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Player's Impact
Players influence character development and narrative outcomes in 'Fire Emblem: Three Houses'.
A 'system of affection' allows players to shape character relationships and tactical combat performance. This creates a deeply personalized experience within the game.
Core Mechanic. Player agency in 'Fire Emblem: Three Houses' shapes character development and narrative outcomes.
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- 01The article describes dynamic game characters as creating tension in ludo mixes because the player's agency over a character's identity conflicts with that character's appearances in other works.See it on page 2
- 02The author argues that the kyara lets the IP owner avoid clashes in character coherence between a source work and other ludic works.See it on page 2
- 03Three Houses' macrostructure is described as a four-branch narrative tree with four main outcomes, selected by the house the player chooses to lead.See it on page 10
- 04The author states that Byleth appears in Fire Emblem: Heroes as two separate characters, male and female, with the female Byleth obtainable through the gachapon mechanic.See it on page 24
- 05Byleth's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is described as lacking any explanation within that game, and its meaning depends on familiarity with Three Houses.See it on page 22
- 06The author states that, at the time of writing, Nintendo does not seem to have granted a copyright license to have Three Houses adapted into a manga or an anime.See it on page 16
- 07The author notes that the system of affection limits which relationships can reach rank 'S', with a female Byleth able to reach 'S' with five female characters.See it on page 13
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Summary
Joleen Blom's article, published in the Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association (March 2021, Vol. 5 No 2, pp. 101-130), is a case study of the Fire Emblem: Three Houses ludo mix, comprising the game itself, Fire Emblem: Heroes, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It continues the author's earlier study of Persona 5. The article examines how dynamic game characters, whose development the player influences, create tension in media and ludo mixes. It draws on the Japanese distinction between the kyarakutā, a dramatis persona with a story, and the kyara, a visual icon without story.
The author argues that the Japanese concept of the kyara lets the IP owner, Nintendo, avoid clashes between a dynamic character's identity in its source work and its appearances in other ludic works. In Three Houses, the player chooses a house, leading to one of four narrative routes, and a system of affection shapes relationships between characters. In Heroes and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Byleth appears without story, relying on references to the source work.
The author notes that, at the time of writing, Nintendo does not seem to have granted a copyright license to have Three Houses adapted into a manga or an anime. The article also observes that Heroes has a peripheral yonkoma manga in which Byleth appears as two separate characters.
