本論文旨在探討H. P. 洛夫克拉夫特的克蘇魯神話(the Cthulhu Mythos)世界觀對電玩遊戲的影響。儘管有些電玩並未以洛夫克拉夫特的某一作品，甚至並未挪用原著中角色，它們依然自這位二十世紀恐怖文學作家的虛構宇宙中汲取靈感。本研究從尤金·薩克對死後生命(afterlife)的見解汲取靈感，將這種既帶有洛夫克拉夫特式(Lovecraftian)元素，但又並非原著改編，具有過渡與不確定性的遊戲，視為洛夫克拉夫特的電玩來世。洛夫克拉夫特的怪奇小說中的美學張力是其獨特恐怖的來源，而跨媒體的再詮釋是否能保留原著中的氛圍(atmosphere)，其呈現方式與原著有何異同，以及電玩是否能有意義的改編克蘇魯神話中的元素皆是本研究的重點。文本分析的主要文獻為洛夫克拉夫特的短篇小說《印斯茅斯疑雲》 ("The Shadow over Innsmouth")，但也會輔以洛夫克拉夫特的其他著作，並以薩克與格拉漢姆·哈曼等哲學家的理論為主要分析工具。比較的案例為《血源詛咒》(Bloodborne)與《暗黑地牢》(Darkest Dungeon)。

This thesis explores the influence of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos on video games. While some games neither directly adapt Lovecraft's specific works nor feature characters from his original stories, they nonetheless draw inspiration from the fictional universe of Lovecraft. Inspired by Eugene Thacker's insights on the concept of the afterlife, this study conceptualizes games that incorporate Lovecraftian elements but are neither direct adaptations nor rigid reproductions of Lovecraft's work as the video game afterlife of Lovecraft due to their transitional and indeterminate qualities. The aesthetic tension in Lovecraft's weird fiction is the source of its unique horror. This research investigates whether transmedia reinterpretations can retain the atmosphere of Lovecraft's originals, how the methods of presentation differ from the source material, and whether video games can meaningfully adapt elements from the Cthulhu Mythos. The primary text for analysis is Lovecraft's short story "The Shadow over Innsmouth," supplemented by other Lovecraft literature. The study employs the theories of philosophers such as Eugene Thacker and Graham Harman as its main analytical framework and comprises two case studies: Bloodborne and Darkest Dungeon.

Bloodborne. FromSoftware Inc, 2014.
Bloodborne Collector’s Edition Strategy Guide. Future P., 2015.
"Bloodborne Wiki." Fandom, https://Bloodborne.fandom.com/wiki/Bloodborne_Wiki
Bourassa, Chris. "Red Hook Studios Talks About The Creation of Darkest Dungeon," interviewed by Kirill Tokarev. 80 LV, June 9, 2015. https://80.lv/articles/red-hook-studios-talks-about-the-creation-of-darkest-dungeon/
Casteloes Gama, Vítor and velloso Garcia, Marcelo. "Beyond the Walls of Bloodborne: Gothic tropes and Lovecraftian games." Aeternum: The Journal of Contemporary Gothic Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, 2019, pp. 49–60.
Carvalho, Max José Dreysse Passos de and Tim Lanzendörfer. "Lovecraft, the Lovecraftian, and Adaptation: Problems of Philosophy and Practice." The Medial Afterlives of H.P. Lovecraft: Comic, Film, Podcast, TV, Games, edited by Max José Dreysse Passos de Carvalho and Tim Lanzendörfer. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 3-26.
Corstorphine, Kevin and Mathew Crofts. "The Crawling Chaos: H. P. Lovecraft, Closed Gothic Spaces, and 'Dungeon Crawler' videogames." Lovecraft in the 21st Century: Dead, But Still Dreaming. E-book ed., Routledge, 2022, Ch. 15, page number not given.
Darkest Dungeon. Red Hook Studios, 2016.
Eubank, William. "UNDERWATER-Interview With Director William Eubank." YouTube, uploaded by Mr H Reviews, Jan 17, 2020, https://youtu.be/SK0sk6JXYyI?si=JyCRgIglmLJDVHTx.
Fisher, Mark. The Weird and the Eerie. Repeater, 2017.
George, Jessica. "A Polychrome Study: Neil Gaiman's 'A Study in Emerald' and Lovecraft's Literary Afterlives." The Age of Lovecraft. U. of Minnesota P., 2016, pp. 116-82.
Harman, Graham. Art and Objects. Polity P., 2020.
- - -. Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory for Everything. Pelican Books, 2018.
- - -. Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy. Zero Books, 2012.
Hocking, Clint. "Ludonarrative Dissonance in Bioshock." October 7, 2007, https://clicknothing.typepad.com/click_nothing/2007/10/ludonarrative-d.html
Hoedt, Madelon. Narrative Design and Authorship in Bloodborne: An Analysis of the Horror Videogame. McFarland & Company Inc., 2019.
H. Sederholm, Carl and Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock. "Introduction: Lovecraft Rising." The Age of Lovecraft. U. of Minnesota P., 2016, pp. 1-42.
Janicker, Rebecca. "Conveying Cosmicism: Visual Interpretations of Lovecraft." The Medial Afterlives of H.P. Lovecraft: Comic, Film, Podcast, TV, Games, edited by Max José Dreysse Passos de Carvalho and Tim Lanzendörfer. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 63-76.
Jones, Mark. "Tentacles and Teeth: The Lovecraftian Being in Popular Culture." New Critical Essays on H.P. Lovecraft, edited by Simmons, David. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, pp. 227-247.
Joshi, S. T. "Lovecraft Today: An Interview with S. T. Joshi" by Sharrett, Christopher. Cineaste, 2015 pp. 27, 78.
- - - and David E. Schultz. An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Greenwood P., 2001.
Kocurek, Carly A. "Walter Benjamin on the Video Screen: Storytelling and Game Narratives." Gaming and the Arts of Storytelling, edited by Darshana Jayemanne. Arts. MDPI, 2019, pp. 99-110.
Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (Translation of Pouvoirs de l'horreur). Columbia U. P., 1982.
Leitch, Thomas. "Introduction." The Oxford Handbook of Adaptation Studies, edited by Thomas Leitch. Oxford U. P., 2017, pp. 1-19.
Lovecraft, Howard Phillips. "Americanism," 1919. H. P. Lovecraft The Ultimate Collection. Google Books. Digital Papyrus, 2014, page number not given.
- - -. "Astrophobos," 1917. H. P. Lovecraft The Ultimate Collection. Google Books. Digital Papyrus, 2014, page number not given.
- - -. "At the Mountains of Madness," 1936. At the Mountains of Madness. Enhanced Media, 2016.
- - -. "At the Root," 1918. H. P. Lovecraft The Ultimate Collection. Google Books. Digital Papyrus, 2014, page number not given.
- - -. "Celephaïs," 1920. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, edited by S. T. Joshi. Penguin Books, 2016, pp. 24-30.
- - -. "Dagon," 1919. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, edited by S. T. Joshi. Penguin Books, 2016, pp. 1-6.
- - -. "Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family," 1921. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, edited by S. T. Joshi. Penguin Books, 2016, pp. 14-23.
- - -. Letters to J. Vernon Shea, Carl F. Strauch, and Lee McBride White, edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz. Hippocampus P., 2016.
- - -. "Nemesis," 1917. H. P. Lovecraft The Ultimate Collection. Google Books. Digital Papyrus, 2014, page number not given.
- - -. "Notes on Writing Weird Fiction." Miscellaneous Writings. Arkham House, 1995, pp.113-16.
- - -. "The Call of Cthulhu," 1936. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, edited by S. T. Joshi. Penguin Books, 2016, pp. 139-69.
- - -. "The Dunwich Horror," 1929. H. P. Lovecraft The Ultimate Collection. Google Books. Digital Papyrus, 2014, page number not given.
- - -. "The Rats in the Walls," 1924. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, edited by S. T. Joshi. Penguin Books, 2016, pp. 89-108.
- - -. "The Shadow over Innsmouth," 1936. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories. Ed. S. T. Joshi. Penguin Books, 2016, pp. 268-335.
- - -. "The Unnamable," 1925. The Dreams in the Witch-House and Other Weird Stories. Ed. S. T. Joshi. Penguin Books, 2004, pp. 82-9.
- - - and S. T. Joshi. The Annotated H. P. Lovecraft. Random House Publishing Group, 1997.
- - - and S. T. Joshi. The Annotated Supernatural Horror in Literature. Hippocampus P., 2000.
Mackley, J. S. "The Shadow over Derleth: Disseminating the Mythos in The Trail of Cthulhu." New Critical Essays on H.P. Lovecraft, edited by David Simmons. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, pp. 119-34.
Malabou, Catherine and Carolyn P. T Shread. Ontology of the Accident: An Essay on Destructive Plasticity. English ed. Polity, 2012.
Mariconda, S. J. "Lovecraft, H. P. (1890-1937)". In Horror Through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears, edited by M. Cardin, ABC-CLIO LLC,2017, pp.566-71.
Mitchell, Helen. "Plug-In to Fear: Game Biosensors and Negative Physiological Responses to Music." Music and the Moving Image, vol. 8, no. 1, 2015, pp. 37-57. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5406/musimoviimag.8.1.0037.
Murray, Eoin. "Dreaming in Layers: Lovecraftian Storyworlds in Interactive Media." Lovecraft in the 21st Century: Dead, But Still Dreaming. E-book ed., Routledge, 2022, Ch. 16, page number not given.
Mustonen, Onni. "Ludic Space in Horror Fiction." Mediating Vulnerability: Comparative Approaches and Questions of Genre, edited by Anneleen Masschelein, Florian Mussgnug, and Jennifer Rushworth, UCL P., 2021, pp. 135-48. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1nnwhjt.12.
Newitz, Annalee "The Undead: a Haunted Whiteness." The Monster Theory Reader, edited by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, U. of Minnesota P., 2020, pp. 241-71. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctvtv937f.16.
Ostenson, Jonathan. "Exploring the Boundaries of Narrative: Video Games in the English Classroom." The English Journal, vol. 102, no. 6, 2013, pp. 71–8. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24484129.
Paklons, Ana, and An-Sofie Tratsaert. "The Cryptographic Narrative in Video Games: The Player as Detective." Mediating Vulnerability: Comparative Approaches and Questions of Genre, edited by Anneleen Masschelein et al., UCL Press, 2021, pp. 168-84. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1nnwhjt.14.
Petley, Julian. "The Unfilmable? H.P. Lovecraft and the Cinema." Monstrous Adaptations: Generic and Thematic Mutations in Horror Film, ed. Richard J. Hand and Jay McRoy. Manchester U. P., 2007, pp. 35-47.
Redgrave, "The Paleblood Hunt: A Bloodborne Analysis." 2015. Google Documents, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JL5acskAT2t062HILImBkV8eXAwaqOj611mSjK-vZ8/edit.
Sanders, Julie. Adaptation and Appropriation. Routledge, 2016.
Thacker, Eugene. In the Dust of this Planet: Horror of Philosophy Vol I. Zero Books, 2011.
- - -. Tentacles Longer than Night: Horror of Philosophy Vol III. Zero Books, 2015.
Wallace, R. Nathaniel. "Disseminating Lovecraft: The Proliferation of Unsanctioned Derivative Works in the Absence of an Operable Copyright Monopoly." The Medial Afterlives of H.P. Lovecraft: Comic, Film, Podcast, TV, Games, edited by Max José Dreysse Passos de Carvalho and Tim Lanzendörfer. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 27-44.
Wilson, Edmund. Edmund Wilson: Literary Essays and Reviews of the 1930s and 1940s: The Triple Thinkers, The Wound and the Bow, Classics and Commercials, Uncollected Reviews, edited by Dabney, Lewis M. Library of America, 2007.
- - -. "Tales of the Marvelous and the Ridiculous." Classics and Commercials: A Literary Chronicle of the Forties. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1950, pp. 286-90.
Wohleber, Curt. "The Man Who Can Scare Stephen King." American Heritage, vol 46, no. 8, 1995, page number not given, https://www.americanheritage.com/man-who-can-scare-stephen-king
Wöll, Steffen. "The Horrors of the Oriental Space and Language in H. P. Lovecraft's
'The Shadow over Innsmouth.'" Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, vol. 68, no. 3, 2020, pp. 233-49, https://doi.org/10.1515/zaa-2020-2002.
[東浩紀] Azuma, Hiroki. [遊戲性寫實主義的誕生:動物化的後現代 2/ゲーム的リア リズムの誕生: 動物化するポストモダン 2 ] The Birth of Game-like Realism: Animalized Postmodernism 2. Trans. [黃錦容] Huang, Ching Jung. 唐山出版社, 2015.