Ludonarrative - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Ludonarrative

Ludonarrative
Ludonarrative, a compound of ludology and narrative, refers to the intersection in a video game of ludic
elements – or gameplay – and narrative elements.[1] It is commonly used in the term Ludonarrative
dissonance.[1][2][3]

Contents
1 Ludonarrative dissonance
1.1 Debates on the potential positive use of the notion
2 Ludonarrative consistency
3 References
4 Further reading

Ludonarrative dissonance
Ludonarrative dissonance refers to conflicts between a video game's narrative and its gameplay. The term was
coined by Clint Hocking, a former creative director at LucasArts (then at Ubisoft), on his blog in October,
2007.[2][4] Hocking coined the term in response to the game BioShock, which according to him promotes the
theme of self-interest through its gameplay while promoting the opposing theme of selflessness through its
narrative, creating a violation of aesthetic distance that often pulls the player out of the game.[4] Video game
theorist Tom Bissell, in his book Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter (2010), notes the example of Call of
Duty 4: Modern Warfare, where a player can all but kill their digital partner during gameplay without
upsetting the built-in narrative of the game.[3]

In 2016, Frederic Seraphine, semiotician, and researcher specialized in Game Design at the University of Tokyo
wrote a literature review about the notion of ludonarrative dissonance. In this article, developing on the
numerous debates sparked by Hocking's blog post, Seraphine identifies the reason of ludonarrative dissonance
as an opposition between "Incentives" and "directives" within the "ludic structure [the gameplay]" and the
"narrative structure [the story]".[5]

Jeffrey Matulef of Eurogamer stated that "Uncharted has often been mocked for being about a supposedly
likable rogue who just so happens to recklessly slaughter hundreds of people," and commended developer
Naughty Dog for their self-awareness with Uncharted 4: A Thief's End's trophy "Ludonarrative Dissonance",
which is awarded to the player for killing 1,000 enemies.[6] In an interview with Naughty Dog's creative director
Neil Druckmann (who directed the game alongside Bruce Straley), Glixel's Chris Suellentrop noted that the
trophy was "a reference to the criticism that Nathan Drake doesn't respond emotionally to all the killing he
does"; Druckmann replied, "I told all the people on the team, "This is my proudest moment, the fact that I came
up with this trophy on this project." We were conscious to have fewer fights, but it came more from a desire to
have a different kind of pacing than to answer the "ludonarrative dissonance" argument. Because we don't buy
into it."[7]

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Debates on the potential positive use of the notion

However, some game scholars and writers are challenging the supposedly negative nature of ludonarrative
dissonance. Nick Ballantyne, managing editor ar GameCloud Australia, in an article from 2015 makes the
following statement about ludonarrative dissonance: "What if it could be used to a dev’s advantage? Video
games can force players into uncomfortable situations, and ludonarrative dissonance can help foster that
uncomfortableness. Faux glitches have been used as ludo/narrative tools before [in games such as Eternal
Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty], so why is ludonarrative dissonance
avoided so much? If your intent is to unsettle or confuse a player, then ludonarrative dissonance seems perfect,
but this relies heavily on the player." [8] While acknowledging the potential of ludonarrative dissonance to
create what he calls "emersion", defined as opposed to "immersion" as the "sensation of being pulled out of the
play experience", Seraphine agrees with Ballantyne on the possibility to purposefully use ludonarrative
dissonance as a storytelling device. He concludes the article with the following sentence: "It seems that more
games in the near future might use ludonarrative dissonance as a way to tell more compelling stories. In
essence, stories are about characters and the most interesting stories are often told with dissonant characters;
as it is the surprise, the disturbance, the accident, the sacrosanct disruptive element, that justifies the very act
of telling a story."[5]

Ludonarrative consistency
The Dead Space series is noted for having a consistent ludonarrative. Brett Makedonski of Destructoid states of
the series "The gameplay aptly conveys the sense of sheer terror and loneliness that the narrative expertly
strives to establish."[4]

References
1. "In Defense of Ludonarrative Dissonance" (http://www.thegamecritique.com/recent-posts/in-defense-of-
ludonarrative-dissonance/2283/), www.thegamecritique.com, August 25, 2010
2. Hocking, Clint, "Ludonarrative Dissonance in Bioshock" (http://clicknothing.typepad.com/click_nothing
/2007/10/ludonarrative-d.html), clicknothing.typepad.com
3. Bissell, Tom (2010), Extra Lives, Pantheon Books, New York, pp. 37–38, ISBN 978-0-307-37870-5
4. Makedonski, Brett (September 26, 2012). "Ludonarrative dissonance: The roadblock to realism"
(https://www.destructoid.com/ludonarrative-dissonance-the-roadblock-to-realism-235197.phtml).
Destructoid. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
5. Seraphine, Frederic (2016-09-02). "Ludonarrative Dissonance: Is Storytelling About Reaching Harmony?"
(https://www.academia.edu/28205876
/Ludonarrative_Dissonance_Is_Storytelling_About_Reaching_Harmony). academia. Retrieved
2016-09-23.
6. Matulef, Jeffrey (May 11, 2016). "Uncharted 4's really meta hidden Trophies revealed"
(http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-05-11-uncharted-4-has-a-couple-of-really-meta-hidden-trophies).
Eurogamer. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
7. Suellentrop, Chris (May 24, 2016). " 'Uncharted 4' Director Neil Druckmann on Nathan Drake, Sexism in
Games" (https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/uncharted-4-director-neil-druckmann-on-nathan-drake-
sexism-in-games-20160524). Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
8. Ballantyne, Nick (2015-02-15). "The What, Why & WTF: Ludonarrative Dissonance - GameCloud
Australia" (http://gamecloud.net.au/features/wwwtf/twwwtf-ludonarrative-dissonance). gamecloud.net.au.
GameCloud. Retrieved 2016-09-23.

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Further reading
"Nathan Drake in: The Curse of Ludonarrative Dissonance!" (http://www.experiencepoints.net/2009/07
/nathan-drake-in-curse-of-ludonarrative.html), Experience Points, 10 July 2009
Sawrey, Matt (26 Apr 2010), "Ludonarrative Dissonance: we still need to learn from Hocking"
(http://www.thunderboltgames.com/opinion/ludonarrative-dissonance-we-still-need-to-learn-from-hocking),
Thunderbolt
The "Gameplay And Story Segregation" (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php
/Main/GameplayAndStorySegregation) TVTropes page, which goes into some frequent sources of
"ludonarrative dissonance".

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