Research Report Proposal- Beginnings

15:24 BA2b , Research 0 Comments

So from here on out, I'm to start considering what to do for my 5000/10,000 word research report and look into what sources are available to me for that and to choose whether I want my report to take the form of an extended essay, an industry report, a technical report or any other such form. I'm currently most drawn to the idea of an extended essay and I've a few ideas already:

How is Western Culture interpreted within Japanese Games?- For this im interested in how Christianic lore and religion is often used and interpreted within Eastern games. Examples being the gruesome yet contextually accurate angels with the Bayonetta franchise, a hierachy of angels and reapers within The World Ends With You and even the pure concept and aesthetics of healers and clerics within RPGs. Benediction, Revival and healing all big features in these games, angels and devils are often called upon as imagery for anime characters as well.

The Culture of Monsters- Again with Japanese games and moreover culture, monsters and creatures are a huge part of Japan. With links to Japan's rich cultural history of yokai, these cultural monsters and the fondness for them influence the amount of mascots used in Japanese advertising, games like  Pokemon alongside many popular RPG titles having mascot monsters, such as the slime in Dragon Quest, merchandise for this critter being plentiful- a game called yokai watch from Nintendo is a new IP thats being released worldwide, pegged to be the next Pokemon, as the Western Disney IP Spectrobes attempted- why did this fail to match up? Looking at these links and exploring the attachment we have to virtual creatures, the historical context that influenced this and why we as people are so invested in the imaginary identities of beasts.

LGBT and Representation in Games-  As the industry ages, it begins to accept and represent the wider community of players from different walks of life, how are they being presented, how has it developed and what needs to be overcome? Th representation of women in games is developing from pure objectification, yet its still a large staple, as are stereotypes of minorities. The game series Fire Emblem in their latest installment allows the player to be gay, but only with a single character in game, and lesbian and gay relations being exclusive to the two sister title. Homosexuals are not Pokemon! This should not be exclusive, and why could this not have been opened out to all characters with the potential of being bi or pansexual? Why is it in the game a gay couple cant have children, a large mechanic of the game (aside from biological reasons) despite the game world featuring werewolves, dark magic and interdimensional world travel? Is the concept of a gay couple with children more mind-boggling than a polymorphing dragonic protagonist?! And less said about the gay conversion therapy story arch within the game the better....

Meta- Continuing my last essay into a wider research report on engagement with players, something I've been strongly suggested to consider. However, I'll take what I've done and add to my next idea, the one I want to go forward with...

The Theatricality of Games: How Games Invoke Catharsis, Employ Escapism and Promote Emotional Growth- The drama student in me is immortal. I've been a preacher of theatricality within games for an age (no one listens to me) so what better way to get my point across than 5000 well cited words? Games have always meant a lot to me in the stories they've weaved, the worlds I've visited, the characters I've met, and the emotions I've felt. I believe anything that can move or inspire an individual, employ catharsis, is something to be cherished. C. JoyBell C. a writer, once wrote:

"How do you know if something is real? That's easy. Does it change you? Does it form you? Does it give you wings? Does it give you roots? Does it make you look back at a month ago and say, "I am a whole different person now"? If yes, then it's real. The evidence of truth and reality, lies in how much something can touch you, can change you, even if it's from very far away."

I'll of course have to look into the source of this quote more, understand more about JoyBell first. But this is the thing, I can quite happily list countless times a game has made me cry, has touched my heart, has influenced my perception, has in no hyperbolic sense- changed me. I'm certain I'm not alone. I'd gather primary research through google docs, play some games I've been meaning to like The Cat Lady, FireWatch and others as well as explore meta more- how is a game directly contacting us to make us feel something?

A focus and look at a variety of theatre practitioners I'm aware of due to prior studies would also be beneficial, as well as seeing some theatre as well to link it all in with quotes and so the breadth of my research is as  wide as it is deep.

As a suggestion, I was tasked to look into online sources as well as the library I have at my disposal. I've found a variety of articles and books I could read and look into, the previously cited Aarseth's "Cybertext" will be something I'd like to read cover to cover over Summer alongside all and any theatre practitioner manifestos and essays.

Games are often dismissed as a medium, and there's a whole essay already arguing against my point, dismissing games as lacking the dramatic power to move a player. I wholeheartedly disagree.

Using gamestudies.org, Selmer Bringsjord writes that games cannot be dramatically compelling as to be so, game characters must be autonomous, they must highly complex AI. Disregarding this entirely with the fact that this essay was written nearly two decades ago, and much has advanced in that time, writers creating stories and strong, believable, relatable characters for players to connect to. Going through all her points, it was easy to argue that writer facilitates all of this- i also realised that as narrative and characters are important to drama, and games being highly interactive by nature, true moments of unique drama shine in games through choices. Branching paths with characters reacting in turn, as in my last essay, the morality and ethics of these decisions being the crux of the drama within games.

Another article introduced me to the technique of critiquing narratives via Polti Ratios, something I'll have to practice and analyse the games I'll be looking at with, categories for these ratios consisting of Levels of Drama, Variety of Drama and Involvement of Drama.

Using the Library, I found a book called "Masks: Faces of Culture" which I feel would make a wonderful comparison for theatre and games. Masks allow you to become someone else, much can be said for any play avatar created for any game- you don a persona of your own making. A Digra call for papers spoke about this very topic, about how players traverse virtual environments as a character and how this can aid learning and emotional development.

Looking through Jstor, I found a collection on Avatars and within games how ludology and narrative can help and hinder each other. I also found sources on the nature of catharsis and a book on how theatre educates, linking this to how games promote emotional growth.

I feel I have a lot to go on with this idea for my research report, but I'll see how I can refine it in the months to come.