Comments Pt.2 Beta BCM215

Breath of the Wild

I commented on Chelsea’s DA about Breath of the Wild. I have played Breath of the Wild and was able to relate to her post of artistic beauty and design significance. I asked Chelsea if she could check out another game called ‘Genshin Impact’, which has a similar art style of lush grass and cel-shaded characters. I drew on Nintendo being a very influential company headed by Miyamoto. In the Week 6 Lecture we hear about how Miyamoto influenced the switch from programming to game designers, who were typically more traditionally trained visual artists. Through all of Nintendo’s games we have seen clear visual influences, especially Breath of the Wild, which Chelsea notes in her DA, and are a staple of Nintendo. Mario, Pikachu and Zelda are all worldwide icons with recognisable designs.

I offered a link to an article comparing Genshin Impact’s design aesthetics to Breath of the Wild’s. I think it was a very useful article, as I have played both games and can definitely see the visual similarities of both games. I learned that even though both games can have a clear visual image, they can still be very different in terms of mechanics and progression. BoTW and Genshin have very different goals in the end.

Easter Eggs

I commented on Jono Low’s Beta about Easter Eggs and their history. I commented on how Easter Eggs made parts of the gaming community feel more like a shared space to communicate and become friends. I suggested an article that promoted this viewpoint and wanted him to consider the community around Easter Eggs. There are already several YouTube communities that thousands of people watch and enjoy. Easter Eggs are a part of ‘Participatory Media Culture’, where players actively seek out the details within the game and provides an engaging way to interact with the game through the lens of discovery. I learned that Easter Eggs are an important point of gaming culture.

I wanted to show Jono that some Easter Eggs wouldn’t have been found without a community dedicated to recording and finding them, just as he is doing.

Women in Video Games

Lorena’s DA is about Women in video games and how they are represented. I wrote the comment of being interested in the public responses that she got. I recommended that she check out a general media article about representation in video games. I learned that through her public polls, many people felt ambivalent to gender representation and were happy with what they got. She analysed figures such as Lara Croft and how her design was impractical and servicing male members of the audience. She also noted that Peach was a damsel in distress for her role in Mario. It was also interesting exploring the lack of gender in video games with Animal Crossing, where you don’t have to choose. I also learned that sometimes gender plays a bigger role than I think with stereotypes, like Peach. Some people might unconsciously associate it with women being lesser.