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
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).
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
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.
Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment