Experimental Gaming Meets Critical Theory

Posted February 27, 2025March 7, 2025 in Emerging Media | Digital Studies, English & Media Studies, Publications & Research

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Deep in the intersection of digital storytelling and critical theory, Frank Schuenemann, a second-year MA student in the English and Media Studies program, is crafting an interactive Twine game that disrupts traditional ideas of player agency and narrative structure. Twine, an open-source tool for nonlinear storytelling, allows players to navigate a web of linked passages where choices shape the story’s outcome. Unlike conventional games with fixed objectives, Twine games emphasize experimental storytelling, player-driven exploration, and alternative narrative forms.

Frank’s project draws from Legacy Russell’s Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto, incorporating a posthumanist approach to digital identity, disruption, and resistance. Central to his work is the concept of refusal—encouraging players to question participation, reject conventional gameplay mechanics, and embrace the subversive potential of glitch. By integrating elements of RPG (role-playing game) narratives—where players assume a role and make choices that influence the unfolding story—Frank’s project invites deeper engagement with the relationship between interactivity, agency, and control in digital spaces.

Dr. Claire Stricklin, the Graduate Program Director for Emerging Media/Digital Studies, serves as Frank’s advisor. Their shared enthusiasm for Twine and RPG storytelling, along with Dr. Stricklin’s extensive background in interactive and hybrid narrative structures, provides Frank with a strong foundation to refine both the conceptual and technical dimensions of his work.

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