Paratext and meaning-making in indie games

Abstract

The essay discusses the role of paratext in framing players’ experience of videogames, focusing on the indie game scene and specifically examining three types of paratext: game title, game description, and the readme file. It cites examples coming from the author’s experience as an independent game creator and as a player. The focus on concrete manifestations of paratext reflects the author’s belief that examples should not only be used to illustrate theoretical arguments about paratextual phenomena, but should help deepen our understanding of them.

Keywords

• Paratext
• videogames
• indie games
• meaning-making