Video Games Values and representations.

A value is a measure of the worth or importance a person attaches to something; our values are often reflected in the way we live our lives. eg I value freedom of speech, or I value my family. An attitude is the way a person expresses or applies their beliefs and values, and is expressed through words and behaviour. eg I get really upset when I hear about cruelty to children and animals, or I hate school. An ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function. Ideologies that are told to us repeatedly by important social institutions such as the church, the law, education, government, and the media are called dominant ideologies.

In Identity, Identification and Media Representation in Video Game Play: An audience reception study (2010), Shaw argues that identification in video game play is complex, and is influenced by a variety of factors including: a games mechanics, its narrative, the context of game play and the players understanding of their own identity. Researchers cannot assume that players will identify with game characters based on shared identifiers such as race, gender, and sexuality. Shaw highlights that fantasy and escapism are common motivations for video game play, and often players are not looking to identify with their video game characters at all. However, Shaw asserts that diversity in video games is important and is the social responsibility of producers. The game industrys pluralistic approach, marketing specific types of games to niche markets, can alienate those from the groups being represented and can perpetuate stereotypes. However, while representation is important, it should not undermine the playfulness of gaming. Examples of common values that may be discussed in relation to gaming: Diversity Security / Safety Justice Creativity Inclusion Cooperation Equality Sharing Privacy Trust Gender Equity Authorship Environmentalism Liberty

Understanding representation is all about understanding the choices that are made when it comes to portraying something or someone in a mass media text. It's impossible to portray every aspect of an individual in a photograph, or even in a feature film, so certain features of their personality and appearance get highlighted, and are often enhanced, when it comes to constructing the representation that the audience will see. When representing a person, media texts often focus on their:

Age Gender Race/Ethnicity Financial Status Job Culture/nationality

Signs and symbols are used as a kind of visual shorthand to represent these attributes. When we decode these signs we make assumptions about who the character is (usually by comparing them to similar characters we have encountered before), and this allows us to put them in a category and "read" them in context. For instance, when constructing characters for a TV or movie scene the producers might give an old man white hair and a walking stick, or provide a wealthy lawyer with a three piece suit to wear and a briefcase to carry. Whilst not all old men need a walking stick and not all lawyers carry briefcases, these are easy and quick ways of signifying information about the character.

TASK: View the selection of clips shown to you and explore how values have been represented. Call of Duty: http://youtu.be/SQEbPn36m1c GTA 4: http://youtu.be/FO25p4JdB1U The Sims http://youtu.be/y6U0zTI5tDM World of Warcraft: http://youtu.be/dYK_Gqyf48Y Guitar Hero: http://youtu.be/Ht7Jn55kzUI Halo 4: http://youtu.be/5N-CRrP9xjQ Harry Potter: http://youtu.be/8fpFFd07ZpM Just Dance: http://youtu.be/SGgjjVRmKGs