This talk discusses the challenges and potential solutions for the study of digital narratives, particularly narrative games such as The Witcher 3. Narrative games are tricky texts to unpack due to their size - it can take upwards of 50-100hrs of play to complete a modern story game - as well as their configurability: my playthrough of the game may not be the same as yours, and in which case, how can we be sure we are discussing the same narrative if we attempt to analyse it? Contemporary scholarship in the nascent field of game studies has attempted to wrestle with these questions with the use of methodologies inspired by literary theory and philosophy, in which hermeneutics has played an important role. Given the tremendous influence that games now exert over the world - with millions of players logging in daily - now more than ever it is vital to understand how these complex interactive narratives are changing the way we interact with the world.

Benjamin Horn is Lecturer at the School of English. He received his PhD in Creative Media from the City University of Hong Kong in 2021. A recipient of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, his thesis presents a new model for the analysis of narrative games. His research interests are interdisciplinary, reflecting the multimedia nature of the games he studies, and include questions relating to the interpretation of games, the history of games, the study of ludonarrative artifacts, and issues of cultural localization and translation. He has previously worked as chief writer for a Hong Kong independent game studio.