Historical text analysis and research

'Although the first video games emerged in the late 1970s, violent video games came of age in the 1990s, with the killing games Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Wolfenstein 3D'

Source - http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/videogames1.pdf

Mortal Kombat - 1992

Mortal Kombat is a perfect example of how the issue of violence within video games has changed over the years, with newer games becoming more violent not only in story line but graphically aswell shows how an advance in technology has manipulated peoples culture into forming a much aggressive/violent subculture, particularly amongst the young. However during the 1990s there were a considerable amount of controversies which the game brought about. The lethal finishing move known as the fatality was a feature of the game which brought about most of the games controversies,as the way the deaths were portrayed were to explicit for that day and age, however controversially it was the extreme violence which lead Mortal Kombat to its success of becoming the most popular video games of all time. At the time video games were breaking into a wider market with the upcoming fourth generation consoles

This is similar to my main text as again it glorifies violence as it rewards players as they progress to the next stage by fatalitying their opponent. It can be said that theories such as Stanley Cohen's moral panic can also be linked as the game resulted in the forming of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (Gaming censors). Similarly the success of both Mortal Kombat and my contemporary texts was the fact that the violence within the games  is what appealed to most of the audiences which made these games become so popular, therefore raising the question whether this has become an issue as our culture has changed from family games such as super mario/pacman etc to more violent content heavy games, will this continue to corrupt the youth?

Games such as this show how society/culture has changed, as the issue related to violent video games has become more of a concern in modern day society in compared to back in the 90's as video games such as Mortal Kombat have become more advanced and also have become more available as only those with money could afford to own consoles which allowed the playing of games such as Mortal Kombat. This shows how society has changed as the availability of violent video games have become widespread (Globalisation)  which has raised various issues/debates whether video games such as these are corrupting youth culture, as many violent acts within society have been linked back violent video games.The most recent incident being the Connecticut school shooting where 27 people where killed. It was said that the shooter Adam Lanza would play Call of Duty obsessively studying weapons in the basement of his mums home. This shows how the game influenced his behavior in the real world, leading to him shooting 27 Innocent citizens.Therefore reinforcing the debate/issue of violent video games in society and the effects it has on audiences.

Trailer Analysis

 The begging of the trailer we see a different perspective to Grand Theft Auto as the previous sequence openings tend to be packed with violence and delinquency , however the opening of this trailer subverts the stereotypical view of Grand Theft Auto as it opens with Micheal, one of the three protagonists within the game,  

however he is shown in a different prospective as it shows him living the wealthy life. This is shown through the opening where is shows and establishing shot of his home, which included his swimming pool and his flash car, this shows that he has put away his past in the criminal underworld as he reminisces beside his pool. 

One of the key differences i noticed when watching the trailer was the graphics. Rockstar have stepped up a notch with the graphics, from the cinematography to the animation, it is clear that they have thought about each aspect of the game as the panning shots show the depth of field within the scenery and the interior within the game questioned me whether it was real or not. The animation and motion tracking of the characters within the trailer looked to be alot smoother, which made not only the game more realistic but also brought the characters to life, which for audiences will benefit them as they will gain a better experience (escapism)

The soundtrack is a typical radio styled soundtrack which has seemed the be a current theme across all grand theft autos, however this non-digetic soundtrack seems to fit in particularly well as it reflects both the violence aspect and the wealth aspect within the game. High key lighting is used within the trailer to show the scenery aspect of the game, where as low key lighting is used to show the violent aspect of the game, this is shown through the panning shots of the scenery where high key lighting is used to bring out the features and to also make the game seem more realistic as the use of shadowing is used alongside with the lighting.

As the trailer unfolds we are initially exposed to the violence that we expect from this game as the other protagonist Trevor cracks open a guys head in a pub brawl, the trailer goes on to show in later in the game beating another person brutally as he continuously kicks in the head which is shown by the blood splattings. This is why the game has been so controversial as it has been argued that it promotes violence by glorifying it as the players are rewarded, This is shown through the opening scene as Micheal the other protagonist is rewarded for his criminal activities in the past as he is now reaping the rewards from this through his flash car and house.

Feminist would argue that the trailer oppresses women as feminist such as Laura Mulvey would argue that trailer shows aspects of the male gaze, this is shown through the part when the women crosses the road and the man looks at her in a voyeuristic way, also the scene where you could see women in low cut skirts, going up to cars, portraying the image that their street hookers, which feminist again would argue is oppressive.

 On a visual level, is was evident that Infinity ward and Activision has improved the graphics dramatically, making the characters look real, right down to the facial expressions, the costumes and even the make up (face pain, ghille suit). The weapons shown also looked pretty smooth with every little detail included, which you'd expect in a war-based shooter. It’s also clear that Infinity Ward took care of digitally representing dozens of real world firearms making the game seem more realistic, giving audiences a better experience. 

Certain camera angles were shown to convey soldier’s emotions; angles such as close-ups were shown to focus on the soldier’s facial expressions, pure determination and drive was the evident expressions shown throughout the launch trailer. There was a mix between low key lighting and high, between scenes as low key was used to create the suspense, and high key was used to show the action which took place.

The brief scene where the American flag was shown reinforces the idea that the soldiers shown where there to fight for their country, portraying the patriotic image, however it can be argued by feminists that the game portrays the patriarchy not only in society but in the workforce, as there was a lack of females shown within the trailer, especially among the soldiers.

The use of soundtrack worked really well as the editing of the trailer was perfectly synced to the soundtrack, also the launch trailer used a much familiar song which was composed by an artist (Eminem) which call of duty's target audience would have been familiar with, again another clever technique used by Infinity Ward and Activision.

The disturbing images of the mass killings of the enemies and some civilians shows how the game can be portrayed in a negative perspective as again like GTA rewarding players as they advance to the next mission, this can be linked to the hypodermic needle theory as it injects consumers with ideologies that glorify violence, making violence acceptable as players are rewarded, this can also be linked to Stanley Cohen  moral panics as the more society glorifies violence within videogames, the more acceptable is may become, posing a threat of violence in the real world. Also the media effects theory could be linked to this as those who are exposed to violence in the media are influenced to behave in a violent manner