there are any questions regarding the material I’m
covering at the time, ask away

4. WHO AM I?
• The name is Austin O’Brien
• 2nd year Software Engineer – training in game
development and production
• Outstanding Scholarship winner in English 2012
• Avid gamer
• And game analyst
• And game designer

5. DEFINING VIDEO GAMES
• Narrative and “gameplay”
• Sometimes gameplay is complex
(shooting/dodging/etc.)
• Sometimes it’s non-complex (choosing a pathway)
• The game is ergodic literature (discuss next!)
• Generally, treat anything that acts like a (virtual)
game, as a game

6. ERGODIC LITERATURE – WHAT?
• Ergodic literature is a term coined by Espen J.
Aarseth to define how cybertexts operate:
• “In ergodic literature, nontrivial effort is required to
allow the reader to traverse the text.”
• Video games are one of the few mediums that will
arbitrarily lock you out of content for not passing
their “tests”
• Do books stop you reading when you don’t
understand a word?

7. WHY VIDEO GAMES?
• All of the benefits of typical narrative analysis
• But with the added benefits of ludological analysis
(the analysis of the gameplay)
• And analysis of it being ergodic literature (requiring
nontrivial effort)
• So….
• We end up with more content to talk around
• We end up with deeper discussion about content
• But we can also start easily, and then increase the
level of complexity

8. THE MAKINGS OF A VIDEO GAME
• Narratology and ludology are the primary two pillars
of analysis
• Narratology is the narrative of the piece, implied or
explicit (i.e. the holistic story of the game or its
world)
• Ludology is the set of game rules and states that
define the game (i.e. how do we “play” the game)
• With only one pillar, we don’t really have a game

9. NARRATOLOGY
• This is almost identical to typical texts (we are
dealing with a story after all)
• To draw this out, simply ask, “If we had to write this
down, what would be writing?”
• Non-linear texts make this harder, but we can still
boil them down
• A few general rules that we tend to follow exist:
• 1. We assume the player sees all content
• 2. We imply complete knowledge of the game
• 3. We assume the player succeeds in the canonized
ending

10. LUDOLOGY
• This encompasses all game mechanics and
gameplay
• One easy way of drawing this out is asking, “If this
was a physical game, how would it be played?”
• We assume a few things:
• 1. The player will always attempt to “win” at the
game
• 2. The player will engage with all game mechanics

11. A SIDE NOTE: NARRATIVE POINT OF
VIEW
• Typically three types dealt with:
• 1st person extension, the player is the main
character (i.e. consider the protagonist as if they
are an extension of the player)
• 1st person split, the player plays for the main
character (i.e. the player acts as if they are the
main character)
• 3rd person, passively watching the main character
• Normally games that do well reach the first two
cases, the third case is less than optimal

12. IMMERSION: WHY IT MATTERS
• Good video games go beyond other mediums,
they make us a key part of the story
• To do so they need to immerse us in their world or
reality
• Both ludological and narratological techniques can
help build immersion (i.e. camera bobbing, camera
leaning, etc., or art style, story, etc.)

13. USING THE PILLARS FOR ANALYSIS
• Now we understand what we’re dealing with, let’s
discuss drawing them into actual analysis
• Game analysis isn’t as simple as simply dealing with
them in isolation however (they’re video games at
the end of the day)
• We’ll discuss them separately, then together, then
with some added complexity
• Most of the deeper analysis is just understanding the
medium and removing our assumptions
• Ideally you tailor to what level you’re teaching at,
game analysis is complex remember!

14. NARRATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: LOW
LEVEL
• Is there a theme?
• How does the player understand the theme?
• What techniques form the theme?
• What reaction is gained from the player?
• What techniques immerse the player?
• Note: We can treat video games like films to make
the analysis easier (we’re just tagging along)

15. EXAMPLE: HORROR
AMNESIA: THE DARK DESCENT
• The game and environment is horrific and terror-inducing, the
player is told to save the world by delving deeper into the
nightmarish castle
• Player becomes immersed in the experience, and identifies
with the protagonist
• Character progress of redemption from evil
• Thematic progression of good triumphing evil (at high cost)

16. NARRATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: HIGH
LEVEL
• What does the story or world tell us about
humanity/wider society?
• What role does the player play?
• Why is the role important in disseminating the
message?
• How is the player immersed in that role?
• Note: We tend to want to consider how the player’s
role is fundamental to the medium

17. EXAMPLE: HORROR
AMNESIA: THE DARK DESCENT
• As the player identifies strongly with the protagonist, they
become the co-writer of the theme
• They have to struggle with the moral onus of the game (if you
don’t win, the world ends), and the personal ramifications of it
being non-ergodic (the game is terrifying)
• The game makes the player sympathise directly with the plight of
being the hardy adventurer – it’s easy to mock those who
undertake great risks, but it’s much harder to perform them
yourself!

18. LUDOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: LOW LEVEL
• I personally recommend avoiding this as a primary
topic of focus (gameplay mechanics are complex
to examine!)
• Can always look at basic game mechanics and
understand their implications to immersion
• Can try to examine basic game mechanics and
look at employing similar analysis to higher level
work (will explain next)

19. EXAMPLE: FIRST PERSON SHOOTER
BIOSHOCK
• In Bioshock, Little Sisters are offered as a moral/reward choice
throughout the game
• You slay the Big Daddy’s and in return are offered free Adam
(currency) for slaying the orphan children, or nothing if you let
them live and cleanse them of the Adam-producing slug
• This mechanic reinforces that sometimes good actions pave
the way to success – a ruthless, yet somewhat truthful theme

20. LUDOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: HIGH LEVEL
• What does the game want you to do?
• What are they rewarding/punishing you for?
• What are the game’s “win-states”?
• What role does the player play?
• How does the player’s implicated role change what
pathways the game wants us to follow?
• How does the player react to the win-states or loss-
states?
• What does all of the above tell us about the text?

21. EXAMPLE: ADVENTURE
THE STANLEY PARABLE
• We’re never told what the aim of The Stanley Parable is –
we’re simply given a narration of what we’re doing
• Largely multi-linear narrative, at the end, the player is still
“following a pathway”
• Subverts common tropes of video games, as well as
discussing the lack of free will we have

22. NARRATOLOGY AND LUDOLOGY:
TOGETHER
• Ideally you don’t just examine a pillar in isolation –
to some extent you’ll miss out on the medium’s
strength
• When we examine them together, we have three
cases we tend to examine – combined analysis,
subservient analysis, or ludonarrative dissonance
• The former two are good, the latter is a critique or
failure of creation

23. COMBINED ANALYSIS
• This analysis is when we discuss how both
narratology and ludology work together to
construct a theme or message
• Typically, both the gameplay and the story reiterate
very similar messages, and together we’re left with
a strong-lasting impression of what the game wants
us to see
• Use analysis of each pillar individually, and consider
how they overlap

24. EXAMPLE: HORROR
AMNESIA: THE DARK DESCENT
• The story is obviously horror and plight filled, our dear
amnesiac Daniel finds himself awoken in a strange castle, only
to discover he unwittingly aided the slaughter of humans – he
must redeem himself so afraid and worried, he ventures
deeper
• The gameplay is similarly challenging to match the narrative –
enemies cannot be fought nor killed, only hidden from, and a
lack of light sources means constant meandering in dark,
forbidding corridors

25. SUBSERVIENT ANALYSIS
• This type of analysis is when one pillar serves the
theme of another
• Typically, this is when the gameplay and the
player’s actions create the theme, by influencing
the player to act in a certain way
• Consider, in isolation, the player’s actions may not
have any meaning, but in context they have
heightened meaning
• Consider what the dominant theme or message is,
and then what role the submissive pillar has in
changing or shaping the message/theme

26. EXAMPLE: FIRST PERSON SHOOTER
BIOSHOCK
• In Bioshock, you help a man Atlas throughout the first part of
the game, only to later learn that you were in fact mind
controlled by the phrase “Would you kindly…” to do what he
wanted
• By playing the game, you naturally conformed to the “mind
control” that Atlas utilised
• You weren’t mind controlled, but through clever manipulation
of the game’s medium, you feel as if you were

27. LUDONARRATIVE DISSONANCE
• This is typically reserved for texts that don’t succeed
in effectively merging their gameplay and story
• It is when the story and the gameplay clash, or
don’t operate in the same direction
• Most of the time ludonarrative dissonance is a bad
thing, but sometimes it performs an important role
• Discuss what each pillar of analysis pushes as their
theme/message, and how they are contradictory

28. EXAMPLE: FIRST PERSON SHOOTER
SPEC OPS: THE LINE
• Think Heart of Darkness, but a video game
• Set in a sandstorm struck Dubai, you come in attempting to help the
survivors only to find yourselves wholesale massacring American soldiers
to help
• The game constantly reinforces that the killing is bad, morally
reprehensible, and disgusting, but as a video game, it still is an enjoyable
pastime (we do play for a reason)
• In many ways this works well in line with the theme – that war is hell, but a
hell that twists you to enjoy it, that even when we understand the terror,
we still partake

29. GOING DEEPER WITH ANALYSIS
• Beyond these forms of analysis, we can start to
perform some reflective analysis of the medium and
meta-narratives (narratives of narratives)
• These are far more complex, recommendable only
for high level students, or when suitable
• Sometimes it is integral to examine these in lower
level texts, discretion advised
• Three forms I have personally identified, I’m sure
there are more worth looking at, feel free to discuss
or think of others

30. INCOMPLETE VS HOLISTIC
KNOWLEDGE
• Previously we discussed how we tend to assume
that the player knows or has seen all game states
• Sometimes it’s better to discuss how that’s not the
case, and how the player’s knowledge of the
scenario changes as they play the game/repeat
the game/learn more about the game
• A large part of video games as opposed to
traditional games is the lack of complete
knowledge, how does that influence the story/our
decisions?

31. EXAMPLE: FIRST PERSON SHOOTER
BIOSHOCK
• When you’re presented with the option of
killing/helping the Little Sisters, it’s presented as a
“do the right thing” or “get a reward” type system
• In fact, if you save them, you get a slightly greater
reward after saving a few (delayed gratification)
• How does this impact the morality of the scenario?

32. DOMINANT NARRATIVES
• Previously, we talked about how we tend to assume
the player plays to win
• What losing pathways are there?
• Are there losing/winning pathways at all?
• How do losing pathways differ from winning
pathways?
• Are the losing pathways offered as false choices, or
displayed as false?
• How does that influence the message of the text
(winning pathway vs losing pathway)
• What does the player “learn” from playing?

33. EXAMPLE: FIRST PERSON ACTION
DISHONORED
• Dishonored follows Corvo, a dishonoured assassin attempting to redeem
his name by overthrowing the corrupt officials who slew the Empress and
stole her daughter
• Throughout the game we have multiple options to enact utter bloody
chaos and slay all who get in our way, however the environment adapts
• We end up with more plagued (sick zombie-like individuals), as well as
higher security and we end up with the “bad” ending if we have a
significantly high chaos rating
• The player is pushed into performing clean, stealthy kills with minimal
collateral damage – we’re not Rambo, we’re an honour-driven assassin

34. EXAMPLE: HORROR
AMNESIA: THE DARK DESCENT
• Because of the game’s puzzle like progression (put x and y
item together) the player feels obliged to search thoroughly
and diligently through rooms – upending all manner of
drawers to ensure all is found
• As well, enemies tend to be instant-death (1 hit, 1 kill)
• This plays well into the narrative presented, we’re not hurriedly
rushing through – we’re carefully and painstakingly inching our
way cautiously trying to find a way of saving the world

35. THE REAL PLAYER’S NARRATIVE
• This is a rare form of meta-analysis, where we discuss
the ergodic nature of the text, and therefore the
importance of the player playing the game (and
not leaving)
• When the player plays the game, they’re spending
nontrivial effort attempting to win, this has some
ramifications when viewed with certain themes
• What can we say of humanity when a player
perseveres against odds and with little hope?

36. EXAMPLE: HORROR
AMNESIA: THE DARK DESCENT
• When we play through the game, we are actively taking
up the moral onus and burden that our protagonist
Daniel has
• We’re actively creating the message that justice/good
prevails – it becomes less about how strong or powerful
some “humanity” is, but rather a self-reflective thought

37. BUT HOW DO WE GET VIDEO GAMES?
• If you’re interested in expanding or establishing your video game
library, I highly recommend Steam
• It’s a digital distribution service that stocks pretty much every
video game made ever
• Significantly cheaper than brick-and-mortar stores
• Sales frequently push content at 75%-80% sales (especially old
titles) currently having a Fall Sale
• Only downside is required downloading of content – no physical
copies!
• As well, you can even get a free version of Portal 2 here:
http://www.teachwithportals.com/

38. TEXTS TO PLAY AND STUDY
• Highly Recommended:
• Bioshock (1st person shooter)
• Bioshock 2 (1st person shooter)
• Bioshock Infinite (1st person shooter)
• System Shock (1st person RPG)
• Portal (1st person puzzle)
• Portal 2 (1st person puzzle)
• Bastion (2D isometric action)
• Transistor (2D isometric action)
• LIMBO (2D sidescroller adventure)
• Spec Ops: The Line (1st person shooter)
• Far Cry 3 (1st person shooter)
• Tomb Raider (3rd person action)
• The Stanley Parable (1st person
exploration)
• Dark Souls (incredibly hard, please
spare yourself the pain – 3rd person
action)
• Dishonored (1st person action)
• Fallout 3 (1st person shooter)
• Fallout: New Vegas (1st person
shooter)
• Amnesia: The Dark Descent (1st
person horror)
• Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs (1st
person horror)
• Alien: Isolation (1st person horror)
• Dear Esther (1st person story)
• To The Moon (2D top-down story)
• The Walking Dead (3rd person action
story)
• Kentucky Route Zero (2D point-and-
click story)
• Lone Survivor (2D sidescroller horror
story)
• World of Goo (2D puzzle)

39. FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW
• For those looking for a light introduction into video
games, I highly recommend the below, they require
significantly less game skill and are equally as
enjoyable:
• Dear Esther (1st person story)
• Lone Survivor (2D sidescroller horror story)
• Stanley Parable (1st person exploration)
• LIMBO (2D sidescroller adventure)
• To The Moon (2D top-down story)
• Kentucky Route Zero (2D point-and-click story)
• The Walking Dead (3rd person action story)

40. Q&A
• If you have questions, feel free to ask away!
• If you have any further questions, you can always
reach me at my contact details below:
• Email: merelyqurios@gmail.com
• Mobile: 027 631 6722