Mortal Kombat

The game that I chose to discuss is Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat is a game that is played by choosing characters that the game has provided for you and with those characters beat another opponent through some sort of physical contact (violence/fighting). It usually occurs through one round or the best of a few rounds. Mortal Kombat creates a simulation where these characters live in a world where fighting is the only option and they must beat their opponent with their fighting skills (or controller skills). "How a character fights is usually an external representation of internal qualities...." (p.436) I think that the designers chose to focus moreso on the characters in this game. Each character has it's own unique individualization and is extremely distinct from other characters. There are very burly men and very girly girls with a little background to each of the characters. Despite their appearance, they all have secret skills and combinations that can emerge with the mixing of buttons on a controller and no two players are the same. Salen & Zimmerman state, "The idea that games are representations means that an entire game can serve to depict something." (p. 428) can be applied in that this game is a representation of a fighting tournament. No time exists and any opponent can be paired up with another one with unlimited combinations. Instead of focusing on a story or background for this game, designers distinctly chose to focus on the fighting part, which is more short-term and immediate. What I find limiting in this game is that there seems to be little story behind it. The sole purpose is to fight an opponent without a given purpose or reason; simply just to win.I think this game would be suitable for people who play games simply to get to the action or people who enjoy fighting with very little context.