Videogames and Horror
From Amnesia to Zombies, Run!
Author(s) Dawn Stobbart
Language: English
Genre(s): Media, Film and Theatre
Series: Horror Studies
- October 2019 · 304 pages ·216x138mm
- · Paperback - 9781786834362
- · eBook - pdf - 9781786834379
- · eBook - epub - 9781786834386
About The Book
Videogames are full of horrors – and of horror, a facet of the media that has been largely overlooked by the academic community in terms of lengthy studies in the fast-growing field of videogame scholarship. This book engages with the research of prominent scholars across the humanities to explore the presence, role and function of horror in videogames, and in doing so it demonstrates how videogames enter discussion on horror and offer a unique, radical space that horror is particularly suited to fill. The topics covered include the construction of stories in videogames, the role of the monster and, of course, how death is treated as a learning tool and as a facet of horror.
Endorsements
‘An insightful exploration of horrific content in videogames throughout the medium’s history, illustrating the significance of horror adaptation, intertextuality and remediation across a broad range of titles. From Haunted House to Amnesia, Stobbart presents an informed and necessarily interdisciplinary account of the transmedia interactions between horror games, literature and cinema. An engaging and accessible contribution to videogame genre scholarship.’
- Dr Ewan Kirkland, University of Brighton
An accessible and well organised monograph, Videogames and Horror works well as an introductory text, particularly for researchers of horror and the Gothic who may not be familiar with video games as a medium or game studies as an area of academic research
Videogames and Horror is a useful and thought-provoking resource for Gothic scholars and students alike. The analysis is clearly presented and rooted in practical gameplay examples throughout. It will be a valuable addition to both academic libraries and personal research collections.
Reviewed by Gwyneth Peaty, Curtin University in Aeternum: The Journal of Contemporary Gothic Studies, volume 7, issue 1 - https://www.aeternumjournal.com/volume-7-issue-1
Contents
Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Introduction: A Light in the Darkness: Videogames and Horror
Chapter 2: Dissecting the Videogame: Genres in the Medium
Chapter 3: Transgressing Boundaries: Adaptation, Intertextuality, and Transmedia
Chapter 4: Play Me a Story: Storytelling in Horror Videogames
Chapter 5: Who Am I?: Identity and Perspective
Chapter 6: The Undead Invade: Monsters in Videogames
Chapter 7: Death and the End: The Final Chapter?
Epilogue
Bibkliography
Filmography
Gameography