Abstract:

Digital media has really changed the way how we tell stories today. Contemporary narratives got a jolt as digital media evolved, pushing oldschool literary genres and interactive technology into direct conversation. The book Digitalna književnost i videoigre (Digital Literature and Videogames), the latest monograph by the Croatian author Zlatko Bukač, is a landmark work in this new approach to narrative. Bukač’s monograph provides a rich theoretical framework for scholars in the fields of literature, culture, and folklore to think about the digital screen as a space for deep storytelling. The author writes from a regional perspective, where videogames are being academically researched (ludology) are still finding their footing. His book goes further, urging a fresh look at the screen as a site for storytelling and building community, again from the context of a region where this academic field is still young. Even the title of this review suggests that there is an intrinsic relation between studying of folklore and studying of videogames. Bukač treats videogames as more than just commercial products. They become tools for a new digital folklore; stories we perform together, myths we create, and communities we build, all through play.