At first glance, each of the original Metroid titles tell the same story. Bounty hunter Samus Aran is contracted by the Galactic Federation to investigate an alien threat. Isolated in an alien world, she fights for survival as she explores seemingly endless interconnected labyrinths. Obviously, these are not the same games, but why? The answer, as I will explore, comes from how the game allows the player to play. Though each of the games looks nearly identical–even the 8-bit NES version draws from the same inspiration—and the formula untouched, each game\u00a0feels<\/em> different.<\/p>\n

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(Perhaps analyze the visual and audio differences here)<\/p>\n

When it comes to analyzing the rhetoric of games, one must explore beyond the visual, auditory, and textual aspects of the medium. Video games are unique in that they convey themselves to the player through the act of play. As Bogost points out, the imagined systems the player inhabits are explored procedurally “by imposing sets of rules that create particular possibility spaces for play”. In a sense, the freedom of play is defined and facilitated by the rules and restrictions that create the play space. Understanding games as a system of rules is what Jasper Juul\u2013\u2013and many other game scholars\u2013\u00ad\u2013calls a formal system. This formal system is the structure that game developers create, and it serves as the bones for gameplay. But, the formal system is essentially a dead space until it is interacted with by the player.<\/p>\n

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But what exactly is the space of play? According to Huzinga, “The space of possibility of a game is a plane stretched between two anchorage points: the beginning and the end of the game….In a well-designed game that supports meaningful play, this journey between points should be taut and efficient, with every element contributing directly or indirectly to the larger experience” (chapter 20 p9). Super Metroid drops the player into its world, and with almost no direction, and free range to explore. Through procedural play, the player can become quickly assimilated with the games rules and figure out a general idea of where to go through hints from the formal system of the game. Meaningful play arises from exploring unknown territory, finding insurmountable obstacles, continued exploring, finding items, and returning with the items to progress. At its core Super Metroid is an adventure game, not unlike it’s predecessor\u00a0Adventure\u00a0<\/em>for the Atari 2600. (Insert picture of Adventure).<\/p>\n

Horror is a tone aspired for in each title, but the way it is conveyed varies. In Understanding Video Games as Emotional Experiences,\u00a0<\/em>Aki Jarvinen Identifies the ways in which game systems ellicit emotions from the player. This is in part because the outcome of play is unknown to the player, creating tension.<\/p>\n

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