| Language | Todorov most narratives follow basic structure: beginning/equilibrium, middle/disruption, end/new equilibrium -condensed equilibrium – immediate disruption by ‘fearsome creatures’ -disruption – hired to find ancient artefact -new equilibrium – defeats Natla and retrieves scion -sub plots – Puzzles block progress through the levels until Lara solves them by activating switches or finding and using keys hidden within the area. These involve avoiding traps and timed environmental elements – quest-narrative conventional of quest narrative Neale genre is is a mechanism which attracts audience based on their predictable expectations – ‘structured around a repertoire of elements’ presence of unconventional elements which maintain audience enjoyment first person shooter/adventure game conventional- elemts of fighting and violence, quests, puzzles, boss battles etc… unconventional- female protagonist Baudrillard in postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation – media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyperreality) “It is no longer a question of imitation… It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real” (The Precession of Simulacra 2) elements of TR represent a simulacrum of reality – LC is a British archaeologist-adventurer and is hired by a wealthy businesswoman Jacqueline Natla to complete a job however elements are too unrealistic to be considered hyperreal therefore dont blur the lines between reality and simulation – the manoeuvres LC is able to do, the fact that if she dies the player is able to re spawn, certain boss battles include creatures that dont exist such as a t-rex |
| Representation | protagonist represented as as typical hero: -powerful as holds a two guns -clever as has to solve puzzles -independent as fights bosses on her own therefore not typical damsel in distress boss is also female – game represents females in dominant positions female – unconventional as it is normally male characters who play the dominant role – maybe due third wave feminism however stereotypical representation of women – sexualised through lack of clothing, body pose displays both bottom and breasts to appeal to male audiences video game industry is also male dominated also likely due to the production process – when the og game came out in 1996 difficult to make it distinguishable between male/female characters so often accentuated features game was very ahead of its time and graphics were extremely realistic for a video game – offered detail representations of exotic locations (link to Baudrillard) post-colonial representation – white upper class characters exploring foreign locations in search of treasure and killing off locals in the process reflects racists portrayals of ethnic minorities in culture industries at a time of less progression ie 1996 maybe in order to target western audiences – representing white people as powerful and clever the way in which croft is presented impacts the players sense of identity – they feel powerful, dominant, clever van Zoonen in mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body differ from how female bodies are represented display of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture designers are aware their key target audience is western men, therefore use a female protagonist to their advantage by sexualising her – to feed the voyeuristic tendencies of the patriarchy shown through her stance – which accentuates both her breasts and bottom shown through her clothing – short, tight Gauntlett media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our identities modern media offers us a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix different ideas reflex identity construction: audiences can ‘borrow from these stories when shaping our narratives of the self’ by representing people are are traditionally under represented in the industry – women – people from that group are able to identify more can construct identity from her sense of independance, strength, bravery etc… also attracts a female audience which overall makes the company more money |
| Industry | PRODUCTION Release date – June 2007 production – Eidos Games (named as Britain’s most successful company in 1999), Eidos Interactive ltd, part of SCi Entertainment Group PLC (now owned by Square Enix) developer – Crystal Dynamics/ Square Enix, 2013) platforms – PS2/3/4, PC/MAC, Xbox/360/1, Wii OUTCOME Sold 7 million copies of the first game and 16 millions copies worldwide of the first 3 games Tomb Raider II, III, IV, Chronicles, The Angel of Darkness and Legend all followed as well as films Over 28 million copies of the Tomb Raider series sold worldwide REGULATION Tomb Raider has been regulated as an 18 by PEGI because of: Extreme Violence Strong Language You are able to interact with other players online Hesmondhalgh ‘risky business’ makes us aware of why companies want larger market share (link to C&S), claims: -audiences tastes are continuously adapting which makes predicting their needs and wants nearly impossible – online video games limited consumption capacity meaning the huge sums of money invested in creating media products result in only a one time reward – buy the console once and dont have to buy it again, once game is complete there is nothing else to consume risks reduced by: -remake – recycling previously successful archived material requires less time, effort and money when it comes to the production and instantly engages an audience through nostalgia-based appeals (same character, same underlying plot) while also rebranding content so that it fits the tastes of contemporary audiences (better graphics) -also use of serialisation – use of sequels, prequels, spin-offs etc… requires less investment in marketing activities to create audience visibility therefore allowing producers to maximise their investments – many new versions of TR have come out since |
| Audience | audience is likely to be pre-sold – played the og 1996 tomb raider audiences who enjoy adventure games mythical creatures appeal to fantasy audiences objectification of protagonist appeals to male audiences however can also make female audiences feel empowered as it was one of the only games who represented women in power Gerbner examines the lasting effects of media – Looking primarily at the relationship between violence on television and violence in society EG the more television people watch, the more likely they are to hold a view of reality that is closer to television’s depiction of reality For many individuals the distorted and partial reality portrayed on television represents what the world is ‘really’ like (could like to Baudrillard) TR depicts mild violence which could influence the way in which audiences view the real world – especially due to real aspects of the video game (link to baudrillard) the unrealistic and violent elements may cause audiences to view reality in the same way the game depicts it McQuail and Blumler uses and gratifications – active selection believe consumers have a free will to decide how they will use the media and how it will effect them and therefore recognises the decision making process the audience take, highlighting how they seeking specific uses and gratifications when consuming media audience’s who are fans of adventure genre may want to IDENTIFY with ideas presented top them or seek a new IDENTITY – EG players may want to adapt/identify with LC adventurous lifestyle and aspire to be like her first person shooter perspective makes this even more realistic |
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