Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURe 12.8
The victim shop in
Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas
According to Umberto Eco, one of the positive effects of using intertextual irony is
that it invites the audience, no matter what its background is, into a more reflec-
tive attitude about the work. In contrast,
America's Army
lacks any hint of satire in
spite of the peculiarity that all the players consider themselves to be American sol-
diers—good guys—and consider all others to be insurgents. The game implements
complete moral relativism: No one is unequivocally the good guy. To those who are
paying attention, it invites the question, “if we're all alike, why are we fighting?”
But it takes itself too seriously for that. Players of
America's Army
are never prompted
to reflect on this situation.
For the inal chapter of our topic we have examined ways to communicate messages
with games, particularly with game mechanics. We defined serious games and dis-
cussed what they're for and how they work. We also looked at how entertainment
games such as
Grand Theft Auto III
use elements of satire to make fun of their own
premise. Communication theory and semiotics both offer useful models for think-
ing about how a game can represent ideas and convey them to its players. You can
use analogous and symbolic simulation as tools to communicate meaning efficiently,
without trying to represent real-world ideas exactly. And finally, by creating games
with multiple layers of meaning, you can build especially rich experiences for your
players, games that transcend light entertainment and approach the status of artworks.
We hope you have enjoyed
Game Mechanics
and found it useful. Although we have
not concentrated on particular genres or on software implementation techniques,
we feel that the tools we have offered—in particular the design patterns and the
Machinations framework and tool—will be invaluable in your career as a game
designer, no matter what kind of games you design. Thank you for reading!
