Assignment 1

1. Assignment 1 Postmortem

2. Formatting Titles • Specific game titles would be italicized (Halo 3) • Game series would not be italicized (the Halo series) • Trailer title would be italicized (Halo 3 Believe TV Spot) • It has to be exactly what is on the page, even if it seems extraneous: • Hello Kitty Adventure Island BANNED UNCUT GDC10 [HD] Please Rate • Web, newspaper, or magazine article titleswould not be italicized, just quoted (“New Halo 3 Commercial – Believe”)

3. Who v. that • Relative pronouns are words that refer to nouns with added information. • WHO is for people and personified beings • The character who was in the jeep, jumped out and immediately began dancing. • My dog Spot, who loves to play fetch, can’t wait to go to the park. • THAT is for everything else. • The game that I was playing sucks.

4. Second Person (or blame English) • First person = I/we/me/us • Pros: personal, connected, first-hand account • Cons: limited, lessens the authority to one, subjective • Second person = you/you/you/you • Cons: simultaneously excludes the writer while also suffering 1st/3rd person cons. • Third person = she/they/her/them • Pros: Objective, authoritative, “truthiness” • Cons: Distancing, might turn into passive voice

5. Pathos • Pathos = emotion. • Displaying emotion to evoke emotion. • The anguish on the character’s face • The children’s laughter • Using patterns we have learned are emotional to evoke emotion. • The dissonant moan from the cello creates unease • The camera speed slows to a crawl building anticipation “The commercial appeals to the audience’s emotions.” This is an ok lede/topic sentence, but it isn’t a descriptive analysis. You should actually explain the specific emotion. • The commercial uses emotional appeals to evoke sadness/happiness/anger

6. Plutchik’s Human Emotion wheel Plutchik, R. (1980). A general psychoevolutionary theory of emotion. In R. Plutchik & H. Kellerman (Eds.), Emotion: Theory, research, and experience: Vol. 1. Theories of emotion (pp. 3-33). New York: Academic.

7. Ethos • Ethos = character. Even though we say “ethical appeal,” we aren’t talking morality (it’s confusing because morality could be a part of it). • Displaying authority, knowledge and expertise. • The fluid character movements demonstrated painstaking detail • The camera angles shifted in tempo with the music • Respect for the audience. • Master Chief’s iconic armor • Credibility • Trustworthiness of Ubisoft’s brand • Invoked character in the audience • Only one person can save the world… “The producer (or writer) displays a clear ethos.” This is an ok lede/topic sentence, but it isn’t a descriptive analysis. You should actually explain the authority and credibility apparent in the advertisement. • The producer expertly establishes ethos through X, Y, and Z.

8. Logos • Logos = logic, or more specifically, reasoning. • Facts, words, declarations • Voted best of E3 • Comparisons, Background, Forecast • From the makers of 2006’s blockbuster smash hit • Unlike anything you have seen before • Direct evidence • Players are shown manipulating the characters on the screen • Gameplay footage is the cornerstone of the trailer

9. The Purpose is KEY! • The writer uses logos, ethos, and pathos to appeal to the audience to accomplish his or her purpose. Logos, ethos and pathos are rhetorical strategies. • THUS: If the purpose of the commercial, trailer, advertisement is to increase awareness OR sell the game… HOW DOES THE USE OF THESE RHETORICAL STRATEGIES ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL (or, if the trailer makes me cry, why would I want to associate crying and sadness with a game that is supposed to be fun?)

10. Miscellany • Player is the person behind the controller/keyboard • Character or avatar is the graphical representation on the screen • Gameplay is one word (you can hyphenate it if you want: game-play). • “I watched the game play.” <- that’s why • Unfortunately, video game is two words.