Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Wallace, Miriam

Keywords

Videogame, Bioshock, Stanley Parable, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Illusion

Area of Concentration

Literature

Abstract

Immersive narrative is filled with illusions. These illusions serve to enhance the experience for their audience, allowing the audience to suspend their disbelief about the unreality of the work in question and immerse themselves fully in the world that the author has created. Some works, however attempt to expose these illusions and confront their audiences with them. They subvert the conventions of their medium, and in so doing, show us why these illusions exist and what the structure of immersive narrative is. This thesis examines three such works: the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard, the videogame Bioshock developed by 2K Games, and the videogame The Stanley Parable developed by Davey Wreden. These three works examine the problem of authorial artifice and the relationship between audience and work in conventional immersive narratives, and this thesis is concerned with examining each in turn for what it contributes to our understanding of their respective mediums.

Rights

The author has granted New College of Florida the nonexclusive right to archive, make accessible, and distribute for educational purposes this work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The copyright of this work remains with the author.

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