Abstract

Keywords: Uncertainty, Game Studies, Hermeneutics, Ludonarratives, Hollow Knight, Ori and the Blind Forest, Comparative Game Analysis

This paper is a multidisciplinary comparative analysis of two recent ludo-narrative artifacts, Ori and the Blind Forest and Hollow Knight. Coming from the context of the uncertainty of light generated by the wave-particle duality paradox, and utilizing the analytical framework of game hermeneutics, this paper will argue that uncertainty acts as the central ludic and narrative impulse for both of these games. The first section will present the uncertainty inherent in the double hermeneutic and provide some brief context for the discussion of the two games. The second section will compare the gameplay experience, while the third section will contrast the narratives. The final section will conclude.

• Benjamin Horn is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong. His research focuses on meaning in ludo-narrative video games and the methodologies around their study

Full text (PDF) p. 134-138