How narrative techniques affect players' engagement in action RPG Dark Souls II

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to get a better understanding of how players’ engagement is affected by the narrative techniques which are used in the game Dark Souls II. The four most prominent narrative techniques that were analyzed in Dark souls II were cutscenes, item descriptions, NPC’s and environmental storytelling. Qualitative and Quantitative data was collected in a questionnaire that was posted on the forum/ “subreddit” Dark souls II. The answers from 100 questionnaires were analyzed using content analysis methodology. It could be concluded in this thesis that narrative techniques that interfere with the players sense of freedom will reduce their engagement within the game. An example in Dark souls II is when the player is forced to summon NPC’s to boss fights in order to progress in the NPC’s storyline. This also works the other way around: i.e. the player experiences increased engagement if the narrative techniques allow the player to decide over their own actions. An example in Dark Souls II is when the player is given the opportunity to kill friendly NPC’s.