Thursday 22 February 2007

Gaming Journal #2

BAN THESE EVIL GAMES! What is wrong with these 'evil games'? I aim to look at how the media portray certain computer games with reference to specific examples of rhetoric that have been produced to get audiences to try and avoid them.
The Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series on the PlayStation and especially PlayStation 2 has stirred up a lot of controversy within the media and is commonly referred to when looking at games that should, according to some people, be banned. Owning the game myself and playing many of the games in the series I can see why some people think it should be banned. You go around causing all sorts of crime such as stealing cars, taking drugs, killing the police and innocent members of the public along with many politically incorrect things. The most recent example of controversy involved a downloadable modification that allowed a sexually explicit minigame in GTA: San Andreas (http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/brandnewday/archives/2005/07/grand_theft_aut.html). But what is rhetoric?
Beck, A et al stated that, "The most commonly used term to describe the use of eloquent language to persuade people to do or think something is 'rhetoric'" (pg166:2004). Rhetoric is used to convince people into believing something through the use of verbal, visual, written and behavioural elements, it is a common tool used in many forms media. There are different forms of rhetoric and by linking them specifically to games I will give some examples. There is subtle rhetoric and this could be seen in GTA: San Andreas as the character's clothing and suggesting that they are part of gangs and subculture. There is also crude rhetoric that in this case has been used a lot by the press urging parents to not buy this game.
I found an online article from the BBC (2005) that clearly shows some strong crude rhetoric and it stated by
Des Clark, Office of Film and Literature Classification, "Parents are strongly advised to exercise caution in allowing children continued access to the game ". This is obviously against promoting the game and with the use of persuasive language for example, 'strongly advised' and caution'. The sex scandal AKA the 'Hot Coffee' incident (metaphor for having something go painfully wrong, hot coffee on lap), although problematic at first due to bad press helped the game gain more reputation. This is because people wished to discover what it is that makes the game so controversial and therefore this persuasive language both helped and hindered sales. The 'Easter Egg' (hidden secret) was a marketing ploy for Take-Two Interactive - Rockstar to help sales even if the negative rhetoric was used.


References:

Beck, A., Bennett, P. and Wall, P. (2004). Communication Studies: The Essential Resource. London: Routledge.

Kiley, D. (2005). Grand Theft Auto Marketers May Have Gone A Buzz Too Far. But We'll See... Retrieved on 26th February 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/brandnewday/archives/2005/07/grand_theft_aut.html

No Author. BBC. (2005). GTA sex scandal hits Australia . Retrieved on 20th February 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4728261.stm

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