The myth of the unfolded self in contemporary video games: mythocriticism in Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

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Natalia Martínez Pérez
Universidad de Burgos
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2704-3572
Roberto Martín González
Universidad de Burgos
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2607-9709

The concept of the split self or the double is a pervasive theme in the realm of fiction, particularly within the genre of fantasy literature. The doubling of the self can manifest in various forms, including as a sinister premonition that, at its core, represents the uncertainty of identity. This article aims to analyze the manner in which this myth has been transferred to the contemporary video game, with the Prince of Persia saga, specifically The Two Thrones (Ubisoft: 2005) as a case study. This analysis employs the methodology of mythocriticism to examine the themes of the video game in comparison with their classical source, the nineteenth-century story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886). The findings reveal that Prince of Persia, despite the challenges and idiosyncrasies of the language of the video game, effectively conveys themes such as bodily metamorphosis and the splitting of the personality, thereby validating the ludofiction as a producer of contemporary myths.

Keywords
Prince of Persia, The Unfolded Self, Mythemes, Mythocriticism, Myth, Video games

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How to Cite
Martínez Pérez, Natalia; Martín González, Roberto. “The myth of the unfolded self in contemporary video games: mythocriticism in Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones”. 2024. Hipertext.net, 2024, no. 29, pp. 39-50, doi:10.31009/hipertext.net.2024.i29.03.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

(c) Natalia Martínez Pérez, Roberto Martín González, 2024


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Author Biographies

Natalia Martínez Pérez, Universidad de Burgos

Natalia Martínez Pérez holds a PhD in Media Research from the Carlos III University of Madrid and is a lecturer in the History, Geography and Communication Department at the University of Burgos, where she teaches several subjects in the Video Game Design Degree. She is also a member of the research group "Television-Cinema: Memory, Representation and Industry" (TECMERIN) and the group "Society and Conflict. Cultural Studies of Violence(s) (SYCON). She is currently part of the research project “The Institutional Documentary and Colonial Amateur Cinema: Analysis and Uses” (PID2021-123567NB-I00), and her research is mainly based on Media and Gender Studies.

Roberto Martín González, Universidad de Burgos

Roberto Martín González is an associate lecturer in the Department of History, Geography and Communication at the University of Burgos, where he teaches several subjects in the Degree in Video Game Design. Graduated in Audiovisual Communication and Master in Communication and Multimedia Development at the University of Burgos, he is currently a PhD student in the Humanities and Communication programme at the same university. As a collaborator of the Centre for Innovation and Technology in Video Games and Audiovisual Communication (ÍTACA), he has participated in educational projects such as “Integrated and Inclusive Curricular Prototypes for STEAM proposals” and the Teaching Innovation and Social Transformation in Learning and Service project “Talking about sexuality”, coordinated by the University of Burgos.

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