Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2:
Video Games as 'Kid's' Toys
One of the key discursive constructs that still frames public discourse about
games is that video games are perceived by many as kid's toys. Although
Atari marketed its game console at young adults and much of their initial
arcade game testing was done in bars, Nintendo's marketing toward children
still holds a portion of the public's imagination with regard to gaming. What
is particularly interesting about this construction is that most gamers know-
ingly dismiss this presumption as a clear, irrelevant falsehood, especially if
they self-identify as a gamer, yet are no longer a 'kid.' As such, concerns
about violence and other adult themes in games are largely contextualized
in the public discourse by questions about what will happen if children play
these games, even if developers intend the game to be played by adults. The
belief by some that games are the exclusive domain of children is part of the
force behind events like the Provenzo report and Electronic Software Rat-
ings Board ratings, but extends to contemporary debates about content in
games, like the Hot Cof ee mod in
Grand Theft Auto
or the ability to unlock
sex scenes in games like
Mass Ef ect.
A key consideration for rhetorical crit-
ics is analyzing relationships between constructions of scene (context) and
agent (perception of gamers). As such, the perception of gamers is almost
more important than who is actually playing games when considering the
larger social environment for games. Looking to the history of gaming dem-
onstrates how we live in discursive environment within which perceptions
about contemporary games are limited and shaped by a discussion almost
completely external to games and gamers, but still looms as an important
factor in how video games are designed and played.
Chapter 3:
Talking Game Design
The advent of the web and rise of blogging created a situation in which
there are dozens of forums and blogs about most major video games. Per-
haps more interesting than the volume of the communication is that devel-
opers actively read and participate in many online forums and frequently
respond to the expressed thoughts and concerns of gamers. In so doing, a
loop is created that allows gamers to actively contribute to game design
and development. Good ideas are incorporated into games and particularly
productive members of the community are often brought into the gaming
ticularly active and vocal players can be hired as game designers. The level
of communication about most contemporary games has changed the ways
in which discourse about games is shaped, as the framework of the inter-
net has facilitated a way for gamers to talk back to developers. An ability
to address the changing terrain of game design and how the discourse of
games is subject to the communication of gamers and developers is a key
advantage of wordplay. By looking at the way channels for communication
alter the discourse of games, the surfaces upon which to apply wordplay
