Fiction

Summary

This chapter analyzes and describes fiction and its many components. This includes the different classifications of time, narrative, and game genres. Juul breaks down how abstract games revolve strictly around the rules of the game. Incoherent world games consist of contradictions throughout the game that the player must overlook or justify by using the rules of the game. Coherent games are the opposite of incoherent world games and usually consist of adventure games. Lastly, staged games fall in-between both abstract and representational characteristics in an “elaborate world.” Juul also discusses the numerous definitions of narrative and their applications to video games compared to films or books. Juul concludes the reading by stating “Game fiction is ambiguous, optional, and imagined by the layer in uncontrollable and unpredictable ways, but the emphasis on fictional worlds may be the strongest innovation of the video game.”

Example

When reading this, I immediately thought of the game of solitaire that my family and I had been playing throughout quarantine. We first began playing with a deck of cards, but we each moved to different versions of playing the game. For example, I downloaded the app on my phone, and my sister plays on an app on her laptop. This game is entertaining due to the challenge it presents, rather than a storyline or fictional world. It also reminded me of the unique meaning given to cards like a king or ace in the deck.

Connection

After reading this article, I know that Solitaire would be classified as an iconic game due to the reliability on understanding the rules of the game to play and having meanings assigned to certain cards. It does not create a fictional world or have a narrative. It is only meant to challenge your mind. If you have an Ace, you can move it to one of the top four spots automatically. This represents its superiority or significance to the game compared to other cards. Similarly, Kings are the only cards you can move to a free space. This also signifies the cards’ significance to the game.