Światotwórcze funkcje rekwizytu. Collectibles w dylogii The Last of Us jako źródło wiedzy o przeszłości
World-creating prop functions. Collectibles in The Last of Us dilogy as a source of knowledge about the past

Summary/Abstract: The article concerns the functioning of selected collectibles in the post-apocalyptic dilogy of digitalgames The Last of Us (Naughty Dog, 2013–2020). The authors make a typology of collectibles anddistinguish among them props that support the gameplay, characterize the characters and extendthe storyworld, referring to the prop theory proposed by Kendal Walton. They are particularly inter-ested in the last type of props, which include notes, diaries and letters left in various places of theworld presented by anonymous members of the American community. The authors indicate thatthese props can be treated as specifc artifacts of the past, which, although not important from thegameplay perspective, perform important world-creating functions. In this context, they describecollectibles as an element of historical culture (J. Rüsen) and a source of social memory (M. Golka),and discuss their allotopic potential (U. Eco, K.M. Maj). They refer to those props that shape the his-tory and mythology of the post-apocalyptic world, and especially to the notes describing OutbreakDay, the apogee of the pandemic disease that decimated humanity in the game. Written sourcesare of a personal nature – they present an individual perspective on a breakthrough moment in thehistory of the depicted world. For this reason, the authors refer to them as ego-props, thus extendingthe concept of ego-document.

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