http://gamestudies.org The international journal of computer game research Michael Hitchens http://gamestudies.org/1103/articles/michael_hitchens A survey of over 550 first-person shooters, The titles are compared by year of release, platform and game setting. Characteristics of avatars within the surveyed titles are also examined, including race, gender and background, and how these vary across platform and time. The analysis reveals definite trends, both historically and by platform. Miguel Sicart http://gamestudies.org/1103/articles/sicart_ap This article proposes a critical review of the literature on procedural rhetoric, from a game design perspective. The goal of the article is to show the limits of procedural rhetorics for the design and analysis of ethics and politics in games. The article suggests that theories of play can be used to solve these theoretical flaws. Paul Martin http://gamestudies.org/1103/articles/martin The landscape in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is seen here as a central aspect of the game’s theme of good versus evil. The analysis looks at the game’s distinction between the pastoral and the industrial realms and the way the player’s encounter with the landscape transforms over the course of the game from the sublime to the picturesque mode William Gibbons http://gamestudies.org/1103/articles/gibbons The soundtrack of Bioshock includes popular music of the 1930s-50s, which serves several functions, signifying the time period of the game, yet ironically commenting on the dystopian environment. The lyrics also allow the music to remark obliquely on the game's action, spurring players to reflection without removing them from control.