Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Consoles Read Rhetorically
A key aspect of any media form is the means by which it is engaged. Reading
a book on a Kindle is dif erent than reading a printed book. The transition
from scrolls to topics and topics to e-readers transformed the process of
reading and writing. The fi nal contextual element of wordplay is a consid-
eration of the platforms on which games can be played. Parallel to research
wordplay would be incomplete without an analysis of the ways in which we
play games.
Video games can be designed and played in many dif erent ways on a
wide variety of technologies. However, a substantial amount of time and
energy has been spent on developing, marketing, and playing video game
consoles. Video games are still played in arcades and can certainly be played
on personal computers, but a platform unique to gaming is the home video
game consoles that emerged in the wake of the Magnavox Odyssey and
game consoles of ers a way to evaluate how technologies are a key contex-
tual element of wordplay because they shape what games are available and
how they are played.
The rhetorical dimensions related to the words, design, and play of con-
soles revolve around a series of four issues. First, it is important to trace
where we play video games. Adoption of home consoles marked a period
of transition from playing in public space to playing in private space. The
space for play is a huge part of game design and play, as the environment
for video games sets the stage for who is likely to play, how often, and
what will be played. The second key rhetorical element of console gaming
is analyzing how we play. Much like the development of the mouse and
graphic user interface changed the audience for and use of computers, vari-
ous home video game controllers reshape what games are made and how
play is engaged. Third, console wars of er an interesting angle with which
to analyze the preferred representations of play by certain companies at
specifi c points in time. The appeals made by platform developers to attract
consumer attention and the technological elements built into their consoles
to dif erentiate them from competitors of ers a means by which to analyze
what is valued at a given point in time. It is also relevant to analyze the
potential of the console and what consumers are supposed to do with it.
