From Discourse to Mechanics: a Five-markedness Framework for Analyzing Lovecraftian Horror in Digital Games

Abstract

The emergence of digital platforms of games marketed as “Lovecraftian” raises a question that has not yet been systematically addressed in academic discourse: how does a game that truly immerses the player in the world of Lovecraftian horror differ from one that merely borrows its visual elements? This article presents an analytical model based on a corpus analysis of three of Lovecraft's works – “The Dunwich Horror,” “The Colour Out of Space,” and “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” – which identifies five categories of markedness that structure the discourse surrounding Lovecraftian horror: time, fear, revulsion, strangeness/unnaturalness, and knowledge/mystery. Each of these categories is subsequently matched with its potential gaming counterpart in various digital games. The analysis reveals a clear hierarchy of transmedial convertibility: markedness associated with fear and time is converted into game mechanics with high fidelity, while revulsion is realised only partially, whilst strangeness and knowledge/mystery inherently resist conversion – the former due to the Euclidean constraints of modern game engines, and the latter due to the fundamental role of knowledge as a reward in game design. Accordingly, a four-level typology of discursive fidelity is proposed: full realisation, partial realisation, discursive enclave and aesthetic borrowing.