Analysis of Animal Crossing Game - Case Study Example

A Critical Analysis of ‘Animal Crossing’ Institution Name Introduction Animal Crossing can be narrowly described as “an animal village simulator.” In the video game, players are taken to a town filled with animated characters to purchase a house, before they can trade, work and individualise their home environment. The game is a social simulator that Nintendo (2014) succinctly describes as a “communication game.” The game presents a range of harmless and sometime routine tasks, such as gardening, designing wallpapers, bug-catching. According to Bogost (2013), Animal Crossing is open-ended game where the characters adopted by the players get to assume separate lives with limited preset plot. The players are the residents of the town. They also have different tasks to complete and goals to attain, among the major ones being enlarging the size of the characters’ houses. The purchased houses consist of repositories for furniture and other household items obtained during the course of the game. This paper presents an analysis of issues such as the complexity of the dynamics of the game, the game mechanics that create observable dynamics of the game, how these elements contribute to the player's experience of the game and how the game design can be changed to make the game more interesting. Further analyse of the game in the context of procedural rhetoric is provided. Part 1 The complexity of the dynamics of the game Marc LeBlanc (2005) proposes formal methodologies through which games can be analysed in his article ‘’Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics". LeBlanc (2005) describes game dynamics as the behaviour of the game, the actual events that characterise the game and the phenomenon of the game that happen as the game is played. Accordingly, when Animal Crossing is viewed in terms of its dynamics, inquiries are being made on what actually takes place when the game is played. One of LeBlanc (2005) prepositions concerning games is that they should possess drama as a desirable quality. According to LeBlanc (2005), when a player wants to engage in a game they always seek for the dramatic aspect of the game which becomes their primary motivation for playing. Drama occurs in Animal Crossing when it presents a climactic struggle for the player. LeBlanc (2005) therefore proposes that designers should endeavour to instil drama into games. According to LeBlanc (2005), the designer of the game should use the player-driven dynamics in order to integrate the divergence of more tasks across weeks and days. Indeed, in evaluating the Animal Crossing, it can be stated that the existence of drama occurs when the player has to complete more and more errands across weeks or days. In most cases the player spends most of the time struggling to make money, this therefore brings out the drama in the game. It can further be stated that the existence of drama in the game brings out the complexity in the dynamics of the game. An additional notable dynamic of the game is the high level of customisation that happens in the course of playing Animal Crossing, hence adding rich drama into the game. In essence, customisation affects the game’s outcome. At the same time, players can modify the appearance of the characters while playing the game by purchasing designed clothing and accessories. Additional drama is realised in the sense that the house of the players’ characters can be furnished and decorated, as well as increased. Game mechanics that create observable dynamics of the game According to LeBlanc (2005), game mechanics refer to the required pieces needed to play the game. Primarily, mechanics consists of the rules of the game, as well as the venues, equipment or any required item for playing the game. The venue’s peculiarities are also a component of the mechanics. The mechanics of Animal Crossing include the explicit rules in the game and the physical laws that govern the game. Among the implicit rules that depict mechanics of Animal Crossing include the rule that while players are permitted to meet new villagers and to buy items at Tom Nooks (who is the merchant), visitors can only do few things centred on what brings them to another town. The characters are also denied the privileges as well as the same services they are entitled to in their own town. Upon visiting a new town, none of the villages is allowed to move to the visited town. Concerning the physical rules that depict the Anima Crossing’s mechanics, the game only allows one player at a go. Additionally, it can amass up to 4 profiles of players in a shared town. The human players can as well interact with family members and friends who play the game. However, the interaction is indirect as it is through completion of tasks, leaving gifts or notes and in some circumstance planting trees. How the elements contribute to the player's experience The game dynamics and mechanics bring about dramatic tension in the game. The two ensure that inevitability and uncertainty materialise in Animal Crossing. For instance, the high level of customisation that characterise the game where players’ characters have to furnish and decorate their households in their desirable designs makes the game less predictable and more dramatic (LeBlanc, 2005). Additionally, the implicit and explicit rules that characterise the mechanics of the game makes the game more controlled, hence preventing instances where players can obtain undue advantage over other players. This adds dramatic tension. At the same time, the dynamics and mechanics in Animal Crossing generate some invisible forces that tend to push the players from what they want their homes or gardens to look like. However, it is actually upon the player to decide whether the forces are worthwhile. This ensures a dramatic arc over the game as it allows the players to address to the uncertainty and inevitability. Changing the game design LeBlanc (2005) points out that rather than performing the task of creating drama in the games, game designer should use tools that bring about the climatic struggle. To make Animal Crossing more interesting, the design should be focused on bringing about more dramatic uncertainty. Animal Crossing is almost predictable from the start. This makes it less exciting to players with experience in the game. A Change in design is therefore proposed using the fog of war game mechanic. LeBlanc (2005) describes the Fog of War as a mechanic that simulates restrictions to the character’s capacity to guess or monitor the world the players’ resources are developed. In which case, all components of the map are enveloped in a fog to prevent players from perceiving what the components entail. Hence, a player cannot see or perceive the resources of other players. The Fog of War would therefore add dramatic uncertainty to Animal Crossing by limiting information that is made available to the players. However, as the game progresses, more and more information would become available and the outcome more and more certain yet competitive. Part 2 Procedural rhetoric Procedural representations are essential for creating an entertainment experience or extraordinary circumstances that transport players to another world. At the same time, video games may use procedurality to articulate arguments on the social, cultural, and material elements of human experience. When it comes to making arguments or conveying arguments through persuasion, the element of rhetoric emerges. Academics and theorists have observed that procedurality and rhetoric can be combined in making video games more vivid and interesting. According to Bogost (2008), procedural rhetoric refers to the practice of applying processes persuasively. Bogost (2008) observed that the term procedural rhetoric is general in nature that depicts the practice of creating arguments through processes. It therefore entails persuasion through authoring rules of behaviour rather than creation of images (Bogost, 2008). Procedural rhetoric can be used for exposing and explaining the obscure ways of thinking that trigger cultural, political and social behaviours. In essence therefore, it can be argued that procedural rhetoric is a representation form as well as a precise communication practice in Animal Crossing that influence the behaviour of the players and their characters in the game. As reflected in Animal Crossing, the video game does not merely serve the entertainment purpose such as using meaningless or insignificant content. Rather, it uses writing and images that employ the practice of effective expression and persuasion through processes. Procedural rhetoric exists in Animal Crossing since the source of the rhetoric originates from the algorithmic abilities and the design of the computational machine, instead of the level of seriousness of the game (Zhang, 2009). At the same time, since procedural rhetoric is viewed as a symbolic medium instead of a material one, it can be used to make arguments on conceptual systems. One such model is depicted in Animal Crossing where the model of consumer capitalism is reflected. Some scholars have argued that modelling facilitates examining of particular aspects of experience and applying them for problem-solving in ways that lead to abstraction rather than concreteness (Bogost, 2008). In Animal Crossing, the model of consumer capitalism is employed in showing how cultural, social and political processes function. Animal Crossing can therefore be perceived as a critique of modern consumer culture by seeking to persuade the players to understand the excitements or intoxications that arise from the acquisition of material possessions. Similarly, while it may be safe to refrain from arguing that all the commercial goods that should be possessed or sold in the video game are mere temptations (so that purchasing one implies that one favours consumerism), it is still perceivable that the material possessions traded or acquired ask the player (who is the consumer) to reflect on the link between intangible sensations and material possessions. Animal Crossing is itself an open-ended game, which features characters adopted who assume separate lives with limited preset plot. The plot presents a range of harmless and sometime routine tasks where the players are taken to a town filled with animated characters to purchase a house before they can trade, work and individualise their home environment. Of essence however is participation in commerce and socialisation. Procedural rhetoric also evokes the question on whether socialisation is a legitimate rationale for acquisition of material possessions. Additionally, Animal Crossing enables players to question whether they really need to transfer their in-game commercial attitudes, which they express in the real world. These two are reflected in the way procedural rhetoric collides in the game. For instance, players are encouraged to accumulate excess goods and larger houses where they can store the possessions they acquire. Within this context, routine tasks of fishing, gardening and running additional errands for the animals increase. On the other hand, players are encouraged to socialise with others and to till the land. For instance, collection of items is a significant dynamic of Animal Crossing that happens in the course of playing. Players get to explore through the village to collect items such as seashells, trees in addition to discarded items. Almost all items can be sold to the merchant (Tom Nooks) using the currency in the game. Items that the merchant cannot pay for are taken away at no cost. At the same time, several other specialised tools are accessible for different social activities that characterise the game, such as collecting insects and fishing. Players can donate specialise objects such as painting to the museum. Conclusion A notable dynamic of the game is the high level of customisation that happens in the course of playing the game. In essence, customisation affects the game’s outcome. The player’s characters are gendered and named. When it comes to game mechanics, the game only allows one player at a go. The human players can as well interact with family members and friends who play the game. However, the interaction is indirect as it is through completion of tasks, leaving gifts or notes and in some circumstance planting trees. The game dynamics and mechanics bring about dramatic tension in the game. They also ensure that inevitability and uncertainty materialise from the game. To make Animal Crossing more interesting, the design should be focused on bringing about more dramatic uncertainty. A Change in design is therefore proposed using the fog of war game mechanic to simulate restrictions to the character’s capacity to guess or monitor the world the players’ resources are developed. Use of procedural rhetoric in Animal Crossing enables the game to be perceived as a critique of modern consumer culture, by seeking to persuade the players to understand the excitements or intoxications that may exceed levels of sobriety. This is because of their actions of material possession and the pleasures of abstaining from amassing material possessions. References Bogost, I. (2008). The Rhetoric of Video Games. The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning. Edited by Katie Salen. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008. 117–140. doi: 10.1162/dmal.9780262693646.117 Bogost, I. (2014). Animal Crossing's Strange, Unresolved Conflict. Retrieved from Gamasutra website: LeBlanc, M. (2005). Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics. In The Game Design Reader : a rules of play anthology Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Nintendo. (2014). Nintento 3DS. Retrieved from Nitendo website: Zhang, Y. (2009). Ian Bogost, Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. Rhizomes 19(1), Summer 2009 Read More

Game mechanics that create observable dynamics of the game According to LeBlanc (2005), game mechanics refer to the required pieces needed to play the game. Primarily, mechanics consists of the rules of the game, as well as the venues, equipment or any required item for playing the game. The venue’s peculiarities are also a component of the mechanics. The mechanics of Animal Crossing include the explicit rules in the game and the physical laws that govern the game. Among the implicit rules that depict mechanics of Animal Crossing include the rule that while players are permitted to meet new villagers and to buy items at Tom Nooks (who is the merchant), visitors can only do few things centred on what brings them to another town.

The characters are also denied the privileges as well as the same services they are entitled to in their own town. Upon visiting a new town, none of the villages is allowed to move to the visited town. Concerning the physical rules that depict the Anima Crossing’s mechanics, the game only allows one player at a go. Additionally, it can amass up to 4 profiles of players in a shared town. The human players can as well interact with family members and friends who play the game. However, the interaction is indirect as it is through completion of tasks, leaving gifts or notes and in some circumstance planting trees.

How the elements contribute to the player's experience The game dynamics and mechanics bring about dramatic tension in the game. The two ensure that inevitability and uncertainty materialise in Animal Crossing. For instance, the high level of customisation that characterise the game where players’ characters have to furnish and decorate their households in their desirable designs makes the game less predictable and more dramatic (LeBlanc, 2005). Additionally, the implicit and explicit rules that characterise the mechanics of the game makes the game more controlled, hence preventing instances where players can obtain undue advantage over other players.

This adds dramatic tension. At the same time, the dynamics and mechanics in Animal Crossing generate some invisible forces that tend to push the players from what they want their homes or gardens to look like. However, it is actually upon the player to decide whether the forces are worthwhile. This ensures a dramatic arc over the game as it allows the players to address to the uncertainty and inevitability. Changing the game design LeBlanc (2005) points out that rather than performing the task of creating drama in the games, game designer should use tools that bring about the climatic struggle.

To make Animal Crossing more interesting, the design should be focused on bringing about more dramatic uncertainty. Animal Crossing is almost predictable from the start. This makes it less exciting to players with experience in the game. A Change in design is therefore proposed using the fog of war game mechanic. LeBlanc (2005) describes the Fog of War as a mechanic that simulates restrictions to the character’s capacity to guess or monitor the world the players’ resources are developed.

In which case, all components of the map are enveloped in a fog to prevent players from perceiving what the components entail. Hence, a player cannot see or perceive the resources of other players. The Fog of War would therefore add dramatic uncertainty to Animal Crossing by limiting information that is made available to the players. However, as the game progresses, more and more information would become available and the outcome more and more certain yet competitive. Part 2 Procedural rhetoric Procedural representations are essential for creating an entertainment experience or extraordinary circumstances that transport players to another world.

At the same time, video games may use procedurality to articulate arguments on the social, cultural, and material elements of human experience. When it comes to making arguments or conveying arguments through persuasion, the element of rhetoric emerges.

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