Marginally Different:The Ludic Tendencies of Videogame Paratexts

Videogames exist within a network of ancillary material known as “paratexts” (Genette 1997, 2; Consalvo 2017), extending from conception to sale (Kerr 2006, 4; Gray 2010). These paratexts, though distinct from the game itself, play a crucial role in its presentation and reception (Švelch 2020; Seiwald and Vollans 2023). By looking at videogame paratextuality, this paper addresses otherness from two perspectives: firstly, how paratexts are other to the game in their form and function; and secondly, how playful paratexts are other in comparison to non-ludic paratextual structures.<br/><br/>To understand how this other space between the game and the player is configured, it is important to understand what paratexts are. By determining their spatial and temporal relationship to the game (Genette 1997, 7), their functionality (Seiwald 2023b, 139–45), authorship (Fiske 1987; Caldwell 2011, 2014; Re 2016; Seiwald 2023a), substantiality and materiality (Van Leeuwen 2005; Kress 2010; Švelch 2017, 71; Seiwald 2023a), it will be possible to consider how the margins of videogames are constructed and how they relate to the player. This analysis is underpinned by the argument that paratexts make the game visible to the player, defining its appearance and reception (Rockenberger 2014). <br/><br/>By being playful, videogame paratexts may differ from the conventional function of paratexts, i.e., framing a videogame to present it as an artefact to the world (Brookey and Gray 2017). This playfulness, defined as free and unproductive (Caillois 2001, 9–10), contradicts the idea of paratexts serving a specific purpose. Nonetheless, playful paratexts, reflecting the game’s ludic nature, strengthen the player’s connection with the game while requiring playful engagement from them (Liebermann 1965; 1966). Analysing forms of ludic paratexts of various selected games illustrates this dynamic and sheds light on how surrounding material influences the perception of the game and the act of playing (Seiwald 2021). <br/><br/>Ludic paratexts are therefore other in two ways: they are different from the game, albeit strongly linked to it, and they are different from the traditional functions associated with paratexts, although their form may be the same. My discussion will uncover the tight relationship between playful material within and outside of the game by emphasising its otherness and existence in the margins between the game and the player.<br/>