sims video games Industry

1) What is the VSC and how does it link to UK law?

It controls the contents of certain medias within the UK to make sure they're able to be sold to the appropriate ages.

2) Note down the key statistics on the homepage.

12,000+ Games Rated, 8000+ Apps rated, 1987 Number of Member Outlets, 30 Years in Operation.

3) What is the purpose of PEGI?

It provides information about the contents of a game.

4) Click on the PEGI Rating tab in the top menu. What are the age ratings and what do they include?

Ages 3, 7, 12, 16 And 18. The higher the age the more adult content, such as violence, swearing, drug abuse, sexual content.

5) Scroll down to look at the ‘How games are examined’ infographic. What is the PEGI process for rating a game?

Initially a game producer rates the game themselves. Anything from violence to strong language to sexual content must be monitored before applying the PEGI rating. The game developer then sends this application with proof of all this content + a copy of the game so that all these things can be checked and so that anything that could have been missed or misinterpreted can be found and added to the list. The game is then marked again and put out for sale.

1) How does the freemium model work?

The typical freemium or free-to-play app is a free download that uses in-app purchases to produce revenue rather than charging a flat fee for the app. 

2) Why do some gamers believe freemium is ruining games?

It does not allow access to the whole game and therefore you cannot experience it fully.

3) What are the positives of the freemium model for gaming? 

it allows people to play the game for free. This is a huge benefit for the gamer's as if they are really intrigued to play the game, they are willing to pay money to experience the game fully.

Now read this Business Insider feature on freemium gaming and multiplayer games. Answer the following questions:

1) Note the key statistics in the first paragraph.

Freemium model games and their in-app purchases account for about 70-80% of the $10 billion or more in iOS revenue each year

2) Why does the freemium model incentivise game developers to create better and longer games?

This is because gamers are consistently spending money on the game, it is not just a one and done payment. This motivates the developers to keep improving their game if they want the revenue to keep coming in.

3) What does the article suggest regarding the possibilities and risks to the freemium model in future?

It a risky business because it is uncertain who and how many poeple are willing to spend money on a free game.

Read this New York Times feature on freemium gaming and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Temple Run use the freemium model?

Because they realised that once the game was free, there was a spike in downloads.

2) The bigger gaming studios like Electronic Arts used to avoid the freemium model. Why are they now embracing it?

Game developers may make people confused on how clear the premise of their games are - younger gamers may accidentally purchase apps without knowing. Also developers may disregard the quality of the free/standard level content which would lead to boring games.

3) Why does Peter Farago suggest independent game makers benefit more from the freemium model than the major publishers like EA?

It will be easier for independent game makers to start from scratch and then produce freemium games at a high standard and then maintain this standard. Large media publishers like EA would have to completely change their approach in order to make the freemium model work.

Electronic Arts

Read this Pocket Gamer interview with EA’s Amanda Schofield, Senior Producer on The Sims FreePlay at EA's Melbourne-based Firemonkeys studio. Answer the following questions:

1) How has The Sims FreePlay evolved since launch?

The detail has improved a lot as you can now have a variety of pets ranging from dogs to dragons

2) Why does Amanda Schofield suggest ‘games aren’t products any more’?

because they are now built and based around a partnership between the gamers and the game developers.

3) What does she say about The Sims gaming community?

The gaming community provide feedback and keep up to date with the developers which suggests that they are part of the development process.

4) How has EA kept the game fresh and maintained the active player base?

The game constantly reinvents and designs itself around the changing desires pf the players and the targeted audiences. The audiences feel a sense of personal identification with the idealism surrounding the world that they have created; therefore are unlikely to leave this behind.

5) How many times has the game been installed and how much game time in years have players spent playing the game? These could be great introductory statistics in an exam essay on this topic.

• Over 200m installs of the Sims Freeplay
• 78,000 game time (in years)

sims Language and audience

Language / Gameplay analysis

Watch The Sims: FreePlay trailer and answer the following questions:

1) What elements of gameplay are shown?

The fact that you can control your own virtual reality is key element for the gameplay. Also, The trailer states words like care, grow, design, play and live which are some of the many things you can do within the game. The trailer also makes it seem like it is the perfect and most idealised place which is hyper reality.

2) What audience is the trailer targeting?

The trailer is targeting an audience that is predominately female as they make the game seem like a 'doll house'. It is also clear that it is for a young audience as you can do stuff like party. This game also allows them to do stuff that they might not be allowed to do in real life such as going to clubs.

3) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer?

There is a pleasure for diversion as people want to escape from the real world and their problems. There is also a pleasure for personal identity as gamers can create their own version of them selves so they can relate to the game the most. 

Now watch this walk-through of the beginning of The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:

Read this App Store description and the customer reviews for The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:  

1) How is the game constructed?

It is constructed in a way where we have complete control of this virtual reality. But it seems so real that we even have to give them their needs which are hunger, hygiene, bladder. social, fun and energy.

2) What audience is this game targeting?

It targets women as the female characters have mch more of a variety of clothing which suggests that it is mainly targeted at female.

3) What audience pleasures does the game provide?

The pleasures that an audience may get is rewarding. The game unlocks things for you if you complete a task correctly which may make the audience feel good about them selves since they feel like they have achieved something.

4) How does the game encourage in-app purchases?

This idea of the freemium model helps keep revenues up for the business. And they encourage it buy giving access to more content and selling in game currency so that the gamer could have a better experience with the game.

Audience

Read this App Store description and the customer reviews for The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:  

1) What critics reviews are included in the game information section?

"This is one of my favorite games that I have on my iPad. I love how it resembles actual life and you can grow the babies. I love all of the jobs and places that you can get on the map because they are all unique in their own special way and they all hold an awesome activity like going to work or buying something. I especially love designing the houses because its so much fun to create a cool life like areas where your sims can live. I have gotten pretty far into this game and have found some things to suggest. First of all, when I got the puppies and kittens quest completed, I was so excited to have my own pet to love but I feel like it should be able to do more. I can sit with the pet but I wish I could wash it in the bathtub or bounce it on the bed like I can with the baby. Another thing is that the pools, patios, and multi-story things are very expensive. I have seen awesome houses and I want to have a big upstairs but I cannot afford it so I have to get a big area of space downstairs and fill up the whole thing because I can't make an upstairs. This is annoying because I also want space outside to put a pool and a patio but those are also very expensive. Right now I have a tiny 2 by 3 patio. If I even puta railing on it, which is also very expensive, I would only have two little squares for my sims so it is just like a carpet outside that doesn't do anything. That's all for now. Love this game. Please consider my problems."

2) What do the reviews suggest regarding the audience pleasures of The Sims FreePlay?

The audience pleasure once again seen is a diversion and personal identity once again as the reviewer seeks to do things just like real life and will be able to design and build their own houses as if they were rich so this view of hyper-reality creates the immersion of the real-life experience.

3) How do the reviews reflect the strong element of participatory culture in The Sims?

This conveys that the users are able to critique the game and its fundamentals, they believe that they are able to influence how the game operates and runs, therefore, believe they are active.

Participatory culture

Read this academic journal article - The Sims: A Participatory Culture 14 Years On. Answer the following questions:

1) What did The Sims designer Will Wright describe the game as?

Will Wright describes as akin to ‘a train set or a doll’s house where each person comes to it with their own interest and picks their own goals’ (Wright 1999).

2) Why was development company Maxis initially not interested in The Sims?

They had little enthusiasm about the idea and described it as a 'doll house'. They also stated that 'doll houses were for girls, and girls didn't play video games' . This is the reason why they were reluctant to invest their time in the game as they believed it wasn't going to be successful.

3) What is ‘modding’?

It is when you modify game assets by manipulating the game code

4) How does ‘modding’ link to Henry Jenkins’ idea of ‘textual poaching’?

This link to Jenkins idea as people are able to be active in the community and set up their own stories and ideas, the idea of bringing people together and being able to share shows that a game.

5) Look specifically at p136. Note down key quotes from Jenkins, Pearce and Wright on this page.

‘held together through the mutual production and reciprocal exchange of knowledge’ (Jenkins 2006a: 137).

As Pearce has noted, ‘The original Sims series has the most vibrant emergent fan culture of a single-player game in history’ (2009: 272).

Jenkins notes, ‘there were already more than fifty fan Web sites dedicated to The Sims. Today, there are thousands’ (2006b: 166).

Wright saying: ‘We were probably responsible for the first million or so units sold but it was the community which really brought it to the next level’ (ibid).

6) What examples of intertextuality are discussed in relation to The Sims? (Look for “replicating works from popular culture”)

The game’s release, skins depicting characters from cult media such as Star Trek, Star Wars, The X-Files and Japanese anime and manga were extremely popular. 

7) What is ‘trans-media storytelling’ and how does The Sims allow players to create it?

Trans-media storytelling, a process wherein the primary text encoded in an official commercial product could be dispersed over multiple media, both digital and analogue in form (Jenkins 2007).

8) How have Sims online communities developed over the last 20 years?

Modding sites still exist for The Sims – a comprehensive list can be found at the SWARM1 fansite but a few sites have taken on the gargantuan task of preserving The Sims, becoming in effect digital libraries or archives. Sites such as CTO Sims2, and Yahoo Groups such as Saving the Sims3 are continuing to ‘rescue’ game assets from dead sites in a collaborative effort between creators and players who ‘donate’ game mods, which are then uploaded to the site or group and shared with other members.

9) Why have conflicts sometimes developed within The Sims online communities?

There has been conflicts between the creators and the players. This is because creators want to charge money for their mods and the players are against that because they want it for free.

10) What does the writer suggest The Sims will be remembered for?

But what it will be remembered for, I think, is for the cult following that it engendered well beyond the usual lifespan of a popular computer game; and also for the culture of digital production it helped to pioneer, one that remains such a staple of fan and game modding communities today.

Read this Henry Jenkins interview with James Paul Gee, writer of Woman as Gamers: The Sims and 21st Century Learning (2010).

1) How is ‘modding’ used in The Sims?

To create challenges and game play that is simultaneously in the game world, in the real world, and in writing things like graphic novels.

2) Why does James Paul Gee see The Sims as an important game?

The Sims is a real game and a very important one because it is a game that is meant to take people beyond gaming. She helped me see that how women play and design is not mainstream

3) What does the designer of The Sims, Will Wright, want players to do with the game?

Will Wright is doing in an extreme way what lots of game designers want to do: empower people to think like designers, to organise themselves around the game to become learn new skills that extend beyond the game, and to express their own creativity.

4) Do you agree with the view that The Sims is not a game – but something else entirely?

I don't think it something else entirely but i do believe it is more than a game now. It's a virtual reality where a person can be whoever they want to be and live their ideal life in a simulated universe.

5) How do you see the future of gaming? Do you agree with James Paul Gee that all games in the future will have the flexibility and interactivity of The Sims?

The gaming industry is always changing and it has been unpredictable. However, I think that gaming industries may incorporate the flexibility and interactivity of the Sims as technology improves.

Videogames: Henry Jenkins - fandom and participatory culture

Henry Jenkins - fandom blog tasks

The following tasks will give you an excellent introduction to fandom and also allow you to start exploring degree-level insight into audience studies. Work through the following:

Factsheet #107 - Fandom

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #107 on Fandom. Save it to USB or email it to yourself so you have access to the reading for homework. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the definition of a fan?

Someone who is devoted to a music artist, band, football team or you can be a fan of anything in the grand scheme of things.
2) What the different types of fan identified in the factsheet?

Hardcore fan- Hard core fans identify themselves as the ‘insiders’ within any given fandom and consider themselves to be aficionados of their chosen media text. They spend a lot of time and often money in becoming hard core fans. .

Newbie- Newbies are new fans and do not have the longevity of devotion or depth of knowledge that hard core fans have.

Anti fans-‘Anti-fans’ are those which identify themselves with media texts but negatively so; they loathe or hate the text but unlike ‘true’ fans they do not form their relationship with a text through close readings, they develop their emotional attachment ‘at a distance’ (Gray) through marketing publicity such as trailers.

3) What makes a ‘fandom’?

-A group of people that seem to enjoy something together

-They also seem to have an undying passion for that thing they are devoted to.
4) What is Bordieu’s argument regarding the ‘cultural capital’ of fandom?

-Fandom offers sense of recognition
-Their passion is noticed within the fandom and their status is known as as a fan.

5) What examples of fandom are provided on pages 2 and 3 of the factsheet?

-Ironic readings
-Defying the critics and institutions
-Imaginative extension and text creation (fan fiction)

6) Why is imaginative extension and text creation a vital part of digital fandom?

-fans create their version using their own creativity 

-they connect with other fans using fiction and story telling

Tomb Raider and Metroid fandom research

Look at this Tomb Raider fansite and answer the following questions: 

1) What types of content are on offer in this fansite?

It compares blogs, games and other websites on the content that they offer on the Tom Raider games. It also gives a directory on the games, news, walkthroughs and other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook groups.

2) What does the number of links and content suggest about the size of the online fan community for Tomb Raider and Lara Croft? Pick out some examples from this page.

By comparing the different websites of the type of content they have on the website shows that these different niche websites create a global mass culture when put together. Its in many different languages, so it shows how big the fan culture is.

3) Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the short ‘About me’ bio and social media updates. Is this a typical example of ‘fandom’ in the digital age? Why?

I think it is because it allows fans to discuss the text or genre on different platforms, which shows how big fan cultures are. One person or a group of people organise the fanbase and moderate them so they continue to have some structure and organisation.

Now look at this Metroid fansite and answer the following: 

1) What does the site offer?

• games
• interviews 
• articles
• social media links

2) Look at the Community Spotlight page. What does this suggest about the types of people who enjoy and participate in fan culture?

it suggests they enjoy cosplay and the musicians and has a knowledge of people who design the game as there a lot of names with no descriptions.

3) There is a specific feature on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. What do the questions from fans tell you about the level of engagement and interest in the game and franchise from the fan community?

fans asking questions show how invested people are and how there is also an element of 'end of audience'

Henry Jenkins: degree-level reading

Read the final chapter of ‘Fandom’ – written by Henry Jenkins. This will give you an excellent introduction to the level of reading required for seminars and essays at university as well as degree-level insight into our current work on fandom and participatory culture. Answer the following questions:

1) There is an important quote on the first page: “It’s not an audience, it’s a community”. What does this mean?
this means new digital media is more about bringing people together rather than selling and talking to an audience. 

2) Jenkins quotes Clay Shirky in the second page of the chapter. Pick out a single sentence of the extended quote that you think is particularly relevant to our work on participatory culture and the ‘end of audience’ (clue – look towards the end!)

'In the age of the internet, no one is a passive consumer anymore because everyone is a media outlet.'

'some are calling them “media-actives,” suggesting that they are much more likely to demand the right to participate within the media franchise than previous generations
'

3) What are the different names Jenkins discusses for these active consumers that are replacing the traditional audience?

Media actives/prosumers/“inspirational consumers' “connectors” or “influencers

4) On the third page of the chapter, what does Wired editor Chris Anderson suggest regarding the economic argument in favour of fan communities?

Anderson argues that investing in niche properties with small but committed consumer bases may make economic sense if you can lower costs of production and replace marketing costs by building a much stronger network with your desired consumers.

5) What examples does Jenkins provide to argue that fan culture has gone mainstream?

'This bottom up energy will generate enormous creativity'. I agree with the statement, fans for the first time have a mainstream platform to communicate on and can comment directly to producers of the text - this is changing the media landscape.

7) What does Jenkins suggest the new ideal consumer is?

Traditional: watched TV, bought products and didn't talk back.
New: Talks up the program, spreads word about the brand.

8) Why is fandom 'the future'?

The individual fan is not focused just on consumption.

9) What does it mean when Jenkins says we shouldn’t celebrate ‘a process that commodifies fan cultural production’?

 Fan production is produced based on the original product and is sold back to commodify the product.

10) Read through to the end of the chapter. What do you think the future of fandom is? Are we all fans now? Is fandom mainstream or are real fan communities still an example of a niche media audience?

We can all talk about texts and discuss them - this has been the case before the internet as people used to talk about film and TV shows before. Niche fan communities have more of an impact as do modern consumers because of the internet. There is now a direct link to producers of the text in terms of communication. Fandom will still be the future because we are able to voice our opinions directly to the consumer.

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.

Tomb raider anniversary

Language and Audience

Analyse the game cover for Tomb Raider Anniversary (above).

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

There is guns which emphasise action, the setting in which she is in reminds me of Indiana Jones therefore it makes it obvious that there is a sense of Adventure .

2) How does the pose and costume of the character appeal to primarily male audiences?
Her pose seems to enhance her assets which is obviously to cater the needs of the male audience. The title of the game is in front of her however it does not cover her breasts or her backside.

3) How might the cover be read as empowering for female gamers?

She does not need the man to be there to help her she is strong enough to advertise her game on her own.

Gameplay analysis

Watch the following gameplay clips again:

Gameplay analysis

1) What does the gameplay for Tomb Raider Anniversary involve?

It involves puzzles, fighting, weapons and many creatures.

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.

Intro cut scene, exploration in text, non-diegetic sound, puzzles. 

3) Analyse the clips for audience pleasures, applying audience theory and considering media effects.
She is extremely resourceful and seems to be very good at problem solving, however she is also very strong but has no prominent muscles?



Representations

Read this NME feature on the evolution of the character of Lara Croft. Answer the following questions:

1) Note the statistics in the opening paragraph.

Lara Croft has been featured on more than 1,100 magazine covers and sold over 58 Million copies worldwide

2) How does the article describe the cultural change in society and the media since the early 00s?
The article mentions changes such as a popular 'Lad Mag' which was misogynistic and sexist being ditched, and the #MeToo movement.

3) How was the original 1996 Lara Croft received by audiences and critics?

The idea was praised and audiences enjoyed playing as a female protagonist as it was something new and fresh.

4) What did the 2013 re-launch do differently – and how successful was it?

This time Lara actually looked the way she should, more blood and scars were seen on her, and her overall aesthetic was changed to make her look more rugged. She was reimagined as a character and it was well received by audiences.

5) How is ‘woke Lara’ defined in the conclusion of the feature?

She is defined as determined, courageous, and physically able.


Now read this feature – Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft: feminist or femme fatale? 

1) Why is Lara Croft considered a “polarising figure among gamers”?

Because she is either seen as a sex icon, or a powerful role model.

2) How did the limitations of game construction in the 1990s help to establish the way female characters were animated?

Due to technological limitations in those times her 'feminine' body parts had to be overly emphasised to make it easier to distinguish her from males.

3) Why were Lara Croft’s physical attributes emphasised in the original games?

Due to technological limitations in those times her 'feminine' body parts had to be overly emphasised to make it easier to distinguish her from males. 

4) How does Anita Sarkeesian describe Lara Croft?
An iconic female character in the gaming industry.

5) Why has Lara Croft’s appearance and characterisation changed over time?

As technology got better, gaming developers came to notice her voluptuous figure simply didn't fit her as a character especially with the quests and tasks she is set, therefore they changed her appearance to make her fit in with her environment more. 

Industries

1) Why is Lara Croft such an iconic figure in the gaming industry?

She's one of the first full independent playabale main characters in gaming making her an instant icon. This was an undiscovered concept at the time meaning it grabbed the attention of many people, especially female demographics.

2) What products and spin-offs have featured Lara Croft or the Tomb Raider brand?

Commercials such as Lucozade, Board Games, mobile games.

3) Why might Lara Croft be considered a postmodern icon?

She appeals to modern ideologies such as female independence.

4) Why is Tomb Raider Anniversary a 'case study in conglomerate ownership'?

Because the company behind the game is part of a conglomerate of other smaller companies.