Loss, Guilt, and Restless Dreams: Representing the complex emotions of grief through gameplay and narrative in Silent Hill 2

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the way in which the complex notion of grief is expressed in the videogame Silent Hill 2. This research builds upon works by Sabine Harrer and Jonathan Frome. It takes their assertions into new directions, tackling specifically the expression of emotion through predominantly ludic elements of videogames by adding to them a symbolic narrative dimension through contextualization within the overarching narrative. Furthermore this thesis argues that this symbolic narrative dimension becomes only available to the player after a certain familiarity is reached with the game, throughout multiple playthroughs.