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2018 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

Player Identity and Avatars in Meta-narrative Video Games: A Reading of Hotline Miami

Authors : Luca Papale, Lorenzo Fazio

Published in: Interactive Storytelling

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Video games are a suitable territory to experiment and play with identity, thanks to the use of avatars, which let players put themselves in someone else’s shoes, project values on blank slates or bond with virtual characters upon which they have a partial agency. Through the case study of Hotline Miami, this paper aims to examine how games can push players to actively question their identity, agency and role in the game’s systems and narrative. The end point of the paper is defining a new category of avatar, the meta-avatar, which elicits a sense of identity instability in the players, leading them to have a more conscious approach to the gameplay experience.

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previous chapter Structuring Digital Game Stories

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Title: Player Identity and Avatars in Meta-narrative Video Games: A Reading of Hotline Miami
Authors: Luca Papale
Lorenzo Fazio
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: Interactive Storytelling
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-04027-7

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-04028-4

Copyright Year: 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04028-4_28

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