Kleinerman, Danielle;
(2020)
Viewer or Player? Questioning Spectatorship in Videogames: A Reflexive Analysis of the Witcher III: The Wild Hunt (2016).
Masters thesis (M.Sc), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This essay interrogates how the videogame medium creates an engrossing and complex spectatorial experience that consistently challenges the user’s sense of activity. Are you playing, are you watching, or both? The method consists of a playthrough of the Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2016), then analysed and deconstructed to address how play, spectatorship and engagement all merged into one. The paper looks at aesthetics first, to see how borrowing from film studies affects the experience of watching a narrative unfold despite the overwhelming presence of ludology. Then, it focuses on how immersion is used, urged, and upset by the attempted reconciliation of appeals to modalities that interrogate a user’s experience of the text. Finally, the last chapter ties experience altogether by questioning how choice in videogames can be constructed as a manipulation of the will of the player, effectively brought on by the engagement of their watching. Semiotics, narratology, cinematography, ludology, and focalization theory are all present in the essay and fortify a conclusion that seeks to integrate how a user experiences the complex experience of videogame spectatorship via playing, watching and being.
Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
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Qualification: | M.Sc |
Title: | Viewer or Player? Questioning Spectatorship in Videogames: A Reflexive Analysis of the Witcher III: The Wild Hunt (2016) |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
Language: | English |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > VP: Education > Student and Registry Services UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > VP: Education > Student and Registry Services > Access and Admissions UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > VP: Education > Student and Registry Services > Access and Admissions > Admissions |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10192509 |
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