Game settings

Game Settings
Within every game there are settings which can be adjusted which allow the game to become unique and specific to each player. There are different characteristic setting within a game; these are physical, temporal, environmental, emotional, and ethical settings.

Physical Setting
Physical settings in a video game is the current story mode and position you are in the game. For example, if you were to play a horror game such as Outlast, the physical setting would be dark and scary; this encourages the player to become more immersed in the game. Moreover, the physical setting an adventure game would be bright and colourful scenes. In order to attract gamers and allow them to engage more with the game, game designers will use an appropriate setting for the game so that it matches the genre of the game.

(Game play of Outlast)

Temporal Setting
Temporal settings is the time in which the game is set. This is a very important aspect to a game and must be considered in order for the game to be set in the correct time period. An example of a game which uses temporal settings is Assassins Creed. This game effectively uses temporal settings to portray that it is set up in the 1800s by showing the old designs of buildings and what transportation people used to use, such as horses and carriages. Another example is Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. This game conveys a futuristic battlefield through the introduction of advanced equipment such as invisibility cloaks and jet-packs.

(Assassins Creed: Brotherhood)

Environmental Setting
Environmental settings are the settings in the game which affects the weather conditions. An example of an effective use of environmental settings is in horror games. Horror games constantly use a dark, rainy and stormy scene in order to make the player become frightened. However, an adventure game for example will show bright and sunny scenes. Moreover, there are games which can even allow you to alter the weather conditions. For example, FIFA gives you the ability to change the weather to whatever the player prefers. The conditions in a game can determine the outcome of certain things, for example in FIFA, if the weather is rainy then the ball becomes more slippery in comparison to dry weather conditions.

(FIFA game play in Snow)

Emotional Setting
Emotional settings are used in video games in order for the player to see what the main character is feeling as they progress through the game. It is relatively important for game designers to allow there to be an emotional bond between the player and the main character, this is because as the bond becomes stronger between the two, this encourages the player to keep on progressing through the game. For example, in The Last of Us video game, the connection between Joel and Ellie makes the player feel sorry for them as they only have each other to survive.

Ethical Setting
Ethical settings are important in video games as it encourages people to do things within the game. For example, in Assassins Creed, you are motivated use your character's parkour abilities to climb large buildings in order to get to your destination much faster. Moreover, the game must be designed to ethically match the age rating of the game. For example, if the game is rated 7+, there cannot be any extreme violence, swearing or sexual content. The dangers of not making the game suitable for the selected audience is that young kids may become influenced from such a young age towards violence.