Chaucer's Losers, Nintendo's Children, and Other Forays in Queer Ludonarratology

Tison Pugh is Pegasus Professor of English at the University of Central Florida. He is the author of The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom and Innocence, Heterosexuality, and the Queerness of Children’s Literature, among others.

• Introduction: David Sedaris's Queer Poker GamePart I Theorizing Queer Ludonarratology1. Theorizing Ludonarratology2. Queering LudonarratologyPart II Structures and Readings in Queer Ludonarrativity3. Win/Loss•Pregame: The Thrill of Defeat•Geoffrey Chaucer's Queer Losers and Blissful Ludonarrativity4. Players•Pregame: Whose Side Are You On?•Edward Albee's Queer Players and Sadomasochistic Ludonarrativity5. Godgames•Pregame: Fun and Games with Sociopaths•David Fincher's Films and Ludonarrativity's Queer Godgames6. Rules•Pregame: May the Better Player Lose!•J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels, Muggle Quidditch, and Ludonarrativity's Queer Rules7. Children•Pregame: Of Preschoolers and Prodigies•Nintendo's Queer Children and Questing Ludonarrativity in The Legend of Zelda VideogamesConclusion: Gone Home and the Ludonarrative Limits of Queer RepresentationWorks Cited

“Pugh does an impressive job as he addresses one of the major gaps in narrative theory: the lack of adequate study of play and game theory. He also provides a bracing intervention into queer narratology. The book is nuanced, insightful, provocative, and important; I recommend it highly.”-Brian Richardson, professor of English at the University of Maryland