Bringing Catharsis to Video Games
Danny Muller
IDT Masters Thesis Project, 2004

When Aristotle gave us his definition of catharsis in The Poetics more than 2000 years ago, he defined the purgation or release of emotions that occurs in the audience when viewing a well-crafted drama. The use of emotional catharsis in movies, television and theater is commonplace, but what about the cathartic effect in computer and video games? By using techniques adapted from screenwriting, a dramatic story line can be designed that evokes pity and fear in the gamer and leads to a purging of emotions. This project uses the toolset from the popular role-playing game Neverwinter Nights to create a game that brings catharsis to the player.

Links to project:

Design Document
Installation Instruction can be downloaded here.
Neverwinter Nights Modules:
Module 1: Catharsis_Act1.mod
Module 2: Catharsis_Act2.mod