The DiGRA India team extends its heartiest congratulations to community member Hiranya Mukherjee on the publication of his article “‘Fear the Old Blood’: The Gothicism of Bloodborne” in the journal Games and Culture. Hiranya has been a member of our community ever since it was Games Studies India, almost all the way back to its inception. The news of this publication is a source of immense pride to all of us at DiGRA India and we wish Hiranya the best in his future endeavours.
Provided below is the abstract of the article –
Gothic studies and Game studies are beginning to be explored in connection with
each other to find various configurations of Gothic elements in the cybertext of
games. In this article, I explore various Gothic elements in Bloodborne. My methodology incorporates the analysis of the manifestation of Gothicism in the game through the interplay between the figure of the player character, mise-en-scène, and the presence of psychologically affective states pertaining to the experience of playing the game. The role and aspects of player participation, performativity, and in-game mechanics are also examined with respect to the particular function they serve in the realization of the Gothic experience. The presence of Gothic and Lovecraftian
tropes, symbolism, and elements of horror within the narrative are also explored.
Hiranya’s article can be found at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15554120231155325?fbclid=IwAR0IBytPMIGhqwqklv2XixB-QUZzYsJPbhjrSGAjP9YPGSs1ktYJDhEf0dg
Digital Games Research Association, India 