In Medias Resolution: Chris M. Yap Research Blog on Game Narrative

Games, Seriously Podcast Ep. 06 out now!

Reflections on Shadow of the Colossus (PS2; Team ICO, 2005), Pt. 1

Reflections on Carnage Heart (PS1; Artdink, 1997)

Contentious notions about Narrative in games

"Unfortunately, Narrative in modern video games at large has always been a rather contentious topic in Game Studies. On the one hand, some have argued that the narratives of games have sufficient depth to be explicated, or that games in and of themselves (and between their players) constitute a kind of meta-narrative. In response to this, others have equally argued that narrative is incidental to the game medium, and/or that a game narrative cannot be meaningfully understood

The Quest

My field is an extended exercise in logical, eloquent speculation. My field is so young that none of the rules have been yet written, and nearly every gaze-able direction is a frontier daring others to explore it, to push its boundaries farther and deeper, and ultimately to understand it in some meaningful way. Due to the relative youth of the field, all current theories fall short in several areas, and often times these areas are not complementary to each other. In all earne

"You can settle for less than an ordinary life, or do you feel like you were meant for something bet

In truth, it is never too early to begin thinking about your Masters Thesis. That being the case, I have been trying to situate and define the scope, aim, and contribution of what I hope will become a Masters Thesis that I can present when the time comes and have it not only be admissible, but actually good. Then I start folding my thoughts in on themselves and I am suddenly asking, "What is considered 'good'?" Sometimes, when writing conference papers, I get all stressed and

Games are Utterly Awesome, but Why?

One of the hallmarks of good research is the demonstrable ability to navigate from Point A (which is the challenging of basic assumptions) to Point B (the logical and credible analysis/discussion/verification of the initial contention). It is the ability to get to the heart of some notion that you have a hunch about, and to prove that hunch right or wrong with some workable degree of logical finesse. Having stated as much, I have to admit that I was reminded of this fact very

Yes, I want to actually write a thesis someday

In my lab every graduating season, there appears to be a custom of placing the graduating PhD candidate's thesis near the daily newspaper for everyone to check out. This season is no different. I browsed the PhD thesis placed there, felt the negligible heft of it in my hands. To think, this was a person's life for several years, their every working thought bent towards the production of this binding of pages. I continued to silently regard the thesis this way for some moments

See You, Game Studies Cowboy

Talking at length with the Associate Professor of our lab last night became a great wellspring of awesome, crazy, yet equally legitimate ideas. One idea in particular came together through this discussion which, if I am able to pull off with any workable degree of finesse, will be simultaneously the most audacious and effective thing I have ever produced academically. Yes, I am dying to tell you about it, but I'd rather show everyone once it is finished. And in stating as muc

Trinity of Required Reading

These are the three seminal texts for Game Studies: 1) Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature by Espen Aarseth 2) Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds by Jesper Juul 3) Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace by Janet Murray I hope that one day I can write a book that can count among these. #narratology #aarseth #janetmurray #juul #requiredreading #book #criticalquestions #gamestudiescurrently #gradschoollife #ludology #m

Can Academics use Cheat Codes to facilitate their Research?

Professor Aarseth on the use of cheating in games (for the purposes of conducting research): "It is with great and increasing regret that one reads papers on game analysis where the author unashamedly admits that yes, I used a cheat code, or yes, I consulted a walk-through. In other fields this behavior seems impossible, at least to admit openly. Imagine a professor of renaissance studies admitting to have used a Cliff or York Notes guide? While it is understandable that acad

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