Task 2 - Video Game Report (HOW TO IMPROVE, BELOW)

In this report I shall be discussing how two games use conventions of a computer game well in terms of their exposure of character and how their gender is implemented throughout. The two games that I will be discussing are Tekken and Mario Kart.

Tekken is a game which revolves around violence, it begins by informing you; the player what it is that's expected of them. Also a brief introduction to each character. There are a variety of characters which the player can choose from, and within each character they each have their own personal story. The game fixates on the 'King of Iron Fist Tournament', hosted by the Mishima Zaibatsu corporation. The 'King of Iron First Tournament' is basically a fighting competition whereby people come together to battle one another in the attempt to win the prize. The big prize which all the characters are completely blood thirsty over is control over "Mishima Zaibatsu Company" as well as being able to host the next Tournament. 'Mishima Zaibatsu corporation' translated is actually "Mishima Financial Group" The company is a giant multinational conglomerate within the Tekken universe hence why so many take part within the tournaments. The location in which Tekken is based on varies on the battles you uptake. You are the player in the updated version of Tekken have the ability to choose where your battle takes place for example you can play anywhere from the streets of Tokyo to north Korea to NYC. It all depends on the players choice, however there is also a 'random' selection whereby the location is chosen for you.

In terms of the type of genre within this game it would obviously be an arcade fighting game... However the narrative done by each character gives the player a sense of 'Heroic/ Heroism' the game is given this type of influence due to the back story of each character. Each character aims to win the competition based on their individual reason. For example, the character Nina Williams is the only female character to appear in every installment within the Tekken series. Nina was born and raised in Ireland with her younger sister Anna Williams (who is also featured in the game) From a young age, both were taught various forms of martial arts such as "assassination martial arts, aikido and koppojutsu." Both sisters had always admired their father which was the cause of both Anna and Nina's rivalry to capture his love and affection. Their father Richard Williams was a former highly respectable assassin which was another cause as to why both daughters strived for their fathers attention... When Richard passed away both daughters blamed each other for the death of their father attempting to pin-point each other as the cause of his passing away. Although, both tried to maintain a healthy relationship for their fathers sake as it was his last wish... Yet it only made their rivalry stronger. Nina had quite informative and well known information of the "assassination martial arts" which lead to her becoming an assassin of her own. Although never stated, from the adoration she had for her father you can tell that everything she done after the passing of her father was to please him. Nina had later been hired during The King of Iron Fist Tournament to assassinate the head of Mishima Zaibatsu, Heihachi Mishima. However, she failed.

          

Above we can see Nina, in a still form on each side of the video where we see Nina in action. "Nina Williams' fighting style is Hapkido. Nina is known for her lethal fighting styles, consisting of many martial arts and fighting skills. Nina has strong jabbing abilities, is agile and has above average strength. Nina was also among the first characters to utilize chain throws, having them since Tekken 2." Due to Nina being such well developed fighter and character and the first female character within the game the look and clothing choice for Nina was based on her ability to fight. "Nina dresses primarily in purple fitted costumes and is commonly seen wearing a military style outfit" the reason behind Nina's clothing is to emphasise her line of work. So to speak her career is an Assassin therefore in terms of clothing, it must be sleek and well fitted. Nina, has a high blonde ponytail with blue eyes and a very strong build in terms of her body but it does not stop her from looking like your average female as Nina is very voluptuous. Personally, I believe the idea behind Nina's costume was not only based around her profession but the idea that she is indeed the first female character within Tekken therefore they wanted Nina to appeal not only to females but men also hence the usage of a big bust and tight fitted clothing. Another way in which the clothing can implement Nina's character is by reinforcing that she is nothing like her younger sister Anna who dresses in a very traditional Japanese way but still has that influence of womanhood and tight fitted clothing as shown below. The contrast between the two is mainly their hair colour and length, Anna has been described amongst creators as "sexy, sultry and curvy"

Tekken as it's story line would be based upon a fable, as it is quite short and easily understandable. Also, the core in which makes this game so unique is the way in which each character has their own personal story. 

The second game that I will be discussing is Mario Kart. Mario Kart, is a series of go-kart style arcade games based on adventure and driving. The first part of the series was created in 1992, on the super nintendo entertainment system. "To date, there have been four Mario Kart games released for home consoles, three portable games, and three Namco co-developed arcade games, for a total of ten." Mario Kart is a hybrid of driving and adventure the reason behind this being because, the main focus of the game is for you the player to finish the race which you have started but throughout the race you are given a variety of 'weapons' which you again as the player must collect by driven into a box with a ? upon it which you can see below. Once you hit this you are given a variety of weapons which is show on the right. With these weapons it is your aim to use them to attack the other players who you are up against.

  

Due to Mario kart being an adventure race game, the characters are quite basic. As Mario kart was an experiment to to tests it's success it is a mixture of all the characters from Mario's adventures along with some of Nintendo's other characters. You have the three main which are Mario, Princess Peach and Luigi. As shown below, these are the three main characters on nintendo but put into their karts for their game. The game not only contains Luigi, Peach and Mario but also Bowser. The usage of adding Bowser shows that this game, is a mixture of all nintendo characters. Bowser initially was in 'Super Mario Bros' where his character was created as 'Bowser, King of the Koopa' which translated is 'The Sorcerer King' "Bowser is the leader and most powerful of the turtle-like Koopa race, and has been the greedy archnemesis of Mario ever since his first appearance" Bowsers ultimate goal is to marry Princess Peach, defeat Mario and take over Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser is the most interesting character due to the game being based around an adventure of Mario saving the 'damsel in distress' type character (Peach) and then assumingly nothing can go wrong... we are then introduced to a villain who's goal is to destroy Mario. It gives the game a sense of heroism and narrative. In this game Bowser is just portrayed as everyone else a character who you can choose to finish the variety of races. No character has a specific story, Mario Kart is basically your typical arcade game with no story behind it.

The characters within the game are mostly males, this being because this game may have a bigger appeal to young boys than to girls due to the lack of female players... However the main iconic female character within this game is portrayed as weak and 'lady like' this may be used to enforce that young girls should be similar to this, in such that they should hold lady like manners, and dress in a suitable manner in terms of dresses and the colour 'pink' this being shown through Princess Peach... Princess Peach in-particular as before 'Bowser' wants to marry her is actually Mario's love interest and vice versa. The whole concept of the damsel in distress is again reinforced by Princess Rosalina. Who is a character from Super Mario Galaxy, who again is another princess who is very sensible with the colour light blue worn and a dress. In complete contrast to both Rosalina and Peace we have the character Princess Daisy. Princess Daisy was introduced to the Mario world, through 'Mario Tennis' through this she was then given Princess Peaches role as the 'Damsel in Distress' and again much like Princess Peach she has a love interest who is Luigi, but someone who wants her for himself which is 'Wario' In terms of Princess Daisy's character in Mario Kart it is portrayed in absolute contrast to both Peach and Rosalina. Daisy, is more of your 'tom-boy' whereby she is more ruthless within the game this is portrayed not only through her clothing but the states she says. 

Princess Rosalina

Princess Daisy

In terms of location for this particular game, it very animated in a sense that it doesn't have particular countries like Tekken where the stages are based. With Mario Kart the locations are based within the game, they are just tracks where the races take place. Each track has it's own name, and within that name that is usually the main thing which surrounds the track. For example the track "Dry Dry Desert" is exactly what it states it is. It is a desert with nothing but sand and you and the other characters racing. Another example would be 'Rainbow Road' the most difficult of courses, whereby the whole track is designed with the colours of a rainbow and based within outer space.

Dry Dry Desert

Rainbow Road

In conclusion both games have distinctive differences but each have that one element which they are known for. So to speak Tekken are primarily known not just for their game but the characters and storyline of the game. It gives the game it's own personal edge especially as it stands out from other fighting game as each character have their own personal back story which captures the player on an even more personal level. Like the characters of Nina and Anna, the "sibling rivalry" may be the same for an actual person playing the game. Therefore when playing a character they could take the anger that they have for their sibling and turn that into energy to play the game. In terms of Mario Kart it's element which makes it stand out is that it is able to combine a variety of characters within the game therefore making each installment exciting and unique. Not only thing, but that there use of courses and tracks, how they are able to base the design of one track on one objects e.g. Dry Dry Desert. The usage of 'Dry' is shown throughout the actual track. Personally I enjoy playing both games, due to them being so different from each other. In terms of Tekken it is a game, that I have played since a young age therefore every installment has been refreshing and unique in my eyes. In terms of Mario Kart I also enjoy playing so, this was in the days of which I had a Game Cube which I do miss dearly. I think it's very substantial in terms of how quickly it has adapted to modern technology in it's ability to be played on a variety of consoles. E.g. Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Game Cube etc.

- Lareb

Peace, food & laughter~

☮ ✌