| Abstract [eng] |
The ontological status of computer games in the context of the relationship between reality and fiction is a little-researched topic. There are only a few authors in the world talking about this topic, whereas research on computer games in Lithuania is extremely rare in general. The aim of this work is to solve this problem and to examine the ontological status of computer games in the context of the relationship between reality and fiction. The three chapters provide an overview of the scientific theory of computer games, an analysis of reality and fiction in computer-related media, and an analysis of reality and fiction in computer games themselves. The first chapter looks at the differences between computer and traditional games and examines the distinction between two different types of computer game research theories – naratological and ludological. The review has shown that the theory used for traditional games partially works for computer games, however, due to the more sophisticated structure and the use of automated systems, the theory needs to be expanded and adjusted. When analyzing computer games, it is important to emphasize both their ludological and narrative features, so the two theories do not contradict but rather complement each other. In addition, through narratology, it is possible to analyze computer games by comparing them with related narrative media. The second chapter reviews a couple of forms of narrative media in terms of their relationship with reality and fiction. In literature studies, the contribution of Wolfgang Iser, who combined, systematized, and complemented the theories used in discussions of fiction and reality by other authors, is extremely important. He proposed to replace the traditional twofold division of literature works into reality and fiction, with a threefold division that refers to reality, imagination, and fiction. In his theory, the author emphasized that literature is a mixture of reality and fiction. In this respect, movies are similar, so there is no reason why Wolfgang Iser’s theory could not be applied to the narratives of this media. In the third chapter, the theory of Jesper Juul, where a computer game is considered as half-real, is analyzed and compared with the theory of Wolfgang Iser, where a literature work is seen as a mixture of reality and fiction. Although Jesper Juul's theory lacks in-depth scientific reasoning, it bears many similarities to Wolfgang Iser's theory – both authors argue that a fictional work combines factual reality with possible fictional worlds. Thus, the theoretical model presented by Iser provides a deeper scientific basis for the theory proposed by Juul. Therefore, this work further emphasizes the ontological status of computer games as half-real and reveals that the analysis of computer games can provide knowledge of the real world. However, since computer games reflect reality only partially, this form of media cannot be considered as a complete portrayal of reality and the content of computer games should not be viewed directly and superficially. |
