구미호 게임 캐릭터의 경계성 -구미호 캐릭터의 서사성과 플레이 요소를 중심으로-

초록

This study analyzes the relationship among the narrative, character-specific background narrative, territorial behavior, and play of the nine-tailed fox in games with such characters. It examines the storytelling of game characters to enhance gamers’ engagement. First, a list of games with a nine-tailed fox character was made. Subsequently, four characters were chosen based on the following inclusion criteria: ① background narrative, ② acceptance of the nine-tailed fox narrative, and ③ nine-tailed fox character’s goal. The selected characters included Yomi from Maple Story, Gumiho from The Kingdom of Wind, Ahri from League of Legends, and Liliana from Arena of Valor. These were divided into two types, namely “NPC characters developing the narrative through a quest” and “playable characters developing the narrative through elements outside the game play.” These were then analyzed based on the patterns of the nine-tailed fox narrative being accepted, storytelling methods of background narratives, and game play methods of characters. The characters’ storytelling was examined from the perspective of interactions between narratology and ludology to ensure that both the game narratives and play were taken into consideration. Applying the concepts of texton and scripton reveals that textons, such as the classic narrative, character narrative and skills of the nine-tailed fox are reorganized into scriptons unique only to every individual gamer through the journey of their play. This implies that a game’s storytelling will develop effectively when the given background narrative is completed through the gamer’s play. When the nine-tailed fox is an NPC character, it is important to reinforce narratological elements, providing valid grounds for gamers’ play by utilizing the nine-tailed fox’s territorial behavior. When a nine-tailed fox character is a playable character, converting its narratological elements into ludological ones proves effective in simultaneously satisfying gamers’ identification with the character and their game play.

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