Theory
Task 1 - Caillois' Classifications of Games
Games Chosen: Dues Ex : Human Revolution
Middle Earth : Shadow of Mordor
XCOM
Counter Strike : Global Offensive
City Skylines
The games I've chosen all fit into at least one of the Caillois’ categories, and seem feel like they fit into more than just one. Counter Strike and Shadow of Mordor both fit comfortably into the Agon category as they're both about conflict. City Skylines fits into the Mimicry category as it puts the player in a position of power they wouldn't normally have.
I felt as though from the games I had Deus Ex fitted into the Ilinx spot the most as on it's hardest difficulty the game is very challenging and get quite intense.
XCOM was easily put into the Alea category as although a very challenging game the core turned based gameplay is all chance based. Every shot you take or that's taken against your squad is a percent chance to hit and even damage is calculated with chance.
Cities Skylines fits comfortably into the mimicry category as it take you out of your normal position and puts you in charge or planning and running a city of your creation.
Some of these games share similar traits, and most of them are quite challenging, especially when played on the highest difficulty. Cities Skylines being the only exception to this rule as it's definitely more or relaxed game which doesn't take as much skill or practice.
Task 2 - Mayra's core and shell character analysis
Faith - Mirrors Edge
Faiths character is the hero of Mirrors edge and achieves this goal through free running, however she also gets into hand to hand combat and can take guard weapons and use them in a fight. This means that her character design needs to suggest that she'd be able to do these things to keep the game believable as these are the very core concepts of the game.
The characters clothing does lead you to believe that she'd be proficient in the free running which is at the very core of this game. Wearing jogging bottoms, running shoes and gloves to help the character grip to surfaces and presumable to protect her hands when catching ledges etc it's not hard to believe that she'd be dressed like this to perform this activity. She also wears a sash bag and sleeveless body warmer which gives her a very "street" look which is a total contract to the clean metropolis the game takes place in. Taking this on board it does seem that Faith could have learnt how to use a gun at some point in here past making this a believable concept within the world.
Her character doesn't seem to feature any inter-textual references or influences beyond her wearing clothes which you could expect to see within our modern society. This helps to ground the core concepts of the game and makes them easier for a player to digest.
Task 3 - The world of wrestling - Roland Barthes
Notes - Wrestling is a spectacle and not a sport.
Function of a wrestler isn't to win but is to go through the motions expect of him
Playing to a crowd
Cheating - Punching at the end of the round etc
I struggled to draw many similarities between the myth of wresting and games. The concept or a wrestler not taking part to win and that he's just going "through the motions expected of him" is interesting and does apply to some games. Games with very linear paths like puzzle games and some first person experiences could relate to this as though you are trying to beat the game and therefore win against it you're doing so in a predetermined fashion.
I found it interesting that Barthes talks about wrestlers playing to the crowd, this seems to be a big part of wrestling. How the crowd reacts to you, either negatively or positively. This is a stark difference to games which are normally experience without a crowd and only the players perspective being taken into consideration. Because of this you may still do something funny while playing the game even if just for your own satisfaction, however this is on a much smaller scale to the methods discussed by Barthes due to amount of people you have watching. There's some exceptions to this rule, like when playing an online game your teammates and enemies may also see whatever you're doing so you'd have a larger audience.
Another interesting point raised by Barthes was that there's often cheating used within wrestling to help the fighter gain an advantage, like hitting the foe in the back after a round has ended or using illegal moves which shouldn't be allowed. As games are made with set rules you wouldn't be able to do anything outside of these rules as a games designer would have needed to create the option for you to cheat which is counter productive as it's against the rules anyway.
Task 4 - Creative communication
Sonic
Sonic has multiple signifies which help to differentiate him from other characters within the game and also show his core ability to help with user understanding. The first of this is his shoes while show his ability to run quickly and his 'wind swept' hair which shows also points to his fast movement. He also has small features like limbs, He also has skinny limbs, with large feet.
His affordances are to show that he can move quickly, however an anti-affordance would be that his small limbs show him as being weaker in a fight.
This example is effective as all the signifiers point to the characters affordances and also help to outline his weaknesses.
Speed boost in Mario Kart
The speed boost in Mario kart affords a boost to your speed. This is signified by the speed boosters on the floor, and the arrows pointing and scrolling forwards work as a direct sign that this will work as a booster.
This is an effective example as the arrows moving forwards and pointing forwards clearly show that this is a speed booster. It's made especially apparent by the fact the context of the game being an arcade racer were you'd already be expecting to find something like this. This wouldn't be as effective in a more realistic game where something like this would likely be seen as out of place.
Clank from Ratchet and Clank
Clank serves as you're helper throughout this game. This is signified through the characters small size in relation to you and how he spends most of the game located on your back. He can be used in order to help you platform levels but doesn't have much use during combat for anything other than advanced movement. There's not really any signifiers for the benefits which he provided as the propeller he uses to help jump higher etc are normally hidden so unless you're using the function there's nothing to show it's available.
In this case I do think this is an ineffective use of signifiers as you're unable to tell how Clank helps you accept for when he is being used to help you navigate the level. It would be better of some of the functions he provided were showing; maybe the propeller is always visible, as you'd then be able to see the functions he provided always.
Task 5 - Propp's character functions
Applying Propps functions to Deus Ex Human Revolution.
The Hero - Adam Jensen : This is the player character of the game. Adam's quest is to get to the bottom of a cult which first raided a facility owned by the company he runs security for. He's also searching for his girlfriend who went missing in the first mission of the game.
The Dispatcher - David Serif : He owns the company Adam works for and starts him on the quest to get to the bottom of the original attack.
The Donor - David Serif : Adam Jensen's "Augmentations" which essentially make him a super soldier are paid for by David. These are also a key part of the gameplay.
The Villain - Jaron Namir : This is the face of the cult you're pitted against in the main story line of this quest and is also the person responsible for taking Megan. There are other enemies who are introduced later in the story line as plot twists but Jaron is the face of the enemy.
The Princess - Megan Reed : This is your girlfriend before the original attack on serif industries where her and some of the other scientists are kidnapped.
The Princesses father - David Serif : David is always against you're "rescuing / hunting" for Megan and would rather you just forgot about it, clearly opposing your character here.
The Anti Hero - I believe that the anti hero here is the Francis Pritchard who spends part of the story being your helper with the anything tech based (hacking etc) however he doesn't act like a normal hero while completing these. Often complaining or being sarcastic while helping.
The Helper - Faridah Malik : Malik if your pilot through the game, taking you from a - b.
I think it varies how much you could change these characters without putting them into different categories as the plot progresses some of the characters are not what they seem at the start. An example of this being Megan Reed who plays the role of princess for most of the story who it turns out has actually fallen for the main villain Jaron, and although happy to see you isn't quite the character you expected to find. With too many changes to this character she could easily lose her position as the princess.
However for a character like Malik whose sole purpose is to help the hero complete their quest and even ends up dying for this further into the story I think it would be difficult to change her sphere of action without completely changing the character.
Task 1 - Analysing the types light in 2 images
This piece uses the rule of third composition placing the dragon on left most rule of third and it's head on the lower focal point. It also uses the L composition method, placing the empty dragon on the inside of the L composition and filling the empty space with thee 4 totems and the cliffs on the left side.
This pieces uses the cross composition method to break up the piece. With the antlers coming across and working as the stopped while the character acts as the leading line. The light side of the image is then on the right side while the left remains mostly blue and tonal.
This piece uses also uses a triadic colour harmony featuring greens, browns and has some accents of yellow.
This piece is mostly uses lighter values however uses darker values closer to the viewpoint and in some places in the background to contrast as it gets increasingly bright.
Green is again the colour used in the piece, being supported by browns and using the yellows accents to help give the scene a brighter feeling.
This photograph uses a complimentary harmony of orange and blue. It using the bright orange colour created by the campfire against the blue of the sky.
These two colours contract each other well.
XCOM was easily put into the Alea category as although a very challenging game the core turned based gameplay is all chance based. Every shot you take or that's taken against your squad is a percent chance to hit and even damage is calculated with chance.
Cities Skylines fits comfortably into the mimicry category as it take you out of your normal position and puts you in charge or planning and running a city of your creation.
Some of these games share similar traits, and most of them are quite challenging, especially when played on the highest difficulty. Cities Skylines being the only exception to this rule as it's definitely more or relaxed game which doesn't take as much skill or practice.
Task 2 - Mayra's core and shell character analysis
Faith - Mirrors Edge
Faiths character is the hero of Mirrors edge and achieves this goal through free running, however she also gets into hand to hand combat and can take guard weapons and use them in a fight. This means that her character design needs to suggest that she'd be able to do these things to keep the game believable as these are the very core concepts of the game.
The characters clothing does lead you to believe that she'd be proficient in the free running which is at the very core of this game. Wearing jogging bottoms, running shoes and gloves to help the character grip to surfaces and presumable to protect her hands when catching ledges etc it's not hard to believe that she'd be dressed like this to perform this activity. She also wears a sash bag and sleeveless body warmer which gives her a very "street" look which is a total contract to the clean metropolis the game takes place in. Taking this on board it does seem that Faith could have learnt how to use a gun at some point in here past making this a believable concept within the world.
Her character doesn't seem to feature any inter-textual references or influences beyond her wearing clothes which you could expect to see within our modern society. This helps to ground the core concepts of the game and makes them easier for a player to digest.
Task 3 - The world of wrestling - Roland Barthes
Notes - Wrestling is a spectacle and not a sport.
Function of a wrestler isn't to win but is to go through the motions expect of him
Playing to a crowd
Cheating - Punching at the end of the round etc
I struggled to draw many similarities between the myth of wresting and games. The concept or a wrestler not taking part to win and that he's just going "through the motions expected of him" is interesting and does apply to some games. Games with very linear paths like puzzle games and some first person experiences could relate to this as though you are trying to beat the game and therefore win against it you're doing so in a predetermined fashion.
I found it interesting that Barthes talks about wrestlers playing to the crowd, this seems to be a big part of wrestling. How the crowd reacts to you, either negatively or positively. This is a stark difference to games which are normally experience without a crowd and only the players perspective being taken into consideration. Because of this you may still do something funny while playing the game even if just for your own satisfaction, however this is on a much smaller scale to the methods discussed by Barthes due to amount of people you have watching. There's some exceptions to this rule, like when playing an online game your teammates and enemies may also see whatever you're doing so you'd have a larger audience.
Another interesting point raised by Barthes was that there's often cheating used within wrestling to help the fighter gain an advantage, like hitting the foe in the back after a round has ended or using illegal moves which shouldn't be allowed. As games are made with set rules you wouldn't be able to do anything outside of these rules as a games designer would have needed to create the option for you to cheat which is counter productive as it's against the rules anyway.
Task 4 - Creative communication
Sonic
Sonic has multiple signifies which help to differentiate him from other characters within the game and also show his core ability to help with user understanding. The first of this is his shoes while show his ability to run quickly and his 'wind swept' hair which shows also points to his fast movement. He also has small features like limbs, He also has skinny limbs, with large feet.
His affordances are to show that he can move quickly, however an anti-affordance would be that his small limbs show him as being weaker in a fight.
This example is effective as all the signifiers point to the characters affordances and also help to outline his weaknesses.
Speed boost in Mario Kart
The speed boost in Mario kart affords a boost to your speed. This is signified by the speed boosters on the floor, and the arrows pointing and scrolling forwards work as a direct sign that this will work as a booster.
This is an effective example as the arrows moving forwards and pointing forwards clearly show that this is a speed booster. It's made especially apparent by the fact the context of the game being an arcade racer were you'd already be expecting to find something like this. This wouldn't be as effective in a more realistic game where something like this would likely be seen as out of place.
Clank from Ratchet and Clank
Clank serves as you're helper throughout this game. This is signified through the characters small size in relation to you and how he spends most of the game located on your back. He can be used in order to help you platform levels but doesn't have much use during combat for anything other than advanced movement. There's not really any signifiers for the benefits which he provided as the propeller he uses to help jump higher etc are normally hidden so unless you're using the function there's nothing to show it's available.
In this case I do think this is an ineffective use of signifiers as you're unable to tell how Clank helps you accept for when he is being used to help you navigate the level. It would be better of some of the functions he provided were showing; maybe the propeller is always visible, as you'd then be able to see the functions he provided always.
Task 5 - Propp's character functions
Applying Propps functions to Deus Ex Human Revolution.
The Hero - Adam Jensen : This is the player character of the game. Adam's quest is to get to the bottom of a cult which first raided a facility owned by the company he runs security for. He's also searching for his girlfriend who went missing in the first mission of the game.
The Dispatcher - David Serif : He owns the company Adam works for and starts him on the quest to get to the bottom of the original attack.
The Donor - David Serif : Adam Jensen's "Augmentations" which essentially make him a super soldier are paid for by David. These are also a key part of the gameplay.
The Villain - Jaron Namir : This is the face of the cult you're pitted against in the main story line of this quest and is also the person responsible for taking Megan. There are other enemies who are introduced later in the story line as plot twists but Jaron is the face of the enemy.
The Princess - Megan Reed : This is your girlfriend before the original attack on serif industries where her and some of the other scientists are kidnapped.
The Princesses father - David Serif : David is always against you're "rescuing / hunting" for Megan and would rather you just forgot about it, clearly opposing your character here.
The Anti Hero - I believe that the anti hero here is the Francis Pritchard who spends part of the story being your helper with the anything tech based (hacking etc) however he doesn't act like a normal hero while completing these. Often complaining or being sarcastic while helping.
The Helper - Faridah Malik : Malik if your pilot through the game, taking you from a - b.
I think it varies how much you could change these characters without putting them into different categories as the plot progresses some of the characters are not what they seem at the start. An example of this being Megan Reed who plays the role of princess for most of the story who it turns out has actually fallen for the main villain Jaron, and although happy to see you isn't quite the character you expected to find. With too many changes to this character she could easily lose her position as the princess.
However for a character like Malik whose sole purpose is to help the hero complete their quest and even ends up dying for this further into the story I think it would be difficult to change her sphere of action without completely changing the character.
Task 1 - Analysing the types light in 2 images
In this concept are piece light is reacting in multiple different ways. There’s bounced light giving some details to the back side of the castle which would be completely dark without this.
The water is also causing a diffused reflection, reflecting the bottom of the boat and some of the lights on the walls. This reflection is diffused because of the ripples on the water.
In this photograph there’s bounced light coming from the lamp on the wall. This bounced like is visible on the wall on the right side and also can be seen in the back of the drain pipe on the left wall.
Task 2 - Analysing the composition in 2 images
Task 3 - Analysing the colour in 3 images
The pieces uses a triadic colour harmony of green, brown and blue.
The colours are balanced 50/50 between light and dark and large areas of light and dark are split up by each other.
This piece has mostly greens and browns building up the bulk of the image with the blue used for accent colours, like the characters clothes, flag and windows in the building. The small amount of blues in the image means where they're used they are more noticeable, so even though the figures in the bottom left are small and in a shadowed area these are still easy to notice.
The colours are balanced 50/50 between light and dark and large areas of light and dark are split up by each other.
This piece has mostly greens and browns building up the bulk of the image with the blue used for accent colours, like the characters clothes, flag and windows in the building. The small amount of blues in the image means where they're used they are more noticeable, so even though the figures in the bottom left are small and in a shadowed area these are still easy to notice.
This piece uses also uses a triadic colour harmony featuring greens, browns and has some accents of yellow.
This piece is mostly uses lighter values however uses darker values closer to the viewpoint and in some places in the background to contrast as it gets increasingly bright.
Green is again the colour used in the piece, being supported by browns and using the yellows accents to help give the scene a brighter feeling.
This photograph uses a complimentary harmony of orange and blue. It using the bright orange colour created by the campfire against the blue of the sky.
These two colours contract each other well.
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