“I Am Trying to Help You. And This ‘Game’ You’re Playing…”. An Analysis of the Rhetoric behind Until Dawn’s Psychology
Journal Title: Śląskie Studia Polonistyczne - Year 2017, Vol 9, Issue 1
Abstract
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. Les jeux vidéo sont capables d’ajuster leurs messages à des joueurs individuels. À la base de l’idéal ancien d’aptum, les auteurs proposent le principe de calibrage. Ce nouveau concept théorique exprime l’idée que les jeux doivent adapter afin d’être le plus persuasifs. L’exemple de l’Until Dawn en témoigne à travers les sessions thérapeutiques réapparaîssantes dont les tests psychologiques servent d’un mécanisme de calibrage camouflé pour le but d’ajuster les stimuli de la peur au jueur. Ainsi, l’article poursuit une approche interdisciplinaire qui est concentrée non seulement sur l’analyse la rhétorique de l’Until Dawn mais aussi sur l’examen des thérapies dansle-jeu sous deux angles différents. Le premier aborde les méthodes du dr Hill comme les représentations du traitement de vie réelle, tandis que le second examine les façons selon lesquelles les maladies mentales se voient dépeintes. La combinaison de ces deux perspectives permet de mieux saisir comment Until Dawn réussit à créer une déclaration puissante à propos de la psychologie et du caractère du joueur.
Authors and Affiliations
Sven Dwulecki, Arras Khaledi
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP336487
- DOI -
- Views 56
- Downloads 0
„Król-Duch” i gra słowami
The article presents a new approach to the language and style of Słowacki’s biggest work in terms of quantity (two volumes of inedits and separately printed first rhapsody of King-Ghost). The very sketch shows shaping an...
Anihilacja „dogmatu płci” jako droga do ostatecznej emancypacji „homosapa”, czyli gender według Williama Burroughsa
The article presents a thorough analysis of William S. Burroughs’s gender theory. In the first part of the text, the author characterizes Burroughs’s standpoint in the fields of literature, art, popculture, and the unive...
Sarmata w ogrodach Europy i Bliskiego Wschodu
The article presents the accounts of Polish diarists’ overseas travels (16th–17th century), which include descriptions of parks and gardens. The authors: Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł “Sierotka” and Karol Stanisław Radziwi...
O dwóch adaptacjach Mazepy Juliusza Słowackiego
On the example of Blanche by Walerian Borowczyk (1971) and Mazepa by Gustaw Holoubek (1975), the author of the article presents two different proposals of reading a drama by Juliusz Słowacki. As Holoubek’s work seems to...
Niewspółmierność. Transmedialne zbliżenia materii medium (Antoni Tàpies, Jean Dubuffet, Jeff Wall)
The text is devoted to the problem of materiality in the perspective of transmedial artistic practices. The object of special interest is the principle of rapprochement between the medium and non-artistic matter, shown o...