CREEPYGAMING & THE NARRATIVE: A THEORY-BASED POP CULTURE OF ‘PLAYABLE’ LORE

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CREEPYGAMING & THE NARRATIVE: A THEORY-BASED POP CULTURE OF ‘PLAYABLE’ LORE

Dominique Angela M. Juntado, M.A.

Doctoral Candidate in Social & Cultural Anthropology

University of the Philippines Diliman

Email: dmjuntado@gmail.com

International Journal of Social Sciences

Abstract

Having been written for fellow fans of video game creepypastas and students of media anthropology and folklore, this article inspects said form of online lore as well as its complementing interactive media in terms of how experimentation with playable content

can effectively deliver not only an understanding of what transpired in a narrative, but more of a meaningful experience of a narrative. In theory, an interactive approach has much to contribute for the breadth of legend complexes.

Keywords: Creepypasta, ROM Hacks, Lost Episodes, Haunted Gaming, Democratized Production, Nontraditional Storytelling, Slender

To talk about a known, existing

contribution which encourages the inspection of

netlore and possible variants, Michael Kinsella‟s

[2011] work on internet-based folklore is worth

attention for having included guidelines on how

legends online could be assessed, the basics of

legend-tripping, as well as the importance of knowing how to go about ecologies of legends in

general. It is likewise memorable for its

ethnographic rumination on the Incunabula

papers and Ong‟s Hat which has previously

showcased the potential pertinence of alternate

reality games (ARGs) in both the reconstruction

as well as promotion of a legend. In his case

analysis, Kinsella [2011] spoke more of those

participating in the imersion within the legend —

their framing, emotions, and perceptions, as well

as their role in the legend‟s mortality.

On the one end, this discourse is in pursuit

of a personal inclination. But to place it in the

academic backdrop of the studies of media, it

complements the work of Russel Frank [2011]

and Michael Kinsella [2011] on the subject of

understanding how online lore works and

branches out through bringing the subject of

video game modification and hacking into the

academic theoretical limelight in terms of their

potential role in the deepening of netlore.

There is then a development into how

success of a video gaming creepypasta could be

assessed. The treatise then proceeds with an

analysis of how video game creepypastas with

playables could classify as a legend trip. This

segment is guided by Kinsella‟s [2011]

guidelines on understanding the structure of

legend trips, derived from the second chapter of

his book Legend-Tripping: Online Supernatural

Folklore and the Search for Ong’s Hat.

As a practical counterpart to the theoretical

ruminations, there is included a concise survey

of the existing forms of playable lore which

serve as the present genres. This is

complemented by a segment discussing classic

features to incorporate in the production of a

playable pasta as well as brief notes on avoiding

cliches.