Nicole's Response

From English 194 Wiki

It is interesting to me that this article is using literary aspects such as "narrative" to explain how play in game works, especially since in this course we are learning to explain literary works through another means, possibly through a game. So there is interchangeability between game and literature which I didn't realize was as obvious as it is. "To speak a sentence is to play with words-but only in ways that the rules of language permit." (reader 77) It is interesting to think of language as a game itself consisting of rules and limitations. "Language is structured by grammar, the formal system that gives its individual elements meaning." (77)

In this article games are being described as stories with narratives, whether it is "emergent" or "embedded."(92) One example given of embedded narratives is the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book which, although the reader can choose which path to take, it is considered embedded because its "elements are fixed and predetermined." (92) I can't help but question where the embedded and emergent line is drawn. Although a player in a game has more interactivity than a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book, aren't the outcomes still predetermined? After all, the outcomes of the player's actions are limited to what has been programmed into the game. I understand how a book and a game narrative are different, but I guess my question comes from the quote "Embedded narrative elements can take a variety of forms and be reached through a variety of different means..." (92) Wouldn't this include games in which there is a limited amount of possible outcomes which can be reached in different ways?