This is a document that covers media language, representations, industries and audiences of Tomb Raider in detail. I used these notes as revision for my A Level exams in Summer 2023 and I hope it will be as useful to you as it was to me!
Semiotics: how images convey cultural meanings
- Weapons → Denotation - weapon / Connotations - danger and combat
- Gold → Connotations - luxury, winning, prize, wealth, success, the
achievement of character, treasure etc. - hints at the aim/goal of the game -
Guns → Prop - positioned casually which represents her as
confident/skilled/calm in the face of danger.
- Indexical sign - signifies peril/threat/danger
- Hair → Functional and practical but also "looks nice“
- Background → Connotes mystery, don't know what to expect, suggest the
game will be full of twists
- Low-key lighting → Suggests game will be tense/full of suspense + mystery -
combined with dark background
- Camera shot → Almost full-body/long shot - cuts of legs suggesting they are
not as important as bottom/breasts despite the vital role they play in the
activity of the game
- Camera angle → Positioned lower than Lara Croft, gazing down on the
audience, presenting her as dominant and powerful
- HOWEVER, she is presented in such a fashion that invites the audience to sexualise her
& presents her as an object of the male gaze
- Typography → Regal and precious - links to use of gold / Sharp - suggests
weapons/violence with game / intertextual reference to star wars?
- Direct Address → Paired with use of subtle smile - invites to buy, play the
game and go on the mission with her / Invites audience to sexualise her
(Ferguson)
- Ancient writing → Hermeneutic Code - What does it mean? Is it code for
something? What role does it play in the game?
- Rule of thirds → Points of interest = breasts/hips with title in between -
drawing attention, sexualising her: the object of the MALE GAZE - enhanced
by costume
Building on the semiotic analysis, consider the way the gameplay works through
narrative codes to construct narratives of adventure and enigma for the character.
Enigma - hermeneutic - codes:
- Music becomes tenser & grows louder + sound effects - where are they coming from?
Levers - what happens if it is pulled?
- Booby traps/obstacles - what are they trying to stop us from reaching?
- Collectable objects e.g. a cog - why is it there? What is it for? What will it be used for?
, - Crumbling rocks/broken bridges/paths etc. - why are they like that?
- Monsters/animals etc. - why are they attacking her? - Each new chamber
contains → some form of enigma in terms of a puzzle that LC must solve
Action - proairetic - Codes:
- Character running + jumping
- Pushing objects
- Pulling guns out of the holster
- Climbing on ledges/up ladders/ropes/posts
- Swinging on ropes
- entering the tomb location → indicates a rise in tension, signal something
about to happen
- running into the chamber → with a large mask on the floor, LC is faced with
many exits, indicates a choice
Analyse the way the video game’s artwork conforms to particular styles of fantasy and
hyperrealism and how this might link to narrative and audience/ Postmodernism.
You can argue that the Lara Croft game is postmodernism because the game:
- Creates a simulation of reality by using a variety of simulacra
- Uses intertextual references to construct its identity
- Includes 'reality' breaking hits (such as telling you to press a certain button during
tutorials) and breaks any suspension of disbelief purposefully
Simulation is apparent because:
- One plays in an environment that includes supernatural creatures - Play as a human
- The in-game world affects your character and your character is affected by the in-game
world (e.g. it can kill you, you can destroy parts of it)
- Your input as a player is represented onscreen - You view the world from the
perspective of your character
- Representation of supernatural creatures: the dinosaurs are based strongly on other
media representations (e.g. Jurassic Park)
- Sense of preservation for the planet becomes a goal, despite it being a simulated
presence
- The constant act of killing is presented as normal (desensitisation) cf everything we have
discussed about brain function & effects with Metroid
Intertextuality is apparent within:
- multiple references to Indiana Jones (e.g. the tombs)
- Aeon flux was a major influence for both Lara's design and the fighting style of the
character
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