Narrativity and hypermediality in open-world videogames. An analysis proposal of the (virtual) narrative space

Abstract

The objective of this article is to elucidate how videogames narrate based on their narrative and hypermedia characte-ristics, from the presence of textual, visual and sound materials thanks to technological progress to the relevance that each of the narrative elements (i.e., characters, space and events) has within the open-world videogame. For this idea, I propose an analysis of videogame narrative (virtual) space based on interrelated and hierarchical levels: audiovisual level (what we see and hear in the virtual space from diverse factors, such as color and sound), interactive level (movement and interaction with the space, the narrative meaning of which serves to build a bigger story) and pragmatic-narrative level (the interpretation of our gaming experience and creation of an inner narrative based in player identity, in his or her experiences and other characteristics). The final result is the apprehension of a narrative (virtual) space that does not depend just on the text to tell a story but on the experience, interaction and creativity of the player.