Disco Elysium through a systemic outlook

the game-literature interspace

Abstract

This paper proposes an analysis of the hypertext game Disco Elysium (2021), to ponder about its place as an non-specific work of art, as defined by Florencia Garramuño (2014), marked by repertoire from both digital literature and electronic games systems. Using Itamar Even-Zohar’s (1990) theory of polysystems, mobilizing it as theoretical and methodological support, to understand how aspects of its narrative structure frustrate expectations formed by electronic games repertoire, making use of expedients that are paradigmatically recognized as constituents of the literary repertoire, while commenting about its own existence as an art object.