Media Meditation #1 (SSX3)

Before my roommate bought the new PS3, our favorite game to play at the apartment was SSX3 on PS2. Like FIFA, this game was also made by EA Games; only a few years before hand. Although this game defies reality on so many levels, the EA company shows a tendency in the games they create to attempt to make other aspects of the game realistic to draw the player in. This shows that they value reality construction in their games to get their customers to get the most entertainment possible out of their product. This is but one of the many relations this media platform has to our four media tool sets.

SSX 3 appeals to the players Triune Brain in many different ways. First it exercises the Neocortex because the player must use their thinking brain to press the right buttons to complete the level successfully. Next, the game influences the Limbic Brain because of the bright vivid colors used in the game to signify jumps and rails. The Limbic is also influenced by the poppy catchy soundtrack that is meant to be "riding music," to get the player hooked into the game. Finally the Reptillian Brain is impacted by the gravity defying stunts that the characters in the game are doing. Our instincts tell us it isn't possible and drops that we would think would kill the characters, not just possible, but necessary.

The game shows a strong technological shift in particular, relating to our tool set #2. The characters in the game access all their competitions and and free ride destinations through cellphone style devices called Encoms. There is also a strong presence of an aesthetic shift in the game. One example of this is the EA Big radio station within the game, which doubles as the soundtrack, but also has DJ commentary about the mountain and it's riders. This shows convergence of media within the game.

http://www.ea.com/