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This thesis challenges the dominant critical view that cutscenes are purely predetermined narrative elements. Using cutscenes from Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil, it explains how cutscenes complicate player-centric models of agency by highlighting oscillation between player and system. It also shows how cutscenes enable “technoattentive aesthetics” to standardize innovation and promote newer hardware and software technologies as inherently superior.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/should-i-skip-this-cutscenes-agency-and-innovation-master-of-arts-thesis/202054/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/should-i-skip-this-cutscenes-agency-and-innovation-master-of-arts-thesis/202054.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Rizky","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-09-04",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",14,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What is the main argument about video game cutscenes in this thesis?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The thesis argues that cutscenes are significant devices that can reframe key debates in video game studies, not merely predetermined narrative segments.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How does the thesis address player agency in relation to cutscenes?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"It shows that cutscenes complicate player-centric models of agency by emphasizing the oscillation between the player and the game system during execution.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What does “technoattentive aesthetics” mean in this context?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"It refers to aesthetic strategies that help hardware and software publishers standardize innovation and promote newer technologies as inherently superior to predecessors.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},202054,1788541630,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":52,"preview_urls":146},962085564807,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Should I Skip This?: Cutscenes, Agency and Innovation  \nBen Browning  \nA Thesis  \nin  \nThe Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema  \nPresented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Film Studies) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada  \nApril 2016  \n© Ben Browning  \nCONCORDIA UNIVERSITY  \nSchool of Graduate Studies  \nThis is to certify that the thesis prepared  \nBy: Ben Browning  \nEntitled: Should I Skip This?: Cutscenes, Agency and Innovation  \nand submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of  \nMaster of Arts (Film Studies)  \ncomplies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality.  \nSigned by the final examining committee:  \n  Chair  \nDarren Wershler  External Examiner  \nPeter Rist  Examiner  \nMarc Steinberg  Supervisor  \nApproved by Haidee Wasson   \nGraduate Program Director  \nCatherine Wild  \nDean of the Faculty of Fine Arts  \nDate  \n___________________________________  \nABSTRACT  \nShould I Skip This?: Cutscenes, Agency and Innovation  \nBen Browning  \nThe cutscene is a frequently overlooked and understudied device in video game scholarship, despite its prominence in a vast number of games. Most gaming literature and criticism concludes that cutscenes are predetermined narrative devices and nothing  \nmore. Interrogating this general critical dismissal of the cutscene, this thesis argues that it is a significant device that can be used to re-examine a number of important topics and debates in video game studies. Through an analysis of cutscenes deriving from the Metal Gear Solid (Konami, 1998) and Resident Evil (Capcom, 1996) franchises, I demonstrate the cutscene’s importance within (1) studies of video game agency and (2) video game promotion.  \nThis thesis has two principal aims. The first is to argue that cutscenes complicate the player-centric models of agency that currently dominate the field. A close analysis of cutscenes from varying periods of its history encourages us to develop a more expansive method for understanding how agency operates in games, one that gives additional attention to the oscillation between the player and system. In this way, we move beyond the notion that cutscenes are simply predetermined and consider the precise means through which they are executed. This leads into the second aim of this thesis, which is to demonstrate how cutscenes implement “technoattentive aesthetics”, which is to say, aesthetic strategies that allow hardware manufacturers and software publishers to standardize innovation and propagate the notion that newer video game technologies (or consoles) are inherently superior to their predecessors. I  \nargue that by supporting such ideas, cutscenes are key elements of the economy of perpetual innovation that the video game industry relies on.  \nDedicated to  \nJessica  \nMom & Dad  \nJulie & Alyssa  \nHideo Kojima  \nAcknowledgements  \nMarc Steinberg  \nPhillip Bédard  \nBrad Warren  \nColin Arason  \nKaia Scott  \nTable of Contents  \nAbbreviations…………………………………………………………………………………….vii  \nIntroduction……………………………………………………………………………..................1  \nChapter 1: Cutscenes and Agency……………………………………………………………….24  \nAgency in Video Games…………………………………………………………………25  \nThe Cutscene vs. Gameplay……………………………………………………………..31  \nGraphics and Consistency……………………………………………………………….35  \nAgency and the Quick-Timer Event…………………………………………………….40  \nInterrogating the Illusion of Freewill……………………………………………………44  \nChapter Conclusion……………………………………………………………...............49  \nChapter 2: The Technoattentive Cutscene and Innovation……………………………………..52  \nThe Video Game Industry and Perpetual Innovation…………………………...............54  \nTechnoattentive Aesthetics……………………………………………………...............60  \nGraphics as Innovation…………………………………………………………………..63  \nFull-Motion Video and Visual Inconsistency…………………………………...............66  \nReal-Time and Visual Consistency……………………………………………………...68  \nChapter Conclusio","cbCaiqAdX2hxJNBY","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqAdX2hxJNBY","pdf",667594,94,"English","# Introduction\n## Table of Contents\n# Chapter 1: Cutscenes and Agency\n## Agency in Video Games\n## The Cutscene vs. Gameplay\n## Graphics and Consistency\n## Agency and the Quick-Timer Event\n## Interrogating the Illusion of Freewill\n## Chapter Conclusion\n# Chapter 2: The Technoattentive Cutscene and Innovation\n## The Video Game Industry and Perpetual Innovation\n## Technoattentive Aesthetics\n## Graphics as Innovation\n## Full-Motion Video and Visual Inconsistency\n## Real-Time and Visual Consistency\n## Chapter Conclusion\n# Conclusion\n# Works Cited","[{\"question\":\"What is the main argument about video game cutscenes in this thesis?\",\"answer\":\"The thesis argues that cutscenes are significant devices that can reframe key debates in video game studies, not merely predetermined narrative segments.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the thesis address player agency in relation to cutscenes?\",\"answer\":\"It shows that cutscenes complicate player-centric models of agency by emphasizing the oscillation between the player and the game system during execution.\"},{\"question\":\"What does “technoattentive aesthetics” mean in this context?\",\"answer\":\"It refers to aesthetic strategies that help hardware and software publishers standardize innovation and promote newer technologies as inherently superior to predecessors.\"}]","Should I Skip This - Cutscenes, Agency and Innovation - Master of Arts Thesis | PDF",237,[147,151,155,159,163,167,171,175,179,183],{"page_no":8,"url":148,"width":149,"height":150},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/4d280be526de1f90de9cef61b31301f2.webp",983,1272,{"page_no":14,"url":152,"width":153,"height":154},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/d89aec57bc0cb2439ec04613c711bb56.webp",982,1270,{"page_no":81,"url":156,"width":157,"height":158},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/ee5f56230a77aaf604d7dee33c32cb9d.webp",981,1269,{"page_no":19,"url":160,"width":161,"height":162},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/fd36485da88241a1cf732465f0e5c6cd.webp",980,1268,{"page_no":24,"url":164,"width":165,"height":166},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/3ef4417fba2fcc86661fefd598669e55.webp",979,1267,{"page_no":29,"url":168,"width":169,"height":170},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/58d088ffddf80f951d5ed1779db6f9a1.webp",978,1265,{"page_no":34,"url":172,"width":173,"height":174},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/987c9b1dfc9b183a166389236da2fb77.webp",977,1264,{"page_no":39,"url":176,"width":177,"height":178},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/5c428c6a3af8c4e248d3d7b1ce0b77f7.webp",976,1263,{"page_no":44,"url":180,"width":181,"height":182},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/76ba8b7d817d65f8016d1878f260a6a4.webp",975,1261,{"page_no":52,"url":184,"width":185,"height":186},"https://res-academy.cache.wpscdn.com/upload/kdocshare/2026-11-08/cbe2fcd346f2e17e462b869b477091e9.webp",974,1260]