Transmedia Pathos and Plot in The Walking Dead - Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games - page 49

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Transmedia Pathos and Plot in
he Walking Dead
You can't think forever. Sooner or later, you gotta make a move.
he Governor, he Walking Dead
Glenn glances over his shoulder as he makes his way through the hexagonal
landscape surrounding Atlanta, Georgia. His backpack, lighter than it was
before he used the last of his ammo to blast a couple of Walkers, clings to his
sweaty shoulders. Glenn tries to control his breathing in case the Walkers hear,
so he slows—decides to walk two spaces instead of three. Although tired and
hungry (he ran out of food three turns ago), he continues onward to the mall,
ever vigilant to avoid the line of hungry zombies following his every footstep. He
checks his fuel level, ready to run at a moment's notice.…
Meanwhile, across the table, Lori runs circles around her campsite, seeking
shelter and supplies at various stops along the way. She is just ten steps away
from her inal destination, when a Walker pops out of the sewer and attacks
her. Her defenses down, and with too few supplies to use, Lori succumbs to her
undead assailant and falls. As she dies, she can feel the change coming … her
body and mind shiting to turn her into a zombie.…
Glenn and Lori are two characters from the graphic novel series he Walking
Dead that also exist in the television adaptation of the series. Both Walking Dead
versions tell a similar story set within a zombie apocalypse. Unlike the cult world
of Middle-earth in Lord of the Rings , the world of he Walking Dead is much
more based in a contemporary reality; like the Lovecratian world described
in Chapter 1, it is a world like ours, but diferent because of the appearance of
single-minded, undead antagonists. his world extends to multiple paratextual
products, as diverse as topics, action igures, jigsaw puzzles, video games, clothing,
and even pet accessories (for the canine fans). As paratextual board games, both
the Walking Dead games use the same characters and diegetic elements, such as