BA6 | Advanced Game Studies #05

Advanced Game Studies and Research; Applying my Ideas to the Project Brief!

I’m very lucky to have an idea for my CS essay that I know I will enjoy researching and producing a report about. It is a subject that I feel very strongly about and I am passionate to learn more in. The idea I have has come from the lectures given over the past 2 weeks by Sharon and Kim which have proved very helpful. However, I need to take time to sit back and look at the brief properly, highlight key areas and ensure that my idea fits into it properly because an idea that I feel excited about doesn’t necessarily mean an idea that will fit the brief. 

Here is the brief description, I think highlighting key areas will help me communicate my idea better. 

This unit considers the potential for games to be a persuasive medium beyond mere

entertainment, and focusing particularly on audience it poses the question: ‘Can digital games change the world?’ It will focus on educational, commercial and political games and their potential for wide - scale influence in society.

You will analyse the various strategies that games employ to persuade the player, to gain and to retain an audience, and how they achieve, or fail to achieve, their goals. Looking at digital games from this perspective, you will explore the ethics of game design, and ask whether games have the power to persuade, what ethical implications are there for the game designer? You will research the ways in which digital games are represented in the media, and assess the potential effects of this representation on different audiences. 

Answering Brief Related Questions

Whilst I have a fairly strong idea of what my topic is going to cover, I am finding it increasingly more difficult to attach it onto the  brief and ensure I don’t waffle on about totally irrelevant subject matter.

At this point I took the areas of the brief that I highlighted as key points and turned them into questions which I asked myself. I then tied to answer them the best I could relating to the subject topic I want to cover.  This was my way of testing if I could associate my topic with the brief fully.
  
Do the games you want to cover for this CS unit have the potential to be a persuasive medium beyond entertainment? 

I want to cover games that have alternate meanings and that pass on themes subliminally. For example, Papo & Yo is presented as a platform puzzle game but the deeper meaning behind the game is that it is a metaphor for abuse, addiction and bullying. Another example is Limbo. Many players see the artistic black and white side scrolling platform game but fail to comprehend the fact that this is a story about a boy who is literally stuck in limbo; which is quite a scary thought. 

These games have the potential to persuade the player to think outside the box narrative wise and see a "bigger picture" when it comes to games and how they can be used as a new medium for passing on messages and documenting realistic subject matter. 

When regarding audience, do the games you want to study have the potential to "change the world"? 

   
I'm worried that the subject I have chosen doesn't necessarily "change the world" and I find the statement a bit cheesy and over the top? However, I do think that games with deeper stories and more mature content/background have the ability to change a wider audiences perspective on games as a medium. Is this relevant or a suitable connection?

Will you cover a variety of games such as educational, commercial AND political?

Currently I only have indie games in mind for the topic and I'm concerned that I can't really fit in educational or political games. Does this matter greatly? 

What strategies are used to persuade the player and keep them playing regarding your topic?

Most indie games that I have in mind to cover use simple addictive gameplay to persuade players to continue playing and thus the developers are getting more time to convey their deeper meanings in the game. I want to talk about "Creepy Pasta" wiki and how players create scary stories from their imagination that fit in with games . Often these horror stories are riddled with dark meanings and metaphors. Using Creepy Pasta can be a strategy for players to continue playing the game to find out more about the hidden meaning. 

Does your topic pose a question about the ethics of game design? 

Yes because developers have to make a decision whether to create games that suggest alternate meanings or cover material not often seen through the medium of games. It questions whether games as a medium can be used to document realistic subjects and whether or not they are successful in doing so. I can relate this back to the games I study as well as the creepy pasta inspired video games that have been physically made just to scare and horrify people.

Does your topic prove that games have the power to persuade? 

I think I can conclude in my essay that games that contain realistic subjects and explore them through the medium of play definitely have the power to persuade. Not only persuade but inform and bring light to genuine real life issues and serious narratives that cover realistic subjects.

Regarding your topic, do the games you have in mind to study get presented in the media differently and does this have any effect on the audience looking to play the game?

Most commercial indie games that contain narrative elements drawing from real life (such as Papo & Yo) aren't presented or advertised as doing so. They are often advertised as quirky indie games with a difference that are fun to play. Not "fun to play but you will become gradually aware of the social realisms of abusive behaviour and addiction through play".

My CS tutor, Sharon, replied incredibly fast with helpful tips ad feedback following this study of the brief. She stated that this was a good way to approach the brief and that I had already clarified a great deal for myself in terms of subject matter and topic relevance. I stated that a rough topic title could be “How Games can be Used  as a Medium to Convey and Document ‘Realistic’ Subject Matter Through Play”. 

 

So, To Sum Up…

Hmm, text heavy blog post :/ Sorry! I just wanted to sum up my idea based on my study of the brief and feedback from Sharon. My plan of action is to study a variety of games that contain deeper meanings which have been input into the games narrative, plot, story or gameplay via metaphor or play. I will study how procedural rhetoric and documentary styles of expression and discuss whether these aid the implementation of deeper and often metaphorical/hidden meanings within games…