Concept Research/Audience Research - Is the theme of death acceptable within a story aimed at PEGI 7?
Since the general concept for our game was formed early on in the project before research had taken place, I felt that it was necessary for me to carry out some research to make sure that the story concept I have decided upon would be effective and suitable for the project.
To begin with, one of the concepts that we were thinking of using was a concept where the mother dies at the beginning of the story, and then once the protagonists finds his missing father, it's revealed that he was just using the protagonist for his own gain. To begin with, I liked this concept, as the father being the antagonist would be a rather major plot twist. But then when I thought about it more I felt that having not only a negative start to the story (the mother dying) but also a negative ending (protagonist finally reuniting with his dad, only to find he was used by him), might not be too effective for our audience.
The concept then changed to the current concept, where the mother dies at the beginning of the story, but the father is trapped inside of the shark (the antagonist), meaning that he is still a good person. I felt that this was better since it would make use of a happy ending (which would be fitting for the happy fantasy ending).
However, I still wondered whether the death at the beginning of the game would be unacceptable for the project/the audience.
Because of this, I decided to look into some existing pieces of media to see whether there are stories that start on a rather sad or negative note but are still aimed at a similar audience to what our game is aimed at.
For this research, I was recommended to look into some Disney movies, so that's what I decided to do.
Up (2009).
I decided to look into the Disney movie Up (2009) as the target audience of the movie was similar to that of the game my group will be creating for this current project.
According to the website 'Common Sense Media', the audience for Up is around 6+ (CommonSenseMedia, 2009), meaning this movies audience is, in fact, similar to the audience we're aiming at.
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(Wikipedia, 2009)
The general outline of the beginning of the movie's story is as follows.
Fredrickson (one of the protagonist) idolises a famous explorer, Charles F. Muntz (who turns out the be the antagonist of the story). Carl meets and becomes friends with a girl named Ellie, who also shares his interest in the famous explorer. Years after Carl and Ellie become a married couple, but still have the childhood dream of having a house at Paradise Falls. As they grow up the couple attempt to save up money to carry out their dream but end up spending the savings when unforeseen costs present themselves. Eventually, Ellie becomes ill which leads to her death, and both their dreams not being carried out.
In other words, the story begins with the theme of death being very apparent. Although the death isn't just some random and unnecessary event in the story as if anything it progresses the events and gives the character reason for carrying out the remaining events of the story (as Carl still intends to keep the promise he had made with Ellie, even after her death).
Although the death of Ellie occurs during the movie, it occurs due to a natural illness, and because of this I still wonder whether the concept for my groups story is acceptable, since the concept involves murder, rather than death due to a natural cause.
A Look Into Some of the Reviews on 'Common sense media'
Parental Reviews:
This comment/review states how the movie was depressing and sad, which is fair, as there are scenes in the film that are undeniably sad, for any aged audience. However they also go on to say that their son actually liked the film, but they're not sure why.
Although the writer of the comment does go on to say their friend's child was "traumatized by some of the sad and scary animal scenes" (Common sense media, 2009) which I assume is referring mainly to the death of the protagonists wife early on in the film (being the one of the saddest parts of the movie), and then the scary animal scenes being the dogs which were set out to hunt/chase the protagonists down.
This parent is almost the complete opposite of the last parent is the previous comment. The writer does mention the violence and sad topics of the film, "There are some laugh-out-loud moments, scary elements, and very touching scenes." (Common sense media, 2011), but still states that it's one of the best movies they've seen and that it does "a fantastic job of encompassing every age group to tell a story of the truly important things in life" (Common sense media, 2011)
Because of this comment, I can tell that the violence and sad topics of the film aren't disliked by all, as it is a matter of preference (as for myself, I don't dislike movies/stories if they're emotional, but others may dislike them for the exact reason, same for violence).
Child Reviews:
As well as looking into the reviews of parents, I also decided to look into the reviews that were posted from children, to see their opinion on the movie, and the themes it includes.
This child stated that the movie made them and their mother cry in the beginning, so most likely during Ellie's death. additionally, they state that they think the movie is great, even while being scary at times. From my viewings of the other comments, I am going to assume the scary sections of the movie is the section where the dogs are set to chase after the protagonists, and maybe even the inclusion of blood when the protagonist hits the man with his walker early on in the movie. They finish their comment by stating that they would watch the movie again if they get the chance, meaning that they enjoyed it.
This review is rather interesting, as the writer has talked about their interests in movies and stories. They stated that they believe the movie is aimed at audiences aged 8+ due to the sad topics that are included in the movies as well as because of the amount of violence in the film (which I imagine is mainly talking about the final fight of the movie).
This child in particular talks about their interests in sad movies, and continues to list a number of other movies (some animated and some live actions) which also make use of sad and depressing topics.
Because of comments such as this one, I feel like my concept form my story could be suitable and even effective for my audience.
This review is short and simple, but still shows the opinion of a member of my audience. They liked the movie due to its story, even while mentioning that it's sad, but said that
These are just a few of many reviews, of course, but I'm able to see a general opinion to do with the theme of violence within the movie, as well as aspects of the story. This could mean that my audience doesn't like too much, especially unnecessary, violence.
The Lion King (1994).
The next movie that I decided to look into was another Disney animation, with the same intended target audience, but this time is a movie released some years prior to Up. This being The Lion King (1994).
I decided to look into this movie in particular due to my worries that were formed from the research carried on the movie Up (2009).
After looking into how Up (2009) includes the theme of death early on in the story, I worried that my game/story concept would not be viable for my audience, as the concept I have includes murder rather than natural death. However, after looking into the
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(Plenty of Popcorn, 2015)
plots of various other movies I came across The Lion King (1994) and realised that once again the theme of death is apparent, but this time it isn't due to natural causes.
During one section of the movie's story, Mufasa risks his life to save his son, Simba. He is successful in doing so, but when it comes to escaping from the rampaging horde of wildebeest himself, he only just narrowly escapes by leaping onto a rock face. Upon climbing to the top, and struggling to climb up to safety, Mufasa pleads for help from his brother, Scar (antagonist). Scar then stabs Mufasa in his paws with his own claws and then throws him off of the cliff face into the horde of charging wildebeests, with the intention of killing his brother and becoming king himself. And he is successful in doing so.
A Look Into Some of the Reviews on 'Common sense media'Parental Reviews
Parental Reviews:
The comment above from a parent states that they think the movie is acceptable for all ages above the age of three, although they do state that "the Mufasa death scene is unbelievably sad, and will make almost all kids cry". But even while stating this, they still recommend this movie to children.
The comment above from a parent states that they think the movie is acceptable for children aged above five years. They are aware of how death is apparent in the movie and may need to discuss with their children, but still, have an overall positive view of the movie.
Child Reviews:
The comment above from a child gives the movie a pretty good review and states that they believe the movie is acceptable for those aged above four years. Although they do state "Be prepared for the death of the king (pun not intended). No, it's SO sad! Not that you should skip the scene, because it's important!" (Common Sense Media, 1994). This shows that they're aware of the death in the movie, but feel that it is an important aspect, and not depressing enough to ruin the movie.
The comment above from a kid states that they enjoy the songs of the movie, as well as the story. They mention that there are scary parts, mainly being the death of Mufasa, his ghost appearing, and the character scar just being creepy as a character. However, even while saying all of this, they still aged the movies as 6+.
The Incredibles (2004)
Another movie, which according to common sense media, is believed to be acceptable for an audience of 7+ includes a lot more violence than a lot of other movies, and also a rather horrific depiction of a characters death.
The high amount of violence is to somewhat be expected, as the movie revolves around the theme of superpowers and superheroes. However the theme of death, on the other hand, is still surprising to me to this day.
The main villain of the movie, Syndrome, attempts to take Jack Jack (the youngest son of the Incredibles family) and is almost successful in getting back to his aircraft. However, after dropping Jack Jack, and having a car thrown him by Mr. Incredible, his cape gets sucked into the plane's engine, pulling him into it. Killing him and exploding the plane.
We don't see the whole death, however, but I still feel as enough is shown for it to set an image, and be somewhat disturbing.
There are also a number of other deaths in the movie, many of which being due to capes getting stuck in something (somewhat of a joke in the film, although characters die), but I wouldn't say they're as disturbing at Sydrome's death.
Evaluation:
After carrying out this research, I feel a bit more set on the idea/concept of my story, as before carrying out this research I was worried the death of the protagonist's mother would be unacceptable for my audience.
By carrying out this research, I have also seen a range of ways that characters have died, ranging from natural occurrences to murder.
All that's left now is to decide how the character will die in my story, while still making the event acceptable for my audience (which will almost definitely lacking any sort of blood/gore).