Virtual Heroes in Interactive Worlds

At first glance, books and computer games don't have much in common. After all, more than 100 years separate the first detective stories (Wilkie Collinss "The Moonstone", E.T.A. Hoffmanns "Fräulein von Scuderi" or Edgar Alan Poes "The Murders in the Rue Morgue") from the appearance of detective adventure games. Nevertheless, both genres have one important element in commonthe analytical narrative structure. Felix R. Buschbaums book explores the structural similarity between classic as well as American hardboiled-school detective novels and modern computer games. He takes into consideration the findings of major scientists in the field, such as Prof. Dr. V. Neuhaus (University of Cologne) with his project "Computer-Based Interpretation of Detective Novels" and well-known researchers like Prof. R. Alewyn, and D. Weber. It also examines works published by popular and acclaimed game designers such as Bob Bates and game historians like S. L. Kent and S. Poole.