Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
setting the backdrop for analysis of specifi c games and genres. In addi-
tion to the contextual elements that fall outside of games, like a large-scale
social predisposition that video games are for children, this section focuses
on how games can foster their own context and how technological develop-
ments mediate the environment in which games are played. The rhetorical
force of gaming is shaped in part by the games we play, but the words,
design, and play of video games are not created in a vacuum. The discourse
of video games is subject to larger sociotechnical forces, like the growth
of the internet and the role blogs and forums play in creating space for
interaction between gamers and developers. Games help shape contextual
forces through the integration of elements to socialize players into particu-
lar games and gaming as a whole, but all games are subject to a context
beyond their control. This section cannot address all of the forces shaping
the context within which games are played. However, these cases show the
dif erent kinds of factors that contribute to the scene in which games are
played and produced. The cases were selected to provide sui cient depth to
demonstrate how they help set the terms for understanding wordplay and
demonstrate key ways in which to apply the tools of rhetorical analysis to
the study of the discourse of video games.
Chapter 1:
Socializing Gamers
One of the key jobs for any game is to introduce gamers into the fl ow
and game play of how the game works. Typically this is done through an
introductory section rife with hints, tips, or strategies. Lessons can also be
spread throughout a game, from including a hint on the screen about which
button to press at a key moment or changing the color of a stone on a wall
to denote that it should be seen as particularly interesting. On a grander
scale, game developers and genres work to introduce gamers into a particu-
lar way to play games, whether that is through encouraging them to look
at an online forum, pursue a certain strategy to defeat an enemy, or request
they register a product to gather more information about who is buying a
given game. All of these factors work to interpolate players into a game and
gaming, socializing them in how to play properly and potentially encourag-
ing them to play more often. Applying wordplay to the early moments of
games addresses how design devices and technology function rhetorically
to encourage a certain kind of play with examples of how design elements
bring gamers into a game and keep them invested. This marks a connection
between the work of rhetoricians who often focus on the images and text
in digital media and critics who seek to analyze the function of games from
a procedural or structural standpoint. Focusing on the early game experi-
ence of ers a clear development of how game designers leverage words and
play to shape the context of gaming and how wordplay can of er insight on
decisions that are key components of video games.
