Entertainment

Digitalizing the Narratives: Structural Analysis of Far Cry 3

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Eeshan Ali , Indian School of Mines, Jharkhand, India

Arijit Karati, Indian School of Mines, Jharkhand, India

Abstract

Every form has its own structure. Technically, though there is a difference between computer games and literature, but structurally both reflect same modes of the presentation which is carried out by certain codes. The present paper looks into the structural analysis of computer games with technical aspect as well as literature aspect with special reference to Far Cry 3, a first person action adventure computer game which received several awards and critically acclaimed for its graphics, story line, features etc. Besides this paper relocate Vladimir Propp’s theory of narrative function in Far Cry 3 and decode how the computer game with the help of certain binary opposition and codes have become one of the fundamental tools of getting entertained in the popular imagination.

[Keywords: Vladimir Propp’s theory, Computer Game, Structural analysis of adventure game, Far Cry 3]

In the twenty first century, technology has gripped every aspect of the society with the increment of the influence of technology, people started seeking the pleasure and even consolation from the digital world. Earlier, when the technology was in developing phase people gratified from folk tale, short stories, fiction and moreover from literature. But now people get his ultimate satisfaction from the digital world. This digital world comprises all sorts of genre which have been carried out by the people till now. It has started pampering the mind of the people. Computer game is one of those thousand technologies on which todays’ teen get much pleasure than reading a book or fiction. It has become a kind of addiction to the young generation. But a close and critical observation of the recent computer game also offers a way out to the narrative structure which is there in any literary work.

Before we go deep into the article, there are some points which are quite necessary to clear. There are various genres in literature, like poetry, fiction, short story, drama etc. The computer game also bears the same quality of having various types, for example action game, strategy game, adventure game, racing game etc. Like any literary text where literariness is necessary, the computer game also bears some kind of reflection of the literariness, which bears the plot and a specific storyline. Moreover, like any literary text the computer game can analyze from any theoretical point of view. Let’s analyze how the narratives have been given a digital frame with special reference to Far Cry 3.

 Storyline

Far Cry 3 is a game about the exploration, exploitation and experimentation. It is an advanced action-adventure first person game, which is set on the Rook Island between the Indian and Pacific Ocean. This game has earned the fame for its storyline and its presentation throughout the world. It was honored with the several awards, including British Academy Video games Award and National Academy of Video game Trade Reviewers Award in 2013. According to Jeffrey Yohalem, the writer of the game the plot is about “what shooting means and what it does to humanity” (Far Cry 3, 2014). The protagonist of the game is Jason Brody, who, along with his elder and younger brothers Grant and Riley and some of his friends, come to Bangkok on vacation to celebrate Riley’s getting license. They come down to the Rook Island, during their skydiving. Rook Island is captured and controlled by the pirates under the control of Vass, one of the most notorious antagonists in the game world. Vass imprisons all of them and tortures them brutally. Jason and Grant are kept in the same cell when the others are taken for the ransom. Grant, the elder brother of Jason, makes a plan to escape and finally they manage to free themselves, but unfortunately Grant is killed by Vass and somehow Jason successfully escapes from that place and takes shelter in the jungle. Shortly thereafter, Jason meets a member of the Rakyat tribe named Dennis, who wanted to help him as he finds Jason has the ability to obey the “path of the warrior”. Rakyat tribe also wanted to take over Vass as they are also exploited and tortured by that psychopathetic villain. Citra, the leader of the Rakyat tribe and the sister of Vass, is agreed to help Jason in rescuing his friends, but in a condition, i.e., if he can manage Silver Dragon, a knife which the Rakyat tribe revered. Buck Huges buys Keith, one of the friends of Jason as a human slave but he promises to give him back to Jason if he is able to manage the Silver Dragon. The Silver Dragon is managed but Buck refuses to give Keith back, so the fight takes place and Jason kills Buck. Jason manages to rescue Lize, Keith and Oliver to Dr. Earnhardt, who helps them a lot in that island. They have been given a boat to escape from that island, but Jason refused to leave as he wants to free his younger brother Riley from Vass. Keith tries to convince him that Riley has been shot dead by Vass and he witnessed it. Still Jason wants to take revenge on that and wants to kill Vass.

               Jason hands over the Silver Dragon to Citra. Citra helps Jason to kill Vass after getting that Silver Dragon. Sam Becker, a CIA agent who is working undercover in Hoyt’s island, helps Jason to find Riley. There Jason, with the help of Sam, wins the trust of Hoyt and later through a poker game Jason kills Hoyt and successfully rescues Riley with the loss of Sam, who is killed during the game by Hoyt. Jason and Riley escape from the island to Dr. Eanhardt after seizing a helicopter from Hoyt. On the other hand, Citra kidnaps all the friends of Jason and kills Dr. Earnhardt. Citra gives two choices to Jason, one is to complete his path of the warrior by killing all his friends and allowing her to be his partner, or to abandon it and return to the life he is craving for. The choice of the player affects the mode and tone of the game. If the player chose to play as a warrior and kills the friends to be the king of the Rakyat tribe, then Jason after having sex with Citra, is killed by her with an assurance that the child which she will carry will be the new king of the tribe in the future. And if the player goes for the second option that is to deny to kill the friends and to take over the throne, then Dennis with the fury tries to kill Jason but by mistake he kills Citra. While Dennis regrets at his deed, Jason and his friends escape from that place and at last they manage to escape from the Island….Access Full Text of the Article

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Abstract

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