TIPS FOR IMAGE ANALYSIS:

It will probably be easier if you pick an image from a game that you know something about (but it's ok to use this as an opportunity to learn about videogames in general if you're new to them, or to look at a kind of game that you're curious about.) If you have a question or an area of research in mind, you can pick a game/image that fits.


Wherever possible, include a copy of the text with your analysis of it, noting any significant shortcomings of the copy. You can just include a URL/weblink if it's online, or attach/send a graphics file to me. It's easy to capture an image from the Web (on PC, right-click and save as; then you can open it in your image viewer and probably zoom in on parts of interest [I forget how on a Mac, hold down button? someone remind me]).


Just about anyplace that has magazines will have a couple on videogames, and that's a good source for ads in particular. Here's some places online to find images and some samples (let me know if you know others):

archive: http://www.gamegirlz.com/screenshots/

sample i analyzed here: http://www.gamegirlz.com/screenshots/hellforces/hellforces002.jpg

eg ghostrider (too lo rez? ) http://www.1up.com/do/slideshow?pager.offset=0&mt=0&cId=3142009&mId=3005509

project eden http://www.gamegirlz.com/screenshots/eden/eden04.jpg

bladestorm http://www.1up.com/do/slideshow?pager.offset=0&mt=0&cId=3148395&mId=3163003

virtual fighter http://www.1up.com/do/media?cId=3150467&sec=IMAGES


It's hard to say how much prewriting is enough. I'd say 40 min is absolute minimum. If you run out of what to say, it may be that your image is too simple; you can look for a more comp[lex/interresting one, or bring in associated images, such as the setting or other characters). You want to keep going as long as it's generative (any maybe even fun?), that is, that you're discovering new aspects. The finished paper will be about 4 pages (1000 words).  I try out the semiotic questions below here if you want to see a sample.

I have selected what seem like the most useful questions from the master list http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/ (the most general/ less technical ones first; you can further pick and choose thge ones that seem most that generate the most and most interesting observations. You can also ignore jargon shifts, like signifier vs symbol: they're all just bits of the image that have meaning):

1. Why did you choose this image? (This will help us understand your interest, purpose and point of view)

2. Does the game have a [back-]story or plot? Does the story itself matter? Is it creative or recycled?

3. To which class of paradigms (medium; genre; theme) does the whole text belong? (in semiotics, "text" is just a fancy word for whatever object you're trying to "read"). Does it allude to other or mix genres?

4. What is the system within which these signs make sense? (this is in some senses a similar question to 3, but here we are more concerned with culture (or maybe even sub-cultures, like skateboarders or Goths). You might also get at the same idea by considering who has or could potentially NOT understand how to read the signs "correctly).

5. What kind of power is represented? How is power valued? Who has it? (do they hold it legitimately? By what means did they get it?)

6. Why do you think each signifier (that is, a part of the overall image that can make sense on its own: a star, a color, a gun; maybe think of it as a letter that combines to make words) was chosen from the possible alternatives within the same paradigm set? What values does the choice of each particular signifier connote?

7. What tropes (e.g. metaphors and symbols) are involved? How are they used to influence the preferred reading? Do any of them have multiple possible meanings? Is there any group that would prefer/see one over another? Is that important, and why? Have you seen any of these symbols used elsewhere? Used the same or differently? How do these reflect or reject cultural values? Who is the game targeted to? Who or what are excluded/absent?

8. What references are made to an everyday experiential world?

9. To whom might it appear realistic?

10. How might a change of medium affect the meanings generated? For example, what if the same material were put into a movie, a novel, a comic book etc

11. What signifiers from the same paradigm set are noticeably absent?

What contrasted pairs seem to be involved (e.g. nature/culture)?

Which of those in each pairing seems to be the 'marked' category?

Is there a central opposition in the text?

Apply the commutation test in order to identify distinctive signifiers and to define their significance. This involves an imagined substitution of one signifier for another of your own, and assessing the effect.

12. What other strategies might you need to employ to balance any shortcomings of your analysis?