Peer Gynt: From Play to Game

Abstract

Henrik Ibsen’s drama Peer Gynt (1867) has been adapted for a video game. While it is meant for educational use and has already been launched on a Norwegian publisher’s school site, its learning mechanics are subtle enough that the game will also be offered in the entertainment market as a narrative adventure game (The Peer Gynt Game, n.d.). An adaptation of a written play as a video game implies that new modes of storytelling are being introduced, as well as a degree of agency for the players. The capability for this medium to adapt to and develop more traditional narrative expressions, considering their immense popularity and increased acknowledgement as works of art, makes video games an increasingly important area of study (Ensslin 2014; Kulturdepartementet 2019).