Injustice in the Ruins and a Disordered Post-Apocalypse: Gothic Ideology in the Digital Game World of Fallout 3

Piittinen, Sari 2020. Injustice in the Ruins and a Disordered Post-Apocalypse: Gothic Ideology in the Digital Game World of Fallout 3. Studies in Gothic Fiction 6 (2) , pp. 39-50. 10.18573/sgf.34

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Abstract

The Gothic is an influential source for storytelling in a wide range of digital games. Thus far, interpreting it in games and how they are informed by Gothic ideology has been little studied. This study seeks to address this gap in research by investigating these issues in the narrative of the action role-playing game, Fallout 3. More specifically, through a close reading of the game narrative and by drawing on theories of the Gothic, ideological aspects of the Gothic are analyzed in detail with specific reference to non-player characters and their actions and dialogue along with elements of the mise-en-scéne, style, and simulation. Results show how classic Gothic ideology is reproduced in games by multimodal means and how, as in Gothic novels, their production and interpretation is linked to real-life contexts. The involvement of the player in these games means that a Gothic hero is not of necessity helpless, but instead bears a responsibility to make decisions in ideologically complex and ambivalent situations.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NC Drawing Design Illustration P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Computer software
Publisher:	Cardiff University Press
ISSN:	2156-2407
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 August 2020
Date of Acceptance:	13 April 2020
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 01:11
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/134185

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