The Transdisciplinary Encounter of Narratology and Visual Art in MMORPGs

Marija Tavčar; Biljana Mitrović

doi:10.25038/am.v0i28.495

Authors

Marija Tavčar
Biljana Mitrović

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i28.495

Keywords:

transdisciplinarity, transmediality, MMORPGs, visual storytelling, storyworld, visual art

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present and analyze visual elements of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game) storyworlds as important aspects of both world-building and the immersion capacity of virtual worlds. MMORPGs are characterized by multi-user environments called ‘open worlds’, in which maps and geography of space play an important role. Geography and maps that represent these geographical forms in the game play a significant role in creating the worldness of virtual space and the narratives located in them. The same goes for the features of architecture, natural or outer space expanses. Visual elements contribute to the narrative in numerous ways, which is analyzed in detail using a transdisciplinary approach – the narratological apparatus and especially the shift towards postclassical narratology. Another, but not less important visual aspect that will be presented in the paper is the importance of character appearance, as well as clothing (armors) and equipment in the context of building character identity for themself (the player) and the way they present themselves to other players. All of these aspects indicate that visual space (geographical and architectural) as well as visual characteristics of the characters have an important role in storytelling, supporting the transmedial praxis of contemporary narrative forms.

Article received: December 23, 2021; Article accepted: February 1, 2022; Published online: April 15, 2022; Original scholarly article

Author Biographies

Marija Tavčar

Marija Tavčar
Faculty of Contemporary Arts, Belgrade
Serbia

Marija Tavčar, PhD (1982), is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Contemporary arts in Belgrade. She holds a PhD in Theory of Arts and Media (University of Arts in Belgrade, dissertation title Interactive Costume: Body-Technology-Costume, 2017). She worked as a costume designer, an assistant costume designer and a puppet designer in the theatre, as well as on film and television. She held three individual exhibitions and took part in numerous collective exhibitions in Serbia and abroad. She has written texts for a radio show about fashion (Radio Belgrade). She has participated in several conferences in Serbia and has been published in proceedings and journals.

Biljana Mitrović

Biljana Mitrović
Institute for Theater, Film, Radio, and Television; Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade
Serbia

Biljana Mitrović, PhD (1983), is a Research Associate at the Institute for Theater, Film, Radio, and Television, Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade. She holds a PhD in Theory of Dramatic Arts, Media and Culture (Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade, thesis Text Identities and Identities in the Text of MMORPGs, 2018). She holds an MA in Philology Serbian Literature and Language with Comparative Literature (University of Belgrade, Serbia). In 2014, she was a visiting lecturer at game studies at the University of Skövde, Sweden. She has participated in several conferences in Serbia and abroad. She is an author and co-author of papers published in proceedings and journals. Fields of interest: narratology, intertextuality, transmediality, storyworlds, virtual worlds, game studies.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i27.495