Fictional Games: A Philosophy of Worldbuilding and Imaginary Play

Description

What role do imaginary games have in story-telling? Why do fiction authors outline the rules of a game that the reader will never watch or play? Combining perspectives from philosophy, literature and game studies, this book provides the first in-depth investigation into the significance of games in fictional worlds. With examples from contemporary cinema and literature, from The Hunger Games to the science fiction of Iain M. Banks, Stefano Gualeni and Riccardo Fassone introduce four key functions that different types of imaginary games have in worldbuilding. First, fictional games can emphasize the dominant values and ideologies of the fictional society they belong to. Second, some games function as critical, utopian tools, inspiring shifts in the thinking and political orientation of the fictional characters. Third, imaginary games, especially those with a magical component, are conducive to the transcendence of a particular form of being, such as the overcoming of human corporeality. And fourth, fictional games can deceptively blur the boundaries between the contingency of play and the irrevocable seriousness of “real life”, either camouflaging life as a game or disguising a game as something with more permanent consequences. With illustrations in every chapter, bringing the imaginary games to life, Gualeni and Fassone creatively inspire us to consider fictional games anew: not as moments of playful reprieve in a storyline, but as significant and multi-layered rhetorical devices. Cover Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Figures Foreword Playing fiction-games with fictional games Acknowledgements Introduction Four uses of fictional games Chapter outlines 1 On Fictional Games 1.1 Playing fictional games? 1.2 The unplayability of fictional games 1.3 Ground and figure: The Gestalt of fictional games 2 Fictional Games and Ideology 2.1 The representation of virtues andvices in fictional games 2.2 Play without labour in Quintet 2.3 Conclusions 3 Fictional Games as Utopian Devices 3.1 Th e game of Azad and indeterminacy 3.2 Thinking outside the game in The Running Man 3.3 Conclusions 4 Fictional Games as Deceptions and Hallucinations 4.1 Roy: A Life Well Lived (within the Machine) 4.2 Being played by The Game 4.3 Conclusions 5 Fictional Games and Transcendence 5.1 Transcendence and technological fatalism in Diamond Dogs 5.2 Transcendence of the self in eXistenZ 5.3 Conclusions 6 Concluding Thoughts 6.1 Meta-referential fictional games and satire 6.2 Directions for future research Appendix A compendium of fictional games cited in the book Index