Gaming theory is something I don?t see mentioned much ? not even in reviews of games where, let?s face it, there?s often a valid reason to delve a little deeper than merely talk about game play.
So what is gaming theory? Wikipedia says;
?Game studies or ?gaming theory? is an academic discipline that deals with the critical study of games. More specifically, it focuses on game design, players, and their role in society and culture.?
I?ve never been allowed to cite Wikipedia in anything I?ve written, but due to the sheer infancy of game studies, it?s one of the few places that actually define it within reasonable clicking distance should you search for it on Google. Now we?ve got that out the way, why is it important? And why I have a become so obscenely obsessed with it that I find myself considering doing a masters degree in it?
It?s been just over a year since I graduated from University; since I?m officially well-educated, I?ve decided that real life is boring and that I want to go back to school. For a brief while, I thought I wanted to do creative advertising, but this hasn?t stuck. I love writing essays, more now than I really did during my degree. Since starting this column, I realised I love analysing gamers. Not the games themselves ? I haven?t really done that ? but more about the audience of games and the psychology behind it.
So I thought for the purposes of this column, I?d do a mini version of a game analysis to demonstrating gaming theory. So here it goes.
Class ? today we will be looking at the distancing between player and character using Hitman: Absolution as an example.
The first topic to discuss while looking at Hitman: Absolution is the absence of a name for the main character. Referred to only as ?Agent 47?, the namelessness helps to distance him from conventional social norms. This is useful, as the premise of the game is to carry out contract killings which ? for the vast, vast majority of us (hopefully) ? are far from what are considered to be conventional social norms.?Despite this schism with normal society, the Hitman?series has enjoyed huge critical and commercial success and is now in its fifth instalment.
Another way that the audience is distanced from the character on screen is through the utilisation of a third-person perspective; you are constantly reminded that you are not the character you are controlling on screen. Although you are the one instigating the violent content presented on-screen, the fact that you don?t see these acts through the eyes of the character ? as you would if the game used a ?first person perspective ? you are able to disconnect the killings from yourself, as you are watching someone else commit them.
Agent 47?s background also encourages the audience to disconnect from him on an emotional level. In an interview, Rasmus H?jengaard, Director of Hitman: Blood Money?talks about Agent 47?s history;
?We decided to make him a clone early on. I guess there was just something cool about him not having any roots, so by being a clone, he can be shaped into any form by the people who made him; they decide everything about his future fate, so making an assassin a clone would seem like the ultimate way to make the ultimate assassin. It evolved with the character before the first Hitman was even done.?
Being a clone and not having a name helps to dehumanise Agent 47 for the audience and make his actions more acceptable, leaving little in the way of lingering guilt in the player?s mind. With the back story given, it?s not only agent 47 being controlled, it is also the player. With the suggestion given that agent 47 is not just controlled by the player, but also the fictional creators of agent 47. They are the ones who have specifically designed him to do what they want. Looking at it this way, means the player is also being made to do what these creators want agent 47 to do, so they can progress though the game to completion and achieve the feeling closure.
So that?s my take on gaming theory, and although it has been challenging to find much written on it that is not a preview or a review, it?s been a hell of a lot of fun to write critically about someone I?m interested in.
Oh ? and I?ve found a masters course for games theory now. Digital Games Theory and Design?at Brunel University, if anyone?s curious.
Is anyone else out their interested on game studies? Do you think that it is a valuable discipline or just a worthless pursuit?
Next time on Confessions of a Casual Gamer ? equality: you?re doing it wrong. If you would like some homework for next time, I?ll be discussing this.
Tags: Games Theory, Hitman
Source: http://www.bigredbarrel.com/2012/12/confessions-of-a-casual-gamer-video-games-and-gamers-detachment/
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