I looked into several genres to think of recurring signifiers of the series. One of the first that came to mind was Ratchet and Clank, and I decided to do a 5-bullet list for each game.
With Ratchet and Clank I came up with:
- The heroes, Ratchet and Clank ~ The games persistent main characters and the reason for being.
- Nuts/Bolts ~ In all Ratchet and Clank games, bolts have a recurring presence. They are used for currency, weapon upgrades, achievements and other rewards. Destroying crates to get nuts and bolts is one of the core mechanics of the Ratchet and Clank series.
- Voice Acting/Dialog ~ The voice acting in Rachet and Clank is very distinctive. Many characters have very unique voices, and the style of comedy in the dialog is very unique to the series.
- Assortment of Weapons ~ One of Ratchet and Clank's main features are the large variation of weapons available for purchase in the game. Usually with each new release there is an gradual increase in the amount of new weapons.
- The Wrench ~ In every game, Ratchet makes use for his wrench in one way or another. It is used for physic-based puzzles, to unlock doors, to fight enemies and so on. There is never a time Ratchet is without his wrench.
I also looked at games like Sonic having common signifiers with rings which were the genre's equivlent to currency. This made me think that one of the top five signifiers in several games seems to be the currency used in the game. For example, in Spyro, collecting gems from baskets to buy things is one of the most memorable features of the game. I also looked into how game developers exploit this to draw the viewer in. For example, in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, the designers used the olympic rings as a signifier of the rings from Sonic's series.
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