Technical peculiarities of the narrative action games of the 1990s – 2010s as a factor of their development in the context of digital art

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to reveal and analyze the technical peculiarities of the narrative action games of the 1990s – 2010s as a factor of their development in the context of digital art.
 The methodology of the research is accordingly conditioned by the interdisciplinary and techno-cultural nature of the subject of study that has an influence on the choice of toolkit among the components of which are: firstly, reductionist theory and the principle of technological determinism, which help to reveal the role of computer technology in improving game mechanics and shaping the an artistic-expressive means inherent in action games; secondly, narrative analysis that helps to understand the connection of the aesthetic effect with the unique narrative form of video games, which makes it possible to synergize the interactive and artistic-staging parts; and, thirdly, philosophical approach in its connection with the art historical analysis, thanks to the cooperation of which it becomes possible to apply game and phenomenological principles as elements of the above analysis to reveal the specifics of the artistic-virtual space of action games, which is close to interactive fiction and animated films in its aesthetic characteristics.
 The results. It was pointed out that in the 1990s – 2010s narrative video games thanks to technical progress made a “breakthrough” in the development of an artistic-expressive system. On the examples of “Wolfenstein 3D”, “Quake”, “Half-life”, “Half-Life 2”, “Doom 3”, “Fahrenheit”, “Crysis” and “Heavy Rain” it was proved that the development of action video games in the pointed period was supposed to solve the problem of conventionality (“animation”) of the image through technological innovations that reduced unrealism and increased its expressiveness. The key role in this played such an aesthetic constant as Narrative Space. It was found out that the technological evolution of action games as a genre of digital art was accompanied by the emergence of non-linear artistic and ontological patterns and the acceleration of the dynamics of the development of the game space.
 The scientific novelty. For the first time in the article an attempt was made to analyze the technical peculiarities of the action games of the 1990s – 2010s as a factor in their development in the context of digital art and interactive non-linear narrative.
 The practical significance. The obtained results can be applied in the modernization of programs for the professional training of multimedia directors, sound directors, animators, and other specialties in higher education institutions. The materials of the work are of the practical value for researchers in the field of theory and history of art, modern screen culture and audio-visual synthesis, and can be used in the development of educational and methodological manuals and lecture courses devoted to computer games and interactive programs.