My Game

I chose to write a paper about the game Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground. The game is fairly realistic in graphics so I cannot really analyze the colors used in the game or its imagery in general. The game does have a feature that allows the player to personalize their own character. A Female model is not included as a possible choice for a character. There is also only one female skater represented in the whole game. I was thinking that I could use this angle to possibly argue that sexism exists within the game. That the game put out the idea that women cannot skate. Then on the other side of the argument, there are not as many female skaters in the actual skating realm as there are male skaters. This again could be contributed to social roles in society that would cause fewer females to be exposed to skateboarding.

The game also has different challenges that have to be completed in order for the player to move onto harder levels. There are three different styles of skaters the player can work their way up to (Career, Hardcore, and Rigger). Depending on which style is chosen, more stunts will be performed by the player to gain points toward their intended style. Some of the stunts might include checking, which involves ramming into and knocking down civilians. Another stunt might be tagging, which would involve decorating a sign or building with graffiti. It could be argued that Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground promotes violence and vandalism, which could be another argument. There are other great parts of the game though, that promote creativity and the ability to believe the impossible can happen. I’m not really sure where I am going to go with my argument yet.