Ludology, Narratology and Philosophical Hermeneutics

This paper argues that hermeneutics, the theory of interpretation, is a valuable but underused method for analyzing discourse in game studies, and it proposes that the field's persistent questions about narrative, definition, and art can be approached with greater sophistication when hermeneutic principles are applied consciously. The authors use Markku Eskelinen's 2001 essay "The Gaming Situation," and especially its dismissive claim that stories are mere ornaments to games, as a case study. Their aim is not to advance understanding of games directly but to demonstrate how texts about games can be interpreted, drawing on classical hermeneutics associated with Schleiermacher and philosophical hermeneutics associated with Heidegger and Gadamer.

The analysis first sets out the hermeneutic framework: grammatical and psychological interpretation, the hermeneutic circle, and Gadamer's notions of horizon and the fusion of horizons. It then surveys five prior interpretations of Eskelinen's phrase, by Järvinen, Crogan, Ryan, Frasca, and Eskelinen himself, showing how grammatical emphasis, motives, and contextual shifts yield divergent readings. The authors then offer their own philosophically hermeneutic interpretation, reframing the phrase as a question about whether story components are important to understanding the concept of "game." Testing this against Super Mario Bros., World of Warcraft, and chess, they conclude that story is often ornamental to gameness but can be central in certain genres such as text adventures, role-playing games, and story-driven titles like L.A. Noire.

The article's central conclusion is that interpretation can recreate meaning relative to a particular horizon rather than only reconstruct authorial intent, and that problematic academic questions should be reinterpreted rather than abandoned. The scope is limited to a single essay and a set of canonical games, so the work is primarily methodological and illustrative rather than an empirical survey.