Memory-Scrolling Designing Emotionally Resonant Video Game Narratives Through Digital Memory and Doomscrolling

Abstract

Short-form media practices such as doomscrolling and the resurfacing of memories dominate today's digital platforms, offering content characterised by anticipation, fragmentation, and affective engagement. While existing research has examined the psychological and emotional implications of such practices, often related to algorithmic content delivery and the habits of contemporary media consumption, their potential application in video game narrative design remains underexplored. This dissertation addresses that gap by investigating how the anticipation and affective fluctuation associated with doomscrolling and memory resurfacing may be repurposed and adapted as a structuring principle for narrative consumption in video games. In this exploratory study, conducted with a small sample of participants recruited for qualitative evaluation, a design-based research methodology (Reeves, 2006) was adopted, involving iterative design, prototyping, and user-informed refinement. To investigate the concept, a proposed narrative structure termed Memory-Scrolling was designed to provide a non-traditional narrative without plot progression, goals, or win conditions. The model was designed around exploration and memory-modules: fragmented narrative units inspired by human memories, synthetically constructed for controlled design purposes. A prototype was developed specifically to operationalise the Memory-Scrolling model, which mimic scrolling behaviour through exploration, and the fragmented consumption patterns of short-form media through the memory-modules. The player engagement and interpretive responses were examined through a pre-play survey, in-game self-report surveys, and an open-ended post-play reflection questionnaire for participants who interacted with the prototype. Findings from this sample suggest that Memory-Scrolling may support perceived emotional engagement, player-driven narrative construction, and exploratory progression through fragmented narrative units. Participants reported connecting personal experiences to the memories, constructing narrative continuity between otherwise independent stories, and remaining motivated to discover additional memory-modules despite the absence of traditional narrative progression, objectives, or win conditions. Overall, the findings from this sample suggests that patterns of anticipation and fragmentation associated with doomscrolling and memory resurfacing may function as viable structuring principles for interactive narrative, offering an approach to digital storytelling through narrative interpretation, sustained player-interest, and player-driven meaning making.