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The role of pathetic fallacy in video games and storytelling

ORCiD logo with link | University of Aberdeen
Published online: 17 September 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlpop.26002.pag
Abstract
This study applies Pager-McClymont’s (Pager-McClymont, K. (2021). Communicating emotions through surroundings: A stylistic model of pathetic fallacy (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Huddersfield. [URL], (2023a). A stylistic model of the converse of pathetic fallacy. Language and Literature, 33(1), 44–68. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, (2023a). A stylistic model of the converse of pathetic fallacy. Language and Literature, 33(1), 44–68. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, (2023b). “The thunder rolls and the lightning strikes”: Pathetic fallacy as a multimodal metaphor. Anglica Wratislaviensia, 61(1), 53–75. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) model of pathetic fallacy (PF) to video games, using a multimodal approach to examine how emotional and environmental elements enhance narrative depth and player immersion. Focusing on Heavy Rain, a narrative-driven game where player choices shape the story, the study analyses two sequences from the game to explore how grief is communicated through lighting, sound, shot composition, and metaphor. Rainfall, a recurring motif, operates visually, aurally, and linguistically as a metaphor for grief (sadness is rain), reinforcing emotional resonance. The analysis draws on Forceville, C. (2008). Metaphor in pictures and multimodal representations. In R. Gibbs (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought (pp. 462–482). Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar pictorial metaphor theory and McIntyre, D. (2008). Integrating multimodal analysis and the stylistics of drama: A multimodal perspective on Ian McKellen’s Richard III. Language and Literature, 17(4), 309–334. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar stylistic transcripts to map emotional meaning across modes. Camera angles are also examined as a key mode in cross-domain mapping, highlighting their role in shaping perspective, mood, and character alignment. The study demonstrates that PF can be productively extended to video games to deepen emotional impact and narrative complexity.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Overview of key concepts
    • 2.1Telecinematic stylistics and means of multimodal analysis
    • 2.2Pathetic fallacy as a multimodal metaphor
    • 2.3Film studies, shot types, and camera angles
    • 2.4The emotional landscape of videogames
  • 3.Case study: Heavy Rain
    • 3.1Context and method of analysis
    • 3.2“Tears in the Rain”: Cinematic ending analysis
      • 3.2.1Emotions
      • 3.2.2Surroundings
      • 3.2.3Discussion
    • 3.3“Basketball in the Garden”: Player-controlled scene analysis
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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