HA10 Task 2 - Deconstruction

In this task I will be looking at the games Just Dance and The Last of Us, their audiences, and how the games are presented to them. Firstly, I will be looking at the covers for each game, and comparing them.

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The difference between the covers is quite apparent. It is obvious that both games appeal to vastly different audiences.

Just Dance's cover is filled with bright colours and smiling people, and has a really cheerful tone. It also looks to be a quite physically active game, which suggests that the game may be for a younger audience.

The Last of Us' cover uses darker colours, and both characters look serious, so the audience for this game might be much older than Just Dance.

The way the text looks can also give insight into the type of audience it is aiming for. Just Dance's title is clean bright white and bold. It is also in the centre of the cover, trying to grab the attention of the audience.

The Last of Us' title is also white, but worn down and slightly covered in dirt, which could relate to and show off the dark and gritty story in the game. The text is in the top-left of the cover, leaving the majority of the space to the characters in the background.

Another way to tell what type of audience the game is for, is by looking at the characters on the covers. For Just Dance, the people on it are smiling and dancing, and wearing bright clothing. The central character seems to be holding his hand out, inviting you to join in. Everything about them shows that they are in a safe and happy environment, and suitable for a much younger audience.

However, looking at the cover for The Last of Us, the two characters have a serious look on their faces. Their clothing is much darker and duller than on the Just Dance cover, and seems to match the tone that the game presents. The central character on this cover is facing away from the audience, and looking over her shoulder at them. Both characters are holding guns, which shows that the environment they're in is dangerous.

Now I will look at trailers for both games, as they can give a good idea of what audience they are aiming for.

Immediately when the trailer for Just Dance begins, upbeat music is playing, and a large group of characters are all dancing. This shows that it is meant to be played by multiple people at once. All of the colours are simple and bright, making it seem like a cheerful game. At multiple points in the trailer, it cuts to real people playing the game, which gives a much better look at what audience they are aiming for. The real players are all young adults, but it seems as though it could be played by a family too.



The trailer for The Last of Us is vastly different in pretty much every way. The trailer shows a lot of dark locations, with one having a large group of people running and screaming, and the other shows the silhouette of some unknown creature making a disturbing sound. Everything that the characters in the trailer say is said in a very serious and sometimes angry tone, with some characters even swearing. This shows that it is intended for an older audience than Just Dance. The game seems to be very story focused, which likely means it is meant to be played by a single person.