Agency, Narrative, and Identity Formation: A Deleuzean Approach to the Virtual Self

Pirsig, Emmaneul. "Agency, Narrative, and Identity Formation: A Deleuzean Approach to the Virtual Self." Journal of Deleuzean Studies. July 2009 Volume 4:1. pp. 33-41.

Excerpted:

...A traditional RPG allows the player to name a character, create an identity, and become a fantastical creature in some fantastical realm -- a lowly chieftain among warring tribes in a primordial soup of civilization, or a wizened mage who trained under Merlin and cast death-spells on knights of the round. In any case, it is unlikely many players consciously assimilate those personas, though the principle of identification is necessarily underlying. And the studies suggest this is true. A quantitative evaluation of traditional male narratives composed in freshman comp classes show that males tend to write stories about themselves in an apocalyptic tone, with and exaggerated sense of agency (Sirc). The fact that these characteristics are present in films, comic books, novels--and particularly--video games marketed towards males brings up an interesting set of questions.

Of course, we can not precisely be sure whether video games are designed in such a way to appeal to a preconscious male-gendered ideology or whether the male-gendered ideology present in these student expressions is fostered by and amplified by the media influences. Nevertheless, it is clear there is an interaction going on between identity information.

Deleuze argues that we do not define identity by what we are not, but rather that we have a multiplicity of identities that are constantly being shaped by the other influences we come in contact with.

One is left asking the question: in what way would a subject's perception of him/herself change if subjected to a direct representation of him/herself in a videogame. In other words, what if Johnny the college student didn't play as RPG Johannes the Warlord in Mage's Quest, but rather played as RPG Johnny the college student in a videogame whose narrative was instead only a slight divergence from his actual reality?

There are many anecdotes in the psychology literature of subjects being repulsed or angry when described/compared to something/someone that too closely resembles themselves. It is as if the psyche has a defense mechanism against this close-but-not-exactly approximation of the self.

Sirc, Geoffrey. (1989). “Gender and ‘Writing Formations’ in First-Year Narratives.” Freshman English News. 18(Fall), 4-11.