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A man chooses, a slave obeys: agency, interactivity and freedom in video gaming

2010; Intellect; Volume: 2; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1386/jgvw.2.1.27_1

1757-1928

Rowan Tulloch,

Global Educational Policies and Reforms

This article explores the concept of interactivity through a close reading of the 2007 video game Bioshock (2K Boston & 2K Australia 2007). By analyzing the interconnections between the game's storyline and ludic mechanisms I argue that Bioshock's narrative twist can be read as a powerful deconstruction of the notion of player agency (cf. Ruch, this issue). I therefore offer an analysis of this game as a problematization of traditional understandings of choice. By highlighting the role of pedagogy in Bioshock I reveal the importance of processes of training in the medium of video gaming. I conclude by drawing upon a post-structuralist framework to suggest that the subjectivity of the video game player is constructed through the play experience.