The Death of Multiplayer Stories

One critical consequence of the rhapsodic model needs examination: what happens when a videogame has more than one author playing? How do multiplayer games come into this? This chapter attempts a typographical classification of multiplayer games based on narrative agency. As videogames have the capability to host multiple players, this prompts a reconsideration of the previous chapter’s conclusions on authorship, power, and agency. Taking its cue from the previous discussion of mechanical operations, this chapter explores the different types of multiplayer experiences based on hierarchies of narratorial agency, player death, and the rhapsodic model of composition.