미디어에 따른 환상소설 서사의 변형 : 컴퓨터 게임 <반지의 제왕>

Abstract

Computer game is narrative form that is suitable for digital technology. The narrative of computer game mostly have transformed fantasy novel among printed literature. 「The Lord of the Rings」 by J. R. R. Tolkien, especially, had become the origin of diverse computer game narratives, and many fantasy novels are becoming the original of computer games in these days as well. Fantasy novel fictionally presuppose "the second world" which is completed by itself. The second world constructed is a "probable world" which generalizes unreal event and has its dramatic narrative structure. However, it is not the case that the narrative of fantasy novel can be directly applied to computer game. It is due to that one-way novel and interactive game is substantially different media. The three elements of setting, event, and character reflect the convention of new media as the type of the narrative of fantasy novel. In the case of console game, the sequential arrangement of space where the event happens is presupposed as plot. Plot includes mater plot and satellite plot. Master plot brings from the narrative of the original novel. In online game, the events of fantasy novel is transformed as quest with episodic structure, like an epic. However, the progression of quests is arbitrary, and how they progress matches the feature of the game genre. Characters in computer game are transformed to as main character who the user can select and play. The fact that the setting in computer game allows users to search through space shows the unique nature of computer game. We will analyze an appearance that fantasy novel's narrative has been transformed around 「The Lord of the Rings」. Analyzing the aspects of such transformation is meaningful because it allows us to understand the alteration of narrative within digital media environment.