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Thumb Sticks And Hand Grenades : An Analysis Of War And Perspectives In Video Games, Jonathan Ked Nance

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Throughout Thumb Sticks and Hand Grenades, I seek to examine the role American Exceptionalism plays within the player’s perspective of war narratives in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Wolfenstein: The New Order, and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus. Using a theoretical lens I call ludo-narrative war theory, I am able to fully understand the above-listed games’ narrative, player perspectives, and positions in relationship to the wider war narrative and how the games reflect a wider understanding of war, American Exceptionalism, and societal issues prevalent in the analog world. When these facets of the games are analyzed I am able to show …