The role of the personal
- It’s important but not solely confessional, not a diary
- Informal/colloquial language
Historical context
- Deep lineage
  - Nintendo has a 100+ year history
- Sits at an important historical moment
Cultural impact
- Mario is a foundational franchise
- The Mother series is different in Japan and the USA
- Handling cultural observations from the outside
Development narratives
- Creators (auteur)
- shared assets
Gaming as artistic medium
- beware the authorial fallacy
- The tensions of who gets to control meaning
Explicating a single interpretation of the work
Connection to/difference from genre
Shifts from approach to approach
- Inclusion of different genres
  - Or different elements such as interviews (first person or excerpted)
    - Creators (people associated with production)
    - Scholars
    - Audience
Mechanics
- Implicating the player
Theme/symbol/metaphor

What’s salient about the creation of this media product?
- Circumstances?
- Auteur-driven?
What's notable about this media product's cultural/historical impact?
What are this media product's peers? What works are meaningfully similar to and different from it?
How does this media product fit and resist its genre?
What are this media product's major themes, symbols, or tropes?
What techniques or mechanics are used within this media product?
Why should anyone care about this media product?