Video Game Analysis
Video Game Analysis
Video Game Analysis
Try to complete the game, or at least familiarize yourself with all the modes. You
should master the game as much as you can. If you've played it before, play it
again, to have the game fresh in your mindreplay always helps achieving new
insights about the game. The time you should be playing the game varies from
game to game. In your analysis, be explicit about how you played the game, if
there are different options (e.g. level of difficulty, character that you used.)
It's good to keep track of things you come across in the game. What do you like?
What don't you like? Is there something that you did not expect? Does a specific
part of the game remind you of something else (another game, or a movie, or
some other event)? Taking notes of potential examples for your paper is also a
good habit. If you can have a corresponding savegame for reference, even better.
Anyone can get stuck and might need help, especially if it prevents them from
getting far enough in the game (and therefore from playing it extensively). Cheat
codes, watching walkthrough videos, or having a friend play for you are ways to
help you know more about the game, but they should not be the predominant
mode in which you experience it. If you just follow a walkthrough from the start,
you will be reproducing someone else's experience of the game, not your own. It
would be like reading Cliff's Notes instead of the actual book; in the end your
analyses can expand and compare more than one aspect; however, beware of
wanting to cover too much and losing focus. The following are just a few
examples of different types of textual analysis depending on their focus, but you
can come up with your own depending on what you want to highlight from the
game. Browse the analyses in the different issues of Game Studies
http://gamestudies.org/ to find a range of different academic analyses of games.1
- Comparative Analysis:
section of the analysis. This means it is a double analysis, of both the game and
the other media it is being compared to. This approach makes it necessary to
define very well what the terms of the comparison are, so you can build a strong
argument.
Two games can be compared to each other, which will require expanding on the
formal analysis). Talking about two games in the same paper does not constitute
a comparative analysis: you must select the aspects that allow the comparison.
For example, comparing World of Warcraft with Passage is a big leap, since they
seem to have so little in common. Choose a set of aspects that allows the
For instance, A comparative analysis can deal with how different games
Dash; Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic vs Star Wars: Shadows of the
comparison.
- Reading / Interpretation
Murray argued. It can also be a symbolic reading encouraged by the game itself,
such as a psychological reading of Silent Hill 2 (see Rusch in Well Played 1.0).
methods. You can also analyze the game from the standpoint of the theories and
interdisciplinary field, as you will see through the course. That does not mean
that other disciplines cannot analyze games and see how they relate to their
knowledge domain.
- Historical analysis:
A historical analysis can deal, for example, with the production history of a game,
depending on what historical aspect is highlighted, other sections may also have
to be strengthened. The historical innovations of a game, for example, will
probably require expanding on its formal qualities. For example, Drew Davison,
in his analysis in Well Played 1.0 accounts for his experience as a player of World
of Goo throughout his development. Given that he was part of the process, he can
provide a unique perspective in his analysis.
- Case study
The "case study" format can be used as a way to prove or disprove a set of
theoretical assumptions, by applying them in depth to a particular game. The
game becomes the reference example of a specific theory or approach. For
instance, the analysis of Ultima Underworld in Well Played 1.0 explores specific
methods to integrate gameplay and storytelling. Metal Gear Solid 2 could be
approached as a case study of using self-reference and breaking the "fourth wall"
as a way of making a commentary on the player's behaviour.
These are just a few examples of what you may do. For the purposes of this class,
try to marry the game to the theory, and try to get an idea of what you want to say
early on.
3. Contextualize
Providing a frame of reference to understand your analysis is basic to make it
accessible to your reader, particularly if they are not familiar with the game.
Games, like any other media artifacts, are not produced in a void. They are the
product of their times: the technology available at the moment, the people who
made them, or other socio-cultural trends that marked that historical moment.
Unless your analysis focuses specifically on any of these areas (e.g. a historical
analysis or a comparison with other media), this should be a brief section. Your
contextualization should include at least three of these aspects.
- Game Developer/Studio; Artists, Designers, Programmers, Writers (or whoever
is relevant).
The creative team of a game is important, particularly in the case where it
connects to other relevant games they worked on before or after this game. Some
development studios or designers have certain trademarks, or specialize on a
particular genre (e.g. Valve, Square Enix or Will Wright), so choosing one of their
games can mark a specific time in the evolution of their games, which might be
important to the context of your analysis.
- Game genre and related games
A game genre usually has a set of established conventions behind it, such as First
Person Shooters, adventure games, real-time strategy games or Role-Playing
Games. Establishing the game within a genre can help determine, for instance,
why it is like other games of the same type, or what is innovative about it. If the
game partakes of conventions from different genres, that can also be a way of
explaining what sets it apart from other games. The relations to other game
genres do not have to be exclusively digital--board and card games, as well as
game?
4. Game Overview
It is always good to explain briefly what you do in the game to someone who has
not played it or is not familiar with it. Do not always take your audience's
knowledge for granted, explain the game to them, so that they are aware of how
you understand it. Give your reader an idea of what gameplay is like.
- No. of Players (single player/multi-player/MMO)
Can you choose the number of players? Does it have different modes depending
on the number of players? If there is more than one player, do they play
Make a summary of the basic rules of the game, a summarized version of the
instructions, as it were. If the game has an end / a win state, what is it? If it does
not, it's also worth explaining whether it is an endless game, or whether there are
multiple goals, or whether the player is able to set their own goals/win state (e.g.
The Sims). Does the game have different modes, where the rules change slightly?
Focus on the core mechanics: what are the most recurring actions in the game?
You can think of this in terms of verbs: what are the main verbs of the game? For
example, in Super Mario Bros. the verbs would be run, jump, pick up, slide
Where does the game take place? How does the player navigate the space? How
does the game encourage exploration of the space, if at all? Are there different
do anything that is not possible in the real world? How does the space of the
This section is a tricky one, since your experience will probably be different from
other people's. Your skills or game knowledge affect the way you play the game.
You can contrast your own gameplay with that of other players by reading
walkthroughs or reviews. You can also compare how you played with the
where they express that intention. Do not try to generalize your opinion--your
the game makers are from what you see in the game, you should have factual
How is the setting presented outside and in the game? How does the game live up
to it? How does it establish the fictional world of the game? How does it relate to
the rules and goals of the game? If the game has a strong story component, you
may summarize its premise; however, you should avoid turning your analysis
into a retelling of the story of the game.
5. Formal Elements
In this section, you have to identify the different game elements that make up the
game system, and establish the relationships between them.
- Gameworld rules
What model is the game trying to simulate? How does the gameworld work,
outside of the rules of the game? For instance, San Andreas in Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas is a city where pedestrians walk on the side walk, cars run at
normal speed on the road and follow traffic rules, and the day/night cycle
changes every 20 minutes. This could be called a simulation of the real world,
within certain limits. Other examples can refer to the difference between what is
possible in the gameworld and what the player is allowed to do. For example, in
the main mode of Halo characters talk to each other in cut-scenes, but the player
cannot choose when to talk or what to say. What is possible or impossible in a
game is the direct result of decisions made in the design of the game, and you
have to be aware of those choices.
- Simulation and Levels of Abstraction2
What level of abstraction is the game using? How nuanced is the simulation in
the game? For example, Diner Dash simulates the strategic aspects of
waitressing, where the key is to optimize your path to do the most things the least
amount of time, but does not include taking down people's orders and
memorized who ordered what. How complex is the simulation, depending on that
level of abstraction.
- Game mechanics and resulting dynamics3
From the rules of the game described above, What are the main strategies? What
is their range (i.e. are there just a couple of strategies or is there a wide variety)?
Are there any emergent strategies that are possible but may not have been
predicted by the developers? Does the game accommodate different play styles?
Can the player save the game? If so, can the game be saved at any point, or does
the game regulate when to save the game?
- The gap between the game and the player: Player character, mediation,
interface design
How does the player have agency in the gameworld? How is the information
displayed on the screen? Is the interaction menu-based (as in Sim City)? Is there
a player character who represents the player in the world? Is it a given character
or is it customizable? Can the player character die or not? Does the player
manipulate the objects directly, without a player character or avatar (e.g. in
puzzle games like Bejeweled)? Can the player select different entities in the world
at a time (as in real-time strategy games)? How is gameplay information
Are there different difficulty levels? How is the level of difficulty increased? Is it
proficiency does the game expect from the player? Is it easy to pick up, difficult to
master? How does the game teach you how to play it, if at all? Is there a tutorial,
Does the player have to type the commands of the game? Does it use the mouse/a
game controller/a special peripheral? Does the game allow different ways to
configure your controls? Does the game allow voice input (e.g. voice chat in an
MMO, or voice controls)? How do the controls affect and shape gameplay?
What is the audiovisual style of the game? Does it evoke / imitate the style of
other media (e.g. painting, photography, cinema, classical music)? Does it use
other games as aesthetic reference (e.g. retro games)? What is the color scheme?
How do these audiovisual elements contribute to the fiction of the game? How do
- Progression vs Emergence
Does the game force the player to follow a specific sequence? How does the game
guide the player to the correct action? Are there multiple paths? Are there
emergent behaviors, or is there room for emergent gameplay? How does the
You may be interested in surveying different gameplay modes, that may not be
the standard for most players, such as user-developed levels, or different modes
of the game (such as the no-fail mode of Rock Band 2, or the crash mode of
Burnout, or the multiplayer modes of Diablo 2). Cheats and game hacks have a
great potential as texts to analyze, since they can become commentaries on the
Notes
1A
couple of good examples of game analysis of the type encouraged here are
http://gamestudies.org/0601/articles/montfort and
http://www.etc.cmu.edu/etcpress/node/277
2 See
3 See
Hunicke et al. MDA: A formal aprroach to game design and game research
http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf
MIT OpenCourseWare
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Fall 2011
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