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WK 1: Why Game Studies? & Intro

8/29/2013

14 Comments

 
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HW: The first assignment is to write as though submitting to the Escapist so it is only natural that you should read some of the articles there! Here is a selection I have chosen from the same week in 2012 that all our examples were from, which illustrate well the tone you are shooting for. Read and comment here - not on the content but on the TONE of the pieces.
  • http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/9876-Slender-Review
  • http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/9863-Darksiders-II-Review
  • http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/9888-Transformers-Fall-of-Cybertron-Review

For your viewing pleasure: Intro to ALL YOUR HISTORY ARE BELONG TO US.


14 Comments
Doc
8/29/2013 06:10:35 am

Comments work!

Reply
Patrick H
9/14/2013 04:49:40 am

The reviews sound like your friends who bought the game, and now want to play it with someone else, so they try to convince you to buy it too. They’re amiable and jovial and they really want to convince you to get it because its ‘so much fun!’ Nevermind the negative aspects, you can glaze over those because everything else is so good.
And you know the game probably really isn’t that amazing, but your friend just makes such a convincing, well-thought out case for the game that you can’t help but get interested.

They sound like real amateurs, voicing their opinions, with a professional editor creating condensed videos that highlight all the high points.

Reply
Amanda
9/7/2013 01:28:41 pm

My impression is that the tone on all three of these is informative but casual and jocular. They avoid bogging their reviews down with gaming jargon so that what they're saying is more accessible, but I also feel like the language and the jokes are full of little nods to their primary audience. I don't think you would come across the phrase "delicious paranoia" in very many movie reviews, for instance, but you're likely to overhear something similar if you spend enough time in the ATEC building. Subtract the rehearsed, professional quality of the reviewer's speech, and it would be like listening to an especially informed and articulate friend talking about a game he just played.

Reply
Dalton
9/11/2013 10:32:05 am

I agree with Amanda that these reviews all have a tone that takes a casual stance, but tells the viewer whatever they want to know. Also, I'm not sure if this would be true with all games reviewed by the Escapist, but the video's writers also seem inclined to take a positive tone towards the games they review. If a game has something good, they let us know, and if something unpleasant pops up, the good aspects of the game are said to compensate for that unpleasantness. It sometimes feels like an advertisement for the game, albeit one that tries to be honest about any flaws it may have. I guess that wouldn't be the case if The Escapist reviewers felt a game was horrible, but these three in particular received little to no criticism from the reviewers.

Reply
Taylor B
9/11/2013 10:52:59 am

I feel like the tone is very easy going yet professional. The authors give enough easy to read broken down details of each game for the reader to be able to take it in without a long commitment.

Reply
Ethan
9/11/2013 12:14:49 pm

The reviews are very down to earth, highlighting the positive points of each game. The most scathing comment was that Darksiders 2 has some glitches. The reviews have a sandwich of lighthearted-serious-lighthearted tones. The intros and ends try to entertain the viewer/reader and the serious tone of the middle is for informing.

Reply
Edgar
9/11/2013 04:44:21 pm

After seeing some of the All Your History videos I realized that I had seen some of these long ago but kind of forgot for whatever reason. I remember thinking to my self that this was something very different to what most news stations reported on when it came to games. It feels good to know that we have something like this as proof that the gaming industry and the games created are given more credit and shown in a different light than what most news stations put out there for the average non gamer.

Reply
Daniel Lee
9/13/2013 01:00:59 am

These reviews all share same quality of being simple but yet professional. Each of the reviews swiftly discusses many of the pros of the game being punctual with the cons of the games.

The reviews' tones were all similar in regard that they were all quite cheerful toward the games they were reviewing. Such tones lead the audiences with positive consensus that the games are actually something worth buying if an audience is perfectly fine with the cons he/she will have to deal with in the game.

Reply
Adam Becker
9/15/2013 03:30:11 am

These videos (All Your History) are fascinating. I'm trying very hard to not start a marathon-binge on all of them.

I really like that most of the time they just report what happens without taking much of a side. I think it's impossible to be totally unbiased, but AYH gets fairly close.

Reply
Philip Enderlein
9/15/2013 04:59:21 pm

These three reviews seem to focus on the most positive aspect of the game to review it. For Slender, it was the atmosphere, for Transformers, it was the story, and for Darksiders II, it was the gameplay. Instead of reviewing all aspects equally, The Escapist tailors the review to explain the aspect that would most likely make players play the game. They know that different games excel in different ways.

As for tone, the reviews were accessible, short, and light-hearted. Abstaining from big words, the speed, and trying to make jokes kept me from getting bored and turning off the review. Rather than acting like a big, official, high-education corporation trying to sell a game, they act like your buddy saying "Hey, man. You should get this game, the atmosphere is amazing for scaring your pants off".

Reply
Dalton Irwin
9/17/2013 11:46:35 pm

I like the point you make about each game having a different aspect being the focus of its review. I hadn't really noticed that, but now that you point it out it seems almost obvious. Also, "trying to make jokes"? Did you find the the attempt more humorous than the joke itself?

Reply
Christopher Thompson
9/16/2013 01:38:27 pm

He seems to mostly focus on the postives aspect of the game. He glosses over or otherwise gives little time to anything the games might have done wrong. Overall though I'd say he sounds like what you might expect your average player to say about a game they enjoyed, they're very casual reviews.

Reply
Kenneth Marshall
9/18/2013 06:03:56 am

The tone of the presentations seemed to be focused on a rather light-hearted, positive outlook on the game. Instead of breaking down the game and analyzing it piece by piece, both the good and the bad, It takes an overall look at the game to give the viewer enough reasons to try the game, even if it is a little biased.

Reply
Spencer
10/9/2013 01:09:18 am

I think the casual reviews focusing on positives seems more accessible to most people. It makes them sound more like someone who enjoyed the game which is easier to relate to

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