Dramatic Narrative Logics: Integrating Drama into Storygames with Operational Logics

Abstract

Many videogames seek to be story-driven, incorporating story elements such as a hero-driven plotline, dramatic conflict and story structure in order to increase player immersion and engagement. Storygames have been discussed by theorists such as Buckles, Murray and Reed. However, the issue of the integration of dramatic devices with the playable system and operational logics in interactive narratives has not been adequately explored. Through close readings of two storygames, Disco Elysium and Her Story, this paper aims to investigate how narrative logics can be integrated into storygames in the context of Aristotelian drama, and how dramatic narrative units integrate operationally with the playable system. It also proposes a type of storygame, the dramatic storygame, where the playable system is closely tied with the processing and production of dramatic narrative units.