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Procedural Rhetoric - Jess Magnus
Procedural Rhetoric - Jess Magnus
is
Procedural
Rhetoric
so
limited
in
AAA
games?
Advanced
Games
Studies
http://jessmagnusgad.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/BA6%20CS
It
has
often
been
a
topic
of
debate
for
critics
and
academics
whether
games
influence
players.
This
can
mostly
be
in
a
negative
light
concerning
how
games
are
creating
a
violent
immoral
generation
however
game
designer
Ian
Bogost
is
looking
into
how
games
have
a
much
greater
influence
on
the
player,
through
persuasion,
in
a
positive
light.
Just
as
photography,
motion
graphics,
moving
images
and
illustrations
have
become
pervasive
in
contemporary
society,
so
have
video
games.
(Bogost
2010)
Ian
Bogost
is
one
of
the
key
figures
researching
games
beyond
entertainment
in
particular
persuasive
games.
His
main
theory
for
persuasive
games
is
the
idea
of
procedural
rhetoric
that
videogames
make
arguments
and
influence
players
(Bogost,
2013)
he
states
that
this
is
achieved
through
the
mechanics,
plot
and
events
within
the
game.
Games
of
all
types
use
Procedural
Rhetoric
from
simply
getting
players
interested
in
playing,
an
idea
that
is
presented
as
The
Pull
by
Jesper
Juul
(Juul,
2010)
or
referred
to
as
a
Lusory
Attitude
[SIC].
However
it
is
starting
to
become
apparent
how
procedural
rhetoric
is
growing
and
changing
to
become
a
more
considered
element
in
games
design.
Over
the
last
decade
video
games
have
been
evolving
from
their
original
purpose
as
entertainment
to
phenomena
that
hold
vast
narratives,
sophisticated
visual
design,
and
"many
behaviorist
game
designers
who
see
games
as
persuasive
tools
for
change
(Kelly,
2012)
With
games
interactivity
and
the
ability
to
easily
connect
and
communicate
with
a
player
it
is
understandable
that
many
game
designers,
advertisers
and
other
graphic
communicators
are
creating
games
to
deliberately
persuade.
It
is
interesting
to
consider
why
game
designers
use
procedural
rhetoric
in
games
differently
one
idea
in
particular
is
the
contrasting
use
of
procedural
rhetoric
in
AAA
games
compared
to
the
Independent
or
Indie
games
being
produced.
With respect to this within video games I want to delve into why AAA
games
limit
themselves
with
content
and
procedural
rhetoric,
considering
that
some
games
are
full
of
violence,
death
and
war
what
is
considered
acceptable
content,
acceptable
persuasion
and
why?
Lets consider the elements of procedural rhetoric used within AAA games
compared
to
Indie.
When
you
look
into
some
Indie
games,
like
those
created
by
Persuasive
games,
such
as
Fat
World
(Persuasive
Games,
2008)
or
other
titles
by
the
same
company,
Oil
God,
Killer
Flu
or
Wind
Fall.
The
company
itself
advertises
its
games
by
saying:
to
push
the
envelope
of
traditional
game
design
while
demonstrating
the
power
of
games
as
a
persuasive
medium.
(Persuasive
Games,
2013)
You
can
see
a
trend
within
these
games;
the
issues
are
quite
political
and
provocative
topics
that
you
generally
wouldnt
see
within
a
AAA
game
such
as
obesity,
oil
crisis,
energy
crisis
etc.
These
games
tackle
issues
on
a
wider
global
scale.
Taking another example Papo & Yo (Minority, 2012) - the game in itself is
guilty
about
your
actions
and
it
forces
you
to
question
your
morals
as
a
person
as
well
as
a
player.
The
game
also
offers
the
choice
of
saving
the
Little
Sisters
and
later
in
the
game
you
will
be
given
rewards
and
aid
that
would
not
have
been
given
if
the
Little
Sisters
had
been
harvested.
This
display
of
morality
outlines
the
idea
of
choice
within
AAA
games
the
mechanics
of
choice
force
the
player
to
query
what
choice
they
should
make
and
how
moral
that
could
be
considered
in
reality.
This
element
of
morality
is
not
only
evident
in
games
like
Bioshock
but
many
others.
procedural
rhetoric
the
God
Game.
The
God
game
outlines
a
separate
idea
of
morality
within
games
as
it
has
a
specific
rhetoric
outline
of
good
and
bad
-
The
procedural
rhetoric
of
good
and
evil
recurs
frequently
well
know
for
its
use
in
Black
and
White
(Bogost,
2010)
which
outlines
one
example
where
morality
is
evident
within
its
game
play
as
you
have
the
choice
within
the
game
of
whether
to
take
a
path
of
good
or
evil.
These
actions
reveal
a
basic
moral
outline
and
shows
how
games
are
forcing
us
to
consider
our
moral
obligations
as
players.
This point outlines my second theory of AAA and their limitations. `Games
are
forcing
us
if
you
take
this
statement
you
can
twist
it
and
turn
it
but
it
will
always
relate
back
to
the
designer.
The
game
designer
has
put
in
place
certain
mechanics
and
plot
twists
or
events
that
as
a
player
force
us
to
question
things,
whether
this
be
about
ourselves
or
the
world
itself.
Even
though
Ocean
Quigley
the
designer
of
SimCity
(Maxis,
2013)
(another
God
game
filled
with
moral
choice)
states
that:
We're
not
preaching
to
anybody.
(Nutt,
2013)
you
have
to
question
his
statement
as
these
morals
within
games
are
predefined
as
good
and
procedural
rhetoric
within
games
particular
that
of
a
AAA
game,
as
they
are
aware
that
they
have
a
moral
obligation
within
their
games
and
that
they
can
unintentionally
include
their
own
opinion
or
views
within
a
game.
By
limiting
the
level
of
procedural
rhetoric
to
only
simple
levels
of
morality
and
emphasising
levels
of
good
and
evil
games
designers
stay
neutral
by
not
forcing
their
own
influence
or
opinion
on
the
player.
As pointed out this cannot be said for the Indie game as designers feel no
moral obligation to remain neutral their aim is to create a game that forces you
to
question
world
issues
and
bring
about
change
from
it
the
AAA
game
however
remains
in
a
struggle
for
profits
and
entertainment.
The
power
of
the
medium
has
gone
untapped
because
the
market
has
focused
primarily
on
entertaining
players,
rather
than
engaging
them
in
important
topics.(Bogost,
2006)
referring
to
the
medium
to
persuade.
These
points
can
not
be
considered
as
completely
accurate
for
all
games
as
mentioned,
games
are
constantly
evolving
and
it
could
easily
be
said
that
AAA
games
will
alter
this
outlook
and
create
games
that
contain
more
provocative
content
rather
than
being
just
entertaining.
To
consider
this
point
we
can
take
Spec
Ops:
The
Line
(Yager,
2012)
as
a
key
example.
The
game
itself
can
be
analysed
as
not
entertaining
almost
boring
in
fact.
The
game
includes
many
different
mechanics
that
the
current
conventions
for
games.
Firstly
the
game
breaks
the
4th
wall
it
talks
directly
to
the
player
forcing
them
to
feel
guilty
and
personally
responsible
for
the
events
that
take
place
(in
this
case
the
mindless
and
unjustified
killing
of
others).
There
is
moral
choice
within
the
game
but
unlike
that
of
the
typical
AAA
the
game
itself
has
a
unique
mechanic
whereby
there
is
a
third
choice
that
is
not
immediately
or
obviously
presented
to
the
player
you
have
the
ability
to
go
against
the
narrative
by
questioning
you
moral
choice
within
the
game
and
acting
against
the
choices
given.
(Extra
Credits,
2012)
And
finally
the
game
itself
is
presented
as
the
typical
military
First
Person
Shooter
that
is
currently
a
common
genre
on
the
shelf
but
is
in
fact
filled
within
underlying
messages
similar
to
the
way
that
Papo
&
Yo.
(Minority,
2012)
has
underlying
meanings
that
are
not
immediately
obvious.
Spec
Ops:
The
Line
(Yager,
2012)
has
put
into
question
two
main
themes:
Post
Traumatic
Stress
Disorder
and
how
far
modern
shooters
are
from
the
truth
of
the
real
thing.
(Extra
Credits,
2012).
Putting
across
these
harsh
subject
areas
is
quite
unusual
for
a
game
of
this
type.
In
conclusion
at
this
current
point
in
the
history
of
games
we
can
see
a
trend
evolving
large
companies
produce
games
that
lack
controversial
or
opinionated
messages
and
mainly
focus
on
the
aesthetics
of
the
games
and
entertainment:
they
support
the
current
political
and
cultural
status
quo.
They
do
however
include
a
small
element
of
procedural
rhetoric
by
creating
a
personal
connection,
fitting
in
with
the
promotion
of
a
capitalist
individual
world,
rather
than
a
collectivist
version,
and
also
by
portraying
morals
within
the
game.
Whereas
current
Indie
games
are
able
to
include
a
wide
variety
of
topics
that
may
be
considered
provocative
or
unacceptable
to
certain
players.
Reasoning
behind
this
can
be
seen
in
many
lights,
like
the
pressure
that
game
designers
face
to
be
acceptable,
the
aim
for
games
to
be
successful
and
profitable.
But
it
also
could
be
considered
to
relate
to
game
designers
moral
obligations
and
the
ethics
of
including
your
own
opinion
or
idea
within
large
AAA
games
we
can
see
how
games
are
taking
some
initiative
and
taking
a
stand
at
how
games
show
unrealistic
portrayals
of
events
and
starting
to
portray
realistic
world
events
and
problems
in
games
evident
in
Spec
Ops:
The
Line.
(Yager,
2012)
Word
Count:
2,198
Bibliography.
Aarseth,
Espen.
(2004)
Genre
Trouble:
Narrativism
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:
Wardrip,
N.
Harrigan,
P.
(2004)First
Person:
New
Media
as
Story,
Performance
and
Game.
Massachusetts:
Institute
of
Technology.
(Aarseth,
2004)PG
45
Chap
2.
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Ian.
(2010)
Persuasive
Games:
the
expressive
power
of
videogames.
Cambridge,
London:
MIT
press.
(Bogost
2010)
PG
29.
Chap
1.
Bogost,
Ian.
Ian
Bogost
Video
Game
Theory,
Criticism,
Design,
(2013).
Persuasive
Games
Books.
[Internet]
available
at
,
Bogost,
Ian
(2013)
Persuasive
Games.
Available
from
<
http://www.bogost.com/books/persuasive_games.shtml.
>
Accessed
April
2013
(Bogost,
2013)
Bogost,
Ian.
(2006).
Unit
Operations:
An
Approach
to
Videogame
Criticism.
Massachusetts:
Institute
of
Technology.
(Bogost,
2006)
PG
120
Chap
8
Extra
Credits
(2012)
Spec
Ops:
The
Line
(Part
2)
[YouTube
Video]
Available
at:
<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJZIhcCA2lk
>
Accessed
May
2013
(Extra
Credits,
2012)
Irrational
Games/2K
Boston.
(2008).
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2K
Games.
(Bioshock,
2012)
/
(Irrational
Games,
2008)
Juul,
Jesper.
(2010)
A
Casual
Revolution:
Reinventing
video
games
and
their
players.
Massachusetts.
MIT
Press.
(Juul,
2010.)
PG
151
Chap
8
Juul,
Jesper.
(2010)
A
Casual
Revolution:
Reinventing
video
games
and
their
players.
Massachusetts.
MIT
Press.
(Juul,
2010.)
PG
212
Appendix
c
Kelly,
Tadgh
(2012).
Are
Games
Really
That
Persuasive?
Techcrunch
[Internet]
available
at
<
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/10/are-games-really-that-persuasive/
>
Accessed
April
2013.
(Kelly,
2012)
Koster,
Raph.
(2005)
A
Theory
of
Fun.
OReilly
Media.
Image.
Pg
177
Chap
11.
(Koster,
2005)
Maxis.
(2013)
SimCity.
Electronic
Arts.
(Maxis,
2013).
Minority.
(2012)
Papo
&
Yo.
(Minority,
2012)
Nutt,
Christian.
(2012)
How
Do
You
Put
Sim
in
SimCity?
Gamasutra.
Available
from:
<
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/172835/how_do_you_put_the_sim_in
_simcity.php?page=4
>
Accessed
May
2013
(Nutt,
2013)
Research
Bibliography:
Aarseth,
Espen.
(2004)
Genre
Trouble:
Narrativism
and
Art
Simulation.
In
:
Wardrip,
N.
Harrigan,
P.
(2004)First
Person:
New
Media
as
Story,
Performance
and
Game.
Massachusetts:
Institute
of
Technology.
Chap
2
Page
45.
(Aarseth,
2004)
Quote:
In
a
(Western)
world
troubled
by
addiction,
attention
deficiency
and
random
violence
stores
are
morally
and
aesthetically
acceptable.
Bogost,
Ian.
(2010)
Persuasive
Games:
the
expressive
power
of
videogames.
Cambridge,
London:
MIT
press.
Quote:
Just
as
photography,
motion
graphics,
moving
images
and
illustrations
have
become
pervasive
in
contemporary
society,
so
have
computer
hardware,
software
and
video
games.
(Bogost
2010)
Pg
29.
Chap
1.
Bogost,
Ian.
Ian
Bogost
Video
Game
Theory,
Criticism,
Design,
(2013).
Persuasive
Games
Books.
[Internet]
available
at
,
Bogost,
Ian
(2013)
Persuasive
Games.
Available
from
<
http://www.bogost.com/books/persuasive_games.shtml.
>
Accessed
April
2013
Quote:
videogames
make
arguments
and
influence
players
(Bogost,
2013)
Bogost,
Ian.
(2006).
Unit
Operations:
An
Approach
to
Videogame
Criticism.
Massachusetts:
Institute
of
Technology.
(Bogost,
2006)
pg
53
chap
4.
Quote:
video
games
reveals
what
it
means
to
be
human.
Bogost,
Ian.
(2006).
Unit
Operations:
An
Approach
to
Videogame
Criticism.
Massachusetts:
Institute
of
Technology.
(Bogost,
2006)
pg
120
Chap
8
Quote:
The
power
of
the
medium
has
gone
untapped
because
the
market
has
focused
primarily
on
entertaining
players,
rather
than
engaging
them
in
important
topics.
Bogost,
Ian.
(2010)
Persuasive
Games:
the
expressive
power
of
videogames.
Cambridge,
London:
MIT
press.
Quote:
Videogames
often
enforce
moral
values
through
ideology.
(Bogost,
2010)
Pg
284
Chap
9
Bogost,
Ian.
(2010)
Persuasive
Games:
the
expressive
power
of
videogames.
Cambridge,
London:
MIT
press
Quote:
The
procedural
rhetoric
of
good
and
evil
recurs
frequently
used
in
Black
and
White
(Bogost,
2010)
Pg
284
Chap
9
Davis,
Jeffery
D.
(2005)
Video
Games
An
Escape
from
Reality?
The
Real
Truth.
Available
from:
<
http://realtruth.org/articles/346-vgaefr.html
>
Accessed
May
2013
Quote
:
Computer
and
video
games
are
often
used
to
help
people
focus
on
something
other
than
lifes
daunting
problems.
(Davis,
2005)
Extra
Credits
(2012)
Spec
Ops:
The
Line
(Part
1)
[YouTube
Video]
Available
at:
<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjaBsuXWJJ8
>
Accessed
May
2013
(Extra
Credits,
2012)
Extra
Credits
(2012)
Spec
Ops:
The
Line
(Part
2)
[YouTube
Video]
Available
at:
<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJZIhcCA2lk
>
Accessed
May
2013
(Extra
Credits,
2012)
Errant
Signal.
(2012)
Spec
Ops:
The
Line.
[YouTube
Video]
Available
at:
<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlBrenhzMZI
>
Accessed
May
2013
(Errant
Signal,
2012)
How
Games
Saved
My
Life.
Available
at
<
http://www.gamessavedmylife.com/
>
Accessed
May
2013.
(HGSML,
Website)
Jenkins,
Henry.
(2004)
Game
Design
as
Narrative
Architecture.
In
:
Wardrip,
N.
Harrigan,
P.
(2004)First
Person:
New
Media
as
Story,
Performance
and
Game.
Massachusetts:
Institure
of
Technlogy.
Chap
4
Page
126
(Jenkins,
2004)
Quote:
narrative
comprehension
is
an
active
process
by
which
viewers
assemble
and
make
hypotheses
about
likely
narrative
developments
on
the
basis
of
information
drawn
from
textual
cues
and
clues.
Juul,
Jesper.
(2010)
A
Casual
Revolution:
Reinventing
video
games
and
their
players.
Massachusetts.
MIT
Press.
Quote:
games
are
always
considered
more
dangerous
than
other
forms
of
culture
developers
are
under
pressure
to
err
on
the
side
of
acceptability.
(Juul,
2010.)
Chap
8
Pg
151
Juul,
Jesper.
(2010)
A
Casual
Revolution:
Reinventing
video
games
and
their
players.
Massachusetts.
MIT
Press.
Quote:
developers
dont
want
to
take
a
lot
of
risk
due
to
quarterly
numbers.
(Juul,
2010.)
pg
212
Appendix
c
Kelly,
Tadgh
(2012).
Are
Games
Really
That
Persuasive?
Techcrunch
[Internet]
available
at
<
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/10/are-games-really-that-persuasive/
>
Accessed
April
2013.
Quote:
"
There
are
many
behaviourist
game
designers
who
see
games
as
persuasive
tools
Quote:
"The
root
of
the
persuasive-game
idea
is
that
interactivity
is
better
than
passivity,
and
so
by
encouraging
users
to
do
stuff
you
likely
imprint
them
with
an
idea
more
successfully.
"
(Kelly,
2012)
McGonigal,
Jane.
(2011)
Reality
is
Broken.
US:
Penguin
Group.
(McGonigal,
2001,
Introduction)
Quote:
Gamers
have
had
enough
of
reality
Nutt,
Christian.
(2012)
How
Do
You
Put
Sim
in
SimCity?
Gamasutra.
Available
from:
<
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/172835/how_do_you_put_the_sim_in
_simcity.php?page=4
>
Accessed
May
2013
Quote:
We're
not
preaching
to
anybody.
(Nutt,
2013)
Persuasive
Games.
Website.
Available
at
<
[http://www.persuasivegames.com/games/
>
Accessed
April
2013
(Persuasive
Games,
Website)
Petitte,
Omri.
(2013)
Will
Wright
and
Ocean
Quigley
talk
about
Sim
Citys
guilt-
driven
experience.
PC
Gamer.
Available
from:
<
http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/22/simcity-will-wright-ocean-quigley/
>
Accessed
May
2013
One
of
the
things
I
wanted
to
do
with
SimCity
was
to
make
you
feel
more
Quote:
because
you
can
do
all
these
horrible
things
to
them,
explains
Quigley.
You
can
poison
them,
burn
down
their
houses,
and
because
of
your
crappy
economic
decisions,
they
go
homeless.
(Petitte,
2013)
Poole,
Steven.
(2000)
Trigger
Happy:
video
games
are
the
entertainment
revolution.
Arcade
Pub.
Quote:
game
designers
are
responsible
for
the
creation
of
computer
games
regard
their
responsibility
of
what
types
of
moral
driven
decisions
they
take
when
creating
computer
games.
(Poole,
2000)
Rose,
Jason.
(2011)
Emotion
and
Rhetoric
in
Bioshock.
[BA
Dissertation]
Louisiana
State
University.
(Rose,
2011)
Quote:
response
to
the
Little
Sisters
was
overridden
by
the
feelings
of
sympathy
and
care
for
the
little
girls.
Figure
1.
Image
from
A
Theory
of
Fun.
Koster,
Raph.
(2005)
A
Theory
of
Fun.
OReilly
Media.
Image.
Pg
177
Chap
11.
(Koster,
2005)
Games:
Irrational
Games/2K
Boston.
(2008).
Bioshock.
2K
Games.
(Bioshock,
2012)
/
(Irrational
Games,
2008)
Lionhead
Studios.
(2001)
Black
&
White.
Electronic
Arts.
(Lionhead,
2001)
Maxis.
(2013)
SimCity.
Electronic
Arts.
(Maxis,
2013).
Minority.
(2012)
Papo
&
Yo.
(Minority,
2012)
Persuasive
Games.
(2008)
Fat
World.
(Persuasive
Games,
2008).
Yager,
(2012)
Spec
Ops:
The
Line.
Berlin.
2K
Games.
(Spec
Ops:
The
Line,
2012)/
(Yager,
2012)