BA6 | Advanced Game Studies #10

Gamasutra Article – Opinion: Why More Games Need Subtext

>> THIS is an aticle I found on Gamasutra written by Chris Remo approaching the subject of whether video games need more sub text. He looks at how games can mean to their audience suggesting that “gameplay is a great start but that many titles may be missing a chance to ‘amplify or even largely deliver meaningful subtext’ along the way”. 

“It is a given that games should generally be fun; everybody knows this implicitly, and people like LeBlanc and Hocking are working to codify what fun and immersion really mean. What is particularly exciting - and probably beneficial to the overall success of the medium - to use fun and immersion to convey other statements.”

 

I really like what is being suggested here. Remo is stating, using LeBlanc and Hockings opinions (see article) to back up his theories, that describing your key element of game design as fun is a given, this is something so obvious that it shouldn’t be considered a needed term. However, having an underlying sub text through narrative or gameplay to convey a deeper meaning is something exciting that games don’t seem to do often enough.

 

“But maybe more games should try to give the player something to consider, beyond "This is how it feels to be a space marine/ general/ wizard/ criminal/ popular Hollywood character."

 

This entire quote is beneficial. Remo is saying that maybe video games should give their audience and players something further than the on screen emotion of role playing. For example, he is implying that while the player is assuming the role of a wizard in game, the game should do more and go further than just “hey, this is what being a wizard feels like replicated via a screen and controller”. 

 

Chris Remo on…

…GTA III and its Sub Textual Meanings 

"The game world, characters, and situations of the recent Grand Theft Auto titles are, if obviously unlikely, highly grounded in common urban experiences and popular realistic fiction."

 

  video reference, credit goes to "TannerXX"   

“The gameplay is fairly arcadey in its straightforwardness and capacity for wanton destruction, which makes the games accessible and doesn't put up barrier for the game's secondary content.

Since its commentary is ingrained in the world itself, it allows the subtext to come through largely independent of the narrative - appropriate for an open-world game. Grand Theft Auto's subtext is light modern-day social commentary, poking at American consumer culture and attraction to violence - while revealing in it. “

This is a really interesting take on GTA III and its sub text and deeper meaning. Remo is insinuating that the sub text within GTA III is attempting to tell the story of modern day society by making light humour of real life situations and exaggerating them in game via play. This is exactly the kind of element I am focusing on for my written piece.

…ICO and its Sub Textual Meanings

“I don't want my point to be misunderstood as "games must have deep stories," because I do not hold that to be the case. Ico demonstrates that a game can be genuinely affecting, holding emotional substance at the core of its style with only the most threadbare of plots. Ico's gameplay is a direct expression of game's theme - there is no deep literary premise, but rather a profound character connection.”
 

  video reference, credit goes to "Gamehelper"   

“When you suddenly push the analog stick too hard and protagonist Ico harshly jerks companion Yorda around, there is a tangible relationship between the physical input, the game mechanics, and the on-screen relationship that itself says a lot about the power of games. Gameplay and emotion go hand in hand.

Though this dialogue-light game is on the other end of the scale from the much more verbose Full Throttle, both games have the power to leave the player with a sense of reflection. Ico's subtext is emotional, delving into the relationship between player and character, and quietly exploring the potential therein.”

We have been learning about procedural rhetoric in games and how they affect the player and manipulate them into progressing through the game. If you consider procedural rhetoric in a slightly “out of the box” way, you could imply that the relationship formed between ICO and Yorda throughout the game via gameplay mechanics, control and play is a form of emotion rhetoric.

 By this I mean that the procedural rhetoric is presented emotionally though the relationship between ICO, Yorda AND the player. This relationship causes the player feel empathy towards the characters and, via play, the player feels responsible for progressing through the game ensuring the safety of the characters, particularly Yorda as the player assumes the role of ICO.

Remo’s Conclusion

“But gameplay is a powerful tool, able to immerse and engage the player in a way that is unique among entertainment forms. Compelling gameplay does stand alone, but it can also be used to amplify or even largely deliver meaningful subtext that can enrich or enlighten a player - or just provide a different kind of fun.”

I couldn’t have found a better or more relevant quote for my topic :D

Remo hits the nail on the head when stating that gameplay is a powerful tool which can be used to immerse and engage the player. However, when paired with a game that has an interesting sub text, deeper narrative or alternative story, gameplay via play in video games becomes an incredibly unique and compelling medium to convey these sub texts.

I think the point that Reno makes about how gameplay, and video games as a medium, can be an incredibly ample method of delivering meaningful sub texts is insightful and interesting. He suggests that through play, the player can becomes enlightened from being exposed to the sub text.