Analysing games
The image I
have chosen to analyse is the graveyard scene from metal gear solid 4 guns of
the patriots, this scene is one of the most moving scenes in the entire game as
it shows the main character solid snake (a cloned soldier created during the
cold war) saluting the man his DNA was taken from (big boss also known as
snake).
Konami the
publishers and kojima the developers that created the metal gear solid series
took around three years to produce metal gear solid 4, being announced in 2005
and finally being on sale on june 12 2008. Even with the massive leap in
computer games graphics the game stays true to the original stealth concept of
the rest of its predecessors.
As I stated
in the previous paragraph the game is branded stealth tactical shooter which
means it relays on the players cunning rather than fast reflexes and allot of
fire power however you can play this game in this manner it will just be very difficult
due to the fact you don’t have a regenerating health bar. As the game lacks the addition of a
regenerating health bar and is rated M for mature in every country in clueing
the United Kingdom I would say this games target audience is between 20 and 35
but it’s also maybe aimed at diehard fans of the series.
Formal
elements:
Main
organisational features:
The main
features of this scene are the graves without them the character would just be
staring into the distance which in its self has emotional responses but the
graves make this response stronger. The
second feature that stands out are the white flowers which play a similar role
as red poppies in war cemeteries these give the scene a feeling or remembering
and looking back on the past, finally there is the characters clothes that are
old styled which gives the impression the character isn’t use to wearing a
suit.
Focal point:
The focal
point of the images I have chosen is off centre to the left, this is because
the human eye is naturally drawn towards the left as we are taught as children
to read from left to right. With the focal point off to the left you naturally
scroll to the right after looking at the character saluting to see the graves
of many fallen comrades and thoughs who were lost during operation greyfox,
this sets the tone of the image.
Geometrical
shapes:
The shapes
used in this image are soft and very rounded there are very few straight lines
in the entire scene giving it a very calm feel, all of the shapes in the scene
other than the main character have been blurred around the edges giving the
impression that this scene is ether a memory or a very sad event designed to
cause emotion in the player.
Symmetry/
asymmetry:
Symmetry in
this scene is very limited as the focus point is far on the left hand side
however after looking over the images a few times I noticed that the graveyard
its self is spit in half with newer styled graves on the right in front of the
character and older looking graves behind him, this divides the old and the
new.
Method used
to lead eyes:
The way the
images leads your eye in this image is very simple, its works on the principle
that the human eye reads from left to right, in this image the character is on
the far left drawing your eye in, the characters eyes are looking forward at
something in front of making the player/ viewer curious what he is staring at
which draws your eyes to the right to the graves.
Space and
depth
The images
doesn’t really create the illusion of a large amount of space in the scene in
fact quite the opposite the graveyard is surrounded by high walls which gives
the image a closed off look almost clostaphobic in a way, on the other hand
objects in the foreground are less blurred than thoughs in the distance which
does give some effect off distance.
Colour
Colours used
in this image are dark and stick very strictly to a three colour pallet of
green, greys and whites. The effect this very limited dark colour pallet gives
off is a feeling of sadness and remembrance, even though the pallet is very
small the image uses a large amount of different tones to create the depressing
feeling.
Light
The light
source in the scene is blocked by the dark rain clouds because of this the hole
images has a very dim feel to it causing low emotions, due to the dark lighting
the entire image is covered in shadows with very little contrast between them
(there are very few if any instances of solid light on shadow contrast) it
gives off a calming feel as if the calm after the battle has be fought.
Style
Begin a
cinematic scene the image gives off a very realistic theme, it does this by giving
the objects and character a sence of scale equal to that of real life.
Influences
This images
is based in a game that is about the cold war and secrets hidden from the
public eye, the scene I have chosen is very similar you scenes of soldiers
remember there fallen comrades after a war or after a battle. You can see the resemblance between the
graveyard in the scene and thoughs of real war memorial grave sites.
Subject
theme and meanings
The only
subject that has been brought up in this image is the horrors of war and how no
matter how strong you think you are you are still human inside, this also
brings up the fact that people lose their lives in wars on both sides sometimes
for courses they don’t believe in as shown by the enemies in this game being
controlled remotely.
Context
Using
research and have my self-watched the scene this image if from I can tell this
image is taken after a huge battle was fought were many soldiers on both sides
lost their lives because of one man’s selfish desire to take over the world.
The reason
this gives the scene meaning is because even though the main character(snake)
is a battle hardened soldier in this image it shows that he is still human and
has emotions.
Personal
response
My personal
response to this image is a response of silence as this is a scene of morning
and sorrow this in turn provokes feelings of sadness as the character is remembering
lost friends in the same way we remember lost family members and loved ones.
The main aspect of the image that makes me feel like this is the sky as it is
grey and blocking out the sun as if all happiness there once was has vanished
for the character.
