As Narrative Travels from Literature to Video Game:Digital Narrative, Interactivity, Characters and Game Space in The Witcher ۳: Wild Hunt

This paper aims to examine the significance of interactivity in digital narrative and its influence on the narrative of video games. Moreover, it shows how characters are developed and what the role of game space is in video games. For this purpose, first, this study will outline the history, characteristics and models of digital narrative, and its differences with more traditional forms of narrative. Then, it introduces different narrative models used in video games. Additionally, it highlights the importance of interactivity in this type of narrative and introduces different models and frameworks of narrative in video games. The works of Espen Aarseth (۱۹۹۸), Janet Murray (۱۹۹۸ and ۲۰۱۶) on digital narrative and Chris Crawford (۱۹۸۴ to ۲۰۱۳) have been studied to make a clear understanding of the digital narrative and interactivity. How characters are presented in a video game is analysed through a model suggested by Schroder and Thon (۲۰۱۴) and the main theorist for investigating game space was Michael Nitsche (۲۰۰۸). This study concludes that digital narrative is heavily influenced by interactivity which creates many new outlooks for the future of narrative, be in literature or video game. It also determines the way characters are presented in video games and how the game space can be manipulated by gamers in order to create a narrative. This study also examines the features above in the video game, The Witcher ۳: Wild Hund (CD Projekt Red, ۲۰۱۵).

Keywords:

The Witcher ۳ , Digital Narrative , Interactivity , Characters , Game Space