Heavy Hero or Digital Dummy? Multimodal Player–Avatar Relations in Final Fantasy 7

Abstract

This article analyses the player–avatar relation in Final Fantasy 7, drawing on multimodality theory to analyse textual structures both in the game and in the discourse of player–interviews and fan writing. It argues that the avatar is a two-part structure, partly designed in conventional narrative terms as a protagonist of popular narrative, and partly as a vehicle for interactive game-play. The former structure is replete with the traditions and designs of Japanese popular narrative, oral formulaic narrative and contemporary superhero narratives, and is presented to the player as an offer act – a declarative narrative statement. The latter is a construct of evolving attributes and economies characteristic of role-playing games; and is presented to the player as a demand act – a rule-based command. Though these two functions separate out in the grammar of player and fan discourse, it is their integration which provides the pleasure of gameplay and narrative engagement.

Other‐Repetition as a Resource for Participation in the Activity of Playing a Video Game

“…The players' participation and experience of the activity is shaped by the rule‐based system of the game as well as the communicative modes through which the game is realized: animation, visual design, music, text, and sound. Games are designed to engage players in interaction with the game: the game system offers the fictive game world for viewing, and it demands that players make choices that influence the trajectory of the game (Burn & Schott, 2004; see also Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996). Players interact with the game through engaging with the game world, as represented through the narrative and characters of the game (Burn & Schott).…”

The Story Engine: offering an online platform for making ‘unofficial’ creative writing work

“…However, the discrete episodes seem less unstructured if seen in the light of game levels, while pronoun swapping between first and third person is a feature of videogame discourse, reflecting the player's ambiguous relationship with the game's player‐character or avatar (Burn and Schott, ).…”

«¿La vida empieza o acaba con el matrimonio?»: Amor, diseño de ética y libertad dirigida en <em>Catherine</em>

“…Linderoth (2002) divide el videojuego en sistema de reglas y apariencia ficcional; como ejemplo de esta división, Burn y Schott (2004) afirman que el avatar de la jugadora es a la vez un héroe con carácter y un maniquí digital, un personaje y una herramienta. Klevjer (2001) estudia las capas de narrativa en los videojuegos y pone en común la herencia de la narrativa tradicional con los requisitos del cibertexto participativo, heredados del juego analógico.…”