The island as container: islands, archipelagos and player movement in video games

Island Studies Journal

关键词: archipelagos;    archipelagic movement;    fictional settings;    islands;    video games;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The use of islands and archipelagos as settings in video games has proven enduring and popular: these locations are usually shown to be dangerous places where travel can be difficult. The use of island and archipelago settings in this medium developed along with conventions about water in general being an obstacle to traverse, meaning that player characters that experience islands and archipelagoes are forced to discover ways to travel around, over, and away from them. Islands remain popular settings because they work well with players’ preconceptions about these spaces, with people’s understandings of natural boundaries that make travel difficult, and with game designers’ intent to control player character movement throughout a world that is necessarily constrained by the reach of technology.

【 授权许可】

Unknown