Fragments of the past : narrative reconstruction and player interpretation in return of the Obra Dinn

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between detective fiction and interactive narrative through a case study of Return of the Obra Dinn, analyzing how the game adapts structures traditionally associated with detective fiction, giving emphasis on the investigation, deduction and past event reconstruction, while exploring how player interaction transforms the process of narrative construction. To that end, A Study in Scarlet will be taken as a reference for traditional detective fiction, providing a basis for examining how its conventions can change in interactive detective narratives. The analysis draws on Tzvetan Todorov’s concepts of detective narrative structure and transformation and Marie- Laure Ryan’s work on narrative and interactive media. Employing an exploratory qualitative methodology based on close reading, the study analyzes selected game sequences, comparing their visual presentation, logbook entries, and narrative progression through transformation tables. The findings suggest that Return of the Obra Dinn preserves the fundamental investigative structure of detective fiction while transferring the process of narrative reconstruction from the detective figure to the player. Additionally, the game’s visual aesthetic, archival framing, and its logbook design establish a literary mode of engagement that justifies the application of literary analytical approaches without reducing the game to a literary text. The study thus argues that Return of the Obra Dinn demonstrates how interactive media can transform detective narrative conventions by integrating player agency into the construction of narrative meaning.