Group assignments (29/10/2012)

During half term my group met up in order to complete the two group assignments. We prepared a PowerPoint presentation for our talk on relationships and sexuality in video games, and another PowerPoint presentation which describes our text based adventure game.These can be seen below:

'Relationships and Sexuality in Video Games' presentation:

'Creating a text adventure' presentation:

Overall I am very pleased with both of these and I look forward to presenting them soon.

Notes on Environmental Story Telling (24/10/2012):

Four types of environmental story telling exists. Below are the four examples with notes to explain included what they mean.

Evocative Spaces:

• Feels like your playing in a familiar environment, whether that be because the player recoginses from a existing franchise or something similar to one. For example, playing a movie based game the player will more likely get more enjoyment out of the game from reenacting beloved scenes from the film. Whereas playing a game like Red Dead Redemption (a cowboy game) may put the player in familiar territory seen in cowboy movies such as the scenario of pistols at dawn.  
• Above also relates to theme park rides as visitors love to 'step in' into a visual representation of a story they may know and love. 
• Using Evocative space could also be useful if a game's company decided to retell a known story of a existing franchise e.g. creating a darker version of the children's book Alice in Wonderland with the video game known as American McGee's Alice.  
• Overall, the use of evocative space is very useful as people often prefer to start with something familiar with which they feel secure in, before they move on to something different. If the environment is totally unconnected to anything they know or have experience off then the player will feel no emotional or sentimental attraction to it and they may reject the game all together.     

 Enacting Stories:

• The key features of these stories is the environments and not the plot.
• Instead of relying more on a story, games that use enacting stories are basically games that rely on the player exploring for every hidden thing rather than a narrative e.g. Sonic and Hedgehog.  
• The player's satisfaction comes from finishing both a level and the game itself rather than working through an in depth narrative.
• Sometimes the narrative is told through the background e.g. trails of blood and burning buildings. In these stories there is a strong sense of a journey.    

Embedded Narratives:

• The Mises-en-Scene contains the story.
• Often this can also mean when multiple stories are mixed in with one another, thus making the player correct the narratives order. e.g. One story could be chronological and the other out of sequence, in short polysemic which means having multiple meanings and interpretations as seen in Indigo Prophecy.

  
Emergent Narrative:

• The player is able to interpret or re-imagine the story of a game in any way they want as there is no built in narrative within the game and the player is therefore able to construct their own narrative within the confines of the environments they are given. E.g. The Sims in which you create a family and make them live their lives the way you want them to. You may also make them look familiar to people you know so they have relevance to the player's situation in real life. For example, the player might chose to play as a character they would secretly like to be in real life and one that lives they live in a way they want to but can't. Modding games also works as you can replace character models with anyone imaginable and therefore come up with the scenarios for why these characters are in the game's world. 
• In short, the story is constructed by the player.  

Harvard Referencing:

• Banks, R. (2010) 'Sims 3' screen shot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.brashgames.co.uk/2010/11/03/the-sims-3-xbox-360-review/ (Accessed: 24/10/2012).  
• Ron. (2010) 'Sonic the Hedgehog' screen shot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.retrogameoftheday.com/2010/01/retro-game-of-day-sonic-hedgehog.html (Accessed: 24/10/2012).  
• Unknown. (2011) 'Red Dead Redemption' screen shot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.ireddead.com/guide/reddeadredemption/duels/ (Accessed: 24/10/2012). 
• Unknown. (Unknown)Indigo Prophecy screen shot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.adventurelantern.com/reviews/indigoProphecy/indigoProphecy.htm (Accessed: 24/10/2012).

Practice in Context Notes (23/10/2012):

Narrative Spaces (See article Narrative Spaces by Henry Jenkins.):

• "Game designers don't simply tell stories, they design worlds and and sculpt spaces". 
• Narrative exists outside the game space e.g. the experience.
• D&D: "The Dungeon Master's activities start with designing the space... where the the players' quest will take place".
• Environments should be able to tell stories or contain elements that can be easily interpreted as story e.g. imagery and character types. Good example: The Lord of the Rings, it could be argued that it is just 3 movies/books based on walking.
• Does a game have to use an 'on-rails' system in order to tell a story or not?
• Freedom over story telling, or story telling over freedom? e.g. Should story telling be done through cut scenes which the player can or can't skip? Or through game play that you can miss by accident?  
• In such games as The Sims and Journey the player can create their own stories in order to replace a lack of narrative. 
• Good examples of things I should try to watch and play: The movie Memento and the video games American McGee's Alice, GTA4 and Star Ship Titanic. 

Latest group assignment:

My latest task is to pick a subject seen in video games and analyse it using examples with the group I worked with previously (Jim, Bonnie and I). We will need to present our findings as a presentation. We will have 2-3 weeks in order to complete this presentation.

What we could talk about:

• Sexual diversity. 
• Historical representation. 
• Violence and how we perceive it differently in video games as opposed to movies. 

What we decided on: 

• Homosexuality and relationships in video games. 

Game examples we can use: Persona 4, Mass Effect, Assassins Creed, Dragon Age, Red Dead Redemption, Mario and Grand Theft Auto.  

Practice in Context Notes (16/10/2012):

• Text based adventures can create worlds and spaces without visuals. 
• Read the book 'Space Time Play'.

Characterizing of space.

Different Game Spaces: 

• Text based game space or imaginative game space. e.g. Zork and Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. 

• Contained 2D space (screen does not move). e.g. Pong and Space Invaders. 

• Wraparound space (A visual representation of infinity) e.g. Asteroids and Pacman. Or recently Eve Online. Einstein once said that "Space is Infinite".  

• Spaces that scroll along one axis (the screen moves with the player character). e.g. Spy Hunter and Defender. 

• Scrolling along two axis e.g. Gauntlet and Hockey. (This adds an element of choice). 

• Adjacent spaces one room at a time (the player can enter into new areas/rooms). e.g. E.T for the Atari. 

• Scrolling with multiple background layers. e.g. Streets of Rage and Double Dragon. In short, this is how the backgrounds move with the player i.e. when the player is on a train the background will go past super fast. 

• Limited 3D space: Perspective in the scene (space moves towards the player as the player moves around the screen) e.g. the old Star Wars arcade game where you played inside an X-wing fighter.  

• Isometric 3D space (the player moves along an isometric screen) e.g. Paper Boy.

• Window to the outdoors (as if the player is looking outside through a window) e.g. Duckhunt.

• Two spaces on one screen/silkscreen. e.g. Spy v.s Spy.

• Video Capture (filming a person and then putting their sprites into the game e.g. photo capture) e.g. Mortal Kombat. 

• Mapped space - pre-rendered panaramas (when the player chooses to go somewhere and therefore activates a per-rendered video that takes them to that location. And when the player is looking at the screen stuff happens. Like a video is playing whilst the player plays the game) e.g. Myst. 

• Early 3D space - One horizontal plane (a mix of 2D character sprites and 3D game spaces) e.g. Original Doom and Wolfenstein.    

• Full 3D space - horizontal / vertical movement (the ability to look and go almost anywhere) e.g. Call of Duty and Half Life 2.  

Creating a concept for text based adventure game:

In order to create both an enjoyable and semi-functioning concept for text based adventure game, our group was told to research and play numerous text adventure games. Therefore my group, which consists of Jim, Bonnie and me played both Zork and the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the computers. Thus learning important lessons such as how a text adventure game is played, what one looks like and how one functions.

Following this research we decided to set our text based adventure game in the frozen arctic and make it consist of mystery, discovery and survival.
We also wanted to make sure that it felt original whilst keeping a close connection to previous text adventure games in terms of how they looked and how they were played . We also wanted to include the tongue in cheek humor that these games usually included.

The following are things that we felt were also important to include in our game concept.

• Mock game play in the form of pre-written text that closely resembles original text adventure games. 
• Deliberately poor illustrations made for certain scenes in the game by using the program Paint  as a nod to previous titles in the genre.  
• Cover image for the games non existing box art.
• A map of the game's world. 
• Possibly a presentation on the concept which contains more information on the features that would be included such as charterer customization and other features. 

Harvard Referencing:

• Cormier, J. (2013) 'Pacman' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://digitaldeconstruction.com/win-pacman/#.UZI6YaPAGnA (Accessed: 16/10/2012).   
• Grossman, L. (2010) 'Zork' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://levgrossman.com/tag/zork/ (Accessed: 16/10/2012).  
• Johnson, J. (2012) 'E.T for the Atari 2600' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://killscreendaily.com/articles/interviews/creator-worst-videogame-world-sees-new-life-bdsm-film-and-therapy/ (Accessed: 16/10/2012).   
• Millan J, R. (2012) 'Half Life 2' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://lakitusdevcartridge.wordpress.com/tag/half-life-2/ (Accessed: 16/10/2012).   
• Nichols, B. (2013) 'Streets of Rage 2' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.structuregaming.com/2013/02/21/the-top-10-genisis-games/ (Accessed: 16/10/2012).  
• O'Donnell, C. (2009) 'Spy v.s Spy' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/73/76 (Accessed: 16/10/2012).   
• Tallerico, B. (Unknown) 'Gauntlet' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://playstation.about.com/od/playstationreviews/fr/Midway-Arcade-Origins-Ps3-Review.htm (Accessed: 16/10/2012).   
• Unknown. (2006) 'Pong' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pong.png (Accessed: 16/10/2012).  
• Unknown. (2007) 'Paperboy' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PaperboyGameplay.png (Accessed: 16/10/2012).  
• Unknown. (2010) 'Duckhunt' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://chrontendo.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/presenting-chrontendo-episode-1.html (Accessed: 16/10/2012).  
• Unknown. (2013) 'Doom' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.moddb.com/games/doom (Accessed: 16/10/2012).   
• Unknown. (Unknown) 'Spy Hunter' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9742 (Accessed: 16/10/2012).  
• Unknown. (Unknown) 'Star Wars Arcade' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.findarcademachines.com/atari-star-wars-cockpit-original-arcade-machine-p-1073.html (Accessed: 16/10/2012).  
• Unknown. (Unknown) 'Mortal Kombat' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://www.giantbomb.com/mortal-kombat/3025-7/ (Accessed: 16/10/2012).  
• Unknown. (Unknown) 'Myst' Screenshot [Online image]. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Myst-library_and_ship.jpg (Accessed: 16/10/2012).  

Semiotic Interpretation of ‘Left 4 Dead’ (9/10/2012)

Semiotic Interpretation of ‘Left 4 Dead’

Robin Foale        9/10/2012

I have chosen an image from ‘Left 4 Dead’ because I wanted to both talk about and analyse a game that I enjoy and therefore feel I can write about in some detail.  

The game ‘Left 4 Dead’ is all about team work as each player plays as one of four survivors of the zombie apocalypse. They must each work together to survive the campaign they are playing as on their own they are vulnerable, whereas together they are strong.

Numerous things can be seen and interpreted in the video game ‘Left 4 Dead’ both when playing it and just viewing it on its own merits as in the image above. For example:

·         Looking at the image you can see directly in the middle of your view a considerable amount of blood and a mangled body.

This suggests that this is the scene of a recent and violent kill. Also the amount of blood shown clearly indicates that this is a bloody / violent game.

·         We can also see four characters facing in different directions who are all carrying guns.

Perhaps the characters in this picture are thugs? This would be suggested since the character in the middle looks as if he belongs in a biker gang (often associated with trouble). Therefore, perhaps they killed the person on the floor. We do not know if they killed in self-defence or for another reason.    

·         The setting of this image is inside a building which appears rather bare as there is not much furniture and no carpeting. The furniture that is in the main room does not appear comfortable and looks more like old office furniture. In addition, the windows are boarded up.

All this gives the house an uneasy atmosphere and looking at this image one might assume that the building is abandoned by its owners and / or used by squatters or other groups who own the equipment on the table.

·         There is a lack of light in the house. What light you see in the image comes from the flash lights on the character’s weapons and the odd source of light in room next door. Why would the light not be on? Why would these characters need to use their flash lights?

One assumes the building is either out of power, or the occupants did not want to attract the attention of others. This is supported further with the use of boarded up windows as this can is a sure tell sign that either those inside the house do not want things getting in.

·         The character’s clothing looks unwashed and they also have beards.

This suggests that these characters have possibly lived rough for quite a while.

·         The colour palette for this game is manly dark colours that gives an almost ‘worn out’ or unkempt appeal as you can tell that the characters clothes and the environment where once colourful but are now dulled.

Thus further suggests that the events (in the game) have been going on for a while.

·         On closer inspection the papers on the floor look like maps and charts.

Therefore, maybe the corpse was killed for these, or he tried to steal them, thus further explaining why they are scattered all over the floor.

·         Lots of shadows can be seen in the image.

Perhaps the amount of shadows in the game suggests that this game is going to be scary and atmospheric.

·         Two of the characters seem to be facing one another whilst the one in the immediate foreground appears to be running away.

Maybe these characters are fighting one another? That would then explain both the body on the floor and the positions of the characters. However, the positions may suggest that these characters are working together and they are also looking out for one another as each one seems to make sure that each corner is covered.

·         All of the characters have their weapons at the ready.  

Despite the dead body they all seem to be aware of danger present although the building appears empty, thus suggesting that they are perhaps in a constant danger. The above would also perhaps suggest that the game is a co-operative four player game.

·         The characters themselves are mixed demographically in terms of gender, race and possibly occupation. Perhaps they would not usually be seen with one another due to their distinctive differences. For example, you wouldn’t normally see a biker who is usually considered to be a trouble maker hanging out with an army veteran who is generally seen as a law enforcer.

This implies that something has brought these very different characters together in the first place.

Evaluation:

If I were to do this task again I believe that I would try and find an image of a game that I do not know about or haven’t played. That way I believe I would be able to write a more accurate semiotic interpretation due to not having an experience with the game and thus my writing would only be based on what I could see and my own assumptions.   

Referencing:

• Bland, S. (2009) Left 4 Dead Screenshot [Online image]. Available at:http://darkzero.co.uk/asset/2009/01/left-4-dead-2.jpg (Accessed: 9/10/2012).

Practice in Context Notes (9/10/2012):

GAMES ARE SIGNIFICANT AND INTERLINKED WITH LIFE! (This is what this module will prove).

• Homosapian – Man who thinks.
• Ludology – study of play and games.
• Narratology – study of story.
• There is a strong debate as to whether Ludology or Narratology is more important in gaming.
• The lecturer wants us to constantly think about ‘what is play?’.
• Don’t be afraid to critique other peoples’ work and if you have your own opinion then stick to it.
• Always make sure you can back up your decisions without just saying, “Because I thought it looked cool”.   
• Look up more information on the new Lara Croft game as that has recently been in the news for supposedly putting the main female protagonist into compromising positions.  
• Look up Ian Bogost (2008) Unit Operations: An approach to videogame criticism, the MIT press.
• Homo Luden’s: A study of the Play Element in Culture (1938) [Johan Huizinga].
• “Play is older than culture, for culture, however inadequately defined, always presupposes human society, and animals have not waited for man to teach them their playing”. [Homo Luden]
• “Given that we’re basically hierarchical and strongly tribal primates, it’s not surprising that most of the basic lessons we are taught by our childhood play are about power and status… Games almost always teach us tools for being the top monkey”. [Raph Koster]
• Some people have an innate desire to compete.
• Play is the direct opposite to serious? Yet play can still be serious!
• Both set and unwritten rules exist in real life.
• Play is freedom?
• Play is “Superfluous. The need for it is only urgent to the extent that the enjoyment of it makes it a need”. [Huizinga]
• “It is never a task. It is done at leisure, during ‘free time’”. [Huizinga]
• You play so as to have fun so as to relax. There by playing a game when you don’t need to be entertained it my make the experience less fun.
• Huizinga & Play:

“A free activity standing… outside “ordinary” life as being “not-serious”, but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is… connected with no material interest… It proceeds within its proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner. It promotes the formation of social groupings…”

• Be able to both play and analyse a game.
• Semiotics – The analysis of symbols that mean different things in different countries.   

Task for next week:

Give in a semiotic interpretation of either the same image as last week or a new one. Focus on the signs and what they signify. What do they literally mean, and what do they imply?

Analysing Games (2/10/2012)

Analysing Games

Robin Foale        2/10/2012

For this task I shall analyse my chosen poster based both on its appearance and the contents of the game it is based on in order to demonstrate my analysis skills. 

Main Details:

• Name of Developers: Atlus.
• Name of Publisher: Square Enix in Europe.
• Title of the Work: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4.
• Date it was published: March 13^th 2009 in Europe.
• Genre: JRPG and Social Simulator.
• Target Audience: Rated 16+ in Europe and targeted at teenagers and young adults.

Formal Elements:

Composition:

• Main organisational features: The characters displayed on this poster are all positioned at different angles, making them and the poster interesting. If they had all been positioned in a straight line for example and in similar poses then the image would be very boring. Also the TV screens in the background take up enough space so that they become just as eye catching as the characters whilst they are also far enough away to avoid making the scene look too cramped. In addition the screens are unusually angled and contain vague images that arouse interest.
• Focal Point: Personally I would say that the main focal point of the poster is the middle as not only is there a blue screen where the rest are yellow but you also find yourself focusing your attention on the abstract figure with his arm curved around in the background. His presence in the scene is underlined when you recognise that the girl in red is looking up at him, thus he is the only figure in the scene to be given a response from another character.
• Geometrical shapes: A number of rectangles are used in the background of the poster so as to clearly show audiences that what they are looking at are in fact TV screens which play a vital role in the actual game Persona 4.  
• Symmetry? / Asymmetry? : The poster is asymmetrical as all the main characters appear to be randomly placed within the bottom left diagonal and are positioned to look as if they are either further away or closer to the viewer. Whereas, the TV screens and their visuals appear in the top right diagonal. However, the artist has clearly used asymmetry for a good reason and although it does appear random on closer examination is not. One symmetrical aspect of the poster is the fact that the main characters are represented by two males and two females. 
• Methods used to lead the eye around the scene: Many methods and placements of characters have been used in this poster in order to grab and pull the viewer’s attention towards it. For example, the girl in red stands out as she is wearing the brightest clothes and also shows a sense of vulnerability as she is looking up at the tall figure who dwarfs her and takes up most of the middle of the poster. Also this figure’s right arm looks as if he is holding the girl in red even though he is on a screen behind her. His left arm is curved upwards in such a way that it leads the eye to the name of the game in the top left hand corner. From there the viewer’s eye would naturally wander over the character standing with his back towards the viewer. Looking down this same characters right leg the viewer’s attention would then be caught by the flesh of the bottom left female character’s leg which is perhaps there deliberately for sex appeal. Following along this focus the viewer’s eye would then lead them to look at the owner of the leg whose head is right beside the bright blue centre of the poster, thus leading the viewer’s eye towards the main protagonist in the middle.

Space Depth:

• Effects created: Some of the TV screens in the poster deliberately have static on them so as to make it clear that they are TV’s and not just windows. The characters are also close to the front of the poster and therefore make the viewer think that they are literally looking through a window and into the same space that the characters inhabitant.  The fact the characters are drawn in different sizes also helps to establish depth and perspective, thus creating a 3D perspective in a 2D image.

Colour:

• Main colours used: Unusually bright yellow is the game’s primary colour and is not often used or seen in games. Thus it made sense to use the game’s primary colour on the poster as it also helps to advertise the game appropriately. It also makes both the game and the poster stand out more from the usual browns and greys seen in other games and their posters.
• Range of the Palette: Persona 4 uses all the colours of the rainbow as not only are these colours bright and appealing but they also make the game stand out.      
• Effect colour creates: The game’s primary colour yellow not only helps to make the game stand out from other games but it also makes the game feel a lot warmer and encouraging to play as opposed to much darker and / or moodier games such as its prequel which used cold blues as its primary colour. These brighter colours can also be seen as a deliberate attempt to make the rural country side it is based in more cheerful and fresh as opposed to a plain and dirty urban city. However not all gamers want to play games that use this colour palette as they may be looking for something more dark and gritty. 

Light:

• Chiaroscuro (contrasts of light and shadow) or even Lighting: In the poster they are a lot of good contrasts of light and shadow as the TV’s glow a bright yellow and thus cover the main characters in shadow as most noticeably seen on the seated girl as a shadow runs down her face and shoulders. I see this as a hidden message for the game as each one of the main characters has to at some point in the game face their true self, a copy of themselves that represents their hidden desires and secrets and are otherwise known as the character’s ‘Shadow’. 
• Atmospheric Light: Having played the game I would say that the artist has chosen the perfect atmospheric lighting for this poster as not only does it show off the game’s primary colour yellow which is meant to make the game feel warm and inviting, but it also manages to suggest a daunting, almost menacing feel over the characters by the inclusion of the giant stack of TV’s which hide blurry silhouettes in some of their screens. These features thus fit in perfectly as there is always a sense of mystery and uncertainty in the game as the main characters are trying to solve a series of murders.  

Style:

• Manga: The main characters in the game are designed to look and sound like normal modern high school students so as to keep a sense of realism in a game that otherwise has an art style known as Manga (Japanese graphic novels). Many people would say that Manga art is exactly the same as Anime (Japanese cartoons) art but this is a common mistake. For example, Anime tends to use a technique known as cel shading in which both characters and objects have natural shadows for realism and shading that is used to make otherwise two dimensional images three dimensional as the shades go round objects. Shades are used to make objects and characters appear more three dimensional which is better suited for an Anime in which the characters move on screen. Whereas in Manga the drawings do not include shades as artists want them to be two dimensional. The art director Shigenori Soejima deliberately wanted to avoid an Anime style as he found that some players didn’t like anything to do with Anime and yet enjoyed reading Manga. Therefore he made sure to only include shadows and not shades in both the game’s graphics and his art work featured in the game. However, a compromise had to be made for the game’s Anime cut scenes as shades were needed so that they would not look odd.  

Influences:

• Other designers / periods / genres / mediums and Historical Influences: As Persona 4 is based in a rural town the team for the game visited many rural towns in Japan in order to find out what they both looked like and what it was like to live in them. They found out that even though the towns had beautiful landmarks, traditional buildings and clear skies that they was a certain sadness to them as many of the community stores had been shut down as result of the opening of more grander convenience stores. This is a theme that the designers decided to add into the game as a result of their research.

The game also takes influences from ancient Japanese gods and myths that the main characters’ ‘Personas’ (summons) are based on. These are then modernised in certain aspects as the game is based in modern times and thus the summons look ‘trendy’ or ‘retro’ which adds to the game’s style. For example, as a joke the Persona Kintoki-Douji carries around a tomahawk missile as the mythological character the Persona is based on (Kintarō or later known as Sakata no Kintoki) originally carried a tomahawk (axe) with them.

Subject, Theme & meanings:

• Describe the subject: Admittedly unless you know the Persona series this poster may not be as meaningful as the artist intended it to be and therefore may be taking on face value. I say this based on the response I got when I asked some of my family members to comment on it. Looking at the poster without any context they had the impression that the game was about at least four very stylish teenagers, giant screens or monitors and weird monsters or aliens who might be the villains. Although these perceptions are mostly true they also miss the deeper meanings that the artist probably wanted to convey. Another family member thought that the poster was advertising an animated movie and not a game due to the Manga art style and the fact that they did not know the Persona series which is a lesser known series of games.
• Characters: In a similar way to real human beings, the main characters in the game have a side to their personality that they hide, a persona as it were that they do not wish others to know about or see. Understanding this makes what the poster is trying to show more obvious as not only do the characters get across their personalities (see Mise en scene), but you also see their Personas in the TV screens, some of which appear in static. Thus this poster demonstrates the double meanings as seen in the game.       
• Setting: The scene shown in the poster is one that never appears in the game, however, I imagine it is meant to be the world inside televisions known as the Midnight Channel that connects to dungeons created and based on the inner feelings of those trapped in them.
• Mise en scene: The poster manages to give its viewer hints about the characters’ personalities in the game thanks to the emotions shown by them on the poster. The obvious examples are as follows: the girl in red worries the most, the seated girl is cheerful, the boy standing in the middle is calm and collected and the giant figure in the TV screens is big and powerful. It is only the boy who has his back to the viewer who doesn’t display any of his personality in the poster. Actually he provides the comic relief in the game but the artist for some reason or other has not displayed this.
• Describe the content: Four of the main characters are standing in front of a stack of brightly lit TV’s, some screens are even displaying supernatural figures on them.  
• Explain any ideas that the work is expressing: Not only does the scene contain a reimagining of a Japanese god but it also contains four high school students who all wear a mix of modern and retro clothes and uniforms that would be more likely to be seen in an urban environment such as a city rather than a rural setting which is where the game takes place.
• What symbolism is there in the image / scene? In relation to what I explained in the ‘characters’ section above, I would say that there is symbolism in the poster’s visual representation of the barrier put up by every human being who wants to hide a part of themselves from others. For example, the characters in front of the TV’s are displaying their everyday life personas that they put on in front of others, whereas the blurred figures in the TV screens could be symbolic of their true personalities which want to break free. Thus it is partially clear why the characters only seem to be able to overcome and reveal their true selves whilst in the TV world as they are literally passing through a physical barrier. In this instance, a TV screen.    
• Identify any issues that are raised: No obvious issues are portrayed in this poster, however, you can clearly see that there is something unnatural about the amount of TV’s in the background and the mysterious figures in them. Therefore it may make the audience wonder why a bunch of high school students are in such an unrecognisable environment and why odd looking figures are seen in the screens of the TV’s. 
• Is there anything controversial about it? Depending on the audience and their beliefs and values, some individuals may find offence in the use of a lady’s bare legs in advertising as seen at the bottom of the screen. Some viewers may also take offence to the radical change in the appearance of a mythological god. For example, the Persona named Izanagi (after the deity of the same name) in the centre of the screen who has been made to look radically different to his original representation as he is drawn wearing a school uniform and mask. And finally, some people looking at the poster may claim it is sexist due to the bare legs and the girl in red who seems to look the most vulnerable in the presence of Izanagi who is considered to be a ‘manly god’.

In addition, the actual game itself contains many controversial themes that the designers decided to approach with respect. This included the issue of homosexuality and how different genders are treated in society.

Context:

• Social / Historical: When designing the characters Persona’s the art director did research on the gods that he wanted each Persona to be based on as not only did the redesigns of them have to share similarities with their original counterparts but they also had to be modernised in a ‘trendy’ / ‘retro’ way in order to add to the game’s style.
• Geographical / Cultural: As explained before the team behind the game visited many rural towns in Japan in order to find out as much as they could about existing ones before trying to create a fictional one both in terms of landscape and atmospherics. From doing so their found out that students living in such an urban environment where similar to their city counterparts and were not just stereotype country kids as the designers first imagined them to be. The environment was also more desolate and abandoned than the team imagined it would be thanks to out of town businesses taking away customers. Thus the game was able to get a good balance between the harsh realities of a real rural town as seen above, and the positives that included the peaceful surroundings, clean air and the fact that some old traditions that are usually lost in the hustle and buzzle of city life stayed strong. 
• Ideological: The constant theme explored throughout the game is how people have multiple personalities that they suppress or hide due to the pressures or constraints of their everyday lives. However, the game also explores why individuals should not feel pressurised into being someone they are not and that they do not have to deal with their problems alone. These themes work especially well with teenagers who are often confused about their identity and also those who were that age can sympathise with them.

Sadly the poster like so many others doesn’t manage to convey its theme and only those who have played or know about the game could recognise the poster’s symbolism.   

Personal Response:

• What is your reaction to it? Looking at anything to do with Persona 4 always puts a big almost childlike smile on my face. Therefore just looking at the poster evokes a lot of positive feelings for me.
• What feelings does it provoke? Nostalgia, happiness, excitement...  just too many things to list!
• Can you pinpoint any qualities that make you feel this way: For me Persona 4 is THE perfect video game. The characters, story, art style, sound track, voice acting, game play, pacing, encounters and environments are all memorable and truly stand out from any other experience I have ever had from playing a game. There were moments of great delight, sadness, surprise, loss and victory throughout this game and many of the events seen throughout the game’s journey are still embedded in my memory as I can still recount even years after my first play through what they were like for me the first time round. The game just simply grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go, thus making it my favourite game of all time!    

Referencing:

• Moylan, M (2011) Shigenori Soejima Art Works 2004-2010. Canada: UDON Entertainment Corp. 
• Paulsen, A (2012) Persona 4 Official Design Works. Canada: UDON Entertainment Corp.  
• Soejima, S. (Unknown) Persona 4 poster [Online image]. Available at: http://www.the-games-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Persona-4-Poster.jpg (Accessed: 2/10/2012).
• Unknown. (Unknown) Wikipedia: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Megami_Tensei:_Persona_4 (Accessed: 2/10/2012).