game analysis

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.