"Grant us eyes, grant us eyes! Plant eyes on our brains, to cleanse our beastly idiocy!": FromSoftware's Bloodborne, and the New Frontier of the Gothic

Authors

  • Oliver Langmead The University of Glasgow

Keywords:

The Gothic, The Weird, Genre, Game Mechanics

Abstract

This article will consider the ways that Bloodborne (FromSoftware, 2015) plays on a broad range of Gothic themes and conventions, utilising unusual narrative techniques and gameplay mechanics which offer the player a means by which they might experience a Gothic narrative in ways that the traditional novel format does not allow for. It will argue that Bloodborne showcases the genre's potential new frontier: converting conventions into interesting new gameplay mechanics, and letting the player experience the genre through player-led narrative and agency.

Author Biography

  • Oliver Langmead, The University of Glasgow
    Oliver Langmead has an LLB in Law, and an MLitt in Writing Practice and Study with a distinction, and is currently working towards an MLitt in Fantasy at the University of Glasgow. His first book, Dark Star, featured in the Guardian’s Best Books of 2015, and his second book, Metronome, was published in January 2017.

References

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Published

2017-06-12

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Articles

License

CC BYCopyright for papers and articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the University of Glasgow. It is a condition of publication that authors license their paper or article under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence.