Playing the “Fantastical Gap”: Embedded Soundscapes in Video Games

Abstract

Abstract This article surveys the techniques of sound and music design that are used to represent games embedded within other games. Theorizing such recursive media through the literary concept of the mise en abyme, the article focuses on the experimental horror game Stories Untold (2017), arguing that sound is both an object of focus (given the game's conceit of embedding a silent, text-based adventure game within a sounding, three-dimensional world) and the crucial factor that alerts the player to the interactions between the game's nested narratives.