Videogames - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Our second videogames CSP is Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004).

This is another in-depth CSP so will require a decent amount of work and research for an extensive blog case study.

The basics

• First-person action-adventure game produced for Nintendo GameCube (2004)
• Part of Metroid franchise – 7th game in series, sequel to Metroid Prime (original Metroid was 1986 on NES; latest release was Metroid: Samus Returns in 2017 on 3DS)
• Sold around 800,000 copies worldwide (quite low based on Nintendo franchises and previous Metroid games) 
• Game follows bounty hunter Samus Aran as she is sent to rescue Galactic Federation Marines
• She must battle the Ing (a destructive race from another dimension) and a mysterious version of herself called Dark Samus
• The game’s head-up display simulates the inside of Samus’s helmet and features map, radar, health bar, weapons and more
• Prime 2 Echoes is the first Metroid title to feature a 4-player multiplayer element

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Metroid Prime 2: Echoes case study' and complete the following in-depth tasks.

Language

Analyse the game cover for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (above).

1) How does the cover communicate the genre of the game?

2) What does the cover suggest regarding gameplay and audience pleasures?

3) Does the cover sexualise the character of Samus Aran? Why/why not?


Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for the game:



1) What do you notice about genre?

2) How is the character introduced? Is Samus Aran's gender clear? Why?

3) How can we apply Steve Neale’s genre theory that discusses “repetition and difference”?

Gameplay analysis

Watch the following gameplay clips again:





1) What does the gameplay for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes involve?

2) Write an analysis of the media language choices in the construction of the game: e.g. genre, narrative, mise-en-scene, camera shots etc.

3) Analyse the clips for audience pleasures, applying audience theory and considering media effects. You can use bullet points here and/or type up your notes from the analysis in class.

4) Choose one other theory to evaluate using the gameplay in Metroid e.g. gender theories or postmodernism. Again, use the notes from class to help you.

Audience

Research the audience for Nintendo and specifically the Metroid franchise, including Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. You may wish to start with looking at the following pages (note: some links may be blocked on school PCs):

Reddit discussion of why people play Metroid 
Giant Bomb forum: Who exactly is Nintendo’s demographics?
Reset Era: Nintendo’s audience getting older

1) Who might the target audience be for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, based on your research? Discuss demographics and psychographics.

2) How has Nintendo’s audience changed since the original Metroid game in 1986?

3) What audience pleasures are offered by Metroid Prime 2: Echoes or the wider Metroid franchise?

4) What effects might Metroid have on audiences? Apply media effects theories (e.g. Bandura’s social learning theory, Gerbner’s cultivation theory). 

Read this Gamesparks feature on gaming demographics and answer the following questions:

1) Who is considered to be the stereotypical gamer?

2) What has changed this?

3) What role do women play in the videogames market? Quote statistics from the article here.

4) Why are older gamers becoming a particularly important market for videogames producers? How can you link this to the Metroid franchise?

5) What does the article suggest regarding audience pleasures and expectations for different generations of gamer?


Industries

Read this Destructoid blog on the Metroid franchise. Answer the following:

1) Why has Metroid never quite fitted with the Nintendo brand?

2) What franchises have overtaken Metroid in the sci-fi hyper-realism genre in recent years?

3) Why does the writer link old boy bands from the music industry to the Metroid franchise? Do you agree with this reading of the brand?

4) What is an ‘AAA’ or ‘triple-A game’ in the videogames industry?

5) Do you think there will be further Metroid games featuring Samus Aran? Should there be?


Representations

Read this BBC3 feature on Samus Aran and answer the questions below:

1) What was notable about the original Metroid game in 1986?

2) What were the inspirations behind the gameplay and construction of Metroid?

3) Why are the endings to the original Metroid considered controversial?

4) What reaction do you think the reveal of Samus Aran in a bikini would have got when the game was first released in 1986? Have attitudes towards women changed?

5) How have later versions of the Metroid franchise sexualised the character of Samus Aran?

6) How can we apply Liesbet van Zoonen’s work to Samus Aran and Metroid?

7) What did Brianna Wu suggest regarding the character of Samus Aran?

8) Do you see Samus Aran as a feminist icon or simply another exploited female character?


Read this Houston Press feature on Samus Aran and entitled male gamers. Answer the following questions:

1) What does Anita Sarkeesian suggest regarding Samus Aran?

2) Why does Brianna Wu (and others) suggest Samus Aran may be transgender?

3) Why is Samus Aran useful for male gamers trying to argue videogames are not sexist?

4) Why are Lara Croft, Zelda and Peach not ideal examples to argue for female equality in videogames?

5) What does the ‘SJW’ in ‘SJW-gender politics’ refer to?

6) How can we apply Gerbner’s Cultivation theory to representations of women in videogames as discussed in the article? How might this lead to ‘entitled male gamers’? 

7) Does the videogame industry have a problem with gender? Explain your opinion on this question and provide evidence for your argument.


A/A* extension tasks

Read this journal article called Mapping Metroid - which looks at the Metroid franchise's use of maps and brings in elements of game construction, narrative and postmodernism. It's a great example of academic writing and university-level videogame analysis. 


Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Videogames: Tomb Raider Anniversary

Our first videogames CSP is Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007).

This is an in-depth CSP so will require significant work and research for an extensive blog case study.

The basics

• Released in 2007 on multiple consoles, PC and Mac. 
• The Wii version had active features; on Xbox it was the first game to be offered on Xbox Live Marketplace.
• 11th version of the Tomb Raider franchise.
• Marked 10th anniversary of original 1996 Tomb Raider game.
• Sold 1.3m copies – good but nowhere near original (7m+ copies).
• Game was based on original (offering nostalgia) but with updated graphics and gameplay – faster and more agile; more realistic visuals.
• Genre: Action adventure
• Protagonist/avatar (character player controls): Lara Croft
• Quest narrative driven by enigma and action codes and culminating in a final confrontation with antagonist. Lara Croft is dispatched to New Mexico to recover part of the Scion of Atlantis
• Gameplay involves: Exploration; Overcoming physical obstacles; Puzzles; Fighting; Gunplay.

Tomb Raider Anniversary: blog tasks

Language and Audience

Analyse the game cover for Tomb Raider Anniversary (above).

1) How does the cover communicate the genre of the game?

2) How does the pose and costume of the character appeal to primarily male audiences?

3) How might the cover be read as empowering for female gamers?

Gameplay analysis

Watch the following gameplay clips again:

1) What does the gameplay for Tomb Raider Anniversary involve?

2) Write an analysis of the media language choices in the construction of the game: e.g. genre, narrative, mise-en-scene, camera shots etc.

3) Analyse the clips for audience pleasures, applying audience theory and considering media effects.


Representations

Read this NME feature on the evolution of the character of Lara Croft. Answer the following questions:

1) Note the statistics in the opening paragraph.

2) How does the article describe the cultural change in society and the media since the early 00s?

3) How was the original 1996 Lara Croft received by audiences and critics?

4) What did the 2013 re-launch do differently – and how successful was it?

5) How is ‘woke Lara’ defined in the conclusion of the feature?


Now read this feature – Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft: feminist or femme fatale? 

1) Why is Lara Croft considered a “polarising figure among gamers”?

2) How did the limitations of game construction in the 1990s help to establish the way female characters were animated?

3) Why were Lara Croft’s physical attributes emphasised in the original games?

4) How does Anita Sarkeesian describe Lara Croft?

5) Why has Lara Croft’s appearance and characterisation changed over time?

Industries

1) Why is Lara Croft such an iconic figure in the gaming industry?

2) What products and spin-offs have featured Lara Croft or the Tomb Raider brand?

3) Why might Lara Croft be considered a postmodern icon?

4) Why is Tomb Raider Anniversary a 'case study in conglomerate ownership'?


Grade A/A* extension tasks

Link Tomb Raider Anniversary to our work in the unit so far:

1) What examples from the Tomb Raider franchise are included in Anita Sarkeesian's video series 'Tropes vs Women in Video Games'?

2) How can we apply Liesbet van Zoonen's work to Lara Croft and Tomb Raider?


Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Coursework: Statement of Intent

Our coursework projects are developing well with the filming almost finished and our rough cut edits coming soon. We now need to update our Statement of Intent with our projects fully planned.

This week, we need to write and submit a second draft of our Statement of Intent that will be marked and given feedback in terms of a level and approximate grade. The Statement of Intent is worth 10 of the 60 marks so if we want A/A* we'll need something close to full marks on this component. 

 
One important point to remember is that your Statement of Intent is what you are planning to do - so it must be written in the future tense ('I will...' rather than 'I have...') This is not an evaluation but instead a written account of what you intend to produce.

You need to submit the second draft of your Statement of Intent as a NEW blog post AND email or share a version from Microsoft Word / Google Docs with your coursework teacher. Statement of Intent guidance is provided by AQA in their NEA Student Booklet but we strongly recommend you also look at our Statement of Intent questions to consider document too (you'll need to log in with your Greenford Google account to open these documents). 

Finally, here's an example Statement of Intent from a previous year (different brief - TV drama trailer) to give you some ideas on how you can use layout and bullet points to include a large amount of information while keeping close to the 500-word limit.

Statement of Intent deadline: Week commencing Monday 28 November

Mark scheme

A few of you have requested the mark scheme for the Statement of Intent. You can find it in the A Level Media specification document here - on pages 21-22 (if you keep scrolling you can also find the mark scheme for the remaining 50 marks for your productions).

If you need a recap on the brief from AQA, you can find it here - Brief Three: Music Promo.

Your statement of intent is a vital part of the project so make sure you are demonstrating your excellent knowledge of media concepts, terminology and theory.

Videogames: Further feminist theory

As part of our study of women in videogames, we need to develop a deeper understanding of feminist theory.

We have looked at a range of feminist ideas earlier in the course including Laura Mulvey, Judith Butler, Liesbet van Zoonen, the concept of post- or fourth-wave feminism and more. We now need to explore this further with a deeper understanding of bell hooks and van Zoonen.

Notes from the lesson

Watch this short extract from Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox interviewing bell hooks at The New School in New York:



bell hooks is a highly influential radical black feminist.

She sees feminism as a struggle to end patriarchal oppression - it should be a serious political commitment rather than a fashionable lifestyle choice: “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression”.

bell hooks also points to the importance of race and class when studying oppression.

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is defined as the common point of two forms of oppression and how they work against a particular group of people. For example, black feminism addresses both gender and race discrimination.

bell hooks suggests that race is so significant that the experiences of gender, class or sexuality-based discrimination cannot be fully understood without also considering race.

This is important when analysing power in society. For example, men generally have more power then women – but white, middle class western women generally have much more power than women from non-white backgrounds.

Liesbet van Zoonen

Liesbet van Zoonen is an influential feminist academic and linked gender roles and the media explicitly in her 1994 book Feminist Media Studies. Some of her key ideas:

• Gender is constructed through media language
• These constructions reflect cultural and historical contexts
• The objectification of the female body is a key construct of western culture (building on Mulvey – male gaze)
• If women have to be like men to be treated equally, then equality itself is repressive

You can find the further notes on van Zoonen in this Google document (you'll need your Greenford Google login to access).

Further feminist theory: blog tasks

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or here using your Greenford Google login. Find Media Factsheet #169 Further Feminist Theory, read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?

2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?

3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?

4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?

5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?

6) Liesbet van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed. What does this mean and which other media theorist we have studied does this link to?

7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?

8) In looking at the history of the colours pink and blue, van Zoonen suggests ideas gender ideas can evolve over time. Which other media theorist we have studied argues this and do you agree that gender roles are in a process of constant change? Can you suggest examples to support your view?

9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?

10) What other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?

11) Van Zoonen discusses ‘transmission models of communication’. She suggests women are oppressed by the dominant culture and therefore take in representations that do not reflect their view of the world. What other theory and idea (that we have studied recently) can this be linked to?

12) Finally, van Zoonen has built on the work of bell hooks by exploring power and feminism. She suggests that power is not a binary male/female issue but reflects the “multiplicity of relations of subordination”. How does this link to bell hooks views on feminism and intersectionality?

Extension task

If you’re interested in some of these ideas, there is plenty more reading and watching you can do. For example, watch this TEDx talk by renowned Nigerian/American novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ‘We should all be feminists’:

The Factsheet questions must be completed for homework if you don't finish in the lesson - due date on Google Classroom.

Filming window extension

With a Media trip next week giving the perfect opportunity for some additional filming or photoshoot work, we have extended the filming window by one week.

This means you now have until Monday 21 November to complete all your filming for the full three-minute promo. You may also wish to take photographs for your print work too. 

This filming deadline is critical for the overall success of the project as we will need to complete a three-minute rough cut of the video production by Christmas. In class we will also be working on our Statement of Intent too.

LED ring light

If you are filming in interior locations at home then you may wish to borrow our LED ring light. Speak to Mr Harrison to find out more.

Good luck with your filming and let's aim for professional standards!

Filming deadline: Monday 21 November