AGENDA, 2-20-12• Discuss Myst, Max Payne, and Colossal Cave
Adventure• Presentations• Discuss papers and writing • Begin lecture on “Video Game Aesthetics”REMINDERS• Arts & Entertainment Networking Event tonight
7-8:30 (see website for full info)• Quiz next Monday on this week’s reading• Next paper due next Wednesday
How to Write a Video Game Analysis
• A video game review has observations and evaluative conclusions (something is good or bad); more or less comprehensive
• An analysis uses more targeted observations (NOT comprehensive) in order to make an argument that connects the specific (the particular game) to the general (a broader idea, debate, or issue)
• Broader issues? Narratology vs. ludology, video game genre, definition of game or video game
Video Game Aesthetics
• Aesthetics: all aspects of video games which are experienced by the player (directly or indirectly)– Rules– Single-player vs. multiplayer– Perspective– Dimensions (2D, 3D)– Space and time– Visuals and sound
Rules• Rules: limit what you can and cannot do;
determine value of actions (in terms of score, winning, or progressing); define relationships between various elements– A game is its rules; transmedial– All rules coded into the game (less flexible than non-
electronic games)• Single-player vs. multiplayer– Single-player gaming is fairly unique to video games;
can be non- or even anti-social pastime– AI– Multiplayer—different form altogether?
Gameplay
• Gameplay: “the game dynamics emerging from the interplay between rules and game geography”– Game balance– Emergence: game dynamics that emerge without
being planned for– Vs. progression games (Myst, must complete list of
predefined actions to complete the game, unique to video games)
Perspective
• First-person vs. third-person
Perspective
• Top-down vs. isometric perspective
Isometric perspective
2D vs. 3D
Gamespace• Abstract, torus, or free
Gamespace• Scroll—usually horizontal, but can be vertical• Parallax scrolling• Off-screen space: active or passive
Game Temporality
• Play time – includes processing time (loading, saving, cut-
scenes, etc.)• Event time• “real time”: play time = event time• Pace
Visual style
• Photorealism, caricaturism, abstractionism• Stylization, “uncanny valley”
Video Game Audio
• Vocalization/dialogue• Sound effects• Ambient effects• Music– Auto-generated music
• Sounds affected by environment, spatiality, physics
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