Year 13 OCR Media Studies

Postmodern Videogames:
Lack of Verisimilitude

Learning Objectives

1. To be able to discuss lack of verisimilitude in

postmodern videogames
 Section B: Structure
1. Introduction – Defining postmodernism (5
elements). Comparison of film and videogame
media texts.
2. Discussing the 5 elements of postmodernism
using your film and videogame case study
examples to answer the question.
3. Conclusion – answering the question;
summarise key points and arguments made.
What makes
videogames
postmodern?
 What makes a videogame
postmodern?
1. Fragmentation of representations
- characters, settings, events

2. Intertextuality
- genre hybridity, media interdependence, immersion and rabbit holes

3. Lack of Verisimilitude
- machinima, shifting contexts, temporal mastery

4. Open-endedness
- micro-narratives, sandbox style vs. linearity

5. Interactivity
- player agency and emergent gameplay
 REALISM
‘Verisimilitude’
‘Generic verisimilitude’

Terminology ‘Cultural verisimilitude’

The media can offer ultra-high levels of seeming ‘realism’: the bright
screen, clear and powerful Dolby sound, darkened room, etc. are
highly compelling and persuasive. Such ‘appearance of reality’ is
called verisimilitude. This is a convention as there is nothing
genuinely ‘realistic’ about media images. There are two important
types of verisimilitude: generic verisimilitude convinces us because
of the genre we are watching (in horror it seems realistic for a
vampire to sink its teeth into a person’s neck); cultural verisimilitude
seems realistic because it mimics real life.

TIP: when you struggle to recognise the effect on an audience of a

sign, code or element of moving image language, mentally switch it
to something very different. The suggestive power (that is, the
connotation) of the code will then become clear.

© Steve Campsall - 27/06/2002 (Rev. 17/12/2005; 14:18:24) Media - GCSE Film Analysis Guide (3) - SJC
 Lack of context?

How is verisimilitude ruptured in

postmodern videogames?

Lack of time?
Lack of consequence?
Temporal Mastery
 Machinima
“A game designer “creates a context to be
encountered by a participant, from which meaning
emerges” (Salen and Zimmerman 41). In the last
decade or so, game players have used computer
games as platforms for creating their own games,
narratives, texts, and performances. They have
reshaped the context of computer play, not simply
by creating personal artifacts equivalent to a home
movie, doodle, or diary, but by fully exploiting
games as a new medium for performance and
artistic expression.” - Lowood, H (2005)
 Your Case Study
• Is there generic or cultural realism in the
postmodern videogame you have chosen?

• How is realism lost, lacking or ruptured in the

videogame you have chosen?

TASK: Provide examples from your videogame

case study. Consider if the player can rupture
verisimilitude through player agency?
Affect, change or
choose the plot
 How has Postmodernism changed the
relationship between media texts and
media audiences?
1. Create an essay plan to answer the
above question.
2. Swap your plan with a peer, assess how
well they have:
A) Explained their answer to the question
B) Used examples from both film and videogames
C) Discussed audience theory
D) Used appropriate terminology fluently
E) Used an effective structure