As I have been developing aesthetics over the past couple weeks in relation to aesthetics in games, I will be analysing the aesthetic with three concepts in mind: nostalgia, marketing and cultural capital.
Aesthetics are a huge part of the game play experience. If the game doesn’t look appealing, then players won’t want to play even if the game has a great game goal and rules (Boller, 2014).
Feedback and Analytical Framework
Feedback from my classmate led me to re-think my whole Digital Artefact. As I was originally going to create an aesthetic on Instagram, I shifted my idea onto Pinterest. Utilising Pinterest was one of the best decisions I made as it allows me to re-pin photos, giving full credit to the original source.
My tutor stated feedback. Both of the comments given to me a couple weeks ago, truly influenced me to adapt my analytical framework. I was able to extend my research by creating two of my own aesthetics.
My first aesthetic involved a take on the glam aesthetic and the second involves the use of aesthetics in games. Aesthetics are seen everywhere in games. Retro raster games are most easily recognised by their big chunky pixels, from a time when screen resolutions were much lower (Batrack, 2013). In today’s world of HD screens and Retina displays, the physical pixels on our devices are barely visible.
I analysed the game aesthetic with three concepts in mind. These helped me break down the effect of aesthetics in games as the topic was extremely broad and I was struggling where to begin.
Cultural Capital
Regarding Cultural Capital, I have been able to look behind the influence of game aesthetics involving secondary research on Jenova Chen, who is the creative director of Journey, an indie adventure game. I was able to recognise how Chen admitted that his emotional struggles was inspiration behind the game design, specifically the snow sequence that immediately precedes the games conclusion. The game is mysterious and beautiful, highlighting his own personal experiences. I was able to grasp this concept as my motives influenced the way I created my own aesthetic and how I can relate to it.
Marketing
Researching this topic, specifically marketing and game aesthetics, was extremely interesting and something I can use in my future career. This source link allowed me to have better understanding of traditional art techniques, and video game aesthetics, as states it will lead to richer gaming experiences, and may require a rethinking of established studio structures and the collaborative roles of game designers and artists. (Solarski, 2013).
Nostalgia
“Video game nostalgia, however, like fashion, is a means for individuals to negotiate their identity within carefully manufactured contexts as to appear outside of the mainstream, but is in fact just another level of consumption,” (Moore, 2021). It was interesting to learn how the games industry capitalises on nostalgia. A comment by a follower indicated a photo I have saved to my gaming aesthetic brought back childhood memories. “Nostalgia emerging from re-experiencing these games might also come with a particular kind of meaningfulness,” (Wulf et al, 2018).
Finally
Although I’m far from a gamer, I had so much fun learning about game aesthetics and re-visiting memories of my childhood.
References
Batrack, C. 2013, Going Old School: Making Games With a Retro Aesthetic, Game Development Envato Tuts+, viewed 20th October 2021, <https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/articles/going-old-school-making-games-with-a-retro-aesthetic–gamedev-3567>.
Boller, S 2014, The Importance of Aesthetics in Serious Games, Knowledge Guru, viewed 26 October 2021, <http://www.theknowledgeguru.com/the-importance-of-aesthetics-in-serious-games/>.
Moore, Christopher. Nostalgia (Retrogames and Indie Game Design). BCM214, Game Media, University of Wollongong, November 1st, 2020. Accessed 5th October 2021.
Solarski, C 2013, The Aesthetics of Game Art and Game Design, Gamasutra.com, viewed 26 October 2021, <https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/185676/the_aesthetics_of_game_art_and_.php>.
Wulf, T, Bowman, ND, Rieger, D, Velez, JA & Breuer, J 2018, ‘Running Head: Video Game Nostalgia and Retro Gaming’, Media and communication (Lisboa), vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 60–68, viewed 23rd October 2021.
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