Circuses and Arenas/ Fairgrounds and Themeparks/ Art,Animation,Film/ Wargames and Sport- Research- Whistle-stop Run Through

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Stemming from the arenas of Greece, fighting games are a clear link. 2D fighting games such as Blazblue, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat pit one against another, battling to the "death". The popularity of these games within Esports, often streamed to a global audience via sites like Twitch, shows the spectacle of a fight appeals to a wide number of people, just as it did to the Greeks, this is the reason Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBAs) are so popular. Many combat-centric games feature the idea of an arena, be it the hack and slash antics of the crucible within Darksiders 2, a distraction from the main quest where you take on many waves of enemies to unlock coveted prizes, or the much more docile Pokemon Stadium, a spin off that focuses on the combat element of the game, rendering 2D Pokemon in 3D models in more detailed environments. The idea of a Boss fight, a challenge a player must face and conquer to progress, is often an exciting one to the player, often rewarding the player with a new skill. Playing Legend of Zelda, an astute player may look at their map and find an unexplored, large, spherical room and deduce thats where a mini-boss may be- the room appearing like an arena in shape, large and spacious. Games that focus around boss fights primarily, are built on this idea of player anticipation, excitement for the spectacle; within No More Heroes  the identity of each assassin you must kill to climb the ranks is hinted at via a silhouette and a quote before each level, players traversing the unicursal labyrinth of the playscape to reach the Boss.

Circuses similarly, focus on this idea of a spectacle, exciting the spectator with wild, strange and new things to beguile and entertain. The game Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance has the player pulling off visually dynamic acrobatic feats during combat, but also helper monsters, many of which in colour and design resemble carnival aesthetics, a performing seal and an adorned elephant being examples. Many games feature mini-games, some are made entirely of them, smaller self-contained interactive moments, set up in a way similar to a carnival, many small games available to try. The Sega owned franchise of NiGHTS is an ode to the Circus, the player taking on the role of a flying jester-like character, performing aerial acrobatics to accrue points, defeating circus inspired enemies such as freakish balloon-like clowns and shapeshifting, a visual spectacle as the protagonist takes on drastically varying forms to achieve a variety of feats. The fact the player must fly through hoops is no coincidence either. NiGHTS has a thematic focus on dreams, offering both the Dystopian world of Nightmares, and the Utopian one of dreams where all is possible, colourful and exciting.  



This idea of Utopia is incredibly strong concerning the realms of Fairgrounds and Theme parks. Crafting a world that is coherent throughout, with different themed sections of the park and themed foods and even toilets, this is furthered in the Super Mario franchise, in game there being a variety of different worlds, a lava, a jungle and spooky world all coming to mind. The hub area of Super Mario Galaxy is a sprawling environment you can fly around to explore, catapulting yourself to different sections of the map to access a plethora of other worlds. Real life theme parks such as Disneyland are seen in the game Epic Mickey, the player wandering a dystopian version of the utopian park, fighting nightmarish amalgamations of old park rides and traversing 3D renders of the parks, even finding a secret virtual version of Walt Disney's house. The game Kingdom Hearts is heavily influenced by Disney, the latest game featuring a mechanic where you summon parts of famous Disneyland rides to battle enemies, using a rotating teacup or mowing down enemies with the Park Train for example. The game series Scribblenauts Unlimited is a sort of sandbox game where you have the ability to write anything and have it appear, the games library of possible items being vast and deep, the world becoming a place where anything is possible due to your omnipotence, the game world a playground for you to explore and overcome challenges in creative ways. 



The worlds of the Arts have great influence on games today, many take direct inspiration from famous artists and movements, Okami's visuals reflecting the woodblock prints of Japan as you travel a fictional Nippon, Monument valley takes direct inspiration from M.C. Escher's work as you explore the isometric world and the popular indie title Transistor takes much from the work of Gustav Klimt. Games can be a tool for art, the touch screens of the Wii U and 3DS utilised in Art Academy that aims to teach the player how to paint and draw better, games themselves can be considered works of Art, the combination of visuals, mechanics, soundtrack and animation creating memorable lasting experiences in the games by Thatgamecompany such as Flower and Journey.The game Lumino City that takes place in real life, handmade dioramas, set peices being handmade for the game whilst Tengami weaves a Japanese inspired narrative through Origami visuals and pop-up-book mechanics, pulling tabs to reveal secrets etc. The Beginner's Guide is much more of an interactive film than a game, heavily using theatrical techniques in weaving a narrative such as the use of Checkov's Gun, in this case a very literal example.  


This category centers mainly around Agon play, competing head-to-head with another. War games cover the obvious, Call of Duty, Battlefield and any other FPS where as Spec Ops the Line serves to emulate and undermine this set up, critiquing the play and the fantasy of being a hero when the reality is very different. The game This War of Mine focuses on the human aspect of people surviving war zones and the moral dilemmas that come up from trying to stay alive, do you invite in the other refugees who you know nothing about, or do you turn them away as your rations are meager as is. Tower Defense games focus on the player fending off waves of attackers by fortifying their own fortress, laying waste to armies that seek to level your kingdom. TN games' gaming vest allows players whilst playing FPSs to feel pain through air compressors, to feel immersed "in the heat of battle like never before", a tactile way of interacting with the violent nature of these games.

Sport games range from  officially licensed titles such as the annual release of new FIFA games, to more fictional mascot-led affairs with the cast of the Super Mario series, tennis rackets becoming hammers, baseball bats imbued with magic. The latter being more child friendly and making the nature of the sport more accessible, promoting the fun qualities of the activity. Games such as the popular Mario Kart, gather a large social spectrum of people to play against each other, connecting people through digital sports. So within War Games, it could be argued to be a more serious affair being strongly about two opposing forces, whereas sport within games has much more of a sense of camaraderie.

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Some say he’s half man half fish, others say he’s more of a seventy/thirty split. Either way he’s a fishy bastard.

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