Culture

Culture;

* Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture
* An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning
* The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group

Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn

Culture is a very broad term which we often use to describe the worlds and environments that our game characters inhabit. It involves everything, from names to clothing, fashion, music, food and religion. It is clear when playing computer games such as world of warcraft or Mass Effect, players are engaged into entirely fictional worlds, introducing neologisms and artistic liberties to create the illusion of a brand new culture. But to create this entirely new world,it requires a broad understanding of what creates culture. Questions need to be asked; why do we wear the clothes we wear? what determines a good piece of clothing from a bad piece? How is music associated with the world surrounding it? Obviously no-one can fully interpret the rational process of culture, yet to create the illusion of one, it requires an artist to seek inspiration and ideas elsewhere.

For example:
The image on the left is Travis Gumbs of the Street Etiquette blog, a popular New York based fashion website and the image on the right is John Shephard from the Game Mass Effect by
Bioware. As a very basic example of how culture is conveyed into video games, the image
represents the current fashion style of rolled up sleeves. On a basic level it represents that fashion is a necessary idea which help improve the overall aesthetic and development of a title. Here consumers can relate to current fashion trends, and the character itself looks visually stimulating because he has relevant design characteristics to the modern world.

Music is a key element when engaging a consumer into a fictional world, the correct composition can bring a story to life. When exploring the game world, there is frequently a lot of ambient noise. Often the hustle and bustle of day to day life, or the mayhem and carnage of a war zone. Music has to be strongly considered to stand alongside the world and improve its credibility. Researching the relevant music and having a much more wide scale taste increases the opportunities of producing a relevant soundtrack. For example if we were to create a middle eastern environment reflecting the current outlook, we would look at musical artists such as Mos Def, with his song 'Auditorium' which attempts to address some of the issues regarding the east and involves many of the instruments and melodies used in that society. Salif Keita with his song 'Tomorrow' would also prove useful to set a mood and tone which is appropriate. Examples like these are what develop ideas for composition and melody for a major gaming title.

Overall, everything slowly inter wines with each other, crossing paths throughout the development stages but it is clear that to fully develop an idea, an environment, a culture. You need an broad spectrum of daily life, experiencing and questioning the the very basics of what makes a world so believable. Everything is relevant, nothing should be ignored.