Game Case Study: Max Payne

Game Case Study: Max Payne

In Max Payne, above the rough-and-tumble squalor of the city float billboards for the mysterious Aesir Corporation, with its logo (the R in AESIR has a little wing on it) and its slogan, "A bit closer to Heaven."

At first, the billboards have the emotional quality of taunting residents of the city by reminding them of class distinctions. After Max (played by you) discovers that the Aesir Corporation is responsible both for the city's decrepit condition and the murder of Max's wife and child, the logo and slogan are now associated with the enemy. And, when Max triumphs in the end and finally attains some inner peace, he adopts the slogan "A bit closer to Heaven" as his own. The phrase now is associated with transcendence.

If you played the game and this symbol only made you think about these associations, it was, to a great degree, unsuccessful (although still a wonderfully bold and inventive attempt at creating Plot Deepening). But, whether or not it made you think about the associations, if it evoked in you a variety of emotions that accompanied these different associations, then it was successful.

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Creating Emotion in Games. The Craft and Art of Emotioneering
Creating Emotion in Games: The Craft and Art of Emotioneering
ISBN: 1592730078
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 394

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