VIDEOGAME DISCOURSE AS A MULTIMODAL ENTITY

Abstract

This article seeks to review contemporary approaches to researching videogame discourse, such as analyzing it as internet discourse, electronic discourse, or multimodal discourse. It also aims to define “videogame discourse”, distinguish the terms used to describe it in order to avoid terminological confusion (between the terms “videogame discourse”, “computer game discourse”, “internet discourse”, etc.) and to justify the most suitable approach to studying in-game text. The literature overview has shown that the term “videogame discourse” is the most fitting and commonly used out of the abovementioned terms. While videogame discourse is defined as a multilevel entity that encompasses several levels of discourse based on the senders and the receivers of the message (game developers, gamers, game journalists, etc.), this paper focuses primarily on the in-game text programmed by game developers. As video games are multimedia products, analyzing their discourse from a multimodal perspective appears to be the prevailing approach. In addition to the six modes typical of modern video games (i.e., aural, visual, linguistic, gestural, spatial and haptic), the article highlights the procedural mode, which represents creating and conveying meaning through gameplay mechanics. The paper also views videogame discourse as a polygenre, intermedial and transmedial entity, providing both definitions and examples of these terms.