Talking Game Design - Wordplay and the Discourse of Video Games - page 52

3 Talking Game Design

Some of the most signifi cant forces in the discourse of video games origi-
nate from the players who play them. Developers have a clear role in the
rhetorical force of games, as they are a key part of the authorial voice
designing games in the fi rst place. Society at large sets the framework for
the contextual boundaries about what games are made and who is seen as
an appropriate player. Coding languages and procedures, as well as the
consoles and technologies used to play video games are also crucial com-
ponents in setting up the structures surrounding video games. In light of
all these considerations, the role of the player in shaping the discourse of
games is easy to ignore, however they help make video games what they are
and what they will be.
The importance of players is most apparent when one starts to think
about the relationship between the game industry and the people who play
games. Developers, designers, and publishers take the role of authors. They
make games and produce texts that many fi nd enjoyable, but others fi nd to
be a despicable waste of time. The code, processes, and technology of video
games can be tied to the channel of or scene for communication, as they
set the terms for interaction. However, the audience response to a game is
a crucial part of the words, design, and play that can easily be overlooked.
From a rhetorical standpoint, all messages are made for an audience and
it is the audience that determines the success of the text. Examples of the
importance of the audience are riddled throughout society. From student
papers written for specifi c professors to political speeches given to particu-
lar constituencies, the people for whom the message is intended are crucial
to the development of a message. One of the fi rst objectives for strong stu-
dents facing a new professor is trying to fi gure out what makes them tick,
so they can better develop papers and exam answers to suit the person who
will be assessing their work. Politicians may have an overarching theme
to their campaign, but the presentation of that message shifts when mov-
ing from meeting with one interest group to the next. Video games are
also subject to the various interests of their audiences as it is the players
who buy, talk about, and modify games. 1 In the case of games that contain
robust online and ol ine components game design can get even trickier,