Melodramatic aspects in interactive and serial narratives: the case of the adaptation of The Last of Us and implications for the analysis of videogames

Implicações sobre a análise de jogos eletrônicos

Authors

Abstract

This article aims to analyze if and how melodramatic elements are transposed in the adaptation of the transmedia franchise The Last of Us, with a special focus on the arc of the characters Bill and Frank. First: the canonical narrative is analyzed with support from theorists who discuss melodrama itself (Brooks, 1995; Elsaesser, 1987). Secondly, the serial work is analyzed with the same theoretical support, but in contrasting the narrative ruptures and continuities. The analysis allows us to analyze on the one hand how, even in the specifics of what an electronic game is and how it is made it is possible to highlight melodramatic aspects of the narrative and how there are still mechanics of interaction with these same aspects that extend the experience narrative. On the other hand, as melodrama itself has different horizons based on the interaction with the narrative made possible by videogames.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Allison Vicente Xavier Gonzalez, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul

Mestrando pelo Programa de Imagem e Som (PPGis) pela Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFScar). Graduado em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso. Pesquisador na área de Epistemologia das Ciências Humanas e narrativas audiovisuais: adaptações de jogos eletrônicos no Cinema.

João Carlos Massarolo, Universidade Federal de São Carlos

Cineasta, professor universitário, Doutor em Cinema pela USP, é diretor e roteirista de vários filmes, entre os quais, São Carlos / 68 e O Quintal dos Guerrilheiros. Autor de O Potencial narrativo dos videogames e Povo no Cinema: Um estudo sobre Abril Despedaçado, entre outros artigos. É professor associado da Universidade Federal de São Carlos e, atualmente, pesquisa a narrativa transmídia.

Published

2024-02-26