"When a door closes, a window opens... or something like that." Dontnod's Life is Strange as an evolution of the Bildungsroman prescription of choice and social conformity

This thesis examines how the power dynamics within the Bildungsroman prescription of social conformity are altered and challenged by the video game medium and its unique mechanics and opportunities for player interaction. This is achieved through a consideration of literary theories relating to authoritative disempowerment and Reader Response Theory, as well as theories from game studies regarding interactivity. Analyses of S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders and Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass explore the complexity of author-text-reader power dynamics, anticipating the ways that video games continue to move beyond the prescriptive function the Bildungsroman genre. Then, to representatively chart the developments made to the Bildungsroman genre by the video game medium, Season One of Telltale’s The Walking Dead is also analyzed. Finally, Dontnod Entertainment’s Life is Strange is utilized and further analyzed due to its specific mechanics and story elements. There are choices presented through video games that would not exist otherwise. These choices allow for freedom outside of the prescription. This thesis shows how video games can evolve and transform the genre through unique mechanics and opportunities for player interaction and agency within a range of prescriptive choices. The methodology of this research was a close reading of both the literary and digital texts.