Styllez Ferguson

Emilia Grant
UWRT 1103
October 9, 2014
The topic of this inquiry project is How Video Games Compare to Literature. Nowadays,
video game developers are getting very in depth when creating storylines for a lot of their games.
For example, recent games like Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us have great stories that are
easily comparable to novels.
Considering how society sees video games as a sign of immaturity, this topic will be
interesting. Gaming is not just for kids, every game has a rating that shows whether it was meant
to be played by adults or by children. This is similar to literature in a way. One can also learn
something by playing video games, just like reading books. Relating video games to immaturity
is an opinion that is becoming obsolete, as the advancements in gaming continually revolutionize
video games. Many of the older children born within the last twenty-five years grew up playing
video games and are still playing them today.
High Art/Low Life by Soraya Murray is a neat source on this topic. Another source that
may prove to be useful is YouTube. It is nearly impossible to own every game in the world, so
some youtubers fully play through multiple games for the viewers pleasure. This will be a good
way to find examples of video games that relate to literature.
How does the thought process that goes into making video games relate to the thought
process that goes into writing literature? What things do authors have in common with video
game companies? What specific elements of literature are prevalent in video games today?
Which genre of games are most like literature, and how?

I.

Video Games through the years

A. Video games became more sophisticated
B. More adults play

II.

Creation
A. Thinking process
B. Comparison to authors
i. Length of planning time
ii. Target audience

III.

Elements of Literature Found in most Video Games

A. Tells story
B. Dramatic structure
C. Protagonist and antagonist
D. Reader/player learns something

IV.

Literacy
A. How literacy becomes a factor when playing video games
B. Importance of video game literacy to the online community

V.

Conclusion