Close-Playing War Trauma: The Tension Between Agency and Inevitability in My Child Lebensborn and Bury Me, My Love

Abstract

This study offers a formalist comparative analysis of My Child Lebensborn and Bury Me, My Love, two narrative games that depict experiences of war trauma and displacement through distinct design strategies. Drawing on close reading, it examines how mechanics, interface structures, narrative progression, and player-character relationships shape emotional resonance and ethical engagement. While both games foreground the tension between agency and inevitability, My Child Lebensborn conveys this through intimate caregiving routines constrained by historical prejudice, whereas Bury Me, My Love embeds it within mediated communication and the precariousness of a refugee journey. Through these contrasts, the analysis demonstrates how formal design choices direct emotional investment, position the player as a relational participant-witness, and shape the expressive potential of games to represent trauma with nuance and depth.