The Videogame Hero in his Labyrinth
The Hero in Electronic Gaming
In this paper we analyze the main features of some of the most
popular videogame characters in the recent years (that is to say, heroes,
villains and antiheroes), compared to classical Greco-Roman heroes, after
reflecting on the consequences of the fact that a videogame hero only comes
to life as an player’s avatar who gets into the skin of the hero through the
controls of the gamepad, usually in a single experience.
Article outline
- 1.Preface
- 2.The Role of the User/Player: The Concept of Avatar
- 3.The Videogame Hero: Between Reality and Fiction
- 4.The Role of Time in the Videogame Story
- 5.Toward a Definition of the Videogame Hero as Compared to the Classical
Hero
- 5.1The Videogame Adventure, a Story in the Making
- 5.2Toward Democratization of the Heroic Condition
- 5.3The Hero as a Man of Action: The Purposes of Heroic Action
- 5.4Regarding the Hero’s Individualism
- 5.5The Particular Case of Role Videogames and Online Multiplayer
Systems: Toward a New Type of Videogame Hero?
- 5.6On Heroes and Villains
- 5.7The Figure of Anti-Hero
- 5.8The Hero or Superhero as Surety for the Established Order
- 6.Conclusions
-
Notes
-
References
References (37)
References
Alsford, Mike. 2006. Heroes & Villains. Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Alvar, Jaime, and José Ma, Blázquez (eds). 1997. Héroes y antihéroes en la Antigüedad clásica. Madrid: Cátedra.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Barton, Matt. 2008. Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-playing
Games. Wellesley, Mass.: A. K. Peters. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bishop, Kyle W. 2010. American Zombie Gothic: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Walking Dead
in Popular Culture. Jefferson, N. C.: McFarland & Co.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Blahuta, Jason P., Michel S. Beaulieu, and William Irwin (eds). 2009. Final Fantasy and Philosophy: The Ultimate Walkthrough. Hoboken, N. J.: Wiley.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bowra, Cecil M. 1952. Heroic Poetry. London: MacMillan.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Brombert, Victor H. 1999. In Praise of Antiheroes: Figures and Themes in Modern European
Literature: 1830–1980. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Calamosca, Fabio. 2003. Final Fantasy: vivere tra gli indigeni del
cyberspace. Milan: Unicopli.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Campbell, Joseph. 1993. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. London: Fontana Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Casariego, Nicolás. 2000. Héroes y antihéroes en la literatura. Madrid: Anaya.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cuddy, Luke. 2008. The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy. Chicago: Open Court.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Eco, Umberto. 1975. Apocalípticos e integrados ante la cultura de
masas. Barcelona: Lumen.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Garnier, Xavier. 2002. L'éclat de la figure: étude sur l'antipersonnage de
roman. Brussels: Peter Lang.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ghita, Cristian E., and Giorgos Andrikopoulos. 2009. “
Total War and Total Realism: A
Battle for Antiquity in Computer Game History.” In Classics for All. Reworking Antiquity in Mass Culture, ed. by Dunstan Lowe, and Kim Shahabudin, 109–126. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gil Ruiz, Francisco. J. 2014. La construcción del personaje en el relato
cinematográfico: héroes y villanos. doctoral thesis. Madrid: Universidad Complutense.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gurung, Rita. 2010. The archetypal antihero in postmodern fiction. New Delhi: Atlantic.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jones, Christopher P. 2010. New Heroes in Antiquity: From Achilles to
Antinoos. Cambridge, Mass. – London: Harvard University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Juul, Jesper. 2011. Half-real. Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kelly, Richard V. 2004. Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games: The People, the
Addiction and the Playing Experience. Jefferson-London: McFarland.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kerényi, Karl. 2009.
Los héroes griegos, vers. esp. de Die Mythologie
der Griechen. Teil II: Die
Heroengeschichten
. Girona: Atalanta.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
King, Geoff, and Tanya Krzywinska. 2006. Tomb Raiders and Space Invaders: Videogame Forms and Contexts. London: I. B. Tauris. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Knight, Gladys L. 2010. Female Action Heroes: A Guide to Women in Comics, Videogames, Film and
Television. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Leng, Dean. 2010. God of War: Ghost of Sparta: Official Strategy Guide. Indianapolis, Ind.: Brady Games.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Montiglio, Silvia. 2011. From Villain to Hero. Odysseus in Ancient Thought. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Morris, Tom, and Matt Morris (eds). 2005. Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice and The Socratic Way. Chicago: Open Court.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Noel, Dan, Stacy Dale, and David Brothers. 2008. God of War: Chains of Olympus Official Strategy Guide. Indianapolis, Ind.: Brady Games.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Palacios Martín, Ángela. 1979. “Turno y Eneas a través de los símiles en la
Eneida
.” Anuario de Estudios Filológicos 2: 191–209.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pérez Rufi, José P. 2014. Kubrick y el antihéroe: narrativa del personaje en el cine
de Kubrick. Saarbrücken, Ger.: Editorial Académica Española.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Peterson, Jon. 2012. Playing at the World: A History of Simulating Wars, People and Fantastic
Adventures, from Chess to Role-Playing Games. Theoklesia, Llc.: Unreason Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pérez Latorre, Óliver 2012a. El lenguaje videolúdico: Análisis de la significación del videojuego. Barcelona: Laertes.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pérez Latorre, Óliver 2012b. “Del ajedrez a Starcraft. Análisis comparativo de juegos tradicionales y videojuegos.” Comunicar 38: 121–129.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Raglan, Fitzroy R. 1975. The Hero. A Study in Tradition, Myth, and Drama. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sánchez Parrón, José A. 2014. “La codificación del mito heroico. Análisis
semiótico de la configuración de un lenguaje de masas.” LifePlay 2: 17–34, available at <[URL]>.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Simmons, David. 2008. The Anti-hero in the American Novel: From Joseph Heller to Kurt
Vonnegut. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Taylor, T. L. 2006. Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Trice, Ashton. D., and Samuel A. Holland. 2001. Heroes, Antiheroes, and Dolts: Masculinity in American Popular Films:
1921–1999. Jefferson, N. C.: McFarland.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
de Vries, Jan. 1963. Heroic Songs and Heroic Legend. London: Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (2)
Cited by two other publications
Connell, Jasmyn & Chris Comerford
2023.
Video Games and Heroism. In
Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies,
► pp. 1 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
Vandewalle, Alexander, Steven Malliet & Kristoffel Demoen
2023.
Playing with Character: A Framework of Characterization in Video Games.
Games and Culture ![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 28 june 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.