Abstract:
A murder mystery game (MMG), by integrating literary and gamified elements, has stood out various forms of pan-literature. The pan-literature refers to the phenomenon wherein literariness spills beyond textual boundaries into gamified, performative, and participatory cultural forms. It thus becomes a widely embraced and popular art form. In terms of its literary nature, MMG disrupts the passive consumption model of traditional literature by fostering egalitarian dialogue between authors and readers. Furthermore, by distributing narrative roles across multiple scripts, it achieves structural and narrative decentralization, diminishing the dominant discourse of traditional protagonists. By its very game-like nature, the MMG constructs a Foucauldian heterotopia (a space of alternative ordering). This effectively dissolves the traditional dichotomy between the virtual and the real found in conventional literature, thereby breaking new ground for literary practices. As a result, it has evolved into a new form of cultural life for modern youth.