Abstract
Given the increasing importance of video games in the configuration of the collective imaginary, it is beneficial to understand the discursive potential of popular video games that convey social worlds. This article proposes studying the social discourse of video games by analyzing the relationships between game design, the transmission of ideological values, and the construction of social reality. With this aim, an analysis model is constructed based on game design theory and studies of the expressive potential of video games. This model is based on the following three facets of the video game discourse: (1) the representation of the character/player, (2) the game world, and (3) the main actions carried out in it. The fundamental resources of the ludic design and their expressive value are discussed in depth for each aspect. The model is applied to a case study of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Introduction
Since the first Pong machine (Atari, 1972) was installed in Andy Capp’s bar in Sunnyvale (California), video game design has become one of the main cultural media of contemporary society and video games a fundamental element in the construction of collective imaginaries. It is therefore necessary to develop theoretical systems and analysis models to study the meaning potential of video games. As Miguel Sicart stated (2003, pp. 10–11): Videogames are powerful mediums of representation. What they represent and how they represent it should be analysed in order to contribute to their comprehension and development not only as entertainment machines but also as forms of expression (. . .). Videogames as an entertainment and also an expression medium are reaching maturity. As researchers, our duty is to understand how this maturity is projected into complex discourses.
However, analyzing the video game discourse is extraordinarily challenging at the methodological level. The expressive dimension in video games contains, among others, elements of verbal language, audiovisual language and narrative structures, but video games transmit meaning essentially through a distinctive language of their own: the language of the ludic design, that is, the game rule design and ludic interactive dynamics.
In this context, the aim of the article is to propose an analysis model for studying the social discourse of video games based on examining the structures and processes of the ludic design.
After this introduction, the article is organized into three main sections: (1) a theoretical framework, (2) an analysis model for studying the discourse potential of video games, and (3) a case study in which the analysis model is applied to the popular video game GTA IV (Rockstar North, 2009).
Theoretical Framework
Studies of Video Game Design as an Expressive Medium
The theory of video game meaning did not emerge until 20 years after the first Pong machine was installed. It was at the beginning of the 1990s that the first academic texts appeared on the video game as an expressive medium, in books like Playing with Power in Movies, Television and Video Games by M. Kinder (1991), and Video Kids. Making Sense of Nintendo by E. Provenzo (1991).
At that time, there were already a handful of successful adult games on the video game market, such as SimCity (Maxis, 1989), Civilization (MicroProse, 1991), and Myst (Cyan Worlds, 1993); however, the academic world in general had still not begun to take video games too seriously, and even less their possibilities as a new expressive medium. The situation began to change in 1997, with the appearance of Cybertext by Espen Aarseth (1997) and Hamlet on the holodeck by Janet Murray (1997). These two works gave a vital push to the study of the video game as a text and narration, respectively, and ultimately as a new way of constructing discourses. From the “zero year” of 1997, the theories from various scientific disciplines orientated toward studying the meaning of video games have progressively increased.
Following the path opened up in Cybertext, Espen Aarseth and some of his companions of the IT University of Copenhagen (J. Juul, G. Frasca, and M. Eskelinen) centered their work on studying the ludic structures of video games, which gave rise to what they called “ludology.” Designers such as Chris Crawford (2003) and Rollings and Morris (2003) produced theoretical treatise with similar goals, although from a more practical point of view that is closer to design processes, and works such as Salen and Zimmerman (2004) and Juul (2005) contributed decisively to consolidate game design theory and ludology.
Beyond the formal structure and composition of games, researchers like Ian Bogost (2004), Gonzalo Frasca (2009) and Miguel Sicart (2009) have also addressed the semantic dimension and discourse of the ludic design, raising questions about the rhetorical potential behind the game rule design and the projection of ethical discourses through the design of game experiences.
Directly applying theoretical models from media studies or the humanities (semiotic models, narratological models, etc.) to analyze video games has been criticized occasionally by ludologists because it is “tempting” to avoid the primordial problem of studying the formal particularities of the medium, that is, its ludic structures (game rules, formal patterns of game dynamics). However, recent contributions from semiotics, narratology, and content analysis have shown a growing interest in adapting and integrating previous methodological models to the formal specificities of video games (Consalvo & Dutton, 2006; Malliet, 2007; Maietti, 2004, 2008; Pérez Latorre, 2012a).
The above-mentioned works seem to suggest an interesting trend toward theories and analysis models with increasing interdisciplinarity in contemporary game studies.
To complete the review of the studies on video game discourse, it is also necessary to consider a complementary line of research: the works based on a cultural studies approach.
Cultural Studies and Social Discourses in Video Games
Since publications like From Barbie to Mortal Kombat. Gender and computer games (Cassell & Jenkins, 1998), which considered the relationship that feminist women had with video games in times when popular video games were considered “only for boys,” the approaches of cultural studies to video game research have also formed a part of the development of game studies.
Following the footsteps of traditional cultural studies, video game cultural studies address two major research areas: (1) studies on representation and social discourse in popular video games in relation to issues such as the transmission of ideological values; gender discourses; reinforcement or deviation from social stereotypes; and questions of race, multiculturalism, and immigration and (2) studies on “active” reception modes in video games by certain sociocultural player profiles, for example, the reinterpretations of popular video games and the transgressions of canonic game styles by young feminist video game fans in the above referenced work by Cassell and Jenkins.
Cultural studies on the reception and social dynamics of video game players have gained great momentum due to the popularity of online multiplayer video games, like EverQuest (Sony Online Entertainment, 1999) and World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment, 2004). There have been studies on questions such as the construction of the user's social identity through online role-playing video games, or the dynamics of social relationships and group organization in World of Warcraft (Krzywinska, 2007; Taylor, 2006; Williams, Ducheneaut, Xiong, Zhang, & Yee, 2006).
In accordance with the specific interests of this article, we will center our attention on the first perspective, the cultural studies on the analysis of the video game in itself (game design, representation and discourse) instead of those studies focused on the player (or the community of players of an online video game).
Within this study perspective, some authors have examined the stereotyped or sexualized representation of female characters in video games (Bryce & Rutter, 2005; Dietz, 1998; Gailey, 1993). These studies have pointed out the abundant associations of female characters in role-playing video games with the princesses and wise old women of the fantasy genre as well as their representation as victims waiting to be rescued by male characters and sexual “fetishes.” Kennedy (2002) has pointed out the duality of the famous Lara Croft character (Tomb Raider [Core Design, 1996–]), since she is a female heroine with full powers (not only at a narrative level but also in the game play design) but can also clearly be conceived as a sexual icon, a “cyberbimbo.”
Other approaches of cultural studies have addressed the racial representation in video games, including case studies of GTA: San Andreas (Rockstar North, 2004) and Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, 2009) (Brock, 2011; DeVane & Squire, 2008; Leonard, 2006).
For his part, Pérez Latorre (2012b) recently made a comparative study of traditional games and their most popular “successors” in the videoludic culture, observing significant differences between the ludic model of war in chess and in StarCraft (Blizzard, 1998–), and the ludic model of construction in traditional puzzles versus in Tetris (Alexey Pajitnov, 1984–), giving rise to interpretations in relation to historical–social evolution.
Another traditional theme of cultural studies, the implicit ideological discourse in the products of popular culture has led to interesting analyses of video games such as SimCity (Maxis, 1989), The Sims (Maxis, 2000), and Civilization IV (Firaxis Games, 2005). Evoking the Foucauldian thesis on culture as an instrument of power, a perceptive analysis by Barry Atkins (2003, p. 130) about the representation of urban and social management in SimCity concluded with the statement that “in SimCity, Capitalism is not only a way of winning, it is the only way to play.” We can infer from this the important idea that, in the video game, the game system does not necessarily impose specific or rigid objectives on the player (especially in video games with an open structure like SimCity), but it does establish a determined “game area” with borders that delimit what can happen in the game, which is very relevant for the discourse. The definition of what can be “real” or possible in the video game always corresponds, to a lesser or greater degree, intentionally or unintentionally, to a certain worldview.
For his part, Miguel Sicart (2003) used a similar approach to that of Atkins to address the implicit ideology in The Sims in relation to the idealization of consumerism and the transmission of late-capitalist values.
In a detailed textual analysis of Civilization IV, Oliva, Besalú, and Ciaurriz (2009) revealed a deep-rooted Eurocentric discourse in the design of this popular strategy video game on the “civilization race.” In Civilization IV, the player can control very different civilizations (Greek, Chinese, Aztec, etc.) and adopt many strategic variations at the ludic level but only one history can be lived again and again: Western history.
Finally, it is worth noting that in recent years there has been much interest in analyzing the relationship between video games and neoliberalism: In this sense, works like those of Barrett (2006) and Baerg (2009) reveal significant connections between mainstream video games and the neoliberal ideology. These works invite to look at the affinities between what is commonly associated with a “fun” video game and certain neoliberal values: competitiveness and zero sum systems where “you win or you lose,” accumulative logic and consumerism (dynamics of collecting objects), power fantasies in the construction of the character (customizing the avatar), and so on.
Redmond (2012), in his analysis of Metal Gear Solid 4 (Kojima Productions, 2008) and Final Fantasy XI (Square, 2002), points out a certain ideological polysemy of mainstream video games, which, according to him, may narrate the struggle between neoliberalism and a wide range of anti-neoliberal social movements.
Finally, Anthropy (2012), Fisher and Harvey (2013), Christiansen (2013), and de Jong (2013) have addressed indie games as a design current characterized by an ideological component: as an act of resistance to mainstream video games and/or neoliberalism. For example, indie games, like Minecraft (Mojang, 2011) considerably reduce the competitive component (it doesn’t force the player to try to “win” or even “not to lose” as it provides the user with its creative game play mode), and others, like Super Meat Boy (Team Meat, 2010) and Limbo (Playdead, 2010), propose fragile avatars that cannot evolve and acquire powerful abilities, which is in opposition to the “entrepreneurial” hero model (Rose, 1998). 1
Methodology
In this section, we propose an analysis model for studying the social discourse in video games, which is a synthesis and refinement of a more extensive model presented in the doctoral thesis “Análisis de la significación del videojuego” [“Analysis of Videogame Meaning”] (Pérez Latorre, 2010).
Firstly, we should consider three fundamental references in the video game representation structure, almost in universal terms: the character/player, the game world, and the game play activities. This means that, at a deep level, the video game discourse “revolves,” is organized, around these three entities as reference or pivotal points of the discourse.
Various languages and compositional layers are involved in the representation of the character/player, the game world, and the game play activities: verbal language, audiovisual language, and the soundtrack and music, among others. However, as we mentioned above, the analysis of the video game discourse should focus on the meaning mode that is most specific to the medium, and central to the user’s experience: the ludic design, based on the game rule design and formal patterns of the game play.
In the following sections, we describe the meaning potential of the ludic design in relation to the character/player, game world, and game play activities, accompanied by some examples. We then apply the model to the case study of GTA IV and the representation of immigration, contemporary North America, and the struggle to move up in social class.
The Ludic Design of the Character/Player and Its Meaning Potential
The ludic design of video games influences the representation of the character/player by defining their scope of action competencies through a combination of four types of game rules 2 : (1) performance rules, (2) operation rules, (3) state rules, and (4) rules for inducing behaviors. In addition, (5) the “game mechanics” play an important role in the representation of the character/player. Below we briefly define these design resources and their meaning potential.
Performance rules
These rules define the possible actions of the character and the links between these actions and their effects or fundamental functions in the game. This can have, on occasions, a great rhetorical potential. For example, in Ico (Team Ico, 2001) the action of giving a hand to Yorda to help her run more quickly, climb to high areas in the castle, jump, etc. symbolizes values like solidarity and friendship, which are fundamental in the characterization of the characters. Regarding the meaning potential of links between actions and effects, in September 12th (Frasca, 2009) the action of “shooting” enemies causes them (has the conventional effect) to multiply instead of being eliminated, as part of a critical discourse on the Bush government and the “preventive war” against Iraq.
Operation rules
These rules establish the way in which the player’s actions (outside the game world) are linked to the actions that these trigger in the game world. These rules regulate the ways of manipulating the physical (keyboard, mouse, and game-pad) and visual interfaces in the video game. An original case in this area is the operation rules concerning the action of “lying” in Larry Magna Cum Laude (High Voltage, 2004). In this sarcastic video game, to “lie” the player does not simply push a certain key on the keyboard or choose lines of dialogue in an infographic menu, but rather they have to play a mini-game that appears at the bottom of the screen. Therefore, the action of lying is associated with an operational mechanism that implies a lighthearted way of understanding this action, which is consistent with the attitudes of the main character throughout the story.
State rules
These are rules that establish the types of states in which the character/player can find themselves, the way in which these are structured in the game (levels, sublevels), and the game conditions that produce them. This involves, for example, the design of the system of the character/player’s “lives” and “health,” potential levels of “experience,” “moods,” and “feelings” (Fahrenheit [Quantic Dream, 2005]), and even “social status” (Fable II [Lionhead Studios, 2009]). Occasionally, the conditions that lead to a change of state of the character/player can be interesting from the point of view of the discourse. For example, in Fable II the level of social prestige is strongly linked to factors of social appearance (possession of trophies, construction of statues), which presumes a certain way of understanding the concept of social prestige.
Rules for inducing behaviors
Some rules or combinations of rules fulfill the fundamental function of making the character/player behave in a certain way in the medium or long term. The clearest case is a reward and punishment system, as it can channel the player toward certain paths. For example, in the classic “Prisoner’s Dilemma,” the reward and punishment system channels the player toward “traitor” or “informer” behavior. Conversely, in other games, like the multi-user video game World of Warcraft (Blizzard, 2004), certain rules tend to promote cooperative behavior among the players (Krzywinska, 2007, p. 10). In essence, a fundamental symbolic function of reward and punishment systems is to use learning processes to implicitly model certain dominant behaviors of the character/player throughout the game.
Game mechanics
The game mechanics constitute the core of the game experience. They are the set of actions of the character and related skills of the player that are recurrently linked to achieving an instrumental objective in the video game consistently throughout the game. For example, “shooting at enemies, dodging their bullets and taking cover behind scenery elements (the character), applying visual–motor skills, reflexes, and spatial orientation (the player),” is a basic game mechanic for achieving the instrumental objective of “eliminating enemies” in shooters, like Gears of War (Epic Games, 2006). 3
Game mechanics can contribute substantially to the representation of the character/player. An interesting case is the evolution of the game mechanics design in the modern Batman video games: in an attempt to obtain a representation that is truer to the comic character, video games, like Batman Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios, 2009), use game mechanics based on stealth, skill in moving the character between the shadows and strategic analysis in addition to traditional combat mechanics based on visual–motor skills. Undoubtedly, this game mechanics design has contributed to obtaining a more reliable and interesting representation of Batman in the video game.
Besides, we need to remember that various researchers have pointed out in recent years the relationship between the game mechanics and the latent ideology of the video game: for example, game mechanics related to a competitive accumulation of valuable objects and the progressive “customization” of the avatar have implicit connections with neoliberal values and the ideal of the “entrepreneurial self” (Anthropy, 2012; Baerg, 2009; Barrett, 2006; Rose, 1998).
The Ludic Design of the Game World and its Meaning Potential
The game world is composed of the environment where the game takes place plus the “inhabitants” of this environment, basically nonplayer characters, objects, and natural or cultural elements.
The ludic design factors that are crucial to the meaning of the environment concern (1) the spatiotemporal design, (2) the rules for blocking/unblocking areas and states of the game world, (3 and 4) the game rules related to the design of nonplayer characters and interactive objects of the game world, and finally (5) the possible relationship between rules that induce behaviors of the character/player and the representation of the game world.
Spatiotemporal design
In the spatiotemporal analysis of the game, apart from questions of visual and scenic design, special attention should be given to questions that substantially affect player interaction. In this sense, following some of the observations made in Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Heide-Smith, and Tosca (2008, p. 117), we need to point out the dialectic between active environments versus reactive environments. Thus, the environment of the video game can acquire very different connotations depending on the design of the offscreen space, for example, Half-Life 2 (Valve Corporation, 2004) has an offscreen space that is wide in visual terms but predominantly “passive” in interactive terms, “waiting” for the player. However, games like World of Warcraft (Blizzard, 2004) and StarCraft (Blizzard, 1998) have active offscreen spaces that are relatively independent of the player.
The same occurs in the temporal design, for example, in graphic adventures it is common to find a leisurely pace and “reactive” story development that depends on the actions of the character/player. However, some scenes of Fahrenheit (Quantic Dream, 2005) have sequences of events with their own timing relatively independent of the player’s actions, thus bringing tension to the game experience.
The design of a spatiotemporal environment with a dominant “active” versus a dominant “passive” or reactive with respect to the player affects the symbolic relationships between subject and environment, especially the power relationships between them. Behind this we find a dialectic between the adaptation of the subject to the environment versus the adaptation of the environment to the subject (which evokes the accommodation vs. assimilation dichotomy of Piaget, 2007). Naturally, a detailed analysis would reveal the gray areas between the two poles in certain video games, or perhaps changes in dominance in certain scenes of the games.
Rules for blocking/unblocking areas and states in the game world
Occasionally a video game can have a system for ordering the game world areas and states that has a significant hierarchy in terms of the discourse. For example, in Civilization IV an underlying “tree of technologies” implicitly determines the order of different evolutionary states in history that are part of the game (which includes states marked by scientific, economic, religious, political, and legal advances, among others). The player can adopt various, very diverse tactics and strategies, but there is only one underlying discourse on the evolution of history, that is, certain historical states always follow others, and their rate of progress in comparison with the rest is predefined. For example, at the religious level, the game starts with mysticism, passes through polytheism and then to monotheism, and we cannot change this order or skip any steps.
Patterns of behavior of nonplayer characters
These rules regulate the behavior profiles of nonplayer characters, the game conditions that activate these profiles and their functions or fundamental effects in the game. For example, in Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal, 2007), the people in the streets of the mediaeval Islamic city where the game is set tend to adopt nervous and distrustful behavior when the character/player hurries past or runs or jumps; however, nonplayer characters are calmer and more trusting if the character/player moves slowly and pretends to be praying, which reinforces the image that the citizens in the represented world are intensely religious.
Rules of objects of the game world
Similarly to the previous case, but with respect to objects and material instruments, certain rules define the actions, way of working and possible effects of these elements in the game world. They can also provide certain nuances on the expressive level. For example, the magic and supernatural functions of the musical instruments in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo, 1998) claim artistic sensitivity and creativity as significant values in the game world.
Rules for inducing behaviors (the game world as a catalyst of behaviors)
The rules for inducing behaviors, such as the incentive and disincentive systems mentioned earlier, can occasionally influence not only the representation of the character/player but also the entire game world. 4 For example, in the sarcastic McDonald’s videogame (Molleindustria, 2006), the rules of the game induce the player to behave immorally if they want to “survive” as the manager of the restaurant. However, in this case, more than a criticism of the individual manager of the restaurant, the design is a criticism of the entire fast-food world and large multinational companies, which are presented as “perverse systems” associated with the idea of wild capitalism. The character/player is represented, in this case, as a “victim” of these types of environments.
The Ludic Design of the Game Play Activities and its Meaning Potential
Activities are also represented in video games in addition to the character/player and the game world. Each game play unit of the video game (level, sublevel, and mission) involves performing a certain activity in order to obtain a specific goal or objective. For example, there are video game levels or missions that represent the search for a treasure, others that concern an act of solidarity with a friend, and others that represent the attempt to wake up from a nightmare (Max Payne [Remedy Entertainment, 2001]), and so on.
Therefore, in order to analyze the representation of game play activities it is first necessary to define the various game play units that make up the video game structure. Following this, we look at a series of ludic design elements that give shape and stamp meaning on the activities represented in each of the game play units:
Patterns of action regarding final objectives
The meaning of a game play activity depends largely on the correlation between the actions that compose it and the final objective to which these actions are linked. That is, during the game experience the player learns that certain behaviors are appropriate or ideal for reaching certain objectives or end states, as opposed to other behaviors, which are presented as less effective or even penalized. 5 This constitutes a fundamental discourse axis in the video game structure in relation to the “prescription” of certain actions for achieving certain objectives. For example, in the aforementioned analysis of SimCity, Atkins (2003, p. 129) pointed out that “[in SimCity] ‘bigger’ and ‘newer’ always mean ‘better.’” It is evident that this is not a neutral definition of the “successful city” and the way to achieve it, rather it is part of a discursive frame related to a capitalist view.
Winning and losing conditions
An action-objective pattern can be based on “recommendable” interaction approaches but with a certain degree of freedom for the player, as occurs in open structure video games like SimCity; however, occasionally, the video game can also include certain winning conditions very specific and unvarying: concrete actions and requisites that are absolutely necessary to be able to “win,” without giving any choice to the player. An interesting instance of the expressive potential of the winning conditions can be found in a scene of the classic video game Lemmings (DMA Design, 1991), in which the winning condition is the suicide of one of the lemmings so that the rest can cross a certain part of the scenery. The implicit discourse in this case is not simply related to the “value of individual sacrifice for the collective good,” it also takes on a “tragic” nuance in relation to the inherent inevitability of the winning conditions: sometimes there is no choice that somebody sacrifices themselves for the collective good.
With respect to the losing conditions, in the opposite sense, these are fixed conditions linked to a relevant penalty or a “game over” event in a given game play unit.
Degree of redundancy versus variability of the game play
In the game play design, an activity can be associated with a “single way” of achieving a certain objective, or the design can allow “various ways” of reaching a goal. That is, the same activity represented in a game play unit can conform either to a model of “redundancy” or to a model of “variability,” which leads to different semiotic connotations: “freedom” versus “fate,” “monotony” versus “unpredictability,” “order” versus “disorder,” etc. For example, in The Sims (Maxis, 2000), a variability game play design is used to represent the personal/private life as “free,” “fun,” and very “unpredictable”; conversely, a redundancy game play design is used to represent the work life as “rigid” and “monotonous.” We should obviously keep in mind that this is only a point of view, and other video games can project a different discourse, or even the opposite, in relation to our private and professional lives by changing these facets of the game play design.
Game mechanics
We have already defined the notion of game mechanics in the section on the representation of the character/player, but the game mechanics also often contribute to the representation of activities. For example, in the comic video game Psychonauts (Double Fine, 2005), in which the main character is a spy who can (literally) enter other people's minds, the activity in the exterior world is represented through relaxed mechanics of walking and dialogue; however, the exploration of the minds of nonplayer characters is represented using vibrant mechanics of the platform genre, exaggerated to the point of chaos, in order to connote the complex and unbalanced psychology of these characters. Another illustrative example in this area is the game mechanic of the sword fights in The Secret of Monkey Island (LucasArts, 1990): while in most video games sword fighting is linked to mechanics related to physical actions and acrobatics of the character and visual–motor skills of the player, Ron Gilbert represented these scenes in Monkey Island as psychological fights with an original game mechanic: the user must choose the most hurtful comment for their adversary using their memory of previous duels or their intuition in persuasive communication.
Chains of actions
Another element of the ludic design related to the representation of activities is the chain of actions. This is the design of a process through a sequence of linked actions, as occurs in scenes with a predefined “script” (usually based on successive “checkpoints”) and also in the action “puzzles” the user needs to complete in adventure video games. This kind of action design projects meaning through the construction of cause–effect relationships and/or the successive order of occurrences that, depending on the design, lead to a particular ending. For example, in The Secret of Monkey Island the chains of actions usually include parodic elements related to classic adventure literature, such as finding a treasure map by simply talking to a traveling salesman in the street.
Strategic/tactical dilemmas
Essentially, a ludic strategy 6 is an overall plan of action linked to a certain objective that involves the player making a decision (there is at least one other alternative possibility) and is characterized by a specific articulation of “opportunities and risks” or “advantages and disadvantages.” The definition of the opportunities/risks dichotomy of the main strategic paths of a game has a large meaning potential. For example, Passage by Jason Rohrer (2007) is an “indie” game with a particular discourse on love relationships based on a simple strategic structure 7 : the game proposes that life (the game) lived alone, controlling one character alone, makes it easier to obtain personal successes (symbolized by chests in the game), but the “journey” (progressing through the space) is less worthwhile (less points). And conversely, life (the game) with a partner, controlling a double boy–girl character, makes the journey more worthwhile (more points), but it is more difficult to obtain large personal successes (chests) along the way due to the characteristics of the labyrinth where the game takes place.
Representation of the Character/Player and Ludic Design.
Representation of the Game World and Ludic Design.
Representation of the Game Play Activities and Ludic Design.
The analysis variables discussed here do not cover all the possibilities of the ludic design and its expressive potential; however, in light of the literature we consider that they constitute the core of this question and, therefore, can be used as a functional basis for a first approach to analyzing the video game discourse.
Moreover, applying the analysis model from the interpretive focus of cultural studies requires looking at the social meaning of the game. As mentioned previously, this means paying attention to possible social resonances in the game in relation to certain social or cultural groups, the reinforcement or breaking of stereotypes, the implicit discourses on gender and social class, the ideological perspectives, and so on. For example, in relation to the case study discussed below: in GTA IV (Rockstar North, 2009) the character/player has an “immigrant” and “low-class” facet that stands out in the analysis, the game world corresponds to a representation of New York City or contemporary North America, and the main game play activities that are represented concern the dialectic “mobility” versus “nonmobility” in social class.
Case Study: The Social Discourse of GTA IV
GTA is the problem child of video game history: in a medium that is stigmatized for the excessive representation of violence in war games, science fiction, and fantasy, a group of designers called DMA Design (now Rockstar North) have committed, since 1996, the flagrant provocation of translating the violence to contemporary cities in a video game that combines virtual tourism and modern gangster cinema à la Tarantino.
Car theft, street fights, shootouts in shopping malls . . . GTA is a video game for people over 18 years old, and the player needs to use his or her critical capacity about the characters represented in the story. But GTA is much more than the usual violent video game. Its extraordinary popularity among young people throughout the world over almost two decades has converted it into a symbol of contemporary youth culture. But, above all, GTA is probably the most cutting criticism of the American dream that video game history has produced. The creators of Rockstar have worked since 1996 with the same game concept: a warped mirror that grotesquely exaggerates the dark side of the contemporary North American city, full of violence and black humor.
GTA IV (2009) unfolds in Liberty City, a free recreation of New York City today. It was different from previous editions of the game because, among other nuances that we will discuss during the analysis, it adopted a particularly dark tone.
The analysis of the game is organized in relation to the three fundamental entities of videoludic representation defined above, namely, character/player, game world, and game play activities. In addition, the connections between the design aspects discussed and the categories of the analysis model are specified, indicating the corresponding section numbers. As mentioned previously, the interpretive focus used here is orientated toward identifying the social resonances of the video game design.
Character/Player. Representation of the Immigrant/Disadvantaged Citizen
The main character of GTA IV is Niko Bellic, an immigrant from ex-Yugoslavia who has just arrived in the United States full of hopes and dreams. He has come to Liberty City to rebuild his life but is constantly “pushed” by the city to enter the game of the Mafia.
Regarding the performance rules, the design gives the character/player competencies in stealing cars (easily), driving and using various weapons (available in secret armories around the city). Niko also has remarkable athletic abilities, which have practical uses in various parts of the game: he can climb over fences and city walls, jump onto moving trucks and swim very well.
An action competency that differentiates the character/player of GTA IV from the protagonists of the other GTA editions is that he is able to decide “freely” in certain significant dilemmas at the end of some missions.
For example, at the end of one of the missions, Niko (the player) can decide whether to kill Francis McReary or his brother Derrick. Francis is a corrupt policeman who believes that his brother Derrick, alcoholic and drug addict, could reveal his corruption to the press. Francis pressures Niko to eliminate Derrick. In exchange, the character/player will receive police immunity on certain occasions [performance rules]. Niko can let Derrick live if he wants, but the price is that he must kill Francis in his place and go without the police immunity. This type of murder dilemma occurs on other occasions throughout the game. In terms of its semantic projection, the subject is far from having real “freedom”: the tragic choice between which person to murder, but still having to murder someone, is nothing more than a sign of the false illusion of freedom experienced by the immigrant Niko Bellic in Liberty City.
With respect to state rules, the head-up display highlights the usual variables of the saga: health and “armor” level, money, and eventually the intensity with which the police chase Niko. In addition to other common features of the saga, GTA IV allows the player/character to call paramedics to their location to heal their wounds for a fee, as well as give money to a busker, so that Niko regains health.
The game mechanics in GTA IV, as in the previous editions of the saga, are characterized by an eclectic combination of driving mechanics in chasing, escaping and racing “missions,” and shooting mechanics, and therefore, it combines the classic video game genres of car racing and shooters. Nevertheless, the shoot out scenes in GTA IV are different from those in the previous editions of the game because the character/player has to adapt to the spatial conditions: during this type of scene, it is necessary to skillfully take cover behind scenery elements to avoid being shot by enemies, and the game system even provides a special button on the game-pad to do this [operation rules].
Finally, we need to highlight the role played by certain rules for inducing behaviors in the representation of Niko, which have interesting nuances in terms of the game discourse about immigration and poverty.
Throughout the game, the character/player can choose game missions linked to the main narrative plot (Niko’s descent into the world of the Mafia) or play alternative game play units, basically missions involving traditional work (as a taxi driver), small crime commissions from mysterious strangers, going out with friends, or free roaming in the city (virtual “tourism”).
However, while the missions of the main storyline lead to large economic gains, “unblock” new areas of the city [rules for blocking/unblocking areas and states of the game world] and provide access to new relevant characters in Liberty City, the alternative game play units do not offer these important rewards (e.g., the taxi driver missions do have economic benefits, but they are generally much lower than those of the criminal missions).
This can be expressed in the following relationship: the larger the implication in organized crime (main storyline missions), the larger the economic benefits. Since Niko Bellic is in serious economic trouble, without needing to “force” the player to play the game in a particular way, the game rule design encourages a tendency toward organized crime (main missions), like a perverse “magnet” that sooner or later ends up attracting the character/player, embodied by a newly arrived immigrant to a virtual recreation of New York, the supposed “land of opportunities.”
Game World. Representation of New York and Contemporary North America
The representation of the GTA IV game world is loaded with dark humor about New York and contemporary North America. The environment in which the character/player moves is characterized by the following basic aspects: the city as a catalyst of negative behaviors, the figure of the Mafia “bosses” who commission the missions, the recurrent time pressures and the association between Internet, new technologies and crime.
In the first place, the aforementioned rules for inducing behaviors in GTA IV not only influence the portrayal of the immigrant but also contribute to representing Liberty City in a certain way [the game world as a catalyst of behaviors]: it is depicted as a perverse city where the only way of obtaining economic well-being is through violence and organized crime, unless you are rich from the beginning . . . remember that in Liberty City honest work (e.g., as a taxi driver) is little more than a guarantee that you will remain poor.
Furthermore, the main nonplayer characters in GTA IV are a “line up” of grotesque bosses of various Mafia groups, whose main function in the game is to give missions to Niko [patterns of behavior of nonplayer characters]: for example, Vladimir Glebov, a fat, conceited Russian Mafia thug; Brucie Kibbutz, a steroid junkie; and Manny Escuela, a Puerto Rican ex-con whose interest in the fight against drug trafficking is limited to his desire to become famous.
Regarding spatiotemporal design, time pressures are a very characteristic aspect of GTA in general, and are also present in GTA IV. In fact, the main challenge of many missions resides in the capacity of the character/player to adapt to the time pressure and/or to avoid a specific losing condition defined as a time limit; for example, in car or motorbike races, and in missions involving high-speed car chases between the character/player and rival gangs or the police, etc.
Finally, the GTA IV game world also has some interesting touches in terms of the representation of the new communication technologies [rules of objects of the game world]. The Internet (in cyber cafés) and mobile telephones are necessary to be able to successfully complete some missions. Niko needs to use the Internet to arrange meetings with individuals he should “give a lesson to,” and the mobile phone is useful for discretely taking photographs or receiving key instructions during the mission, always beyond the margins of the law. Thus, through the rules regarding the objects of the game world, the Internet and the mobile phone, in particular digital photography, are associated with cons and covert operations in criminal plots.
Game Play Activities. Representation of the Struggles of the Disadvantaged/Immigrant to Move Up on the Social Ladder
As in the entire GTA saga, GTA IV is characterized by a pattern of action regarding final objectives that links violence and criminal activity with obtaining large sums of money. In Liberty City, to become rich you need to intimidate shop owners, face gangs of drug traffickers, commit murders, rob banks, and so on. However, below the surface there is a discourse on mobility versus immobility of social class: the missions for the Mafia are linked to a possible substantial improvement in living conditions, which can be associated with social mobility; in contrast, the alternative game play units are associated with no movement in social class and remaining poor.
Moreover, the mafia missions in GTA IV always begin with the character/player giving up a certain degree of their freedom: the player takes the step from free roaming in the city to following a more closed, less flexible game play structure (the main storyline missions usually have a scripted sequential structure) [degree of redundancy versus variability; chains of actions].
We have already introduced the game mechanics that are characteristic of the main missions (driving and shooter mechanics), but at this point it could be interesting to go deeper into certain specific questions. The player’s fundamental ability to carry out central game mechanics is closely related to the selection of appropriate equipment, since there are many different types of vehicles, weapons and other equipment items available in Liberty City. At the same time, this is linked to tactical decisions regarding the molding of the player/character, since every vehicle and weapon has its own characteristics and its own particular advantages and disadvantages [strategic/tactical dilemmas].
Following the focus of certain previously mentioned researchers (Baerg, 2009; Barrett, 2006, Redmond, 2012), we could consider that this aspect of GTA IV is implicitly connected with neoliberal ideals, such as the (illusion of) construction of the individual with (almost) unlimited freedom, and the link between the flexibility of identity and consumption or possession of goods. All of this is connected to an emblematic trait of GTA: the attractive possibility of stealing any car we want with relative ease.
Here we arrive at an interesting cross-linking of values: on one hand, as we have seen, GTA IV projects a critical discourse on structural limits and social inequality, in line with social–democratic perspectives; but on the other hand, it promotes game mechanics with certain traits in tune with neoliberalism and the pleasures of consumerism. These types of complex ideological combinations can be considered as “contradictions” or, in line with Redmond (2012), as content richness and another incentive to analyze these kinds of works.
We will now look at some alternative game play units outside the main plot. Unlike other editions of the game, in GTA IV the character/player can call certain acquaintances or friends by mobile to go out with them: go out for drinks, play bowls, pool, and so on. This represents a striking contrast between GTA IV and a previous edition of the saga, GTA: Vice City (Rockstar North, 2002), while in GTA: Vice City the character/player can buy clubs or businesses in the recreation and entertainment world (nightclubs, cinema production companies, etc.) and manage them as a “businessman,” in GTA IV the immigrant/player can only visit these types of places as a client and consumer. In short, radically different game mechanics are proposed for the same context (entertainment venues). This is a very significant trait, if we relate it once again to the underlying theme of social mobility: one city, Vice City, and time period (GTA: Vice City is set in the 1980s) that allows, although at the price of becoming a criminal, the disadvantaged/immigrant to move up the social and economic ladder; and another city, Liberty City, in modern times, that is far more “closed” and “resistant” to changes in social class.
Finally, GTA has a popular game play unit that does not provide the character/player with money but something else that is almost as attractive to the player: game experiences with great freedom of interaction. This is the free-roaming game mode, which is greatly appreciated by many players for its large flexibility [degree of redundancy versus variability]. In GTA, the character/player always has the option to take a walk through the city at their leisure, with the possibility of provoking the police into high-speed chases (the user can choose the chase level between one and six police “stars”). It is a type of game reminiscent of the naughty schoolboy game of ringing doorbells then running away, which provides the GTA player with game experiences full of freedom, unpredictability and a touch of lawbreaking and black humor.
Conclusions
The social discourse of GTA IV is structured by the tensions between a character/player branded by his disadvantaged status (an immigrant newly arrived to Liberty City in conditions of near poverty) and a virtual environment of New York City characterized by the combination of seemingly great freedom of interaction and a tremendously constraining game rule design: the need to resort to violence/crime in order to obtain substantial sums of money.
There is a deeply ironic tone to the GTA discourse: in this game, violence and crime do not exactly lead to “winning”, rather they lead to “obtaining money,” to “becoming rich and powerful” within a world in which the richest and most powerful characters are portrayed as radically grotesque (the Mafia bosses).
Honest work (as a taxi driver) is possible in Liberty City, but it is not effective for escaping from poverty, which openly invalidates the American Dream. Firstly, it generally results in little economic gain, and secondly, it doesn't allow the player to extend his or her knowledge of the city (by unblocking new areas and meeting new characters).
Although it is possible to enjoy relaxed experiences like “tourism” and free roaming in the city or going out with friends, for the disadvantaged subject in Liberty City the free and peaceful life of today is inevitably a life without money tomorrow.
Thus, it is not that the game forces the player to “play at being a criminal,” but rather that the player “learns” that in the given conditions of the character/player (recently arrived immigrant to the big city) and surrounding game world (a New York full of false promises), the activity that tends to emerge is crime.
Therefore the GTA discourse is not only that violence leads to money, but also that (previously) poverty and debt in contemporary North America induce crime.
If the represented city did not “promise” from the beginning a high degree of freedom, this induction into crime would not be so paradoxical; however, Liberty City is characterized by its open world environment, and the alternative game play units are promises that are always available during the game. The city economically constrains the subject while at the same time it announces in flashing neon lights, “you are free, do what you want.”
Therefore, GTA IV is characterized by an underlying criticism of social inequality and the lack of opportunities for disadvantaged minorities, in tune with social–democratic perspectives. However, we have seen that at the same time some of the pleasures of the game experience seem to be related to ideals that are closer to the neoliberal perspective and consumerism: fundamentally, the appealing freedom in the construction of the individual and, in relation to this, the attractive ease and “flexibility” in acquiring goods (ease of stealing cars, large diversity of weapons). These types of convergences of different ideals and ideological perspectives in the same video game deserve to be studied in more depth in future.
To finish, we can observe that, essentially, GTA continually brings into play a perverse dilemma, that is, be poor or be a gangster. Be free but also moneyless, or rich but also violent and corrupt. There is no middle ground, there is no other way out in the game of the contemporary city. The player chooses, but his or her choice does not change the continuous seesawing of the game discourse. Dimitri Rascalov (Russian Mafia boss) to Niko Bellic in the port of Liberty City: If there is one thing I've learned, it's that we can pick the game, but we cannot change the rules.
Final Considerations
As we initially pointed out, video games currently have a great influence on the configuration of the collective imaginary, and thus the analysis of the social discourses in video games is of particular interest.
Therefore, in the area of game studies it is important to develop systematic, methodological instruments that are increasingly effective for this kind of analysis of video games.
In this article, we have proposed an analysis model for studying the expressive potential of the ludic design, and we have adopted an interpretive focus orientated toward the social resonances of the video game, according to the cultural studies approach.
Remember that this analysis model is centered on the study of the ludic design and its relationships with the representation of the character/player, the game world, and the main activities of the game play; however, the model does have some limitations that should be taken into account: on one hand, focusing on the ludic design leaves to one side the function of other mediums and expressive modes, for example, the audiovisual narrative, the verbal language (including the characters’ dialogues), and the music. On the other hand, as mentioned previously, the selection of the expressive resources of the ludic design that are included in the model can be neither complete nor exhaustive; naturally, there are many more creative resources in game design that cannot be covered in one article due to limits on length.
Probably not since the birth of cinema have researchers in language theory, discourse analysis, and cultural studies been faced with such a fascinating problem as video game design: the emergence of a new language that has both a distinctive creative potential and roots in popular culture on a universal scale.
As a hammer can be used to build houses or break glass, a new language, such as the language of video game design, can be used to transmit constructive discourses or simplistic discourses that glorify violence. To finish, we propose taking an optimistic perspective in this respect: as we deepen our understanding of the language of video game design, we can gradually achieve an increasingly richer, more diverse, and constructive video game culture.
At the theoretical and methodological level, everything seems to suggest that the interdisciplinary collaboration between game design theory, ludology, and theories of communication, the social sciences and the humanities are destined to play a key role in the game studies of the present and the future. This article aims to progress a little in this task, which will obviously need time and coordinated effort between researchers from different fields, but which is clearly worthwhile, that is, the understanding of a new language with which we can explore other worlds and, above all, rediscover our own.
Footnotes
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Miguel Sicart and the reviewers of this article for their valuable contributions.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.