The Complicit Player: How Assassin’s Creed II, Bioshock and Dark Souls Use Narrative and Gameplay Design to Make the Player Complicit with the Actions of the Player-Character
This thesis proposes a model for analysing the process by which video games make players complicit in the actions of the player-character (avatar). Empathy, responsibility and desire are the formational elements of complicity and are the concepts I identify within three video games. Katherine Isbist...
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| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English |
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2021
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64507/ |
| _version_ | 1848800138050404352 |
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| author | Muggeridge, B.G.M. |
| author_facet | Muggeridge, B.G.M. |
| author_sort | Muggeridge, B.G.M. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This thesis proposes a model for analysing the process by which video games make players complicit in the actions of the player-character (avatar). Empathy, responsibility and desire are the formational elements of complicity and are the concepts I identify within three video games. Katherine Isbister’s proposed ‘levels of projection’ are also used to explain how a player relates to the player-character in order for the exchange of empathy, responsibility and desire to be effective. The games I have chosen to analyse are Assassin’s Creed II, BioShock and Dark Souls, each of which use gameplay and narrative design in unique ways to make players complicit. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:46:47Z |
| format | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-64507 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:46:47Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-645072021-06-08T12:15:14Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64507/ The Complicit Player: How Assassin’s Creed II, Bioshock and Dark Souls Use Narrative and Gameplay Design to Make the Player Complicit with the Actions of the Player-Character Muggeridge, B.G.M. This thesis proposes a model for analysing the process by which video games make players complicit in the actions of the player-character (avatar). Empathy, responsibility and desire are the formational elements of complicity and are the concepts I identify within three video games. Katherine Isbister’s proposed ‘levels of projection’ are also used to explain how a player relates to the player-character in order for the exchange of empathy, responsibility and desire to be effective. The games I have chosen to analyse are Assassin’s Creed II, BioShock and Dark Souls, each of which use gameplay and narrative design in unique ways to make players complicit. 2021-03-15 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64507/1/20201828_U7PCTSST.pdf Muggeridge, B.G.M. (2021) The Complicit Player: How Assassin’s Creed II, Bioshock and Dark Souls Use Narrative and Gameplay Design to Make the Player Complicit with the Actions of the Player-Character. MRes thesis, University of Nottingham. video game complicity desire responsibility empathy |
| spellingShingle | video game complicity desire responsibility empathy Muggeridge, B.G.M. The Complicit Player: How Assassin’s Creed II, Bioshock and Dark Souls Use Narrative and Gameplay Design to Make the Player Complicit with the Actions of the Player-Character |
| title | The Complicit Player: How Assassin’s Creed II, Bioshock and Dark Souls Use Narrative and Gameplay Design to Make the Player Complicit with the Actions of the Player-Character |
| title_full | The Complicit Player: How Assassin’s Creed II, Bioshock and Dark Souls Use Narrative and Gameplay Design to Make the Player Complicit with the Actions of the Player-Character |
| title_fullStr | The Complicit Player: How Assassin’s Creed II, Bioshock and Dark Souls Use Narrative and Gameplay Design to Make the Player Complicit with the Actions of the Player-Character |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Complicit Player: How Assassin’s Creed II, Bioshock and Dark Souls Use Narrative and Gameplay Design to Make the Player Complicit with the Actions of the Player-Character |
| title_short | The Complicit Player: How Assassin’s Creed II, Bioshock and Dark Souls Use Narrative and Gameplay Design to Make the Player Complicit with the Actions of the Player-Character |
| title_sort | complicit player: how assassin’s creed ii, bioshock and dark souls use narrative and gameplay design to make the player complicit with the actions of the player-character |
| topic | video game complicity desire responsibility empathy |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64507/ |