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Is Choice and Freedom in Play Possible? - Freedom and Non-linearity in CRPG Games

  • Journal of Popular Narrative
  • 2025, 31(1), pp.13~50
  • Publisher : The Association of Popular Narrative
  • Research Area : Interdisciplinary Studies > Interdisciplinary Research
  • Received : January 9, 2025
  • Accepted : February 14, 2025
  • Published : February 28, 2025

Park, In-seoung 1

1부산가톨릭대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study aims to conceptualize the notion of freedom in the CRPG genre and analyze how player subjectivity is constructed through the emergent process of gameplay exploration from the perspective of game narratology. By distinguishing between the concepts of freedom and non-linearity, this study seeks to refine the classification of the complexity of feedback provided to players according to the genre and structural composition of a game. While many studies, due to the expanding and increasingly complex structures of contemporary games, emphasize the illusion of freedom through player-centric approaches, the CRPG genre differentiates itself by providing in-depth feedback on player choices through its narrative-driven structural characteristics. This study focuses on the concept of freedom not as a parallel sequence of experiences in a game but as a sense of agency derived from deep feedback. To this end, it redefines the RPG genre as one centered on inquiry rather than mere exploration and examines Disco Elysium and Baldur’s Gate Ⅲ as concrete case studies. First, Disco Elysium encourages players to actively recognize both the elements they can and cannot choose for their avatar character, thereby deepening the investigative dimension of gameplay. The exploratory depth of CRPGs allows players to experience freedom not through choices themselves but through the recognition of what is unchoosable. Furthermore, Baldur’s Gate Ⅲ translates the structural logic of Disco Elysium into the form of a large-scale AAA game. In doing so, it offers a reflective understanding of the broader RPG genre while critically reassessing the superficial approach to freedom pursued by contemporary major franchise games. The process of meaning-making through player choices and their complex consequences in game genres leads to deep feedback on player subjectivity. Additionally, interactions with in-game objects and NPCs facilitate the transformation and expansion of subjectivity. The CRPG genre, rather than equating freedom with unlimited choice, is designed to enable players to experience a more profound sense of agency through the complexity of interactions and the consequent expansion of subjectivity. Ultimately, this allows players to partially materialize the concept of freedom.

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