ABSTRACT

Chapter 7 discusses the research study where I detail the various steps involved in refining the ludonarrative model. I explain that the empirical study of multiple players’ gameplay is important to account for the indeterminate nature of video games where the game system has a potential to produce a great number of different readings of the narrative as well as the gameplay. I have recruited experienced players to facilitate an in-depth discussion during the open-ended interviews for the co-construction (Jørgensen, 2011) of the ludonarrative model and refinement of the subcategories. An important aspect of the research method is in the use of both data triangulation (Barr, 2017) and method triangulation (Torrance, 2012; Barr, 2017) to elicit and analyse the players’ experience of the games. During the open-ended interviews, I have used the method of “the negotiation of interpretations” to co-construct new ludonarrative subcategories with the participants. After the interviews have been completed, I transcribe the data and analyse the patterns in the transcripts to come up with a coding scheme in order to construct the respective components of the ludonarrative model.