The playability of texts vs. the readability of games: towards a holistic theory of fictionality

Abstract

Playful interaction occurs not only in games, but in lit- erary texts as well. One cannot describe what takes place between author, text, and reader more accurately than by calling it a game. Games, on the other hand, cannot be reduced to playthings, but must be considered as cultur- al objects that are being read and interpreted. One does not, however, read solely for the plot. This is why a purely narratological analysis of both digital and ana- log games is bound to fail. Many games create a fiction- al world to be inhabited and explored by the players. In this respect, games are similar to literary texts, and a philological approach to games is therefore primarily justified because of their fictionality, rather than their narrative qualities. This is my starting point in an exploration of different models of ‘playability’, and how they can be used to understand the ‘readability’ of games.