Summary: Through the game Firewatch, define and explain the elements of a video game that the developers use to create meaning (that is, to get across ideas, values, critics, etc). Explain what the game means, i.e., its themes, its message, its central ideas.
Specifics:
Part 1. Play
- Play Firewatch. If you have technical problems, contact me (or google them–there are a lot of good answers out there).
Part II: Write an analysis of the game, in the following structure:
- Introduction.
- Explain briefly what the theme of the game is. What does the game mean? What is it about? Explain what it intends to say (its central ideas or critical commentaries), through the experience it creates. This is your thesis.
- Explain briefly what elements of the game you will analyze and offer as evidence.
2. Analysis
- Analyze the different aspects of the game and explain how they contribute to creating the meaning (the theme you have singled out in the introduction) of the game. Some of the aspects of the game you can/should analyze are:
- Character
- Plot
- World (the setting, both the physical setting and the kind of world it is (deterministic, bleak, happy, etc).
- Formal elements (such as color, sounds, etc).
- Mechanics (what the player does, the choices the player can make, what the player does to win/complete the game)
- Your analysis of each of these elements should be focused on proving your thesis. In other words, your analysis of all these elements should focus on explaining to the reader the ways in which each element reinforces or proves that the game means what you say it does. Below is a sample introduction to give you an idea of how to proceed:
Sample Introduction:
“In this essay, I will show that Firewatch is ultimately shows that in life, we are often powerless. First, I will analyze the character of Henry to show that he is ultimately powerless to stop his wife from declining; and similarly, the the character of Ned is also powerless to stop his own personal tragedy. I will analyze the plot, and show that no matter what choices you make, the plot ends the same–which suggests the players own powerlessness to stop the inevitable outcome. I will analyze the mechanics and argue that the few things you can do (running, jumping, climbing) leave no lasting impression on the game world and so further suggest this theme of powerlessness.”
You analysis itself should similarly be always focused on showing how the various elements of the game prove your thesis.
3. Conclusion
- In this part, write your conclusions. Talk about what the game means: what is/are its central ideas, what message does it send, what is the emotional/conceptual/ideological content of the experience it tries to create? What do the players learn from it, or take away from it? This part should be at least 1 page long.
Technical Specifications:
This analysis should be 5-6 pages long.
Include your name at the top of the first page.
12 pt font, default margins, Arial or Times New Roman Font.
Format should be .doc, .docx, or .pdf.