Maaz Zakir

 Your full name Your instructor’s name The name of the course or class The assignment’s due date Media Analysis of Horizon Zero Dawn We are going to analyze a videogame known as Horizon Zero Dawn, which is considered the best critically acclaimed game of 2017. The creators tried their fullest to make a game that was tailored for everyone, as in opposition many recent games are trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator making the games more simplistic, yet Horizon is quite a complicated game that has paved a path to knowledge that is enjoyable to learn (Donaldson). Horizon Zero Dawn is a videogame that is exclusively available for PlayStation 4 console. It was created by Guerrilla Games which was not a major studio in the market at that time; however, it was changed after the release of Horizon. Mathijs de Jong was chosen as the leading director, and by 2011 production was commenced, while on a worrisome note it was being considered as a huge gamble. The game engine of choice was Decima, although it was modified in various ways to be compatible with the project. Moreover, the soundtrack was a collaboration between the talented music composers Joriss de Man and The Flight. The official release was declared at E3 (Sony's press release) in 2015, although this was no surprise as the concept art had already been leaked in late October of the year before. The Horizon was finally released at the start of the year 2017, although it was expected to hit the shelves earlier in the latter half of 2016, and by the end of February, it was accessible globally. Furthermore, the complete version with all the downloadable content was available by November of the same year. Guerrilla Games is a game development studio based in the Netherlands, in the city of Amsterdam. The company was previously called Lost Cause Games and was a small scale one. But in 2003 three studios of the same country merged, namely Formula Game Development, Digital Infinity, and Orange Games, hence the Guerrilla Games were founded. They use a closed sourced game engine made specifically for the use within the company. By the way, the game engine for a video game is like what a canvas is to a painting ("Lost Boys And Sony Hook Up For PS2 - IGN"). The genres it belongs to are, role-playing, open-world, third-person, action, and adventure. In the role-playing games also known as RPGs, you are a character in the game and must follow the storyline of that particular character, although in Horizon there are several choices sprinkled through the game that affect the conclusion, so in some way you are part of the character. The best RPGs generally managed to have a superb story or breathtaking gameplay, but Horizon manages to find a balance in achieving both ends of the spectrum. An open-world game is when the player is allowed to roam the world freely, but the world should be interesting enough to be explored and for that Horizon features hundreds of sided quest in an absolutely massive and dynamic world which does not feel repetitive whatsoever. Third-person is just the perspective a user plays from like the first person is viewing the world through the eyes of the character and the third person is more similar to a camera following the character. While, second person games are rare, as they are considered too confusing as the game is through the perspective of another character within the game. Due to the mystery loaming throughout the game about the reasoning behind the shape of the world it is considered an adventure game with plenty of fighting in between satisfying the action part. The most well-received part about the game is the story behind its setting and equally impressive execution. The world has seen after a millennium in the future, yet humanity has returned to its savage ways. ‘Machines’, are robotic creatures that inhabit the world they look and act like animals as more specifically they aesthetically resemble dinosaurs. People are now grouped into three tribes, Carja, Nora and Oserum. The technological advancement of the past humans is futuristic and people in the current timeline refer to them as the old ones. They live by somewhat making use of the advanced technology in a rather brute manner, while they hunt machines for parts, and that is their lifestyle. The world is huge and extremely varied throughout the places and the three tribes live amid the different landscapes far apart from each other as they harbor animosity amongst them. The hot, dry mountainous deserts are settled by the Carja tribe who are considered as ‘the builders’. Their culture is inspired by ancient Egyptians, as they worship the sun and similarly believe that their rulers are divine. Their part of the map holds huge castles, passes, and cities as they are considered the builders while their buildings resemble more of medieval Europe rather than the Egyptians. The overall theme is red and gold for them, as it is present in there clothes and buildings. Nora tribes live in the snowy cold as well as the lush greenery of the jungle, their ways resembling the tribes of the African rain forest. The worship spirits, harboring a fear of the outside world while having a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, with numerous rituals to please the spirits. These people live in small villages, with huts and sheds, they are considered as the 'warriors'. And they are least civilized compared to our modern civilization, also their color theme is blue and brown. Oserums live in the coldest parts of the world where they are heavily inspired by the Vikings. Though they lack ships, they have similar armor and facial hair, while living in small towns consisting of houses, unlike the Carja who like in giant castles and cities. Oserum is considered as 'the Smiths' and their theme is yellow and white. The protagonist we play as is Aloy, who is seen as a motherless child, who is outcasted by her tribe, Nora. As they believe her to be some kind of a curse to this world, she does not particularly believe in all the traditions of Nora, in fact, she hates her tribe's ways that abandoned her. Alloy is widely considered as the perfect female character, due to her wit, agility, and strength. The story revolves around the mystery behind the origins of Aloy, which is intertwined by the secret behind the world turning out as it does. Now let's take a look at the theme and message that are prevalent throughout the story. I have found three of them to be most worthy of discussing, namely, Feminism, Threats of technological advancements, and Superstitions. Feminism is a strong theme in this media, as the lead character is female, although it is not that unusual in today's world if we consider it at face value. But we have to keep in mind the video game audience is predominantly male so, an only female lead seems a bit un-relatable, so the female leads that do make are used in various ways to compensate, by overly sexualizing the female character or the brand is forcibly trying to insert a female character to have a better image. In the latter case, the sales are bad, but while talking about for, Aloy is the perfect character the way she is in her narrative. She is exceptional in physical abilities as well as possessing an enviable intelligence due to her outcast past, not for the sake of the plot. Throughout the series, she is sometimes treated as a woman although not in a bad way, but as an homage to her strong feminine quality rather than being undermined. On top of that, she is not depicted as a forcibly 'awe-inspiring' person or overly sexualized eye candy, on the contrary Aloy is a strong independent, person who is better at the most thing than most (Brusuelas). The main antagonist is an artificial intelligence named Hades, which is determinant to reset the world, through manipulation and power. Hades is programmed by a human, a product of human greed as discovered in the past of the era. A money-loving businessman uses a technology of the world's leading scientist, to execute the creation of machines that are self-sustainable and against humans. This gives light to an often under looked subject, that with the technology that the human race possesses they, might become the reason for their own downfall. So, awareness spreads and there are more regulations especially concerning artificial intelligence. And this is not just limited to the artificial intelligence, we currently hold the power to destroy all life on earth, if there is a big enough conflict, by that I am referring to nuclear weapons. We should push the people in power to for the dismantling of every nuclear weapon the face of the earth, to eliminate the risk of being subjected to the near or total extinction, because no matter how massive the issue is, we cannot endanger innocent lives, or any life for this matter. And the last notable theme is related to the superstitions created by humans, which hinders their way for a better future. As seen in the case of Nora tribe, that is in the bad conditions they are living in, because they are left behind as the other two tribes understand the technology much better. In the meantime, Nora's tribe's religious beliefs see the ancient structures of the old ones as cursed. In the story, there is a small fraction of Carjas that is essentially a cult that is a plague to their world, but interesting thing is that nowhere in the story, the whole of the Carjas are antagonized for it. This gives a powerful message for not blaming a whole group of people for the actions committed by some. Noras had always segregated Aloy and her guardian Ross, with nobody speaking to them. And even a kid stoned young Aloy. But when we see side quest many of the same Noras are asking for her help in their critical times when they need it. Yet, Aloy protects the very people that wanted her dead, for example, the boy that stoned her when she was but a child. Also, when a ‘corruptor’ with a giant swarm of machines attacked Nora’s sacred land, she was there to protect the people even though she could easily escape. Not just because she had a big heart, but for the reason that these people did not know any better, they had lived their whole life in ignorance, and Aloy teaches them one by one such that they do not be afraid of her by helping them. This is a commendable outlook on life that we should all learn from, as when we are in the position of strength we can hurt others and make them enemies for the rest of our lives. Or we can just forgive them, if they did not know any better, so that they will have true respect for the person who forgave them even when that person could exact his revenge. Works Cited Donaldson, Alex. "Horizon Zero Dawn Appears To Be A Proper Rpg And An Exciting One". VG247, 2016, https://www.vg247.com/2016/06/27/horizon-zero-dawn-appears-to-be-a-proper-rpg-and-an-exciting-one/. Accessed 16 Feb 2020. "Lost Boys And Sony Hook Up For PS2 - IGN". IGN, 2000, https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/09/01/lost-boys-and-sony-hook-up-for-ps2/. Accessed 16 Feb 2020. Brusuelas, Candice. "Why Horizon: Zero Dawn Is A Breakthrough In Feminist Gaming". Medium, 2018, https://medium.com/@cbrucewillis/why-horizon-zero-dawn-is-a-breakthrough-in-feminist-gaming-4164a1b6ed7e. Accessed 16 Feb 2020. Svensson, Tova. "Cultural Appropriation in Games: A Comparative Study Between Far Cry 3 (2012), Overwatch (2016) and Horizon Zero Dawn (2017)." (2017). Gasher, Mike, Rowland Lorimer, and David Skinner. Mass communication in Canada. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2012. Ferreira, Becky. "'Horizon Zero Dawn' Might Make You Actually Yearn For A Post-Post-Apocalyptic Earth". Vice, 2017, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d757yy/horizon-zero-dawn-might-make-you-actually-yearn-for-a-post-post-apocalyptic-earth. Accessed 16 Feb 2020.