Reading and Representations
For this Task I will be discussing the preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings of three different game clips. These games are as follows, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Destiny 2 Beyond Light and Borderlands 3. I shall leave a video clip for each and then I will go on to write about the readings for each game.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Here is the clip for Final Fantasy:
Starting with the Preferred reading, someone who is a Final Fantasy fan may say that the remake is going to be good because they have played the original. This makes the trailer very appealing to them so there will be plenty of positives, like how the game looks graphical in the trailer. The preferred reading is mainly that Final Fantasy 7 was a great game so that the remake is expected to be even better.
The oppositional reading for Final Fantasy 7 could be that for some people they did not enjoy the experience of the original game so when they heard of a remake they were immediately put off. Because this is a remake it doesn't necessarily mean that the story is going to be new so players of the previous game could feel there is no need to spend money to play the exact same game. The main oppositional reading is that Final Fantasy 7 fans will not bother buying a remake that has not changed apart from the graphics.
The negotiated reading for Final Fantasy 7 is that you can see how other people like and enjoy the game but something as simple as not liking the art style of the game can makes someone a negotiated reader. They could really like the story of the game but If they don't enjoy the style of the gameplay or the way the game looks they are not going to buy the remake at all. This being said some people might think the games is bad but are given the chance to play it and enjoy it then there opinion is changed.
Borderlands 3
Here is the clip for Borderlands 3:
Starting with the preferred reading, as someone who has played all the borderlands games they will most likely be interested at first sight as a new game to the series will be enjoyable for them. Seeing all the new characters in the trailer would increases the excitement for the game and also seeing the returning characters will make the borderlands fans wonder how there favourite characters are going to be included with the brand new story that Borderlands 3 plans to give. The main preferred reading is given by the fans of the Borderlands series.
The oppositional reading for Borderlands 3 is that someone people will find the trailer very boring as the content shown means nothing to them as the have no knowledge of the games past environments and characters. Non borderlands players will find it very hard to see any thing of interest because the trailer just shows of gameplay of shooting and enemies that they probably have no clue about. The main oppositional reading is that anyone who hasn't played a borderlands game will be very lost in this trailer and will probably not consider buying.
The negotiated reading for borderlands 3 is that someone might like the previous games but feels they don't want to go through the long process of grinding threw the same type of gameplay just to get a slightly different ending. People will agree that borderlands has the same sort of story every game and the mechanics and enemy types are completely the same throughout the series, this leads players to believe that there is little difference in the new game to the rest of the borderlands games. The negotiated reading mainly proceeds to the player not being interest in the game or they give it ago because they need a game to play.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light
Here is the clip for Destiny 2 Beyond light:
Starting with the preferred reading, any current destiny player will be exited for this new expansions as it is a major turning point in the story of destiny. This expansions brings a whole new subclass called stasis which will generate a lot of excitement among the community. The release of a new expansions means plenty of new gameplay and lots of new loot and gear is available to chase down. The edition of a new planet means there is plenty to explore in the world of Europa. As well as all the loot and exploration there is a new compelling story that can be plated on release.
The oppositional reading for destiny 2 beyond light is that players who might be returning to the game or are picking destiny 2 up for the first time may feel that all this awesome content is locked behind a paywall as they have no expansions. This could lead to new players not bothering with the game because although its free like advertised it has some very expensive DLC prices. Each DLC costs up to £60 upon release which is allot of money for some people. Because the price is so high players will have to wait to get enough money or wait for the price to drop, but by then the DLC already has been out for some time so most of the player base will have finished playing.
Finally the negotiated reading is that people who like the look of the trailer and the new expansions offers might not buy the DLC at launch but wait until the expansion has been reviewed before buy a copy. This gives the negotiated reader some time to play other games or explore different hobbies while they wait for some reviews on the beyond light DLC. If they find the reviews mostly positive they will probably buy the Expansion and enjoy the game, or if they find the reviews bad then they will simply not purchase the DLC. Overall the main negotiated reading is that they are on the fence and are simply waiting to make up there mind.
Theory Lesson 4
Semiotics and Deeper Meanings
For this lesson I will be talking about the semiotics and the deeper meanings behind the trailers we discussed last lesson. These trailers are for Final Fantasy 7, Borderlands 3 and Destiny 2 Beyond Light. I will re-link the trailers below and I will talk about the deeper meaning and the semiotics for them all.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Here is the clip for Final Fantasy:
During this trailer you can see that there is a lot of different characters being shown on screen, the character that stood out to me was the red haired man 47 seconds into the trailer. He seems to represent an enemy type character as shown by some semiotics and signs I noticed during the same frame, behind the character we can see some very evil looking soldiers which are a good sign. The reason I think the soldiers might be evil is because they are represented in bright red colours which in this case show and display the an evil like appearance. Not only are the soldiers portrayed in red but they also have some high tech weaponry equipment, which suggests that they are extremely powerful. It terms of the narrative, I think that this character has the potential to be a very powerful villain that the player has to fight through out the game. Overall this scene I have discussed symbolizes the colours and appearances of a villain that the player of the game is going to have to defeat in some way, the way this villain is shown tells me that it is not going to be easy.
Borderlands 3
Here is the clip for borderlands 3:
During this trailer you can see a lot of fighting going on between four distinctive characters and loads of other cool looking enemies, my main focus however was before that fighting began at 32 seconds into the video. In this frame you can see the four characters I mentioned, it is these characters that I will be talking about. The character on the far left shows signs of a powerful ability type character that is not physically strong but looks to poses powers beyond are imagination. The reasons I think this is because the characters has some cool looking tattoos which doesn't sound like much of a sign but as some who has played borderlands before these tattoo's are what makes someone a siren, a rare type of race that is extremely powerful. The character on the middle left doesn't have much going on except his big appearance which tells me this character is going to be very strong physically. The character on the middle left shows signs of a more infantry styled character because of the bulletproof accessories she carries, these include a helmet and a suit of armour. The final character on the far left looks very technological as he is wearing some very Si-Fi clothing which suggest he's is a master with electrical gadgets and drones.
Destiny 2:Beyond Light
Here is the clip for Destiny 2:
During this trailer we can see that the guardians we play as are using a new subclass that is supposedly from the darkness and that we as a player are going to be taught how to use this power. When I was watching this trailer I found something interesting that caught my attention at 1:30, you can see a unknown enemy to us that appears to be using this darkness. I can tell that this enemy is using a darkness type power as there appear to show signs and semiotics in the way that they are suited with the same colour as the darkness power associated through out the trailer. This enemies is also of the fallen race, witch is a type of enemy that has been around for a long time in destiny but never before have we seen a fallen enemy with such strong power especial darkness power. This is what makes this enemy unique and it really shows signs of him or her being incredibly powerful. I think that this make for a great story and I can see people loving the way it could possibly be presented. Overall the main sign and semiotic I found is that the enemy in the trailer appears to present a powerful look and seems very strong and intimidating towards the guardians.
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