Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - blog tasks

Language

1) Cover- genre:

•  Bold/metallic font- suggests its sci-fi, space feeling
• The small pictures- all to do with space- aliens, spaceships, shields
• Colours- desaturated and monochrome- greys/blues and orange suggests space.

2) Gameplay:

• Multiplayer- 4 people can play at once so you can play with your friends- healthy competition (diversion).
•  It is exclusive

3) Samus Aran is not sexualised on the cover of Metroid Prime 2.The costuming does not draw focus to her body type; however, it can be argued that it does in some ways it does show off her curves which indicates that she is a female. She could be seen as non-binary due to her props such as a gun seen as phallic symbol, something which is associated with the men.

Trailer analysis

1) Genre: Sci-Fi- this is conveyed through the creatures and setting. The non-diegetic sound and SFX help to exaggerate the theme and genre. 

2) Samus Aran at first seems ambiguous. However, there are some elements that hint at her being a female- her accentuated curves are seen due to her tight armour and her walking motions.

3) Steve Neale:

•  Repetition: The role of Samus Aran as the hero and defeating the evil forces- is a convention of most videogames. 
• Difference: Having a female protagonist who is muscular and strong. 

Gameplay analysis

1) The gameplay involves:

• First person shooter perspectives - allows the gamer to control the camera movement and scan different objects.
• Dark lighting makes the atmosphere of the game more ominous- links to sci-fi
• Head-up perspective - makes the game more immersive because it stimulates the inside of the helmet - makes the game feel more realistic. 

2) 

• Genre: Sci-Fi
• Narrative: reaching checkpoints and scanning objects
•  Mise-en-scene: costume links to the setting and genre, lighting is low key which is a convention for sci-fi products.  
• Camera shots- FPP and head- up perspective makes the game more immersive. 

3) Audience pleasures: 

•  Diversion- playing the game
• Nostalgia- Nintendo
• Visual pleasure- SFX
• Erotic pleasure- Samus Aran strips

Audience Theory:

•  Blumler and Katz- Diversion, enjoying the FPP
•  Hypodermic Needle- may have damaging effects due to the content it features

Audience

1)  I think that this Metroid was aimed more towards the conventional gaming audience: slightly older teenage males. The overall style and premise of the game contrasts greatly to other games such as Zelda and Super Mario so its clear that the target audience would be different. Also, the fact that Aran strips at the end of the game suggests that an older teenage audience is preferred 14+ as the game recommends.

2) I think that the audience demographic for Nintendo has aimed towards a family group - aimed at all age ranges so that gaming can be experienced on an inclusive level with all family members participating. I think that they are balanced in the genders they aim towards. 

3) Audience pleasures: 

•  Diversion- entertaining game as 4 can play at once.
•  Lots of enigma and action codes.

4) Audience effects theory:

•  Views on women- seen as sex objects due to Aran stripping. May seen as a reward.
•  Social Learning Theory- they may act on what they see.

Gamesparks feature on gaming demographics

1) A stereotypical gamer is an adolescent boy-  "aggressive marketing to this demographic."

2) The rise in new/digital media- 50%+ gamers are now female so gender is balanced. 

3) Women fairly contribute to the videogames market:

•  +50% of gamers are female
• 47% have a console which is higher than the men.

4) Older gamers are becoming a market for the gaming industry as they can embed a lot of nostalgia in their games. Nintendo is quite an old and well established company and it is family aimed so people in their mid 30s still have an impact on their market. 

5)  Competition and rivalry-based games are enjoyed more by younger gamers, whereas the desire to compete and battle other games is lessened when gamers reach approximately 40 years old. This reflects the pleasure of inclusivity - the idea of multiplayer gaming and being able to challenge your friends etc at various games. Many older gamers want games of their childhood. This reflects the audience pleasure of nostalgia.

Industries

Destructoid blog on the Metroid franchise.

1) Metroid is a sci-fi game and aimed towards older teenagers, whereas Nintendo aims more towards a family audience.

2) Franchises that have overtaken Metroid in the sci-fi hyper-realism genre in recent years:

• Federation Force
•  Xeodrifter
•  Axiom Verge
• Ghost Song.

3) I think that the link between the boy bands in the music industry and the Metroid franchise is quite clever as it parallels with how audiences lose interest over time. Like some boy bands lose popularity and fame, certain games like Metroid also become less popular as they become overshadowed by newer better designed games.

4) Triple A: refers to a game hat has been produced and distributed by a mid/major publisher.

5) Personally, I don't think they should make any more Metroid games. The franchise has made enough money already. Samus Aran should be taken as inspiration to create other female characters, she is a female icon. 

Representation

BBC3 feature on Samus Aran

1)  Metroid was notable for the fact that Samus Aran proved to be a female.

2) Inspirations behind the gameplay and construction of Metroid:

•  Super Mario
• Zelda
• Alien (the film)

3) The endings to the original Metroid are considered to be controversial because the game offered 5 different endings depending on how quickly the player completed the game. The faster they completed the game, the more of Samus's armour would be removed - showing more of her body.

4) The reaction to Samus Aran in a bikini would've been a surprise to the gamers as she was a female, something they weren't expecting.  However, male gamers may have enjoyed this experience due to visual/erotic pleasure. The fact that in that time period women were still perceived as subordinate so it meant that males still had control of their actions, whether in real life or in games. 

5) Samus Aran has been sexualised by her costuming when she appears in other Nintendo games. She appeared in the Super Smash Bros game wearing high heels and tight costuming, rather than her bulkier armour.

6) We can apply Van Zoonen to Metroid as she says that gender is constructed. At first view of Aran we assume she is a male due to her muscular physique and actions, however as we see her more, we start to realise that she is a female, which is accentuated through her curves/body type. 

7) Brianna Wu suggested that the character of Samus Aran is transgender- to appeal to all gender types. 

8) I think that Samus Aran offers opportunities to be a feminist icon; however, it can be argued that she is another exploited female character. She can be seen as a feminist icon as she is a solo character in the game and has physique and strength- she is brave. However, the fact that she is exploited by stripping suggests she is a reward for male games who have completed the game. 

Houston Press feature on Samus Aran and entitled male gamers

1) Anita Sarkeesian suggests that the reveal of Samus Aran's gender actually acts as a reward for male gamers, because her body is revealed as a reward. She argues that while this does not diminish or reduce Samus's efforts and her position as a powerful character, it does diminish the Metroid game itself for reverting back to this sexist convention.

2) The original design for Samus had her as being 6'3" in height, with a very muscular appearance, these are traits which are associated with a male. The designer of Samus's character also referred to her as a "new half" which parallels to the English term "shemale."

3)  Even though she is sexualised in many ways, she still represents females.

4) Lara Croft, Zelda and Peach not ideal examples to argue for female equality in videogames because Croft was seen as a sex symbol and Zelda and Peach were seen as "damsels in distress"

5) SWJ: Social Justice Warrior- gender politics.

6) Gerbner's cultivation theory suggests that the more we consume the media, the greater the influence and impact that it has on our attitudes and beliefs rather than behavious. I think that this can be applied to representations of women in videogames, because if women are constantly represented as sex objects or rewards for male power and success, then male gamers may find it more difficult to distinguish between this and reality. For example, they my start viewing women in real life as rewards that they can win and have sex with rather than respectable women. This parallels with Aran stripping in Metroid.

7) Does the videogame industry have a problem with gender? 

•  Agree- videogames feature males as protagonists due to the target being adolescent males. However, women are not represented truly, when they are they have a hyper-feminised body type. 
• Disagree- Croft in the new design is wearing realistic clothing an explorer would wear.