Thesis Proposal

Title: Literary elements in the game Prince of Persia: The

Sands of Time.

Author: Christian Albert B. Marasigan, MAEd English

Background of the study:

At the turn of the 20th century, some French children

made an incredible find in the Pyrenees Mountains, drawings

of extinct animals in caves. The 35,000-year-old paintings

on the walls of the Lascaux Caves are our earliest recorded

evidence of storytelling, and since Lascaux we’ve found

dozens of other examples. To primitive man, storytelling

was magic. There was little separation between what was

spoken and what happened to him, it seemed logical that if

we could describe a great hunt and bring it home, in all

its vividness and glory, to those who did not participate,

then it should be possible to tell a story about a hunt and

see it happen later (Wilson, 2002).

Several centuries later, the want and need to tell

stories have not changed. Although, the manner in which

they are told have changed drastically. From word of mouth,

to cave paintings and carvings, to leaves and bamboo

scrolls, then to books, the stage, then to radio and

television.
 Many debates have been undertaken in reference to

watching and listening versus reading. Each with its own

pros and cons. One of which is the disjointedness of the

story to the reader/watcher of the story (Allen, 1987)

With the development of the computer and computer

technology, new and more interactive methods of story

telling have been developed (Glasner, 2004). A new method

that may be used to tell a story is through interactive

means. Combining traditional story telling techniques such

as narratives, to visual elements such as those found on

stage or on television, to the interactive aspect of role

playing games.

In today’s day and age, we find kids and young adults

picking up game console controllers instead of the tried

and tested books. Kids and young adults simply waste their

time on the mindless drivel of empty, violent, non-

sensical, albeit gymnastically, graphically, aesthetically

pleasing video games. Or are they? The digital age has in

fact challenged the old world of reading (Carter 2009). Is

this a bad thing? This study aims find out. This study aims

to find out the literary value of a role playing computer

game. The game Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time. In

2001, UBISoft began the project for the game. Somewhere

along the way, Jordan Mechner came on board as a writer and

a game designer. Mechner brought in the idea of “Do it,

don’t view it” in the method of telling the story of the

protagonist of the game (Mechner, 2008). The use of

deliberate narratives to move the story forth and the in

game aspect of the literary device the flashback makes this

game a truly interesting subject of study in the search for

the value of literature in video games. The elements of a

good story for budding authors are based on the theme,

plot, character, structure, tone and style (Shepard 1998).

This study aims to look for these elements within the game:

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Statement of the problem:

The main aim of this study is to find out whether the

game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a valid form of

literature through the use of various literary approaches.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following

questions:

1. What are the elements of literature that may be

found in the game?

2. What are the elements of tragedy that may be found

in the game?
 3. What aspects of the characters in the game promote

literary elements?

Scope and Delimitation:

The study shall encompass the literary elements found

in the role playing game Prince of Persia: The Sands of

Time (PC version). The game shall serve as the input

variable of the study. The study shall be bound by plot,

theme, symbol, and character analysis of the game. The

analysis of the contents of the game shall serve as the

process variable of the study. The analysis result which

will be the literary elements found in the game shall serve

as the output variable of the study.

Methodology:

The researcher shall make use of the descriptive

method of research. Wherein the researcher shall play and

transcribe the games screenplay and essentially the script.

Taking and analyzing the qualitative literary value of the

game. Subjecting the screenplay and script to literary

analysis tools, such as theme, plot, symbol and character

analysis, to show and prove literary elements present in

the game.
Paradigm of the study:

Process

Input Literary analysis

Output
Game: Prince of Persia Theme Analysis
Literary Elements
The Sands of Time Plot Analysis
Character Analysis
Bibliography:

Wilson, Jamie (2002) the History of Storytelling. Retrieved

on July 7, 2009 from

http://www.essortment.com/all/historystorytel_tukm.htm

Allen, Robert (1987) Reader oriented criticism and

television, Discourse: on Contemporary Criticism,

University of North Carolina Press, 1987, pp. 74-78

Glasner, Andrew (2004) Interactive storytelling: techniques

for 21st century fiction, Natick, Mass.: A.K. Peters

Carter, Rita (2009) Why Reading Matters (BBC Documentary)

last broadcast on Mon, 16 Feb 2009, Retrieved on July

7, 2009 from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdwFFFBCPzw

Mechner, Jordan (2008) the Sands of Time: Crafting a Video

Game Story, Electronic Book Review. Retrieved on July

7, 2009 from

http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/firstperson

/pop-friendly

Shepard, Aaron (1998) What makes a good story? Tips for

young authors. Retrieved on July 7, 2009 from

http://www.aaronshep.com/youngauthor/elements.html