Playing Kafka: Videogame Adaptations of Franz Kafka’s Works

Abstract

The works of Franz Kafka have had a significant impact not only on literature but also on other narrative arts, such as film, comics, and more recently, video games. Although numerous games have incorporated “Kafkaesque” plots, themes, or protagonists, explicit adaptations of Kafka’s works have been absent until recently. In the past few years, however, several such video games have emerged, primarily designed by independent game studios: The Franz Kafka Video Game (Denis Galanin, 2017), Metamorphosis (Ovid Works, 2020), The Metamorphosis (Izmir Games Collective, 2020), and Playing Kafka (Charles Games, 2024).

This paper will explore the relationship between these video game adaptations of Franz Kafka’s works and their literary sources. From the perspective of adaptation theory and intermedial ludonarrative studies, it will aim to identify which elements of Kafka’s works (style, themes, plots) have been adapted in the video games and how they are conveyed within the context of gameplay mechanics, audiovisual environments, and narrative composition. Furthermore, the study will highlight which aspects of Kafka’s poetics, as well as which interpretations of his works, these video games rely on most prominently.