Narrative Analysis of the Game Death Stranding Using Conceptual Integration Network

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate that music can act as a key element that deepens narrative and emotional immersion beyond simple background elements in the medium of games. To this end, the CIN theory was applied to the action adventure game Death Stranding to analyze the way licensed music combined with game narrative to convey a message. Hideo Kojima, the game director, intentionally arranged three songs of the band low lower in a specific situation to symbolically represent the main character's journey and thematic elements. As a result of analyzing the interaction between the plot and the music input space according to the CIN theory, it was confirmed that these pieces of music form a meaning by closely combining the theme of the game and narrative elements. This study presents a new perspective to explore the interaction between music and games, and suggests the research direction and potential effects in the field of game music analysis using CIN theory.