P4 - Analysis of a Computer Game

Analysis of a Videogame

I will be analysing Fallout 4 as I am currently mainly playing that game and have a lot of hours put into it. There is a lot to the game therefore there is a lot to say. There is a decent narrative however I have not gotten into it that much therefore I will probably only mention the first part/ back story.

Analysis of the game - The graphics of this game are very good however some may say they are lacking compared to other newly released video games. The shadows are very good and the sky is basically a real picture of a sky. The view distance is very good and allows you to see very far. The character models are not as high quality as everything else but the clothes and accessories are pretty good quality. The texture quality is quite high but doesn't meet today's standards. The sound in the game is very high quality and is nice to listen to, it has a great soundtrack as well which depicts an old time 1950s world. The game is constructed well as it does not crash very much and although it has a few bugs it is completely playable. The only big issues the game has had are currently being fixed anyway. The story is rather short however it is very interesting and very critical when you have to pick sides you need to make these decisions to impact the game in different ways. The perspective is always from the main character and in the first person making the player more involved as they make choices.

Narrative Structure  - The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world in the year 2287 where war has ruined the world. The events that start the story are atomic bombs dropping over the United States, killing everyone who isn't underground in vaults. The main characters are the protagonist which can either be man or woman depending on who you choose, your son, Shaun who was kidnapped, Desdemona which is the Railroad faction leader, Arthur Maxson which is the Brotherhood of Steel faction leader, and Father (also known as Shaun) which is the leader of the Institute. The conflicts are that the Institute creates synthetic humans which look and sound no different from real humans but they kill people and will destroy society. The Railroad faction believes that the 'Synths' should be able to live their lives so they help them out by taking them to safe areas because they are being chased by Coursers who hunt down Synths that have ran away from the Institute, if they are caught they will likely be used as slaves. However they are against the Institute and want to take them down. The Brotherhood of Steel do not believe that Synths should exist and want to wipe out every known Synth ever created as they believe that robots were never meant to think for themselves, they are only meant to be controlled. Therefore both the Railroad and the Brotherhood want to take the Institute down however because the Brotherhood want to eliminate every Synth and the Railroad wants to save some of them, the Brotherhood want the Railroad to be taken down. As the main character faces the conflict, he/she must choose between the Brotherhood, the Railroad or the Institute to take the other factions down. The Brotherhood face the conflict that they must take down both the Railroad and the Institute so they must track them down and take them out, they even have a giant robot named Liberty Prime which they will use to destroy the institute(in the Fallout lore, this 40ft tall robot was used in the war against the Chinese communists in the Sino-American war of 2072, it was also used in Fallout 3 which was set in 2277 when the Brotherhood used it to take down the Enclave). The Railroad's conflicts are that they do not agree with the Brotherhood so they must take them down as well as requiring to take down the Institute but they do not have that much firepower to do it. The outcome of these different factions depends on which side the player chooses in the game, If the Brotherhood is chosen then both the Railroad and the Institute have to be taken down, I haven't played the game enough to see what happens when you choose the other factions and I do not want to spoil it. The ultimate impact on the characters is that they have to change the world as they see fit. 

The major conflict in the story is set up near the middle where you get into the Institute and realize that they may be good people as on the surface it seems that way, therefore your character must choose between the three sides depending on what you think is right, those ofcourse are the Institute, Brotherhood of Steel and the Railroad(I believe you can also side with the Minutemen which are more of a side faction who are trying to help survivors of the wasteland by clearing out raiders and creating save houses for innocent civilians to live and keep the population alive). The main characters are introduced at and near the beginning of the game, the main character who you play as is right at the start where you have to choose your character's sex, race and appearance in the mirror, Shaun is introduced at the beginning also, when you go into his room and see him in his cot. You meet Desdemona when you walk the freedom trail and figure out the code along the way to get into the underground safe house of the Railroad. You meet the Brotherhood near the beginning where you go to a police station where they are holed up at, later on after more main missions the rest of the Brotherhood move into the city on the Prydwen which is a giant airship that they use to travel. The story is moved on by the main characters finally figuring out how to enter the Institute by way of teleportation. Therefore they can finally take down the Institute or the Institute can take down everyone else, depends what path you choose. I chose the Brotherhood path so the major conflict on that path is set up near the end of the main story where with your help the Brotherhood finally fix Liberty Prime up for the final assault against the Institute. The major conflict is resolved towards the end where the Brotherhood takes out the Railroad so no-one is getting in their way to stop the Institute. The final major conflict on the Brotherhood path of the game is where you completely destroy the Institute's underground facility with help from the Brotherhood and Liberty Prime.

Representation of Characters - The main character you play as is just a normal person who lives in a town and has a job, the character is represented very positively, mainly because that is who you play as, however you can choose their behaviour when interacting with people. Father/Shaun is represented positively at first as he is just a child but later in the game he is an old man who is head of the Institute and has a very negative representation because of what all of the people say about the Institute. Arthur Maxson is represented as a great leader who is firm but fair and lives by his Brotherhood's code of honour. He does hate the Institute though and if any of his Brotherhood are Synths then he will want them dead no matter who they are. Desdemona is a strong female character who in charge of the Railroad and has a very positive representation as she helps out runaway Synths escape from the Institute. Overall, most of the characters are represented rather well and positively towards the main character and these characters are not really stereotypes at all, atleast not that I've noticed. 

Define the audience/Target demographic - The target demographic of Fallout 4 is definitely towards adult males, atleast over the age of 16 if not 18. The demographic is more for people who enjoy role playing games and first person shooters as it has a lot of those elements. Mainly targeted for those who enjoy action and adventure with blood, gore and violence. It can also be targeted to those who enjoy stealth as that is an option in the game. Also hardcore players as it has some very high difficulty settings. This game is also very much suited to those who have played the past Fallout games because there is a learning curve and new players may not understand the game mechanics that well and will likely end up dying more often or not getting anywhere.

How That Audience Is Addressed - That audience is addressed by giving them blood and guts and swearing and even some romance elements. Along with a lot of guns and an interesting storyline to keep you hooked on the game wondering how it will turn out depending on the faction you choose in the game. You can choose different styles you want to play as well such as you can be blasting everything in sight or you can be sneaky and stealthy avoiding combat at all costs, and that choice is good as it brings in more different types of players. You are also given a lot of the same things that the previous games had but they have also added more things to it and fixed some broken or unfinished mechanics to flesh the game out more.

Fallout 4 Genre Analysed - The genre definitely has changed over the years because Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics were all isometric turn-based shooter RPGs however Fallout 3,4 and New Vegas are all first person shooter RPGs which is a very big change in genre over a 15 year period. Changing perspective and combat elements make big differences that take a lot of work. The game also has a lot of shooter elements along with a very unique mechanic called VATS which you can use to slow down time to get better shots on enemies without having to actually aim, this is a big thing that is a lot more visual than the isometric Fallout games.