Date of Award
Spring 5-20-2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MA English
Department
English
Advisor
Mary Balkun, PhD
Committee Member
John Wargacki, PhD
Keywords
Reader Response, video games, rhetoric, narratives, American History, game composition
Abstract
High-budget, long-form storytelling games offer dozens of hours of content for audiences to explore and learn from. Although far different from sitting and reading a book, there is a distinct connection to be made between how literature is experienced and how audiences can experience a narrative-heavy video game. Based on this connection, there are bridges to be built between video games and literature, understanding how one field can benefit from the other as well as how one field can be informed by the other. An analysis of the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 using reader response theory can illustrate the similarities between the experiences gained from reading and the experiences gained from interacting with digital narratives.
Recommended Citation
McEvoy, Amalia, "Digitizing the American West: Analyzing Rhetoric in Red Dead Redemption 2" (2023). Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs). 3098.
https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/3098
Included in
Game Design Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons, Visual Studies Commons
