Virtual worlds and interactive fictions

Abstract

There is an obvious plausibility to the idea that many digital artefacts are works of fiction. The videogame Grand Theft Auto IV depicts a series of events in a place called Liberty City that are imaginary rather than real. Niko Bellic, the protagonist in the game, is a fictional character much like any number of fictional characters to be found in film and literature;indeed he has thematic precedents in those traditional fictive media. The game also depicts a fictional narrative that follows Niko’s arrival as an immigrant in Liberty City, his immediate frustration when he learns that life in the city is not quite what it was made out to be by his cousin Roman,and his search through the city to resolve one of the dark secret