reflection: breasts & video games

April 1, 2010 at 2:57 pm (class blogging) (photo essay)

In my photoessay, i wanted to explain how video game advertisments and concept art often pay an immense amount of attention to breasts and a surprisingly little amount of attention about what a game is actually about. They do this by pulling in a number of semiotic tools and methods to have their target audience (males, 18-36) attach breasts and whatever game it is they’re trying to sell with the art. For example.

This add takes advantage of proximity (putting the breasts near the ad) contrast (putting the white text near the blue shirt) and manipulating light, putting her chest in full glare while her face is in the shadow, wearing dark sunglasses. Not only that, but the character is leaning over, putting her breasts into the center and the foreground of the picture.

Now, can you tell what Grand Theft Auto is about? Without knowing plenty about the game already, I don’t think I’d be able to tell. is it about girls? A little. Breasts? Even then, a little. But this ad isn’t about telling you anything about the game. And using photographic and semiotic theory, it’s hard to not notice the huge block lettering on her chest.

Here is a piece of concept art for a popular video game, World of Warcraft:

The woman’s crotch, protected by only a somewhat phallic piece of cloth, sits in the center of the ad. While she’s armed, she doesn’t look to be functionally armored: rather, it seems to draw far more attention to her sleek, toned body, well-rounded breasts, and slight hips more than anything else. Next to her is an enormous tiger, almost as if a sign of external masculinity.