Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004)

Question 1

When was this game released?

Answer 1

2004

Question 2

How many copies did this game sell?

Answer 2

• Around 800,000 copies worldwide

- Quite low based on Nintendo franchises + previous Metroid games

Question 3

What is the basic plotline?

Answer 3

Game follows bounty hunter Samus Aran as she is sent to rescue Galactic Federation Marines. She must battle the Ing (destructive race from another dimension) and a mysterious version of herself called Dark Samus

Question 4

What is the gameplay like?

Answer 4

• Game’s head-up display simulates inside of her helmet and features map, radar, health bar, weapons and more
• Prime 2 Echoes is the first Metroid title to feature a 4-player multiplayer element

Question 5

What are the conventions of first person shooter games?

Answer 5

• Violence / violent death/destruction
• POV of protagonist - 1st person perspective
• Weapons & collectables
• Good v Evil Mission
• Male Protagonist
• Role play, hyper-real/fantasy

Question 6

What type of company is Nintendo?

Answer 6

Multinational conglomerate founded + based in Japan

Question 7

In terms of brand reputation, how successful is Nintendo?

Answer 7

• Has been at forefront of gaming for 30+ yrs

- one of three major gaming console manufacturers/game publishers alongside Sony (PlayStation) Microsoft (Xbox).

Question 8

How is Nintendo a good example of vertical integration?

Answer 8

Has control over all areas of production, distribution, and circulation + bought into companies that offer complimentary products/services for Nintendo products

Question 9

What types of products does Nintendo produce?

Answer 9

• Gaming hardware developer
• Games publisher- works w/3rd party companies who develop games 4 Nintendo hardware, creates some in-house + via subsidiaries
• Broad range of media production related to its gaming business incl clothing, toys, card games, + films

Question 10

Who produced the first Metroid game and who produced Metroid Prime 2: Echoes?

Answer 10

1st game prod. by Nintendo, our csp developed by US-based Retro Studies, subsidiary of Nintendo who also prod. 1st Metroid Prime game w/Nintendo as publisher of the game.

Question 11

Where does Metroid Prime 2: Echoes come in the Metroid series?

Answer 11

7th game of franchise developed for the GameCube, sequel to v. successful Metroid Prime. It was the 1st in the franchise to offer multi-player gameplay

Question 12

What marketing techniques were used to promote Metroid Prime 2 on various interconnected websites?

Answer 12

• News broadcasts
• Conspiracy theory site
• Constructed chats on internet forum

Question 13

What marketing techniques outside of the interconnected websites were used to promote Metroid Prime 2?

Answer 13

• Job ads for ‘bounty hunters’ on real recruitment sites
• Fake astronautics company created by the marketers gave away copies of the game to ppl who applied for an ‘interactive training manual’.

Question 14

What was the aim of the marketing techniques used to promote Metroid Prime 2?

Answer 14

Aimed to interest audience by offering more interactive materials that added to pleasures of the game.

Question 15

What is the significance of the marketing techniques used to promote Metroid Prime 2?

Answer 15

These techniques used extensively at this time by film, TV, gaming producers e.g. Cloverfield(08), The Dark Knight (08) and District 9 (09). Producers were tapping into changing behaviours of audiences, rising use of internet and the declining use of traditional media.

Question 16

How do the marketing techniques used for Metroid Prime 2 differ from the marketing techniques used today?

Answer 16

Now commonplace for games to create extensive online campaigns to attract attention of audience in a very crowded market. Just Cause 3 (‘15) offered an island as prize for ppl who pre-ordered the game

Question 17

1. What are game genres often defined by?

2. What genre is Metroid Prime 2: Echoes?

Answer 17

1. Games genres; oft defined by gameplay type offered in game.
2. Metroid Prime 2: 1st-person, action-adventure game- game is played via the literal viewpoint of the character, the action is seen through the eyes of the protagonist.

Question 18

1. What are the main differences between Action games and Adventure games?
2. What can a game’s genre be based on? How does this apply to Metroid Prime 2?

Answer 18

1. Action offers physical challenges; adventure is based on exploration and puzzle solving. Adventure tends to prioritise stories + characterisation more than action.
2. Genre can be based on setting, story content; Metroid Prime 2 is a scifi game- uses codes/conventions of genre in look of game, + type of story being told.

Question 19

What is the narrative of games often based on?

Answer 19

Quest narrative masterplot.

Question 20

What is the plot of Metroid Prime 2?

Answer 20

Protag is Samus Aran, a bounty hunter sent to investigate what has happened after Marine Corp space ship has disappeared after engaging w/Space Pirates.

Question 21

What type of hero is Samus Aran?

Answer 21

Classic quest-based hero searching for the Marines. If she finds them her quest should be complete. But the quest has obstacles she must overcome incl. undead Marines, alien creatures (Splinters), + an evil version of herself from an alt dimension.

Question 22

How can you apply Todorov’s Equilibrium to Metroid Prime 2?

Answer 22

Offers disrupted equilibrium + Aran’s role is to return wrld back to new equilibrium by defeating evil entities she encounters.

Question 23

How is the setting linked to the quest narrative?

Answer 23

Quest takes her to diff locations in wrld where she fights to defeat evil in a variety of settings culminating in a final battle between herself vs ‘dark’ version of herself.

Question 24

How has the target audience for gaming in general developed?

Answer 24

Games have long been thought of as being targeted towards young males. As gaming industry has aged, so too has its audience. Women have been identified as being important market for games-their interest in is on increase: 42% of all UK players.

Question 25

What are the three types of gamers?

Answer 25

- Hardcore: ~28y/o, spending over £1k/year on equip, hardware, software; purchase 70-80% of all games - Casual: Play regularly, purchase 15-20% of all games - Mass Market: Plays occasionally, seeks out free2plays, contributes no more than 5% to total game sales

Question 26

How are gaming audiences different to audiences of other media texts?

Answer 26

Other audiences access products created 4 them, ‘receive’ info communicated by the products. Gaming ‘audiences’ are far more active- hence why they're ‘players’; shows more active relationship between gaming and its ‘audience’.

Question 27

Games offer players choices. How does Metroid Prime 2 do this?

Answer 27

It allows player to choose how they progress through game, offers opportunities for the player to explore the world of the game.

Question 28

How is it somewhat disingenuous to say that players are completely active?

Answer 28

Player doesn’t have full autonomy- progress defined by | plot + goals of game but player has to remain active + involved as they play, selecting strategies and weapons.

Question 29

What is the nature of gaming and why is this relevant?

Answer 29

Nature of gaming: players oft fail to achieve their goals. Game resets, players have multiple chances to complete tasks + fight battles which means they're able to develop their gameplay skills, learn how to progress through the game. Losing may be frustrating, but learning + succeeding provide distinct rewards for the player.

Question 30

What are the gratifications that games have to offer?

Answer 30

- Puzzle solving + learning strategies for success= cerebral activities, create satisfaction when mastered. - Fighting battles creates excitement, exhilaration - Atmosphere generated creates tension and anticipation.

Question 31

The gratifications offered by games can also be gained when engaging with traditional media products. But why is it different with gaming?

Answer 31

Interactive, immersive nature of gaming means player is responsible for the gratifications they receive in a way that is not the same as watching a film or reading a mag.

Question 32

What gratifications does Metroid Prime 2 in particular offers?

Answer 32

- Multi-player game: playing w/friends can offer social gratification based on combo of competition/social interaction. - 1st-person game: action is seen thru eyes of protag, player can identify w/hero and the activities of the game feel more realistic than observing the actions.

Question 33

How can you apply Levi Strauss' Binary Opposites to Metroid Prime 2?

Answer 33

Conflict based on simple binary opposition: wrld has been split in 2 defined as light+ dark. Light/good threatened by dark/evil. Resolution of narrative can only be achieved when conflict is ended in destruction of one side. Places game firmly in genre of order (Schatz).

Question 34

What type of hero is presented in Schatz' genre of order?

Answer 34

Heroes in the genre of order: lone-wolf characters work to complete the task but are distanced from wrld they try to save. Lone-wolf heroes=loners, oft depicted as troubled characters w/dark secrets, tragic history melancholic personalities.

Question 35

How does the representation of Aran as a hero reinforce Schatz' Genre of Order?

Answer 35

Aran is orphan who works alone as a bounty hunter. Acts for the greater good but is separated from culture she acts to protect.

Question 36

What was the importance of Samus being revealed as female in the first game?

Answer 36

1 of the 1st playable female heroes in gaming.

Question 37

How was Samus' gender hidden from the players in the first game?

Answer 37

Appearance in-game is non-gendered as she wears a ‘cybernetic powersuit’. Muscular nature of suit + use of masculine pronouns in game’s documentation hid fact that she was female- players surprised when she was revealed at the end.

Question 38

Does Samus Aran fit the typical representations of femininity?

Answer 38

She does have what may be defined as feminine qualities: can be compassionate and show a caring side to her nature. While clearly female she is also known to be ‘superhuman’

Question 39

How does Samus Aran not fit the typical representations of femininity?

Answer 39

Gameplay oft focuses on her power, her resourcefulness and her willingness to put herself in danger for the greater good. traditional qualities of a hero that are oft associate w/masculinity.

Question 40

Why might one might argue that the original representation of Samus was sexist?

Answer 40

Anita Sarkeesian notes that when she was revealed as a woman, the faster the player had completed game the more ‘sexualised’ the reveal of Aran was making her body the prize for the successful gamer, what Sarkeesian calls ‘woman as reward trope’.

Question 41

Why might one argue that all the games in the series up to a point have presented sexist representations through the 'reveal'?

Answer 41

The ‘reveal’ has become a convention in the series. In Prime 2: Echoes, her reveal is presented using camera work that replicates idea of Male Gaze. Camera moves from her feet, travels up her body.

Question 42

Why is Samus' character design potentially sexist? Is this type of design seen in other female protagonists?

Answer 42

Wears form fitting suit, disproportionally large chest. Body shape is similar to Lara Croft’s and other female game protags who have a hyper-real and highly sexualised physique.