Assignment Outcome 3b

Updated Proposal for a Qualitative Methodological Toolkit for Game Analysis

This conclusive essay acts as a compendium of the findings made throughout the past months into
the field of game review and culture, with this piece specifically geared towards proposing
discussions and challenges to the methodological toolkits of Consalvo and Dutton in Game Analysis:
Developing a methodological toolkit for the qualitative study of games. Through drawing links and
comparison with that of Brendan Keoghs Across Worlds and Bodies: Criticism in the Age of
Videogames, this response outlines discords between how games can be reviewed and why the
top-down mode (p. 1) of analysing all the games regardless of genre, style or design in the same
way is a toxic and one-dimensional way of review. Extending outwards in the same ways movies are
first categorizes and analysed by similar or inspired works, and why it is increasingly relevant to take
on the same practices for video games.

To first contextualise Consalvo and Duttons reading, it is important to note that their piece was
written in 2006 and drew upon even earlier works, this becomes increasingly apparent when
observing the games and criteria set within their reading of their proposition for qualitative game
review. Within this reading they propose that a methodological toolkit consist of:

Object Inventory; the catalogues of all known objects that be found, bought, stolen or
created,
Interface Study; any on-screen information that provides the player with information
concerning the life, health, location or status of the character
Interaction Map; examining the choices that the player is offered in regards to interaction-
not with objects, but with other player characters [and NPCS]
Gameplay Log; the "unexpected" in gameplay (among other things) to see how
(potentially) open the game is for players

While these above listed criteria act as relevant and accurate areas of focus for games produced
around the particular era of the game industry, the advancements and cultural changes made in the
past 11 YEARS discard almost all of the aspects of primary focuses in games their findings. Therefore
an updated series of toolkits are required, or alternatively a toolkit which succinctly captures the raw
elements of games and gaming to be analysed so that they can act as criterion transcendent of time
or progression in an ever evolving industry. However this in itself presents a conundrum that
requires attention in reference to create such a refined model of analysis. Brendan Keoghs above
presented notions, that you simply cannot attempt to view all games in the same light but instead
fully understand that not all videogame play the same way, but a descriptive, bottom-up
conceptual toolkit that understands particular videogames in the moment of play [is a step in the
right direction] (Abstract). With this we can discern that by evaluating the foundation of any game,
then we can begin to then categorize by genre and compare games within it, and these genres
should have their own categorical toolkits based on expectations or requirements of the genre a
game is outlined as.

Shifting focus towards the end of my semester of research and field testing towards this notion of
the bottom-up conceptual toolkit as outlined by Keogh, my research led me to take a step back
from the idea of what criteria can be objectively evaluated, but instead looking at the links between
all games irrespective of genre, and from that very ground level, begin to separate and categorize
particular criterion that may fit genres or styles of games. This has resulted in my own proposals for
a generic methodological toolkit that rather than being something to be scored out of a number or
to be responded to in the form of video game reviews or evaluation. Instead I have generated
Yes/No style responses to simple closed-ended questions regarding the game in question, through
comparative analysis rather than isolated evaluation. This last point being a key distinguishing factor
between the proposals outlined by Consalvo and Dutton and my own, as they used specific games to
contextualise and gauge each of their toolkits with little to no comparative analysis to other games
with similar mechanics, which given the state of subjectivity and how arts and culture is built around
inspiration and comparison, to ignore this point is a detriment to ones ability to analyse. Theefore
this newly reformed model exists as follows:

Graphics Optimisation:

The wording for this particular proposed method of qualitative analysis is important as graphics is as
much an active choice with gaming as it is something of limitation to the engine being run on, with
some games forgoing graphic intensive requirements in place of art styles that better suit the game
itself. This proposed technique of measuring instead, focuses on the functionality of the engine in
which the games run. Citing Crysis (2008) as a key example. This game was used a staple show floor
test for many computers due to its graphical intensity and requirements however after further study
into the game itself, it was discerned by YouTubers such as Vucko100, WatchMojo and GameSpot
that the game was actually very poorly optimised for its PC port, with particular citation on the
scaling of multi gpu/cpu setups. This point relates back to the idea that quantify the quality of a
games graphics, it not so much be done so in terms of how advanced it may look but instead how
well it runs, as well as what it does for the game, both positive and negative. In cases such as
Minecraft (2009) and FTL: Faster Than Light (2012), some of the games heralded as influential in
modern did not necessarily push the limitations of graphical intensities. Instead these games
redefined our perception of an art style or way of presenting graphic, which is the foundation of this
methodology. In summary; the games ability to present graphics in a way that fits the environment
and adds to the games content and experience and retain functionality.

Object Utility:

A reinterpretation of the proposition in Consalvo and Duttons toolkit of the Object Inventory,
however in this particular case instead of merely focusing on the types of objects within a game this
proposition extends to focus more on the utility of an item, or to simplify, its purpose and what its
adds mechanically and/or narratively to a game experience. With the evaluation aspect of this
relying on if an item or object in a game is relevant or not, extending into environmental objects
such as trees or urban cityscapes. Some of the best examples of this being done effectively being
shown in the 2013 game The Last of Us (2013), which in interviews with the creative team behind
the game at Naughty Dog, it is said that every item needs to tell a story, and going on to say that
everything has its place and relevance within the world, and if it didnt, it wouldnt be there. To
summarise this, the Object Utility strives to objectively outline: individual objects significance in the
game, and then furthermore the game as a whole, imploring the evaluator to ask if objects were
used with purpose or simply to populate a space, or in some cases, choosing to keep things vacant,
was this intentional or not?
Cultural Impact:

The most gaping area of focus in the Consalvo and Dutton toolkit lies in the lack of
understanding or focusing on the culture surrounding games, which is as important if not
more as the game itself in some cases, perhaps due to gamings rise in popularity and
accessibility compared to that of 2006. The 21st century sees gaming as a social and
collective experience in which communities can be formed out of interest or popularity of a
game, extending its lifespan and impact on the user. This leads into the final additional
methodological toolkit in the form of Cultural Impact. A deceptively complex proposition as
gauging such an aspect comes with requirement to have retrospective analysis however
when evaluating any game, regardless of perceived quality or objective critique, games that
make cultural impact for whatever reason, will explore a challenge or reinvention of a
concept or way of playing, and therefore should be recognised in terms of distinguishing
between a mediocre game and something which takes on a life of its own.

To conclude with the current existing methodologies of Consalvo and Dutton, it is fair to
assert that the Interface Study, Interaction Map and Gameplay Log are all still relevant and
justified proposition for a qualitative analysis of games, however on their own they do not
provide enough foundation to draw a conclusion upon, and instead with the additional
additions of the extra toolkits provided above, at least on a base level a formulated opinion
can be made without the tarnished lens of subjective and opinionated analysis. This is to say
that subjectivity is alleviated entirely, as from my research that has become apparent as
something that is simply impossible when it comes to any creative medium. It is also
important to note that these additional toolkits dont claim to hold any more strength as
there is no one answer or solution to evaluating games, but instead act as an alternative to
the current models. From my findings over the past few months in this field, this is the
direction my work organically led, which is a statement in itself into where one may take this
topic further and hopefully justify the why and how of coming to the conclusion of the above
propositions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Juul, Jesper: The Repeated Lost Art of Studying Games: Review of Elliot M. Avedon & Brian
Sutton-Smith (ed.): The Study of Games) , New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc (1971)

Consalvo, M & Dutton, M Game Analysis: Developing a methodological toolkit for the
qualitative study of games, (2006)

Aarseth, Espen, Narratology, (1997), John Hopkins University Press, (1997)

Keogh, B. 2014. Across Worlds and Bodies: Criticism in the Age of Videogames. Journal of
Game Criticism 1 (1). ISSN: 2374-202X

Video Game Environments with Naughty Dogs Pt. 2, Gnomon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPB-xVtaOpk
 The Last of Us, 2013, Naughty Dog, Video Game

Crysis, 2007, Crytek, Video Game

Minecraft, 2009, Mojang, Video Game

FTL: Faster than Light, 2012, Subset Games, Video Game