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Game Time: Understanding Temporality in Video Games PDF

248 Pages·2018·4.968 MB·English
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U N D E R S T A N D I N G T E M P O R A L I C T h Y r IN is t V o I p D h E e O r H G a A n Gaming, Film & Media ME so Christopher Hanson S n Preserving, pausing, slowing, rewinding, replaying, reactivating, reanimating. . . . Has the ability to manipulate video game UN D E R timelines altered our cultural conceptions of time? STA N D IN G TE M P O Vicgpnoaoi ddmnseistgeoeibi m ttgiailamiplt moyge are waims rsh ycceil hhsec ao uhsrllaiaatmuvrc erutCe elpht,r arairezni secsetodeoonn upbtcysheel edaypr ptab H ph enaaeienrn cwegsan ohmltlni sgmo aghdaralegylmllu e rfeaeeosb srt t iitulmrhiitncayedt,t. i e nvMtrehasu veatli atngminadvedab rcilienelhiqngtayu tnt, i iiriamncinn snedg ao i rntfe u tprimela, ey RALITY IN VIDEO GAMES UNDERSTANDING TEMPOR Christopher Hanson A aganmd reesp, esptiotirotns., Hfilamn,s toenle dveismioonn, satnrdat oetsh tehra fto crmoms poaf rmede dtoia a, nthaelo tge mtapbolertaol p LITY IN VID Christoph swtirtuhc ltivuerense sosf, dciaguitsaal lgitaym, peost epnrotivailditey ,u anniqdu liev eodp peoxprteurnieitniecse ttoh aetn cgraegaet ep lnaeywer s EO GAMES er Hanson ways of experiencing time. UNDERSTANDING TEMPORALITY IN VIDEO GAMES Hanson’s argument features comparative analysis of key video games titles including Braid, Quantum Break, Battle of the Bulge, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Passage, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Lifeline, and A Dark Room. Christopher Hanson is Assistant Professor of English at Syracuse University with a background in video game and software development. Cover design by Martin Hogue, based on an alteration of sprite artwork by Kaan Oner (Bellow). iupress.indiana.edu PRESS GAME TIME DIGITAL GAME STUDIES Robert Alan Brookey and David J. Gunkel, editors GAME TIME Understanding Temporality in Video Games CHRISTOPHER HANSON INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS This book is a publication of Indiana University Press Office of Scholarly Publishing Herman B Wells Library 350 1320 East 10th Street Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA iupress.indiana.edu © 2018 by Christopher Hanson All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hanson, Christopher (Christopher C. P.), author. Title: Game time : understanding temporality in video games / Christopher Hanson. Description: Bloomington, Indiana : Indiana University Press, 2018. | Series: Digital game studies | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018004321 (print) | LCCN 2017057679 (ebook) | ISBN 9780253032829 (E-book) | ISBN 9780253032782 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780253032867 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Video games—Psychological aspects. | Time perception. Classification: LCC GV1469.34.P79 (print) | LCC GV1469.34.P79 H36 2018 (ebook) | DDC 794.8—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018004321 1 2 3 4 5 23 22 21 20 19 18 For Riley, whose love and strength inspires me every day. CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 one More than Live: Game A-liveness and Immediacy 18 two Game Presence and Mediatization 36 three Pausing and Resuming 56 four Saving and Restoring 86 five An Instinct toward Repetition: Replay Value, Mastery, and Re-Creation 110 six Recursive Temporalities 135 seven Case Studies 156 Conclusion 190 Gameography 201 Filmography 207 References 209 Index 223 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS this book would not have been possible without the generous support from many people, all of whom played critical roles at different stages of this project. I am grateful for the continued feedback and advice from mentors during my graduate work at the University of Southern California, particularly Steve Anderson, Todd Boyd, René Bruckner, Rich Edwards, Anne Friedberg, Tracy Fullerton, Priya Jaikumar, David James, Rick Jewell, Marsha Kinder, Tara McPherson, Ellen Seiter, Chris Swain, and Holly Willis. I also wish to thank John Schott for first inspiring my interest in media studies as an undergraduate at Carleton College. Now at Syracuse University, I am grateful for the support, assistance, and mentorship that I have received from my colleagues in the English Department, including Crystal Bartolovich, Dorri Beam, Dympna Callaghan, Manan Desai, Susan Edmunds, Carol Fadda-Conrey, Arthur Flowers, Chris Forster, Mike Goode, Claudia Klaver, Erin Mackie, Pat Moody, Jolynn Parker, Patricia Roylance, Stephanie Shirilan, Harvey Teres, and Silvio Torres-Saillant. To my Film and Screen Studies colleagues Steve Cohan, Steve Doles, Matthew Fee, and Will Scheibel: thank you for being great sources of advice and support, and for reminding me of the importance of keeping a sense of humor about things. Most especially, I am indebted to Roger Hallas, who has been a tireless and peer- less mentor and advocate throughout my time at Syracuse. In addition, Patrick Williams is a terrific librarian and a ridiculously dependable source of inspiration and assistance in my research. Thank you to the talented and patient adminis- trators in my department: Margaret Butler, Sandy Parzych, Daphne Stowe, Billie Trapani, and Terri Zollo. And to James Bort, Jenny Gluck, Mike O’Mara, Michael Morrison, David Seaman, Matthew Warne, and Jordan Wood, thank you for believing in the potential of the Digital Scholarship Space. Like so many academic books, this one is stronger because of the time spent discussing these ideas with students in Film and Screen Studies; there are many of you, and I thank you all for your curiosity and thoughts. I have presented portions of this project at several conferences over the last couple of years and am appreciative of the feedback that I have received. This is ix

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