Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - blog tasks

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Metroid Prime 2: Echoes case study' and complete the following in-depth tasks.

Language

Analyse the game cover for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (above).

1) How does the cover communicate the genre of the game?

-Futuristic weaponry and armoury convey the sci-fi theme

-Font is metallic and clunky making it seem robotic also adds to the futuristic theme

-Range of colours make cover seem very eccentric

-On the back you can see the villains of the game who seem to be alien like suggesting that the game is set in another time or world.

2) What does the cover suggest regarding gameplay and audience pleasures?

We can see a person in a humanoid battle suit holding a futuristic gun. This suggests that the game-play will be combat based, offering diversion for the player as it is set in a different time space.

3) Does the cover sexualise the character of Samus Aran? Why/why not?

No, the cover does not sexualise Samus Aran because of the fact that we cannot even see any part of Samus's bare skin meaning that the suit covers all of her body.

Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for the game:




1) What do you notice about genre?

I notice that it is an action, sci-fi through the use of futuristic scenery and technology implying the sci-fi aspect and the overall battle fps gun gameplay shows the action aspect.

2) How is the character introduced? Is Samus Aran obviously female?

Samus Aran is introduced as a strong and capable character who fights of aliens. It is somewhat obvious that Samus is a female through the curvy build that the suit has however it may be mistaken as a male because of the fact that you cannot hear her voice and the suit isn't female like.
3) How can we apply Steve Neale’s genre theory that discusses “repetition and difference”?

We can apply Neales theory as the repetition would be the sci fi characteristics of the game like the future technology and weaponry as well as the typical FPS shooting style game of an action game. The difference may be the fact that Samus is a female in an age where game protagonists were over-populated with males.

Gameplay analysis

Watch the following gameplay clips again:





1) What does the gameplay for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes involve?

The game consists of a lot of shooting and door opening we also see the occasional shape-shifting into a round ball that can go inside small tunnels as well.

2) Write an analysis of the media language choices in the construction of the game: e.g. genre, narrative, mise-en-scene, camera shots etc.

Genre: It is obvious that the game is a sci-fi, action because of the futuristic aspect of the weaponry used, the battle suit and the enemies who Samus fights all show action and sci-fi features.

narrative: Samus seems to fight her way through obstacles as she seems to want to reach different areas to achieve her goals as she fights through various aliens.

Mise en scene: Guns, aliens, futuristic contraptions all show features of a sci fi game with the action aspect intertwined together.

Camera shots: Mostly first person (first person shooter) Makes it clear that metroid is an action game. Camera goes into third person sometimes when Samus shape shifts.

3) Analyse the clips for audience pleasures, applying audience theory and considering media effects.

-Diversion, the completely foreign world of metroid takes us to an unusual place.
-Player has complete control, may make them feel empowered
-The game is intellectual where it makes you think instead of just mindlessly shooting things.

Audience

Research the audience for Nintendo and specifically the Metroid franchise, including Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. You may wish to start with the following pages:

Reddit discussion of why people play Metroid
Giant Bomb forum: Who exactly is Nintendo’s demographics?
Reset Era: Nintendo’s audience getting older

1) Who might the target audience be for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, based on your research? Discuss demographics and psychographics.

Mainly from about 15-30 year old males, The psychographic group may be explorers as they tend to enjoy delving into games where the unknown is very prominent.

2) How has Nintendo’s audience changed since the original Metroid game in 1986?

Nintendo has become a lot more family friendly as shooter games are not seen very often on nintendo, audience is mainly children and families.

3) What audience pleasures are offered by Metroid Prime 2: Echoes or the wider Metroid franchise?

Diversion is offered from metroid as audience can escape to a different world.

Personal relationships is there as we can build an attachment to Samus

4) What effects might Metroid have on audiences? Apply media effects theories (e.g. Bandura’s social learning theory, Gerbner’s cultivation theory).

In terms of cultivation theory, the player may slowly delve into the game and become attached to it as they may begin picking things up from the game into real life as they literally become the game that they play. Hence them becoming cultivated.

Read this Gamesparks feature on gaming demographics and answer the following questions:

1) Who is considered to be the stereotypical gamer?

Teenage Boys

2) What has changed this?

Smartphone gaming is what caused the change.

3) What role do women play in the videogames market? Quote statistics from the article here.

Women are a driving force because of things like the male Gaze

42 percent of women have either xbox or playsation, in contrast to 37 percent males.

4) Why are older gamers becoming a particularly important market for videogames producers? How can you link this to the Metroid franchise?

Older games are used by developers by taking their interests and creating a game based on them. As people in general seem to enjoy their ideas. Metroid was developed by developers with the audience interests in mind.

5) What does the article suggest regarding audience pleasures and expectations for different generations of gamer?

Younger gamer's enjoy a competitive experience, a gamer's interest seems to fall off at about 40.

Industries

Read this Destructoid blog on the Metroid franchise. Answer the following:

1) Why has Metroid never quite fitted with the Nintendo brand?

Because nintendo is a family brand and Metroid is a violent action game therefore the two never really meshed together.

2) What franchises have overtaken Metroid in the sci-fi hyper-realism genre in recent years?

Halo, Mass effect.

3) Why does the writer link old boy bands from the music industry to the Metroid franchise? Do you agree with this reading of the brand?

The writer links old boy bands from the music industry to the Metroid franchise because they think it is growing old and out of date since the original audience of Metroid has grown old and uninterested, just like how people feel about boy bands.

4) What is an ‘AAA’ or ‘triple-A game’ in the videogames industry?

AAA pretty much means a blockbuster film or a Hollywood movie. But a game version

5) Do you think there will be further Metroid games featuring Samus Aran? Should there be?

I doubt that there will be another game because of the franchises early success but if they do, they should probably just reboot the series instead of making new story-lines. I don't think they should make a new metroid because the style of game is not profitable anymore, humanoid sci-fi battle-suit games are a thing of the past.

representation

Read this BBC3 feature on Samus Aran and answer the questions below:

1) What was notable about the original Metroid game in 1986?`

The female protagonist reveal at the end of the game.

2) What were the inspirations behind the gameplay and construction of Metroid?

Its developers took inspiration from genre-definers like Mario and Zelda, as well as the film Alien. They further developed the weapon and armour upgrade system used in Zelda and took the pioneering step of allowing players to explore at will by backtracking and revisiting areas of the map.

3) Why are the endings to the original Metroid considered controversial?

controversies over the sexualisation of Samus. Like the time she wore heels in a Super Smash Bros game. Fans have questioned whether their female icon deserves better than pandering to teenage male fantasies. Nintendo meanwhile has been happy to push Samus as an icon of girl power.

4) What reaction do you think the reveal of Samus Aran in a bikini would have got when the game was first released in 1986? Have attitudes towards women changed?

The approach would be very different as women's roles were completely different then and they were objectified more than now. The attitudes have changed as women now are more independent and have better roles than before.

5) How have later versions of the Metroid franchise sexualised the character of Samus Aran?

The character has been thought of being transgender because of the figure and aesthetic given to the character. the hero has been celebrated for defying the gender stereotypes.

6) How can we apply Liesbet van Zoonen’s work to Samus Aran and Metroid?

This theory can be applied as the character is socially constructed and These constructions reflect cultural and historical contexts and objectification of the female body is a key construct of western culture (building on Mulvey – male gaze).

7) What did Brianna Wu suggest regarding the character of Samus Aran?

She suggests the character is transgender.

8) Do you see Samus Aran as a feminist icon or simply another exploited female character?

I believe that her character can be interpreted as another feminist character as she is not accentuated as a hyper-feminine character. Her character is not overly sexualised but is independent and heroic. Read this Houston Press feature on Samus Aran and entitled male gamers. Answer the following questions:

1) What does Anita Sarkeesian suggest regarding Samus Aran?

Sarkeesian points out that the female reveals sort of pales as Samus’s increasingly naked body is used as a reward for male skill. It doesn’t diminish Samus as a character, but it does sort of diminishing the games themselves for using this sexist convention.

2) Why does Brianna Wu (and others) suggest Samus Aran may be transgender?

She claims to have seen some fans argue that this refers to Samus having blood from the alien Chozo race in her veins, but Wu and McGrody also mention how Samus was originally portrayed to be 6’3” and more muscled in her appearance.

3) Why is Samus Aran useful for male gamers trying to argue videogames are not sexist?

Samus is the constant go-to for any argument about portrayals of women in gaming and sexism in gaming culture. If you question the number of female protagonists you’ll get a list that will virtually always start with Samus as a counter-argument.

4) Why are Lara Croft, Zelda and Peach not ideal examples to argue for female equality in videogames?

 Lara Croft will always be haunted by her cartoonish, sexual appearance in early games, Zelda and Peach are damsels too often, and the anti-feminist as they objectified and presented as hyper-feminine characters.

5) What does the ‘SJW’ in ‘SJW-gender politics’ refer to?

Social justice warrior (SJW) is a pejorative term for an individual who promotes socially progressive views, including feminism, civil rights, and multiculturalism, as well as identity politics.

6) How can we apply Gerbner’s Cultivation theory to representations of women in videogames as discussed in the article? How might this lead to ‘entitled male gamers’? 

 Cultivation Theory suggests Television influences its audience to the extent that their world view and perceptions start reflecting what they repeatedly see meaning TV is considered to contribute independently to the way people perceive social reality and will have an effect on the audience’s attitudes and values. The repetitive viewing of representations of women like this makes us get the impression of the way women should be which means an image is constructed for us.


7) Does the videogame industry have a problem with gender? Provide evidence for your argument.

The video game industry does represent gender stereotypically as representations are quite structural. this may make people object to the way the gender is presented.