“I Am Trying to Help You. And This ‘Game’ You’re Playing…” An Analysis of the Rhetoric behind Until Dawn’s Psychology

Autor

  • Sven Dwulecki Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
  • Arras Khaledi Ohio University

Słowa kluczowe:

video games, individual player, conduct of psychology

Abstrakt

Video games can adjust their messages to the individual player. Based on the ancient ideal of aptum, the authors propose the principle of calibration. This new theoretical concept states that games need to adapt to the individual player in order to be most persuasive. Until Dawn exemplifies this through the element of reoccurring therapy sessions with psychological tests that serve as a hidden calibration mechanic to adjust fear stimuli to the player. The paper pursues an interdisciplinary approach that analyzes not only Until Dawn’s rhetoric, but also its depicted conduct of psychology. Therefore, the authors examine the in-game therapy with two different lenses: the first lens examines Dr. Hill’s methods as a representation of real-life treatment; while the second lens considers how mental illness is portrayed. Combining both perspectives allows to gain a better understanding of how Until Dawn creates powerful statement about psychology and the player’s character.

Pobrania

Opublikowane

2017-06-30

Jak cytować

Dwulecki, S., & Khaledi, A. (2017). “I Am Trying to Help You. And This ‘Game’ You’re Playing…” An Analysis of the Rhetoric behind Until Dawn’s Psychology. Śląskie Studia Polonistyczne, 9(1), 29–50. Pobrano z https://trrest.vot.pl/ojsus/index.php/SSP/article/view/8710