Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - blog tasks

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?

-->

• Genre is established through costume
• Font and logo establish the genre (use of eclipse)
• Colour scheme reflect sci-fi genre
• Protagonist and Villains also used to establish genre
• Intertextuality reference to Alien films

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

-->Engima codes are used on the back of the game cover through screenshots of gameplay. The new 4 player split screen feature is used as a unique selling point to the target audience (audiences are now able to enjoy the game with their friends). The game features evil aliens where the goal is to defeat them, audience gain pleasure from taking down enemies.

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

-->The protagonist on the front cover is difficult to tell whether it is a male or female without playing the game, this could be used as evidence to reinforce gender fluidity and gender neutral viewpoints. Samus Aran is presented as powerful through the front cover and challenges female stereotypes in videogames. However this could be seen as a masculine representation of women, "for women to have equality, they've to be like men"


Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for the game:




1) What do you notice about genre?

-->The genre is established through the costume of the protagonist, villains and the environment. The scene where the glass shatters is influenced by intertextual references to movies such as Alien and can be used as an example of hyper realism.

2) How is the character introduced? Is Samus Aran obviously female?

-->The character is introduced in their costume so it is difficult for the audience to notice that she is female, however the character walks with a slight hipsway which hints at the fact that Samus Aran is female.

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

-->Steale Neal's repetition and difference can be seen in this trailer through the use of 'Dark Samus', gun and fight scenes. The trailer contains a lot of repetitions and references to other media texts however its lack of difference can reflect its sales (800,000)

Gameplay analysis

Watch the following gameplay clips again:





1) What does the gameplay for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes involve?
-->The gameplay for Metroid Prime involves exploration and fighting. The narrative is contructed through exploration (intertextual reference to Zelda) and is extremely text heavy. Alongside the narrative are villains which the audience have to kill (audience pleasure).

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.
-->The costume and environment reinforce the genre of sci-fi, action-adventure, The low angle shots and the protagonist's figure suggests that they're female. The gameplay is very text heavy and the game rewards knowledge. There are many intertextual references to Halo, Dead Space, Sonic and Star Wars.

3) Analyse the clips for audience pleasures, applying audience theory and considering media effects.
-->Some audience pleasures which the audience may receive is nostalgia as they're returning to a childhood game. The game also rewards knowledge as the narrative progresses which can allow the audience to build 'personal relationships' with Samus Aran as they progress through the game. Another audience pleasure that they receive is the shooting and killing of the alien villains.



Audience

Research the audience for Nintendo and specifically the Metroid franchise, including Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. You may wish to start with the following pages:

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.
-->Metroid Prime 2: Echoes would be primarily targeted at an older, more male focused audience in order for them re-live that experience of playing a childhood game, allowing them to feel nostalgia from the game. However Nintendo also target children and more family friendly audiences as they're able to appeal to a wide range of audiences through their products (from the Wii to the Nintendo Switch).

2) How has Nintendo’s audience changed since the original Metroid game in 1986?
-->From the original Metroid game in 1986 the target audience was primarily male, however over the years they've developed new products and games which appeal to a wider range of audiences from children to adults. An example of this is Mario, when the game was first released children would enjoy it and play it however as time progresses they would want to re-live that experience and go back to playing the remake, allowing Nintendo to target adult audiences

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). 
--> I don't think that Metroid would have a significant effect on audience as the game features unrealistic gameplay which the audience are likely to take less seriously, however Gerbner's cultivation theory can be applied here as long term, gradual but significant can effect the audiences attitudes and beliefs.

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

1) Who is considered to be the stereotypical gamer?
-->There’s a stereotype that the only people who play videogames are adolescent boys. This image has persisted over the years thanks in part to the aggressive marketing to this demographic by AAA studios.

2) What has changed this?
-->Yet with the rise of smartphones, the gaming demographic has dramatically shifted. More than 50 percent of the gaming audience is made up of women. Experts believe mobile gaming will pull in $36.9 billion in revenue in 2016. That’s higher than both the PC and consoles will expect to bring in.

3) What role do women play in the videogames market? Quote statistics from the article here.
-->The most successful games such as Candy Crush and Bejeweled have all been short, easy and accessible. This makes them perfect for women as they shuttle themselves between work, home and other activities. For many women, these short play sessions act as a stress reliever and a way to clear their mind after a hectic day.

4) Why are older gamers becoming a particularly important market for videogames producers? How can you link this to the Metroid franchise?
-->Video gaming took the world (and living room) by storm with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Many people who grew up during that time period continue to game. However many older gamers tend to decrease the time spent on games due to increased responsibilities and other hobbies. This can be linked to Metroid as people come to replay and re-live the experience that they once had as a child.

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?
-->It's easy to pick on Nintendo's handling of the Metroid franchise in recent years, but we'd do well to keep in mind that semi-realistic Sci-Fi has never been the company's strong suit. It's a genre that tends to appeal to nerds aged 15-35 -- a demographic that Nintendo often struggles with these days. 

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

-->New franchises like Halo, Mass Effect, and now No Man's Sky have filled the space where Metroid had dominated back in the NES and SNES eras.

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?
-->Triple-A games are videogames which are distributed and produced by major publishers which typically have high development an marketing budgets.

5) Do you think there will be further Metroid games featuring Samus Aran? Should there be?
-->I don't think their will be any further Metroid games due to the fact that they failed to produce enough sales in comparison to other Nintendo games which sell much more and are regarded highly by audiences, whereas Metroid which appeals to a smaller audience and fails to generate enough profits.

Representation

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

1) What was notable about the original Metroid game in 1986?
-->At first players were led to believe that the hero was a man - the game’s accompanying booklet referred to Samus as a “he”. But those who completed the game fast enough were in for a shock: at the end Samus revealed herself to be a woman.

2) What were the inspirations behind the gameplay and construction of Metroid?
-->Its developers took inspiration from genre-definers like Mario and Zelda, as well as the film Alien. They further developed the weapon and armour upgrade system used in Zelda, and took the pioneering step of allowing players to explore at will by backtracking and revisiting areas of the map.

3) Why are the endings to the original Metroid considered controversial?
-->Slower players would witness a triumphant Samus in full body armour at the end. But complete the game in a speedy 3 to 5 hours, and you were rewarded with a sequence where Samus’s helmet was removed. This was the historic moment when ‘he’ was revealed as a she - a huge deal in 1986.

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?
-->The reaction when the game was first released would've been positive and would have appealed to a male audience whereas if the game was released now with that ending it would receive a lot of backlash for portraying women in a sexual manner.

5) How have later versions of the Metroid franchise sexualised the character of Samus Aran?
-->In other Nintendo games such as Super Smash Bros the sexualisation of Samus Aran continues as she wears heels in this game.

6) How can we apply Liesbet van Zoonen’s work to Samus Aran and Metroid?
-->Samus Aran is portrayed in the game as powerful and challenges female gender stereotypes in games, however it can be argued that she gives off a masculine representation of women, "For women to have equality, they've to be like men, then equality itself is repressive".

7) What did Brianna Wu suggest regarding the character of Samus Aran?
-->Despite the controversies, in Samus Nintendo created a character that is widely held as a hero by female and male gamers alike. Transgender gaming commentator Brianna Wu has even argued that Samus is transgender too, further demonstrating the characters appeal to gamers with gender agendas.

8) Do you see Samus Aran as a feminist icon or simply another exploited female character?
-->I think Samus Aran would've been  feminist icon if the ending of the Metroid game didn't sexualise her, however since this has happened i think she is 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?
-->Sarkeesian points out that the female reveal sort of pales as Samus’s increasingly naked body is used as a reward for male skill. It doesn’t diminish Samus as a character, but it does sort of diminish the games themselves for using this sexist convention.

2) Why does Brianna Wu (and others) suggest Samus Aran may be transgender?
-->Then Brianna Wu and Ellen McGrody wrote a piece for The Mary Sueasserting that Samus is not a ciswoman but a transwoman. Their evidence is interesting. When interviewed for the official Super Metroid strategy guide and asked to share unknown trivia about the hunter, Hirofumi Matsuoka, who worked on her original design, said Samus was a “newhalf”, a somewhat vulgar term that is close to the English term “shemale.”

3) Why is Samus Aran useful for male gamers trying to argue videogames are not sexist?
-->Samus is the constant go-to for any argument about portrayals of women in gaming and sexism in gaming culture. If you question the number of female protagonists you’ll get a list that will virtually always start with Samus as a counter-argument. Never mind the fact that studies show men perceive gender equality when it hasn’t been reached. As long as they have Samus everything is fine.

4) Why are Lara Croft, Zelda and Peach not ideal examples to argue for female equality in videogames?
-->Lara Croft is sexualised throughout the videogame which she is featured in as well as Zelda and Peach as their narratives involve being saved by a masculine hero.

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’?
Answered in audience section.

7) Does the videogame industry have a problem with gender? Provide evidence for your argument.
-->I don't think that the videogame industry have a problem with gender however in the past it was primarily male dominated but the introduction of mobile gaming has increased the number of female gamers not just mobile but on other platforms too