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Video Game Fans as Textual Poachers
By Bobby Bokista - 01.01.05
Textual Poachers
EarthBound is a "Role Playing Game" (a genre also known as RPG) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The basic elements of an RPG put a hero or a group of heroes on a quest whereby some derivative of a menu system is used to fight battles in which victories lead to improved statistics for the characters. Like a number of other genres, RPGs are usually heavily narrative driven and require the player to explore an environment littered with enemies as they become more powerful.8 EarthBound stands out from its peers because of its unique style. Many of its merits are derived from this non-traditional design. Most games in the RPG genre are set in medieval or fantasy worlds very different from our own, where swords are the weapon of choice and magic is used by good and evil alike. EarthBound breaks these standard conventions by choosing modern towns accented with arcades, libraries, department stores, skyscrapers, and hospitals while the characters use non-traditional weapons and magic. One character uses standard elemental spells like fire and ice, but others can induce crying, summon the strengths of their "favorite thing" (which you can choose at the beginning of the game), and control the power of the heavens. Weapons include baseball bats, yo-yo's, frying pans, bottle rockets, and oddities like "Insecticide Spray".9 Enemies range from rabid house pets and fire hydrants to gang members on pogo-sticks and melting Salvador Dali clocks. The story follows a young boy on a journey to save the world. He meets three friends-a girl, a young inventor, and the prince of a Buddhist-like country-who help him along the way. The characters travel through many different lands representing a variety of cultures and regions.
Henry Jenkins wrote that "fans have chosen these media products from the total range of available texts precisely because they seem to hold special potential as vehicles for expressing fans' pre-existing social commitments and cultural interest." Video games are heavily polysemic texts. Players can make meaning from the gameplay, the story, overarching themes, the genre, both opposing characters, the environments, and many other basics of video game design. There are definitely people who will not understand the allure of EarthBound, but if the player is open they will most likely find something that connects in some way to their interests. The polysemic nature of the game's core elements not only contributes to its distinct style, but expands the possible associations a player might make to the material. Popular culture, like video games, was characterized by Pierre Bourdieu as the "desire to enter into the game, identifying with the character's joys and sufferings, worrying about their fate, espousing their hopes and ideals, living their lives."10 Fan involvement with the game is represented through the fan fictions, artwork, music, in addition to a number of other forms of cultural-output on the fan website Starmen.net.
8 A more detailed explanation of the RPG genre can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_role-playing_game
9 A similar overview of the game was also used in another project of mine, EarthBound as Collage"
10Jenkins. Textual Poachers 60
Home •
Introduction •
Studying as a Fan •
Textual Poaching •
EarthBound •
Forming a Community •
What Poachers Make •
The Perfect Poach / Conclusion
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