Narrative In Hypertextual Video Games

In the context of the electronic information age,technology has broken the boundaries of literature,and hypertextual video games have changed the pattern of creation and acceptance with its interactive narrative.This paper takes video games as the typical type of hypertext,splits the narrative process from the perspective of the narrative subject,and explore the narrative and aesthetic characteristics of creators and recipients combined with the specific texts.First is to clarify the hypertext as a category to focus on the object of video games.Hypertext was born in the field of electronics,however,the narrative expression it represents may be regarded as another practice of postmodern theory.Video games further strengthen the interactivity,non-linearity,and intertextuality of hypertext,and to a greater extent,evocate and guide the recipients to create.The debate between ludology and narratology reflects a dialectical perspective for understanding video games,that is,the combination of narrative and technology.Second is to analyse and dismantle the specific narrative process.According to the narrative subject,it is divided into two parts:the creator and the recipient.The creators of hypertextual video games are the initiators of interactive narratives.In terms of external information transmission,via real-time feedback of multiple media,a synchronous dialogue with the recipient is delivered in the form of human-computer interaction.In terms of internal narrative methods,the blank space is often used to guide the recipient to promote the narrative towards completeness in the exploration.On the one hand,the story is presented by a variety of interactive forms;on the other hand,the recipients'behavior and branch selection contribute to non-linear narration.At the same time,the story is divided into pieces in the background world,and narrated through various elements beyond the plot.In addition,some games have added the "meta" element,by which the creator talks directly with the recipient across the screen to achieve some extraordinary narrative effects.The recipients of hypertextual video games play their individual creativity,actively participate in narrative,and write individual stories.Under the guidance of the creator,some deliver secondary creation within the game through demand feedback and authoring tools,some turn into game characters to build virtual identities,some promote self-narration in the free practice of exploring the scene.Moreover,the recipients' creativity also extends beyond the text,interpret the original text personalized and product its meanings with derivative works.In the dynamic aesthetic process of interactive narrative,on the one hand,hypertextual video games create the immersive aesthetic feeling and the positive experience of "mental flow",meanwhile,the enhancement of the perceptual experience also amplifies the desire and entices the recipients into the lure.On the other hand,the reproduction practice of the recipients deconstructs the existing text while exerting their individuality.In summary,the hypertextual narrative of video games is a kind of dialogue and interactive expression between the creators and the recipients.The creators combine information technology with narrative methods to build an open stage of the text;the recipients become the producers of meaning by exploring,creating,and narrating in their interesting space-time practices.The involvement of technology has promoted the development of literature.Simultaneously,we must be vigilant that the carnival of technology also devours the poetic nature of literature.