THE CONTEMPORARY EPIC MODE: DIGITAL GAMES AND THE JOURNEY MOTIF
THE CONTEMPORARY EPIC MODE: DIGITAL GAMES AND THE JOURNEY MOTIF

Summary/Abstract: As part of a project that investigates the translation of the epic mode in contemporary digitalgames, the present paper starts from the premise that the principal medium of epic production has shiftedfrom literature, comic book franchises, and film to video games. More specifically, my aim is to explore themotif of the hero’s journey, which has always been congenital to the anthropological and literary category ofthe epic, and which has maintained its central position in fiction since the epics of the ancient world. Withinthe theme itself, the hero must face various trials, confrontations, and obstacles, which lead to a process ofself-discovery, offering a cultural learning experience and a gateway to the exploration of knowledge abouthuman existence in general. The same is maintained throughout video games designed in the epic mode, yetthe configuration of the journey has suffered some changes in its translation towards the digital. At large,these revisions reflect the postmodern and posthuman turn, and therefore alter the fundamental process ofinitiation expressed through the journey motif. To illustrate the above, I propose a form of digital gamecriticism whereby I comparatively interpret the theme of the quest in its past and present manifestations.

• Details
• Contents