Toward a Gameic World: New Rules of Engagement from Japanese Video Games

Whaley, Ben

doi:doi:10.3998/mpub.11946212

Picture of a young man and young woman sitting on a street curb. Her head rests on his shoulder dejected.

Screenshot of Sudō Masayuki and Higa Natsumi

From Chapter 1

Figure 1. Sudō Masayuki rests on a street corner beside Higa Natsumi. © Granzella Inc.

Picture of a young man and young woman crouching down in a safety position during an earthquake.

Screenshot of a disaster prepardeness drill

From Chapter 1

Figure 2. Masayuki mimics the real-world earthquake preparedness drill of “drop, cover, and hold on” amidst citywide destruction. © Granzella Inc.

Picture of a seethrough view of a backpack. Two plastic water bottles are visible inside.

Screenshot of Masayuki's backpack

From Chapter 1

Figure 3. Inventory management is carried out by storing or removing items from Masayuki’s backpack. This bag contains two plastic bottles, each with three servings of fresh water. © Granzella Inc.

Picture of a young man and young woman having a conversation on a park bench. The man must either encourage or dismiss the woman’s feelings. The woman says: I'm so sorry. I know this isn't your problem.

Screenshot of conversation between Sudō Masayuki and Aizawa Mari

From Chapter 1

Figure 4. Players must choose whether to encourage or dismiss other characters and whether to act in their own self-interest or in the name of shared survival. © Granzella Inc.

A photograph shows the photographer with his back to the camera. Two young women and one young man face the camera with a skyscraper behind them.

Screenshot of virtual photo album

From Chapter 1

Figure 5. Jinnai Kōji’s photograph collection can be viewed once the game is completed. Here, photograph number 26 captures Jinnai (foreground) with Masayuki, Mari, and Natsumi in the background next to the Capital City Tower. Jinnai laments wasting film on this silly shot. © Granzella Inc.

Picture of a young woman looking stern with glasses in a black turtleneck. A cool young man in a t-shirt and jacket. A young woman posing sexily in lingerie.

Katherine McBride, Vincent Brooks, and Catherine

From Chapter 2

Picture of a young man stumbling around a bar drunk. His face is red.

Screenshot of Vincent drunk at the Stray Sheep

From Chapter 2

Picture of a young man climbing a tower of blocks in his underwear. Sheep’s horns protrude from his forehead.

Screenshot of Vincent climbing a tower of blocks

From Chapter 2

Picture of a zombie bride in a wedding dress dripping with blood. Her eyes are piercing red and she carries a butcher knife.

Screenshot of Doom's Bride

From Chapter 2

Screenshot of The Child

From Chapter 2

Picture of a young man in a Catholic confessional booth. His face is surprised and confused.

Screenshot of Vincent in a confessional booth

From Chapter 2

A pie chart displays answers to the question, “Does life begin or end at marriage?” Three quarters say it begins.

Screenshot of Vincent climbing a tower of blocks

From Chapter 2

Picture of a grizzled soldier with an eyepatch over his right eye. A small horn protrudes from his forehead.

Screenshot of Big Boss

From Chapter 3

Figure 13. Big Boss as depicted in MGSV. © Konami Digital Entertainment.

Picture of a disfigured man in a Zorro mask and black fedora. His face resembles a skull.

Screenshot of Skull Face

From Chapter 3

Figure 14. Skull Face, the main antagonist of the game. © Konami Digital Entertainment.

Picture of a soldier sneaking into an enemy outpost in the Middle East.

Screenshot of Big Boss sneaking into a base

From Chapter 3

Figure 15. An example of the stealth gameplay in MGSV. Big Boss sneaks into an enemy outpost having marked all the soldiers to aid in his situational awareness. © Konami Digital Entertainment.