This document discusses various literary and narrative theories that could be applied to a science fiction video game story. It describes Roland Barthes' five codes for creating mystery and tension in narratives. It also outlines Claude Levi-Strauss' structuralism theory and Tzvetan Todorov's five-step narrative pattern of equilibrium, disruption, realization, restored order, and new equilibrium. The document proposes applying these theories to the story of a "Time Assassin" character who is sent on assignments that create disequilibrium according to Todorov's model, before order is restored and the cycle repeats if a sequel is made. Barthes' codes could also be employed to add plot twists, mysteries, and tension to

2. Roland Barthes-was a French literary theorists.
He was the literature behind the 'Five Codes’
• The Hermeneutic Code is the way the story avoids telling the truth or
revealing all the facts, in order to drop clues in, throughout to help
create mystery. For example, a film could have a murderer who continues
to murder the victims, only we don’t see there deaths, and so not the murderer.
•The Proairetic Code, the way the tension is built up and
the audience is left guessing what happens next. For
example, in Inception when all three dreams are playing at
once, in the first a car chase, the second a no gravity
situation, the third a battle in the snow and the fourth in Dom Cobb’s dream.
• The Semantic Code points to any element in a text that suggests a particular, often
additional meaning by way of connotation which the story suggests.
• The Symbolic Code is very similar to Semantic Code, but acts at a wider level,
organising semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning. This is typically
done in the use of antithesis, where new meaning arises out of opposing and conflict
ideas.
• The Cultural Code hence wider cultural knowledge, often using symbols relating a
culture.

3. Claude Levi Strauss was a French anthropologist. He was responsible for the theory of structuralism.
He believed that the “savage” mind had the same structures as the “civilized” mind and that human
characteristics are the same everywhere. Examples of Binary Opposition in narrative are-
Good Hero / Bad Vigilante / Black Power/ Nature Strong / Man Weak
Todorov’s Narrative Theory-
It states that most story's or plot lines follow the same pattern or path. There are 5 steps in this
pattern.
1. Equilibrium, the first part of the story will display a happy start, where the majority of characters
are content and everything is as it should be. Before the zombie invasion, the family are happy.
2. Disequilibrium (the disruption) the second part of the story will feature a problem or some thing
will disrupt the happiness. The zombies appear, and the family have to avoid being turned.
3. Realisation, this part of the plot is when everyone realises the problem and it is chaos. When the
father of the family realises he can camouflage the humans from the zombies with a disease, a
parasite.
4. Restored Order, this part of the plot is when the characters attempt to repair the damage and
restore the problem. When the father escapes the medial research facility free from being killed by
zombies.
5. Equilibrium again, this is the final part of the plot where the problem is resolved and normality can
resume again. he is reunited with his family.

4. The game I plan to make, will not be a simple “shoot em’ up” game, it will have a deep
and thrilling story. It is a science fiction game, so naturally it will have a long and
complicated story behind it, it will also employ some of the themes I've described
previously.
It will have use Todorov’s theory of five steps in a film, in other words there will be an
equilibrium, a disequilibrium, realisation, restored order then an equilibrium again. this
could be, the ‘Time Assassin’ is fine, after his last assignment. He is sent on another but,
disequilibrium, something happens and he trapped. The realisation could be working out
how to escape, and he does only to be trapped again. restored order is when he returns
to his own time, and the equilibrium returns when he no longer is a time assassin....
...until a sequel when he has to come back.
My game could employ Roland Barthes theory as well, the story will be long and
complicated so adding plot twists, mysteries, tension build up through thrilling music etc.
Could all add to am epic game.