For the past few months I have been attempting to write critical and mostly formal essays about games, hopefully to somesuccess. I have been treating games as any other medium and I have tried to analyze them as I would any other work. However, the more essays I write and the more I attempt to use standard writing practices like quotations and citations, the more I have bumped into a number of problems that I feel must be addressed before writing about games can become more widespread. In each issue of this blog I will address one of the problems I think could arise and then offer some possible solutions.

Problems with Citing Quotations

Currently, when writing about a book, if a quotation is used the writer is expected to provide the page number of the page on which the quote was found. This allows someone reading the essay to find the quote. This prevents academic dishonesty (such as inventing a quote or misappropriating a quote) and also makes the job of the reader that much easier as they can easily turn to the page on which the quote is located and read it in context. This can also be done with time stamps when analyzing a movie. But, when writing about a game there is no easy way to denote when an action occurs in the game. You could use the level or chapter in which a quote or moment occurs to mark the quote; however, if the quote is not provided by an unavoidable story event, more guidance must be given to the reader since they could easily walk right by it. For example, how do I tell someone in a short and succinct way that the quote I am using comes from an npc in a town, but the quote only happens after some story event, and the npc disappears once you leave town? That example may be general, but I think problems of that general mold come up frequently in story driven games.

Another problem with citing a quote is that a citation is supposed to make it simple for the reader to find a quotation in the primary source. However, for a game, even if a moment is perfectly cited and there is no ambiguity about how to find the quote or the moment in the game, there is still the problem of a reader having to play all the way through the game to reach that quote. It is not like a book where the reader can simply skip to the section cited, or like a movie where the viewer can fast forward to the proper time. There is no fast forward in games without providing an actual save file. Also, there could be aspects of the quotation that require playing the game to see, meaning that the reader must also have some degree of skill with the game to even view the quote. For example, if you quote a section that occurs after the final boss fight in a game, the reader of your essay would have to beat the final boss to actually view the quote as you did. Video could be used here to mitigate this problem, but there can be a distinct difference between watching a video of a game and physically playing it. In fact, the act of playing could be essential to the moment, like the microwave tunnel in MGS4. All of these issues make citing a quote in a game difficult in the first place and they make actually finding a quote in a game equally challenging.

My solution for this problem is not an easy one. I think that the writer must provide a save file for each of the quotes they reference as well as some instructions for the reader, so that they may find the quote. This may include providing some guidance on how to play the game, thus ensuring that the reader can view the quote as easily as possible. This may include writing step by step instructions on what to do. Thought a writer may assume the reader actually is familiar with the text about which they are writing, I think it is a logical leap to assume that all readers have seen everything there is to see in a game.

Even though going through the game collecting saves may not be the most practical option (it does create a lot of added work for the writer), this level of detail is definitely warranted in any case where that act of seeing a moment in a game and playing a moment in a game are different. By providing saves to the reader, the writer of an analytical essay can both prove that the quotes are valid and provide the reader with a convenient way to access them.

I'd say simply providing a video link, if available, would suffice. That way, you can skip straight to the material in question. I mean, that's sort of what I do when I write blogs. I realize that's a lot less formal than writing an essay about a specific topic about a game, but I believe it gets the point across.

@Video_Game_King: It can get the point across in some cases, but what about moments like the one in MGS4 I mentioned? There is weight added to that moment that cannot be conveyed simply by viewing.

Isn't that a problem that would inevitably arise from taking a quote largely out of context, as will naturally happen when you're writing an essay about something? I mean, don't you quote things to support your point with instances from the text? That's how I use them.

@Video_Game_King: Yes the quote will be taken out of context to support a point, but part of the function of a citation is to make locating the quote easy for the reader. Thus, if they want to go back into the text and get context they can (maybe they forgot the segment you are quoting). If you provide a video rather than a saved game the reader cannot view the quoted segment as the writer did. A video may not necessarily remind them of the finger pain that moving snake caused. Therefore, I think that providing a saved game would allow for the most accurate citation of a moment in a game.

@thatpinguino said:

For the past few months I have been attempting to write critical and mostly formal essays about games, hopefully to somesuccess. I have been treating games as any other medium and I have tried to analyze them as I would any other work...

There's at least part of your problem. As you go on to point out, games are very different from things like movies or books and that comes mostly from the player interaction aspect. You're trying to use the same tools for very different jobs, and that almost never yields the best results.

But then what do I know?

@JJWeatherman: I wrote this blog to try and make a game-specific procedure for writing analytical essays since, to my knowledge, there isn't one currently. I have been using my standard writing techniques up until this point because I don't really see much of an alternative.

@JJWeatherman said:

You're trying to use the same tools for very different jobs, and that almost never yields the best results.

I think he meant to say that he looks at a game and asks "how does it use the tools at its disposal to tell a story to what effect", only less clunkily worded.

I'll be frank: Keeping saves handy for every last thing you need to quote and refer to isn't practical in any possible sense of the word.

Taking a video and uploading it to a digital essay, or using photos in the case of one published on paper, is far more practical. Do you lose something? Of course you do! But even if one were to access your saves and play the game with that save, following the precise instructions to see the quote in question, it would still very much be out of context and thus your issues with videos counts for this one as well.

There are further issues with citing games using saves. For one, not everyone knows how to play video games, and not everyone who knows how to play video games properly knows how to play the game in question. For another, not every game uses a manual "save anywhere" system. You can't save anywhere in Final Fantasy VII, if I remember correctly. Branching off of this issue, some games are "random", like Torchlight and Diablo. Someone might load up a save from there and find that the next area, the one you may have been citing, isn't the same.

I don't mean to attack you or outright shoot you down, I'm simply saying that your solution will create far more problems than the only one it will solve. A problem which has long since been solved by uploading a video of the game content in question to the essay, or pictures if it's going to be on paper.

@Video_Game_King said:

@JJWeatherman said:

You're trying to use the same tools for very different jobs, and that almost never yields the best results.

I think he meant to say that he looks at a game and asks "how does it use the tools at its story to tell a story to what effect", only less clunkily worded.

Wha-what?

@thatpinguino said:

@JJWeatherman: I wrote this blog to try and make a game specific procedure for writing analytical essays since, to my knowledge, there isn't one currently. I have been using my standard writing techniques up until this point because I don't really see much of an alternative.

I guess my point was that perhaps video games just aren't suited to be written about in a manor that requires that type of very specific citation. That may seem unfair to video games, but I mean, unlike books and movies, video games are intrinsically interactive and dynamic things, and that just doesn't lend well to referencing specific moments--moments in which some players may never even see, depending on the game. It's a tough situation. You'll have to think outside of the box. Surely there're some video game-related analytical essays out there somewhere that you could look at.

@JJWeatherman said:

@Video_Game_King said:

@JJWeatherman said:

You're trying to use the same tools for very different jobs, and that almost never yields the best results.

I think he meant to say that he looks at a game and asks "how does it use the tools at its story to tell a story to what effect", only less clunkily worded.

Wha-what?

Shit. That was a terrible typo. It's been fixed now, and it should make sense.

@Video_Game_King said:

@JJWeatherman said:

@Video_Game_King said:

@JJWeatherman said:

You're trying to use the same tools for very different jobs, and that almost never yields the best results.

I think he meant to say that he looks at a game and asks "how does it use the tools at its story to tell a story to what effect", only less clunkily worded.

Wha-what?

Shit. That was a terrible typo. It's been fixed now, and it should make sense.

It does make a bit more sense now, but I don't think that's what this thread is about.

...Or is it? Am I just really tired?

No way.

You reference the moment in-text. That's the only solution.

You either describe where the moment happens before you cite it, or you describe it as best you can in parentheses. Your solution would impede writing about games. If you read critical journals from before the advent of standard citation styles you'll see that you just have to trust the writer. Since the writer is never the only person to play the game/read the book his honestly will be checked by those who know the material, the only people worthy of judging his honesty in any case. Like you said, games don't allow any scene selection.

In the future I hope we have access to game scripts. .

@GERALTITUDE said:

In the future I hope we have access to game scripts. .

What about game scripts online, or the YouTube solution from before? Or, keeping in line with this blog, an easily accessible chapter select feature or (a la Fragile Dreams) cutscene selection?

I use screencaps and video links to get the point across. Also, I agree with @Video_Game_King in saying that quoting games is going to lead to out-of-context quotation. It can't be helped.

I agree with what seems to be the general consensus: video links and/or screenshots are sufficient for a citation.

@FluxWaveZ: @Little_Socrates: @believer258: I do agree that screenshots and videos are pretty much the only way of quoting from a game in-essay. One cannot simply put a section of writing that says play save 21 and then go on writing assuming that the reader has played from the save file without including a written account of the scene in question. The save files would essentially be replacing the page number that is given after a quote or the author's name if an external source is cited.

Also, when writing a serious academic essay the writer, in my experience, must read and re-read the text to form a strong comprehensive argument. I don't know how much of a stretch it would be for the writer to keep a number of saves dispersed throughout the game, for convenience's sake if nothing else. When I was allowed to write analytical essay on Bioshock for one of my papers in school, for example, I had to replay that game from the beginning with a note pad to document every important quote and moment to make my essay as strong as possible. It would not have been too hard for me to keep multiple saves before key quotes or scenes. For games with save points, keeping a lot of well placed saves could really be a hassle, but isn't it also a hassle to the writer for them to either find the given moment on youtube, use the youtube clip to cite their quotation, then have to cite the youtube clip? Or even worse for the writer to actually have to record their own video?

I really appreciate the other perspectives on this issue. I don't think that there will be a perfect answer, every solution be it screen shots, videos, or saved games all have sizable drawbacks.

@thatpinguino: The problem with providing save files, aside from the sheer impossibility in some cases due to copy-restrictions, the inability to save at any given point or at least reasonably close to the reference point, is that it requires the reader of your text to also have access to the hardware used to play the game. This is very problematic. I don't think save files are a good solution at all. Video examples, or screenshots in some cases, should be easier to create, provide and handle by the reader willing to dig through the source and reference material. Pretty much every quote provided is out of context. Skipping to a scene in the movie does usually not convey the whole weight of a scene because the viewer is missing the context of the experience that lead to that moment. Not being able to button mash your way through the microwave tunnel can and should be remedied via a description by the writer in a footnote or separate section at the end of the piece they are writing. The video + description solution is also a more timeless one as PC versions lose compatibility with operating systems, consoles break and digital distribution services go offline. You have to provide a method that is not reliant on specific hardware. A video can easily be converted into many formats, for example. A detailed description of what happens (if that is even necessary) can be added as text in a myriad of ways.

@DeF: But not having saves creates the wierd issue that someone with the hardware and a copy if the game cannot use the actual primary text to check the accuracy of a quote. It just seems a little odd to me that a person with the primary source cannot use the primary source, instead having to look at a video and read a description. Though your point about hardware going out of date is one that I had not considered. Older hardware also presents the problem of games with no saves. The degradation of hardware is almost another issue for another blog because of all of the potential problems it can cause.

There actually is proper MLA format guidelines for making game citations. They're very stupid though.

@Hunter5024: Yeah I looked them up before writing this, they really do not have a good way of citing actual quotes. Citing a game for a works cited page is easy enough though.

@thatpinguino: Perhaps a case-by-case solution is more appropriate then. In a scenario where the experience of the primary text is vital, a save file can be included but I don't think it should be a standard.

@DeF: Yeah the right answer is probably "do both."

You make some very good points. I did my Journalism major dissertation on games and the found that the best way reference stuff was give it context. I put most of the background info in the appendix so it flowed better. So with an article, I think you just put the youtube link of the moment you are talking about

Just linking to a youtube link and giving a citation to the level/act/stage/zone should be more than enough IMO. There are very few academic essays/articles that require something equivalent to a save file.

You raised the point that some aspects of video games would require skill/timing on the player to even be able to see them. The responsibility of a person being able to access a specific scene does not fall on the article writer, but is more the responsibility on the author of the original work, in this case the developer. Is the preservation and accessibility of scenes a problem within video games as a medium? Oh you better believe it.

I am not sure I entirely get the problem, as no matter what your source is (movie, book, music, game etc.) you will always quote it out of context and even if I can flip a page or fast forward to your quote, it won't mean anything contextually to me unless I actually read everything before the quote or see the movie from the beginning. Games are no different in that regard, sure the means of getting to that quote is different, but it's equally unimportant other than to fact-check a writer's source and, as been mentioned, enough people play games to something like that being brought to light without the writing having to jump to unnecessarily big hoops just to get a point across.

@thatpinguino: Perhaps I aimed my comment a bit off the mark but my overall sentiment is simply that being so precise isn't really possible nor necessary. I would say Chapter, event and characters involved is all that's needed. Perhaps if the quote is off the beaten path, one could add that as further help. But I wouldn't go as far as to say one would need to get save files, write walkthroughs or even link to video. Since the first two things still require someone to own the game (and if they do they could still find the quote by "flipping the pages" themselves) and the latter is only really useful is if your reasons are to point something out immediately during the read. And if that's the case, writing has failed since the text doesn't quite stand on it's own, at least that's my take on it. The only time I would link to video would be if the video was what the text was about and not seeing it renders the writing pointless.

Eh, this doesn't matter at all. Formal Citation has two main purposes:

1. Making sure people don't plagiarize in school.

2. Giving the people that make the rules a way to make easy money off of college students by changing the rules every few years.

Citation can be important (especially in things that actually matter like science), but getting caught up in the citation method for this kind of thing is part of the problem. Focus on the content you're actually writing rather than whether or not the screenshot you are providing is enough proof for everyone.

I guess I also fall on the side of not giving a shit because I feel that the only way anyone can actually talk critically and intelligently about games is if they understand how they are made. The big difference between music, books, movies, and games is that games are interactive. That simple fact changes the entire landscape of what is actually meaningful if we want to have intelligent discussion in this medium. So, before we worry about nit picky things like citation, we need to nail down these broad strokes.

@thatpinguino said:

@DoctorWelch citation problems really should not be that major, but for games to become a regular subject of analysis, like movies or books or poems, a standard citation format must be established. Even if using screen shots or videos is the answer, some standard must be set.

Yeah, eventually, but you're trying to build the roof of the house when there hasn't even been a foundation laid.

This is stupid because nobody has a reason to be dishonest about a video game in the first place. Who is going to lie about the content of a video game in a review or a write up?

@Flacracker: I wrote this under the assumption that at some point people are going to be writing about games as subjects of study like books and movies. Once that happens things like citation rules become important to prevent plagiarism, academic dishonesty, and provide an easier reading experience for the reader. This is not really important for reviews or write-ups since they do not have any real reason to lie and the ramifications for errors are not as severe as they can be in academic essays.