Task 3: Product and Audience

Grand Theft Auto 4

Media products interact with people in 4 different ways according to media theorist Dennis McQuail. These are some of the ways in which the Product Grand Theft Auto 4 interacts with its consumers.

Information – The game portrays real world events and themes such as crime, authority, social status and power, racism and relationships. It also adds morals to the multi narrative story by showing themes of betrayal, trust and family.

Entertainment – The game enables the users to become distracted from their problems by entering a new world which represents their own. Because the game is based around reality the players can do things that they are not allowed to do in real life therefore giving them a sense of freedom and enabling them to immerse into a world of their own. Not only does this let the players forget about their problems but it gives them emotional release as well due to the fact that they are able to create mass destruction, ride in vehicles and do many more things in which they may not be able to do in real life.

Personal identity – The game is portrayed through the eyes of Nikko Bellic, an immigrant who has been through a lot and is very low class and status. Throughout the story the character works his way up from very low class, living in the suburbs with scruffy clothes, to a very high class living in the city wearing suits and other smart clothes. This shows the audience the struggles of being in different classes and by moving through different classes throughout the game, the product is able to speak to all of its audience who will be in one of those classes.

Social Integration – Grand Theft Auto 4 has a multiplayer mode in which the players can go online with other people, such as their friends or they can choose to play with random people. This enables the users to enjoy the game with others. This links to the narrative of the game in the way you meet random people and can choose to help or not help them, in the same way you can do this online with people you meet/play the game with.

Audience Uses and Grati fi cati ons

Target AudienceThe target audience for the product “Grand Theft Auto 4” I would say is over 16 males due to the amount of violence in the game as well as pictures of promiscuous women on the cover and in the actual game make it more appealing to your typical teenage male. Even though the game age rating is set as an 18+, it is quite easy for people under that age to purchase the game for them. By putting the target audience into a “bull's-eye” form I can show my understanding of the main target audience for this product.

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Teenagers16-19

The story follows the immigrant Niko Bellic who moves to “Liberty City” (the games portrayal of New York) to visit his cousin. Nikko's cousin pretends he is very rich and is at the top of the social ladder, but when Niko arrives he is disappointed and finds out he is living in a dirty room and also discovers his cousin is being pushed around by people. In the game Niko end’s up fighting his cousins battles which attracts a lot of attention from higher class criminals which either help him or hurt him. The Narrative shows various themes such as betrayal, money, power, love and more that the audience can all relate to in some way therefore being able to empathise for the characters in the story making it feel more like the game player is watching a movie, therefore making it more appealing to the audience as they are in contol of the main character of this Hollywood movie like game.

Narrative Structure – The story follows a linear multi narrative, encountering manydifferent characters. Throughout the story you come across options between killingsomeone or letting them live, by making these decisions the narrative changes either quickly or later on in the story. This adds a twist to the game that makes it more attractive to people who follow the stories on games.

Narrati ve

The mise en scene signifies the main difference between the social classes of the overall game. For example on the first two islands that the game begins in, the buildings are quite grubby and dirty and people are wearing scruffy clothes. This contrasts the third and fourth islands which have skyscraper buildings and people wearing suits and carrying briefcases which symbolizes the difference in class. This appeals to the audience as it gives them different perspectives of the games world, which adds interest to the game play, rather than having all places the same.

Another detail that Grand Theft Auto contains is the costumes of authorities within the game to portray reality. Authorities such as Police, Firemen, Medics, Lawyers etc all have significant clothing in order to symbolize their role in authority. This creates a realistic feel towards the game, which compliments the opposing feel of being in a movie. This works by enticing the users with things they can relate to making them feel like they are in the real world, whilst adding elements that they have seen but cannot fully relate to such as the use of weapons and fast cars, therefore making them feel like they are in a world where they can do what they want.

Mise En Scene

One of the unique things about the Grand Theft Auto series is Rockstars signature “free roam” format. This is not a feature in just this Grand Theft instalment but in all of the others as well. The free roam creates the ultimate feel of reality for the user of the product due to the fact that it enables them to do and go where they want when they want. This is the same for the “missions” that the user must complete to progress through the story. This is helpful as if the user does not want to do missions and simply wants to drive around or other antics they have freedom to do so. This makes the game more attractive for its target audience as teenagers can sometimes feel trapped by work, college work, problems etc. Therefore by giving them a feel of freedom they are able to use the game as an outlet.

Format

CameraThe game is shown from a 3rd person perspective. This creates a barrier between the gamer and the character they are playing. This is possibly done to remind the gamer that they are playing a game and are not actually doing the things on the game. This would be because there are a lot of graphic things that happen in the game. As well as this you can see the details on your character such as clothes bought, blood from fights and difference in facial hair etc which shows more detail to the game. When driving vehicles you can change the camera settings to behind the wheel, bonnet, cinematic or just the distance from the car. This helps the user adjust the camera settings to whatever they prefer attracting the target audience by deciding whether they want to drive realistically or unrealistically.

Editi ng During the game before a mission the user is usually shown a cut scene between the main character and whoever is relevant to the mission they are about to start. Sometimes this can differ from a phone call off a person on the game to a 10 minute scene between different characters. The cut scenes are used to inform the user of what is about to take place, show what the different characters are like and most of all build upon the overall story line. It is not uncommon in a Grand Theft Auto game to have a cut scene between characters that are just talking about their general interests rather than the matter at hand. These cut scenes give the game a “film” like theme in the way that they can sit back and watch parts of the narrative unfold, although once the scene is over they take control of what is happening once again. By creating a film like feel to the game it gives the users a chance to see the relationships between characters and watch the narrative unfold. Therefore this makes the game more interesting to the user.

Verbal ElementsWithin the game there are lots of different ways peoples voices are used. For an example nearly every main character has a different accent signifying the different parts of where they come from such as the main character, Nikko, has a Russian accent, his first girlfriend Michelle has a Californian accent etc. As well as this people voices can be heard when you move past them and their tone and emotion is communicated through this. If you drive near someone at a fast speed they will shout at you and sometimes even curse. Whereas walking past a hotdog stand activates the stand owner telling you to buy a hotdog in a happier, uplifting mood. This makes the game more realistic as these kind of things happen in real life, therefore by making the verbal elements within the game more realistic it makes it more entertaining for its users by making them feel like they are actually in the game.

Sound ElementsThere are a few different ways in which the sound elements of the game creates an overall atmosphere of reality.

The first is the radio when entering a vehicle, when entering a vehicle you can start to hear music playing which is the radio from the vehicle. The user can change the radio to a variety of stations that are built into the game which all play different genres of music. This feature compliments the “freedom” theme to the users therefore making them feel more into the game.

Another way in which sound is cleverly used is music playing in night clubs. As you walk past a night club you can hear a muffled sound of music, usually dance music, then as you walk inside the sound un muffles and becomes louder therefore making you feel as if you have actually just walked into a night club. This effect is also used with things such as walking past cars, radios etc.

One way that the game uses music in a slightly different way is the theme tune. A small extract from the theme tune is played after completing a mission. Even though this makes the game seem less realistic its actually adds to the dramatic effect of completing a mission therefore giving it that “movie” sort of effect in the same way the cut scenes work. This makes the game deeper and thus makes it more entertaining for the user.

One of the more detailed ways in which the user would never think about until it is gone, is the ambience of the overall game. When walking into a puddle, knocking someone over, drifting in a car and so many more examples all create some sort of noise. Referring back to the puddle example when stepping into a puddle on the game the user will hear a small splashing noise, simulating the effect of stepping into a puddle. These little details all combine to make one of the biggest elements in the game which is the sound.

In-Game AbilityOne of the main elements in which is the most attractive to the audience is the ability to perform actions in the game that the user simply could not in real life (without punishment). This means that the gamer can use vehicles at reckless speeds, use other vehicles that would require them vast amounts of training such as helicopters, motorbikes, boats, cars etc. The player can also use weapons to damage or kill nearly anyone in the game, even themselves. As gruesome as it may sound the outcome of these actions on the game may be found as quite comical and enjoyable. This is due to the fact that it gives the gamer a sense of freedom and adrenaline, without actually going out and performing these actions in real life.

Conclusion In conclusion the game is attractive to its target audience by creating an exciting fantasy movie-like experience for them. This is done by combining normal everyday things that the audience can relate to, and abnormal, action movie-like elements such as guns, seductive women, fast cars, explosions etc. This creates a world in which the typical male gamer target audience can relate to, and feel functional in, whilst at the same time release feelings and emotions in a way in which they cannot in real life. Whether it is adrenaline from wreck less driving to being chased by police, or flying a helicopter above the city to robbing the city bank on the story mode, the game is full of exciting and appealing outlets for the users.