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 a forum for the uses of videogames in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment
ABOUT About This Site - RSS Feed Ian Bogost (editor) Gonzalo Frasca (editor emeritus) SPONSORS
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Play within a Play September 29, 2008 - by Ian Bogost I'm sure all our readers will agree that there is not enough mise-en-abyme in videogames. Sure, we have pomo self-referential examples like Metal Gear Solid or Bioshock, but nothing so turned in on itself that you have to scratch your very head to find your way in, let alone out. Here's one. Ready? HBO has a TV series called Entourage, about the misadventures of an up-and-coming actor called Vincent Chase (Adrien Grenier). One of the characters is Vincent's older brother Johnny "Drama" Chase (Kevin Dillon), a washed-up former B-list actor who also serves as his younger brother's trainer. Drama had previously appeared in a (fictional) television show called Viking Quest, a cult-hit sci-fi/fantasy show. The elder Chase played the role of the viking Tarvold on the show. So far so good? HBO commissioned a (real) game based on the (fictional) show Viking Quest, which you can play online. The game is a side-scroller in which players "step into the boots of Tarvold", the hero of Northumbria, on a quest for freedom and vengeance. Oh, it also promotes the (fictional) DVD release of Viking Quest. You can even watch Johnny Drama (fictionally) bitch about not having received fair compensation for this (fictional) licensed product. So, we have a real game based on a fictional television show in a real (fictional) television show, promoting the fictional DVD release of the fictional show, and simultaneously promoting the real season premiere of the real show. Comment from Prio on September 29, 2008
You left out the fact that this real game is ostensibly a "preview" for the "upcoming Viking Quest video game", "coming soon to consoles everywhere". Apparently, it's actually a real preview web-based game for a fictional console game based on a fictional show in a real show, et cetera. POST A COMMENT
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