Metroid Prime 2: Echoes case study

Monday, December 09, 2019

Videogames - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Our second videogames CSP is Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004).

This is another in-depth CSP so will require significant work and research for an extensive blog case study.

The basics

• First-person action-adventure game produced for Nintendo GameCube (2004)
• Part of Metroid franchise – 7th game in series, sequel to Metroid Prime (original Metroid was 1986 on NES; latest release was Metroid: Samus Returns in 2017 on 3DS)
• Sold around 800,000 copies worldwide (quite low based on Nintendo franchises and previous Metroid games) 
• Game follows bounty hunter Samus Aran as she is sent to rescue Galactic Federation Marines
• She must battle the Ing (a destructive race from another dimension) and a mysterious version of herself called Dark Samus
• The game’s head-up display simulates the inside of Samus’s helmet and features map, radar, health bar, weapons and more
• Prime 2 Echoes is the first Metroid title to feature a 4-player multiplayer element

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Metroid Prime 2: Echoes case study' and complete the following in-depth tasks.

Language

Analyse the game cover for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (above).

1) How does the cover communicate the genre of the game?

It does this by the shading plan of blue,black and red which are hues generally clear inside the class activity/experience. 

2) What does the cover suggest regarding gameplay and audience pleasures?

Selectiveness the game is just accessible on the Nintendo brand (demonstration of commercial for gamers). 

Multiplayer-offers the component of selectiveness and crowd delights of having the option to play as a multiplayer( with others) as opposed to playing (1v1) or solo. 

3) Does the cover sexualise the character of Samus Aran? Why/why not?

Samus Aran is totally shrouded in the suit and difficult to determine what the sexual orientation is

Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for the game:




1) What do you notice about genre?

Sci-fi , Fantasy

2) How is the character introduced? Is Samus Aran obviously female?

Her sexual orientation is hazy be that as it may, in the trailer of Metroid Prime 2, as we are acquainted with her character's movements and development, we can obviously tell she is a female game player 
3) How can we apply Steve Neale’s genre theory that discusses “repetition and difference”?

This is a case of 'redundancy' as this is the class. Notwithstanding, a case of 'contrast' would be that the strong,muscular, shrewd hero is really female which is bizarre for computer games

Gameplay analysis

Watch the following gameplay clips again:





1) What does the gameplay for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes involve?

First individual shooter-empowers the gamer to take control 

2) Write an analysis of the media language choices in the construction of the game: e.g. genre, narrative, mise-en-scene, camera shots etc.

The primary individual shooter account permits the gamer to draw in with the story - concentrating on what they can see. 

3) Analyse the clips for audience pleasures, applying audience theory and considering media effects.

The principal individual shooter helps the gamer with the story of good versus fiendish


Audience

Research the audience for Nintendo and specifically the Metroid franchise, including Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. You may wish to start with the following pages:

Reddit discussion of why people play Metroid
Giant Bomb forum: Who exactly is Nintendo’s demographics?
Reset Era: Nintendo’s audience getting older

1) Who might the target audience be for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, based on your research? Discuss demographics and psychographics.

Mostly teenager boys mainly over 17
2) How has Nintendo’s audience changed since the original Metroid game in 1986?

It is more of a family audience
3) What audience pleasures are offered by Metroid Prime 2: Echoes or the wider Metroid franchise?

Direct account altogether different to other computer games 

It might influence the manner in which the media sees ladies 

4) What effects might Metroid have on audiences? Apply media effects theories (e.g. Bandura’s social learning theory, Gerbner’s cultivation theory). 

May influence crowd's view of contention

Read this Gamesparks feature on gaming demographics and answer the following questions:

1) Who is considered to be the stereotypical gamer?

Teenage boys
2) What has changed this?

The use of tablets and phones has allowed an assortment of individuals to mess around making the segment move( half female gamers). 

3) What role do women play in the videogames market? Quote statistics from the article here.

half female gamers 

just 37%-men claim a games reassure 

4) Why are older gamers becoming a particularly important market for videogames producers? How can you link this to the Metroid franchise?

The more seasoned gamers play computer games and will be bound to put cash into games 
5) What does the article suggest regarding audience pleasures and expectations for different generations of gamer?

'rivalry' and 'contention based' games are appreciated more by more youthful gamers anyway the craving to contend is debilitated when gamers arrive at 40 years oldIndustries

Industries

Read this Destructoid blog on the Metroid franchise. Answer the following:

1) Why has Metroid never quite fitted with the Nintendo brand?

Metroid is science fiction while Nintendo brand offer various things 

2) What franchises have overtaken Metroid in the sci-fi hyper-realism genre in recent years?

Federation Force 

Xeodrifter 

Axiom Verge 

Ghost Song 

3) Why does the writer link old boy bands from the music industry to the Metroid franchise? Do you agree with this reading of the brand?

The thought is that the wants of the crowd can change after some time. 

4) What is an ‘AAA’ or ‘triple-A game’ in the videogames industry?

The term 'AAA' alludes to the game that has been delivered and appropriated by a mid/significant distributer.
5) Do you think there will be further Metroid games featuring Samus Aran? Should there be?

I believe there should be and there will be because the character has grown a lot and there is possibility that they could potentially release a final game and people would by as they may have played it when they were younger.

Representation

Read this BBC3 feature on Samus Aran and answer the questions below:

1) What was notable about the original Metroid game in 1986?

Metroid was remarkable for the character of Samus Aran being demonstrated to be female. 
2) What were the inspirations behind the gameplay and construction of Metroid?

they were motivated by Mario and Zelda, just as the film Alien. 

3) Why are the endings to the original Metroid considered controversial?

the game offered 5 distinct endings relying upon how quick they completed the game. 

4) What reaction do you think the reveal of Samus Aran in a bikini would have got when the game was first released in 1986? Have attitudes towards women changed?

the male crowd would have had a great deal of joy in view of the male look and more inspiration to complete the game speedier. 

5) How have later versions of the Metroid franchise sexualised the character of Samus Aran?

they have imagined her y permitting her to wear heels as well. 

6) How can we apply Liesbet van Zoonen’s work to Samus Aran and Metroid?

she can be applied to this game since crowds feel that Samus was male character on account of the character's stature and different highlights. This was accepted due to the manner in which she was built. 

7) What did Brianna Wu suggest regarding the character of Samus Aran?

Samus Aran is a transgender 

8) Do you see Samus Aran as a feminist icon or simply another exploited female character?

I think she is viewed as a women's activist symbol as she is depicted as bold and doing a normal male job

Read this Houston Press feature on Samus Aran and entitled male gamers. Answer the following questions:

1) What does Anita Sarkeesian suggest regarding Samus Aran?

The uncover of Samus Aran toward the finish of the game is utilized as a prize for male expertise. 

2) Why does Brianna Wu (and others) suggest Samus Aran may be transgender?

Samus indicated being tall and having regular male yet in addition the architect of Samus' character likewise alluded to her as "another half" which equals to the English expression "shemale." 

3) Why is Samus Aran useful for male gamers trying to argue videogames are not sexist?

As she is still sexualised , she despite everything speaks to females in the computer games that she stars in. 
4) Why are Lara Croft, Zelda and Peach not ideal examples to argue for female equality in videogames?

This is on the grounds that they were completely sexualised 

5) What does the ‘SJW’ in ‘SJW-gender politics’ refer to?

SJW = Social Justice Warrior 

SJW-sexual orientation legislative issues = Social Justice Warrior sex governmental issues 

6) How can we apply Gerbner’s Cultivation theory to representations of women in videogames as discussed in the article? How might this lead to ‘entitled male gamers’? 

he more we expend the media, the more prominent the impact and effect that is has on us. 

7) Does the videogame industry have a problem with gender? Provide evidence for your argument.

truly I do imagine that to a degree in light of the fact that almost all computer game legend is a male as they are focusing on a male crowd