A Study of Computer Games: History, Cultural Context, and Narrative

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of computer games, examining their historical development, cultural context, and narrative aspects. The evolution of games like FIFA is discussed, highlighting advancements in hardware, gameplay, and company growth. The essay also delves into the cultural impact of video games, exploring both positive and negative aspects such as entertainment, motivation, behavior change, and connections to the film industry and education. Furthermore, the narrative elements of games like X-Man are analyzed, focusing on mission structures, storylines, and character development. The essay concludes by considering the overall experience and impact of these games, emphasizing the importance of music, story, graphics, and action in creating engaging and immersive gaming experiences. Desklib offers this essay and many more resources for students.

Computer Game Studies

Contents
Part 1................................................................................................................................................2
LO1 Understand the historical development of computer games...................................................2
LO2 Understand the cultural context and impact of computer games............................................5
LO3 Be able to analyse the lucid and narrative aspects of computer games...................................7
Part 2..............................................................................................................................................11
Part 3..............................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................15
List of Figures
Figure 1 FIFA 95 Game Interface...................................................................................................2
Figure 2 FIFA 17 Game Interface...................................................................................................3
Figure 3 X-Man Game.....................................................................................................................7
Figure 4 Mission 1 of the game X-Man...........................................................................................8
Figure 5 Alkali Lake Mission..........................................................................................................9
Figure 6 Last mission of the game.................................................................................................10
Figure 7 Assassin Creed Game Character.....................................................................................11
Figure 8 Character of Mark of Ninja game...................................................................................11
Figure 9 Witcher game character...................................................................................................12
Figure 10 Low Poly Character.......................................................................................................13
Figure 11 High Poly Character......................................................................................................14
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Part 1
LO1 Understand the historical development of computer games
Historical Development of Video Games:
Video games are the electronic generated games in addition to the user interface and to present
visual output on the screen. Video games are very vast and popular at present time. Let us
consider the case of the game FIFA.
As the world most popular video game, FIFA is related to series of football association games
released under Electronic Arts with the label of EA sports. The first series of this game is
announced in late 1993 by officially approved license from the association of FIFA. The first
edition of this series is FIFA 95 in which there is GUI is not that good and lacking with many
features like not able to create a game with any club team. Since then every series of this game is
coming up with more and better GPU, hardware, features, and interface (Johnstone, 2017).
Figure 1 FIFA 95 Game Interface
Source: (Dowling, n.d.)
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Figure 2 FIFA 17 Game Interface
Source: (Playstation, 2017)
Since then and till now, there is huge change occurred due to the increasing number of the
sources, controllers, hardware, cost, devices, technologies, the rapid increase in the size of the
company and specifications of the computer systems. This is also due to increasing CPU power
and better GUI. There is the huge change and improvement occurred in the newer version from
an older version. So from the older version of FIFA 95 to FIFA 17, there is a lot of
improvements occurred. This is due to many reasons. Let us discuss some aspects why it is
improved that much and due to what cause.
 Improvement in the Hardware: Hardware plays a very important role in the gaming world.
The advanced configurations of the hardware will allow better performance of the games.
Older versions had very less configured system GPU and power system CPU. As graphics
play a very vital role in relation to video games. Large configurations of the graphics are
available at very low cost.
 More New Devices: It is also the very important aspects of growth in these games. As in
present time, these games can be played on various devices like computers, mobiles phones,
and tablets. As they are responsive enough with advanced graphics for almost every device.
Also, they provide multiple devices controllers to play like remote controller, joystick,
keyboard, and mouse.
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 Improvement in the Game Play: This is also very important feature for more development
of games. As in older version, the features in the games are very less and there were many
limits and not much attractive interface. But in the newer versions, the interface is very
attractive, manual addition of team, clubs, modification of players, tournaments, practice
games, and freestyle game is introduced.
 Increase in the Size of company: One of the important reason for this vast changes in these
video games is increasing in the size of the company. As the members in the company are
growing exponentially, so there are more and more unique ideas generated by an individual
member every single day to enhance the quality of the games in terms of gameplay and
attractive user interface.
M1: In order to achieve M1, various appropriate solution and strategies are being made and
discussed in the following points above which are responsible for the improvisation of video
game market.
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LO2 Understand the cultural context and impact of computer games
Cultural Context:
As the growing exponential demand and curiosity in the gaming world, the video games are
leaving a great impact on the people of the present generation. The game culture or effects of
digital video games is taking a vast role in every individual person’s life. They are trending their
culture of gaming by making their own real-world environment. The video games are rapidly
expanding their internet culture for desktop as well as for the mobile phones too.
So, here are some positive and negative aspects of this environment of gaming. Let us discuss
some few aspects related to it.
 Entertainment: The most important aspects is entertainment. Entertainment in any industry
is the most required thing for the purpose of achieving self-satisfaction and happiness. In
gaming world, individual play hours and hours just to entertainment themselves. Videos
games are the biggest source of entertainment and mostly loved by almost every age groups
especially teenagers. As FIFA game designed in such a manner that an individual feels like
they are playing in the real game. This enhances the image quality of the person. This is very
good game to feel the virtual environment.
 Motivational Tool: As video games plays an important role in motivation culture. Many
people are inspired by just playing computer games. Like FIFA game inspire an individual to
play a football game and to maintain their fitness level.
 Attitude and Behavior change: This is also a very powerful aspect of video games. By
playing videos games the positive skills are developing coordination, concentration, skill
development and so many. Like in the game of FIFA, a person learns about the teamwork
and coordination, and also concentration is also increased. But there are many negative
aspects of playing such games like arrogance behaviour, health affected, and so many more.
As FIFA game teaches about coordination but it leads to arrogance nature of an individual
also.
 Film Industry and Real World Games: It is also one of the biggest aspects which creates
the virtual environment. Mostly, video games are developed from real-world games or with
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some series of movies. As FIFA game is based on the game of football and the biggest
tournament of football (Openlib, n.d.).
 Music: As the music is very common in video games, it helps us the person to enhance their
listening skills with a very fine music. There are also many bands which allow their songs to
be played in video games.
 Education: Sometimes video games are very helpful in the sector of education. Like in FIFA
game, if the person is not having any knowledge about the football, he can learn it by playing
on video games. The rules and skill and their own creative moves make their analysis power
very strong.
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LO3 Be able to analyse the lucid and narrative aspects of computer games.
Narrative:
Many videos games are based on some theme or story. There are thousands of games present in
the world based on some story. Games related to a mission like GTA, Saint Row, Far Cry, and
X-Man and so many are based on some story. They are divided into many task and phases which
are related to each other and goes by some storyline.
As the X-Man is an adventure based action game related to the story of the movie with the name
similar to it. As this is an action game there is combat of three attacks relied on it named heavy,
light and grabs. Also, it has a lunge attack to close distance quickly to the enemy. There is the
prologue in the game which is basically set in the urban bleak environment. The game start from
the Angola, Africa, which was chronicling the Team X mission (Fahey, 2009).
.
Figure 3 X-Man Game
Source: (Feverofgames, n.d.)
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In the first part of the mission, the task is to locate the village where the valuable mineral is
deposited, and the civilians are harmed by Stryker who led this mission. As Logan (the main
character of the game) is his teammate but was knocked out just before preventing the villager's
massacre.
Figure 4 Mission 1 of the game X-Man
Source: (Yehl, 2009)
In second mission the Team X was again disbanded almost three years later. Logan was living in
Canada with the girlfriend, he was surprised and the battle is engaged in the bar by Kayla who
meets him after so long. He defeated Kayla and at the sudden, he got a call from his boss Stryker
who requested Logan to look over the target where the former comrades were getting killed in
the revenge of the firing. As Logan accepts the offer but this procedure ends as he breaks out of
the Alkali Lake, and killing the men of Stryker.
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Figure 5 Alkali Lake Mission
Source: (Phenom, 2011)
In next mission, the Logan travels in the search of Wraith. He travels on the project of Wide
awake which was the government facility for the production of mutant hunt robots. The Logan
has to rescues Wraith by destroying the very large prototype Sentinel. So in this way, the mission
of this game changes from one to one. Each mission is related to each other depending on
themselves.
In the final mission of the game, X-Man Logan finds Kayla alive and also find Stryker and the
mutant which seduced Logan. The death of Kayla was a plan to trick Logan and to take Logan
DNA. The plan of Stryker was to make a super soldier using Logan DNA. Logan gets success to
rescue Kayla but suddenly Stryker attacks Logan with an adamantium bullet on his head but
Kayla saves Logan and sacrifices her life by drowning in lake for Logan. At that time Logan was
unconscious. Logan kills Stryker in the end and finishes the game with a victory.
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Figure 6 Last mission of the game
Source: (Affection, 2013)
At the end of this game, the experience of this game is very good. It goes with the very smooth
and exciting story till the end. Being a mission and action game it was a great experience with
this game. The game has very good music, story, graphics interface, and actions. Missions in the
game were very adventurous which creates curiosity in an individual mind to move to the next
mission.
M3: In order to achieve M3, the comparison of the game FIFA from version 95 to 17 is made.
Findings is made on the basis of the features, interface, music, GPU and functionalities and many
more in very first section.
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Part 2
About the Character:
From the characters and the links associated with three different games Assassin Creeds, Mark of
the Ninja and Witcher, the chosen character is the mixed combination of all the games character
together and concept art is designed by keeping them in mind.
Figure 7 Assassin Creed Game Character
Source: (Reddit, 2014)
Figure 8 Character of Mark of Ninja game
Source: (Megagames, 2016)
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