Video Gaming
•September 18, 2009 • Leave a CommentThis unit focuses on the Video Games Industry and the production processes, distribution strategies, use of technologies and related issues concerning audience reception and consumption of media texts.
The G322 examination is two hours and candidates are required to answer two compulsory questions. This unit is marked out of 50 (with Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation being marked out of 50 also, with the overall G322 mark out of 100).
GameSpot.com
Video game news and Reviews.
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RockStar Games
Video game developer and publisher owned by Take-Two Interactive
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Eurogamer.net
Game Reviews, News and More.
Video Gaming
•August 24, 2009 • Leave a CommentAll re-take students must complete all the written assignments – or they will not be entered for the examination.
Read this first it tells you what the exam specifications are, and gives you a set of research criteria.
One of a choice of two essay questions must be answered from the candidates’ knowledge of the case study.
| Section B: Institutions and Audiences Specimen question:
Discuss the issues raised by institutions’ need to target specific audiences within a media industry which you have studied. Using: Video Games Candidates will be assessed on their ability to illustrate patterns of production, distribution, exchange and consumption through relevant case study examples and their own experiences. Candidates may cover the following material in their responses to the question:
KEY AREAS FOR RESEARCH • Production practices which allow texts to be constructed for specific audiences • Distribution and marketing strategies to raise audience awareness of specific products or types of products • The use of new technology to facilitate more accurate targeting of specific audiences • Audience strategies in facilitating or challenging institutional practices
Candidates should be given credit for their knowledge and understanding, illustrated through case study material, in any of these areas; there is no requirement that they should all be covered equally. Examiners should also be prepared to allow points, examples and arguments that have not been considered if they are relevant and justified. Section B: Institutions and Audiences Candidates should be prepared to understand and discuss the processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange as they relate to contemporary media institutions, as well as the nature of audience consumption and the relationships between audiences and institutions. In addition, candidates should be familiar with: the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;
This unit should be approached through contemporary examples in the form of case studies |
Case Study Computer/video games
Questions to ask yourself in your research:
What is the company famous for?
What is its core business?
What is its history of producing games?
Is there a back story for your particular game?
Who produces the consoles the game uses?
Then answer the following questions:
- Who is the target audience for your game?
- How do the institutions/producers assess/target this audience?
- How does the marketing material target the audience?
- What forms does the marketing take: TV, cinema, online, poster, print?
- How does the producer/institution use social networking sites/twittering/flash mobs etc.
- How does the audience consume the product? How do they use social networking and other online resources?
- What are the audience pleasures in this game?
- Create a survey to assess how people select games/why they enjoy them (use the following prompts)
- Look at the power of the consumer
- Who are the fan communities?
- What do they do?
- How do they influence the producers?
Select a game to research – it can be current or an old favourite – I srongly suggest that you use Rockstar as your company and one of their games as your game. You also need to research one console producer
Find out who produces it – what is the company’s history / other products/ what else do they produce – films /TV programmes for example
Find pre-release and release material for your chosen game, see if you can establish the target audience and USP:
Launch and pre release materials– is it part of a franchise (Bond/Matrix etc) – cost – add ons – available in what formats?
How has the company advertised the product in what formats:
- TV ads
- Online ads
- Cinema ads
- Within another product – film for example (Matrix)
- Have they used fan communities, spoilers, ‘leaks’ to generate publicity?
Assess who the audience is and how they consume the product
Look at issues of gender – who plays which games?
Is the marketing gender neutral?
Research the online fan communities
Research a fan community for your chosen game – list the activities they do – spoiling – discussing – art – writing – etc. What forums do they communicate in?
What are the benefits to the fans in these kinds of fan communities? What are the benefits to the producers?
How are fans and fan communities treated by the games producers? Do they have any power? Find examples of fans affecting products/product launch. What evidence is there that companies listen?
Look at walkthrough experts – find some examples – how do these experts help the fan communities/games producers
Set up a survey – what are the audience pleasures of playing /your chosen computer game?
- Ludic- to do with the rules and getting through the game levels
- Narrative – to find out what happens
- Competitive – playing against other players
Put your survey online – find a site and ask the questions – or use survey monkey and use the class
Worksheet 1
Week 1
Video Gaming – key terms
Learn these terms – try to use them accurately in your essays.
Written task: Select one game and see how any of these terms apply to its content, marketing or audience.
Write up 2 sides of A4 applying these terms to your game – ‘In Grand theft Auto the back story is….It is a xxx kind of game – the cutscenes are used to …’ etc
Glossary of terms – try to use these terms in your essays.
Avatar
The visual representation or embodiment of the game player on the screen.
Backstory
Videogames often have a brief story section at the start of the game to justify the scenario that the player finds him/herself in.
Beat-‘em-ups
A genre of videogame in which the key objective is for the player to beat up various opponents, the opponents can be defeated in a number of ways. This is a diverse and very popular genre, most beat-‘em-ups will have a multi-player mode on them.
Convergence - (see also synergy)
In the context of videogames it is the way in which platform developers have moved towards consoles being multi-functional. For example, instead of having three or four different devices to enable consumers to browse the internet, play a videogame and watch a DVD all of these activities can now be done by one piece of technology such as the Wii which is a games console, social-networking tool and internet browser. The downside to this process is that with the increase of multiple functions many of the converged devices are not as good at the individual functions, for example a games console is not as good at playing DVDs as a standalone DVD player.
Convergence can also be seen in the wider world as the way in which many companies and organisations target the same audience and are ‘in bed’ with one another, ie working together.
Cutscenes
The term used to describe scenes in videogames in which the player doesn’t have any control over. They often contain narrative information to justify the forthcoming section or level of the game. Some cutscenes can be extremely detailed to help develop the narrative. Players can find that cutscenes obstruct the process of gameplaying.
Developers
The teams that create the videogames (the software that runs on consoles, PCs and handhelds). Developers may be ‘first party’ (directly owned by a platform holder), ‘second party’ where there is some platform holder support or funding, or ‘third party’ who are unaffiliated with the platform holder.
Distributors and Retailers
The role of the distributor is to get videogames to retailers in order to sell to consumers. As the majority of videogames are currently distributed in physical form (ie on CD, DVD or cartridge), this means getting game boxes onto retailers’ shelves or to warehouses. However, recent moves within the industry have pointed to the increased use of electronic distribution with extra levels or even whole games being downloadable.
First-person shooters
A genre of videogame in which the player’s view is first person, this means that the player does not see his or her character during play sequences. The key gameplay element is to shoot things. Often the game will allow the player to use a light gun as a controller.
Interactivity
A slippery term that is used in many contexts. In videogames, interactivity refers to the player’s ability to exercise control over the action presented onscreen by taking control of a character, piloting a spaceship or driving a car, for example. Interactivity is ooone of the defining features of videogames and they are often called ‘interactive entertainment’, although many parts of the games, such as cutscenes, do not allow such ‘interactive’ control over events.
Killer app (killer application)
The name given to a key piece of software associated with a particular piece of hardware that will help drive sales due to its popularity. An example of a killer app most recently is Brain Training on the Nintendo DS, which has boosted sales and attracted a new generation of older gamers to the console.
MMORPG
This refers to Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Games, for example, Second Life or Club Penguin.
Mod/Modder
Mods are literally ‘modifications’ to games that change their appearance, structure or level design, for example, but that usually leaves the underlying gameplay and mechanics intact. Most common in the world of PC games, the practice of modding relies on free ‘mod tools’ released by game developers. Most mod tools are distributed freely but their use is governed by End User License Agreements (EULAs), which usually prohibit modders or mod teams from selling their creations for commercial gain.
Platform Holders
Platform holders manufacture the hardware on which videogames run. The three main companies at present are Sony who manufacture the PlayStation series, Microsoft who produce the Xbox series, and Nintendo who produce the Wii, GameCube, Game Boy and Nintendo DS.
Publishers
Publishers provide money and support for the development teams who create videogames. Ubisoft and SCI (incorporating Eidos) in the UK, as well as Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft, Nintendo and Electronic Arts are among the larger videogame publishers.
Ratings bodies
Videogames, like other media, are subject to classification and age rating. While practice differs throughout the world, the UK operates a two-tier system within the voluntary guidelines of the European PEGI (Pan European Games Information) system and the mandatory BBFC regulations as determined by the Video Recordings Act of 1984.
RPG – Role Playing Games
A role-playing game is a videogame where the player controls one or all of the characters, and wins the game by completing a series of quests. A key feature of the genre is that characters grow in power and abilities, and characters are typically designed by the player. Players explore a game world, while solving puzzles and engaging in tactical combat.
Simulation
The deliberate artificial imitation of an experience, or a process, with the intention of making the imitation as close as possible to the ‘real thing’. Often used for training purposes where it is not possible to access the real experience.
Synergy
The basic definition of synergy is the interaction of two or more forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. In the context of the media it is the promotion and sale of a product (and all its versions) throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate, for example, films, soundtracks or video games. To give a detailed example the Spider-Man films had toys of webshooters and figures of the characters made, as well as posters and videogames, this resulted in the creation of more revenue for the creators of the Spider-Man franchise than if they had just released the one film.
Exhibition
Exhibition is another key term to understand in the context of videogames, there is some crossover between exhibition, consumption and marketing.
This diagram should give you an idea of some of the things you could discuss if you were asked to talk about exhibition in the context of videogames.
xhibition is another key term to understand in the context of videogames, there is some crossover between exhibition, consumption and marketing.
This diagram should give you an idea of some of the things you could discuss if you were asked to talk about exhibition in the context of videogames.
Week 2
Worksheet 2
Read the article
http://crystaltips.typepad.com/wonderland/files/bbc_uk_games_research_2005.pdf
The main questions the researchers wanted to find answers to were:
• How many people are playing games in the UK?
• How, where, when and why they play games?
• When is the family television used as a monitor for a console?
• The context in which gaming plays a role in people’s lives?
• Do people play games in isolation, or in a social situation?
• How does the public’s relationship with radio, television and mobile devices affect the games they play?
• What value do people place on the time spent playing?
Written task – Sum up the main findings of the survey for the 16-24 year old age group
(2 sides of A4 – at least)
Week 3
Worksheet 3
Read the article, write a summary
What are the main concerns of the BBFC in its classification of video games?
THE CLASSIFICATION OF VIDEO GAMES
Why does the BBFC classify video games?
Most video games are exempt from BBFC classification and will obtain an age rating under the voluntary system run by PEGI (Pan-European Game Information). However, under the terms of the Video Recordings Act 1984, a game will lose that exemption if it contains video footage or if it depicts:
- Human sexual activity
- Acts of gross violence towards humans and animals
- Criminal activity
- Drug use
In the event of a game losing its exemption, it will require a BBFC classification, which is a legal classification, before it can be offered for sale or rental in the United Kingdom. An increasing number of companies are voluntarily submitting their games for BBFC classification even though such games meet the exemption criteria.
How does the classification of video games differ from the classification of films and DVD works?
The same categories (‘U’, ‘PG’, ‘12’, ‘15’, ‘18’) used by the BBFC in classifying DVD works apply to games classified by the Board. A particular category will be awarded to a game according to its treatment of issues such as bad language, sex references, violence or horror using much the same criteria as set out in the BBFC Guidelines for films and DVD works.
The BBFC does recognize, however, that the active experience of playing video games is different from that of watching films or DVD works, and this ‘interactive’ feature is taken into account when classifying games. But, broadly speaking, the factors that will determine a particular age category remain the same across films/DVD works and video games.
What might I find in video games at the various age categories?
In general, the storylines in video games do not deal with themes in the same way as films or DVD works, although the strength of various issues (eg violence or horror) will establish a tone for a work that may contribute towards the classification decision.
At ‘U’, violence will be mild and usually of a nature familiar from children’s cartoons. There may be a distinct fantasy setting with unrealistic weapons being used and there will be no portrayal of realistic injuries. Language will be very mild (eg ‘damn’ or ‘hell’) and there will be no focus on sexual behaviour beyond activities such as kissing or hugging. There will be no portrayal of dangerous activities that young children are likely to copy as a result of trying them out within the game. There will be a significant element of problem-solving (eg puzzles) that will balance the ‘action’ in the game. Examples include Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006) for the Wii console and Ski Racing 2006 for PCs.
At ‘PG’, violence may have a slightly greater impact but there will be no detail in the manner in which injury is inflicted and the setting should be distanced from the real world by strong fantasy elements. Language will be mild and mild references to sex will be acceptable providing they lack detail. As at ‘U’, there will be no portrayal of dangerous activities which might be copied after being tried out in the game. There will be no focus on realistic weapons, such as knives. Examples include Shrek the Third (2007) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), both for the PlayStation 2 console.
‘12’ rated games are only suitable for children over the age of 12 and it is against the law to sell or rent them to children under the age of 12. At ‘12’, moderate violence, but without an emphasis on realistic injury detail, is likely and, again, fantasy settings that distance the action from the real world will be a strong mitigating factor. Strong language (eg uses of ‘f***’) is unlikely to be acceptable because the nature of a video game allows for endless repetition of such language. There may be references to sex that will be familiar to most adolescents and discreet portrayals of sexual activity. Examples include Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007) for the PlayStation 2 console and Eragon (2006) for PCs.
What about video games at the higher categories?
It is illegal to supply a BBFC age rated game (‘12’, 15’, ‘18’) to anyone below the age displayed on the packaging. Sales staff can be heavily fined and even sent to prison if they are caught supplying BBFC age rated games to anyone younger than that age. Confusion can result from the fact that PEGI age ratings are not legally binding. Parents should be aware of this. So a child of any age can buy, say, a PEGI 16+ game and no law has been broken. But it is against the law to sell or rent a game with a BBFC age rating on it to anyone younger.
The BBFC is most concerned about the appeal of video games to children leading to them accessing material that is inappropriate for their age. This is usually because some higher rated games gain ‘notoriety’ and become ‘the thing to play’. Video games classified at ‘15’ and ‘18’ will contain a focus on strong violence with realistic injury detail, strong horror, language, sex references and depictions of sexual activity. The BBFC gives these games such age-restrictive categories for the same reasons that films and DVD works that contain such issues are classified at ‘15’ and ‘18’ – they are inappropriate for children and young teenagers. The categories given to video games, from ‘U’ through to ‘18’ are an indication of the suitability of the material they contain and not a measure of the game-playing difficulty of a work, and this is something that the BBFC encourages parents to bear in mind when obtaining video games for their children.
Examples of 15 and 18-rated video games include Resident Evil 4 (’15′, 2007) for the Wii console and The Darkness (’18′, 2007) for the X Box 360 console.
Follow the link to find out more: http://www.pbbfc.co.uk/guides_Videogames.asp
Read the following articles:
Written task
What do these articles tell us about how computer games are marketed and distributed? What are the main issues for designers/producers and console producers?
Distribution, Exhibition and Consumption
Read the following articles for some views on Distribution, Exhibition and Consumption around GTAIV and the Video Games Industry as a whole.
OnLive could threaten Xbox, PS3, and Wii (Cnet)
‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ Beats ‘Iron Man’ by $300 Million (Fox News)
Video Game Makers Seeing Red (The New York Times)
Grand Theft Auto IV release will re-ignite console battle (Telegraph)
Grand Theft Auto IV release will re-ignite console battle
By Claudine Beaumont
Published: 12:01AM BST 17 Apr 2008
The Xbox 360 version offers downloadable additional game content
The battle for supremacy between the next-generation video games consoles look set to intensify with the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, according to analysts.
- Bigger and better – all the news on Grand Theft Auto IV
- So good, it’s criminal: Sam Leith test-drives the game
- Everyone’s a rat: Latest Grand Theft Auto IV trailer
The game, which hits shops on April 29, will for the first time be released simultaneously on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.
Traditionally, the Grand Theft Auto series has always been released on the Sony PlayStation platform first, with a version for the Microsoft Xbox console following weeks or months later.
“There’s little doubt that Grand Theft Auto is perceived more as a PlayStation franchise than an Xbox 360 one,” said Ed Barton, an analyst with Screen Digest.
“That’s simply because the PlayStation 2 was the platform on which GTA went from being a niche, PC-only game to a mass-market record-breaker of astonishing proportions.
“My suspicion is that in European territories the PlayStation version will sell in higher quantities, because Europe loves the PlayStation. In the US, I think the story is slightly different.
“The Xbox 360 has a relatively entrenched and powerful position there, and it’s had a year more than the PlayStation 3 to build a strong customer base.
“It’s difficult to see the millions of American households with an Xbox 360 feeling moved to buy a PlayStation 3 simply to play Grand Theft Auto IV.”
These comments will come as a relief to Microsoft, which has recently slashed the price of its flagship games consoles by about £50 following a difficult couple of months.
Microsoft had to replace and repair hundreds of faulty Xbox 360s that inexplicably ‘froze’ during use, rendering them unplayable.
It also suffered a humiliating defeat in the next-generation high-definition DVD format war after several major movie studios rejected the Microsoft-backed HD-DVD format in favour of releasing films exclusively on Sony’s rival Blu-ray platform.
However, according to industry analysts Chart Track, the price cuts have not been enough to help Microsoft overhaul sales of the PlayStation 3, which has been enjoying a renaissance since lowering its own prices last year, and sealing victory in the high-definition DVD battle.
Chart Track’s figures suggest that the PlayStation 3 has been outselling the Xbox 360 every week for the last 15 weeks, although the size of that gap has narrowed following the Xbox 360 price reductions.
Ed Barton believes the PlayStation 3 could benefit most from the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, as there has been a reluctance among some consumers to splash out on the console without a must-have, ‘killer’ game to go with it.
“I think there has been quite a lot of pent-up demand for the PlayStation 3 in Europe, which has been waiting for a title such as GTA IV to justify taking the plunge and buying a next-generation high-definition games console,” he said.
Yet the availability of additional game content on the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV could still swing sales in Microsoft’s favour.
Owners of the Xbox 360 title will be able to pay an extra fee to access downloadable content across the Xbox Live online network.
While it is unclear precisely what form this extra content will take, Barton believes it will amount to around 10 hours of additional gameplay.
“How it will expand the game, we don’t know,” Barton said.
“Perhaps it will add a new geographical zone, a new area of the game to go into, additional storylines, or additional characters.”
What is significant, he added, was that games publishers and console makers were now seeing the internet as a viable platform for delivering game content.
“Given that downloadable content up to now on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 has placed an emphasis on bite-size content – maybe three more songs on Guitar Hero, or a few extra cars in a racing game – this is a significant expansion on the content contained within the original game.
“It’s extremely interesting how the industry is slowly shifting from a physical retail distribution model to a digital distribution model,” said Barton.
According to a poll on gaming website Joystiq, more fans of the Grand Theft Auto series will be buying the Xbox 360 version of the game than the PlayStation 3 version.
The poll, which surveyed 38,412 gamers, found that 58 per cent would plump for the Xbox 360 title compared to 42 per cent for the PS3.
It also revealed that the main motivating factors for these purchasing decisions were the availability of downloadable content on the Xbox 360 platform, as well as the multiplayer online options offered through the Xbox Live community
GTA 4 Music Distribution Model Unveiled (Digital Battle)
With the release of Grand Theft Auto IV looming up ahead, Rockstar Games is releasing a barrage of information on the title. The latest, as reported by Yahoo, is the full disclosure of a new digital music distribution model which will allow gamers to purchase tracks heard in the game’s radio stations. In partnership with Amazon, the technology, dubbed “ZiT”, built into the game’s mobile phone interface will let players mark specific songs they hear in the game by dialing a specific number, after which they will receive a text message with the song and artist name.
If the player is a member of the Rockstar Social Club, a custom playlist of the marked songs will be available on Amazon, letting users purchase them for less than a buck each.
“Music has long played an integral part of the game playing experience,” said EMI Music VP Ronn Werre. “We think giving players the ability to identify and buy their favorite tracks from Grand Theft Auto IV’s popular radio stations is a great new music discovery tool for fans and an innovative new revenue stream for artists.”
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Multiplayer Games
Videogaming is often thought of as a solitary pursuit but in fact it is much more social than people think. A key feature of many games is the multiplayer aspect, in fact one of the biggest selling points of the Nintendo DS was its ability to play wirelessly against other people. The same is true of the Sony PSP which also allows wireless and online play. Online multiplayer games are also hugely popular with PC game players, games such as World of Warcraft have over 5 million subscribers. In todays Guardian Aleks Krotoski wrote a very interesting article about the community and players in the virtual world of Azeroth.
Videogame Characters
Often when you play videogames you have a chance to choose the character that you play, you may spend a large amount of time being a green dinosaur in a go-kart chasing friends and family around a range of tracks. To some people this may well sound very odd but others may recognise me describing Yoshi and Mario Kart, in this case played wirelessly on the DS. What makes me choose to be Yoshi? Why not Mario or Bowser instead? In this case it is due to his ability in the game, the ease at which he can corner and that this makes the game easier for me to play. This selection of a character based on their abilities within a game is fairly common and one that you may well recognise, you may well choose the same character in games such as Teken or Dead or Alive. In some types of videogames you can create your own player, often known as an avatar. This is often the case in MMORPG’s (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) You will be presented with a range of choices about how to present yourself online in a virtual world. How people choose to represent themselves online is extremely interesting and is an area that photographer Robbie Cooper focused on and below are two images from his exhibition Alter Ego as well as a link to a BBC article on it. The link is here:BBC article Canon Lucy aka Virtual Lucy Lucas aka Gaenank
Videogames & Ratings
Should you wish to find out more about how videogames are rated then check out the what ELSPA (Entertainment and Lesiure Software Publishers Association) have to say. ELSPA also have an interactive guide to ratings that features clips from different games in that catergory. There is also a site for parents and people who want to know more about games.
You may like to watch the episode from South Park ‘Make love not war(craft)’ for a satirical take on the pleasures of MMORPGs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CWBN8zmhF0
Worksheet 5
Week 5
Read this article – write a response (2 sides of A4) to this piece.
Where do you think video gaming will go next? What are the possibilities for the next generation of games? Write about technical developments as well as audience pleasures.
The video games industry is obsessed with the phrase “next generation”, but what does it actually mean? What can gamers expect from any game given that name? It would be easy to dismiss the next generation gaming experience as simply eye candy.
The latest games all look great but the potential offered by the processing power of consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PS3 does not end there. They also give developers a wealth of new gameplay possibilities. At Ubisoft’s Montreal studio, a team of 300 designers, programmers and artists have spent four years developing Assassin’s Creed, a next generation medieval action adventure. “A lot of people have heard the term ‘next gen game’ thrown around and so far what we’ve seen as far as next gen games mostly means better quality graphics,” said Ubisoft producer Jade Raymond. “So you’ve seen in fighting games where boxers are up close, you get more detail on the facial animation. Or in car racing games it looks exactly like the car, and you get more shiny cars and the environments are more realistic. “But for me personally, next gen game had to mean new types of gameplay.” Assassin’s Creed is set during the Crusades and the action takes place in three huge cities. Each is populated with thousands of computer controlled characters. Players can take Altair, the character they control, anywhere in the city. “We made this rule and gave ourselves the challenge to try and make huge cities that are completely interactive, which means that every single thing in the city can be grabbed, climbed on, jumped from,” said Ms Raymond. “Which means that we created tools to be able to recognise the 3D models and automatically generate interactive edges on everything.” Lego blocks The gaming environment took so long to develop because everything that sticks out of a wall more than two inches can be an anchor point for Altair.
“Our challenge was to make it readable for the player as we’re using games to see the level design ingredients or the game designer path,” said creative director Patrice Desilets. “This time there is no path whatsoever.” Vincent Pontbriand, Ubisoft associate producer, said: “In a regular, more linear, game what you would do is create game levels. In our case, since it involved cities in which you could travel anywhere, we quickly realised it was going to be impossible to customise the entire city that way, polygon by polygon. “So what we did was we created a bank of objects, what we call a Lego system, and this allowed us to produce the first templates for the cities quickly by adding and removing blocks. “Then we were able to do the same things with objects and eventually with the characters and the population itself.” While larger environments that allow the player more freedom are certainly a bonus, there is still more to be done before a game can earn that next gen title. Background characters Probably one of the biggest challenges facing games is to make computer controlled characters more lifelike. This is where the hardware buried inside the latest consoles proves so useful. “The tendency in technology is to move towards multi-core, multi CPU type of machines,” explained AI programmer Matthieu Mazerolles. “What this means is instead of having just one processing unit you literally have several, sometimes up to a dozen all within the same box.
“What this allows us to do is to take all of the calculations, which are highly complex, that go into making the AI seem alive, and distribute these across many different processors.” Said Ms Raymond: “We worked on this whole kind of physics systems for when you bump into people and push them out of the way, so that tactile thing really felt real. “So bumping into a group of people will make you fall over, running full force into a small woman will knock her over.” One of the tools the company has worked on is something which generates crowds of diverse people. “For NPCs we have hundreds and hundreds of different looking characters, that were the templates we used to create our initial models,” said Mr Pontbriand. “But then we created our own technology to take those templates, cut them down into pieces and then, with the technology, added the ability to randomise between skin colour, clothes, hair colour. “We ended up with a multiplying factor, so these sketches that became models ended up producing thousands of different variations in game.” ‘A player’s story’ Increased production values, emotional involvement, environments that have more bearing on the world – could all of these elements help shift games from what many perceive to be a marginalised ghetto into the mainstream? “As an entertainment medium, games are really just scratching the surface,” said Ms Raymond. “I think we are at where we were with film when we made the transition from silent films to films that were telling a story with sound and dialogue. “We are just at the point of discovering what we can do with interactivity and what’s an interactive story where you are creating a story for players, but it really has to become the player’s story.” Said Mr Desilets: “I strongly believe the more we go on with next gen the less we will see video game rules apparent, they will be more and more hidden and the experience will be a lot more immersive because you won’t see the video game rules that only gamers really like.” |
Week 6
Worksheet 6
Rockstar- Some more definitions - written task – do the quiz
All videogames made by Rockstar today use RAGE and Euphoria.
In 2006 Table Tennis was the first game that Rockstar developed using RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Games Engine) and Euphoria, all subsequent Rockstar games use this technology, including GTA IV. The thing that makes Euphoria interesting is the naturalistic movement of the characters, the use of artificial intelligence and it ensures that the characters act and react differently everytime. Before Euphoria a lot of games developers used Ragdoll Physics.
Before Rockstar developed their own games engine (RAGE) they used to use a games engine called RenderWare, which was made by an external company called Criterion. Rockstar stopped using RenderWare and decided to develop their own games engine after EA, a rival games company, bought Criterion.
Quick Examples
A game that has limited means of distribution:
Wii Fit needs the Wii Fit Balance Board to play it. The need for this extra piece of hardware means that the game can’t be made available as a download – it has to be purchased from a shop or online store.
A game that was originally available digitally:
Alien Hominid – was a 2D shoot-‘em-up that was free to play on the Newsground website. Such was the popularity of the game that a full console version was created for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube.
A developer that has become vertically integrated
Valve Software, the developers behind the hugely successful Half-Life series, created an online content delivery system called Steam. Initially it was thought this would be for the distribution of updates and patches for Valve’s game, but it became apparent that it could be used for the distribution of whole PC games.
Valve can now distribute their PC games without the need to include retailers in the process – however, they do have a publishing deal with EA for their PS3 and Xbox 360 games.
Many other publisher use Steam to distribute their PC games (eg Rockstar with GTA4), but have to share the revenue taken with Valve.
A game in development that doesn’t have a publisher:
The Outsider – a 3rd person action game that is being developed by Frontier Developments for PC, PS3, Xbox 360. This project was started and has continued without publisher funding.
A publisher that does not develop their own games:
505 Games – a publisher that acquires games mainly created by Japanese developers. For example they made an agreement with developers CML to publish the game Cooking Mama in Europe, but other companies published the game in the US and Japan.
Games that don’t need publishers:
Developers creating games for the iPhone can self-fund development (as they are relatively cheap to make) and then use Apple’s existing distribution structure (the App Store) to get the product to the consumers. (N.B. Apple state that 70% of revenues from the store to instantly go to the seller of the app, and 30% go to Apple.)
E.g. Illusion Labs created the game Touch Grind for the iPhone. Games found on Face book.
Using controversy to publicise a game:
For the release of the racing game Burnout, the publishers Acclaim started a competition/promotion for gamers to send in speed camera photos of them breaking the speed limit. Acclaim would then pay the speeding fine for the entry clocking the highest speed. This of course caught the attention of the press who criticised the encouragement of such dangerous behaviour which in turn help spread the about game.
A game that changed publishers:
Developer’s Sports Interactive created the Championship Manager football management sim, this was published by Eidos. The game was hugely successful but Sports Interactive split from their working relationship with Eidos in 2004. The decision was that Eidos could keep the brand name “Championship Manager”, but Sports Interactive could keep all the game code and database.
Sports Interactive then took their game to another publisher, Sega, and released it under the name Football Manager – billed as from the ‘creators of the Championship Manager series’.
Eidos released another version of Championship Manager but had to create the game from scratch with another developer.
A game that changed developer:
Core Design were a development studio owned by publisher’s Eidos. It was Core Design that created Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider games. The series was hugely successful until the release of Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness which was a commercial and critical flop.
Even though Core Design created the game, it was Eidos that owned the ‘intellectual property’ (the rights to use the Tomb Raider ideas and brand) and found another development studio to make Tomb Raider – another Eidos owned developer – Crystal Dynamics.
Some more Definitions
Vertical integration
Definition: Absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in all aspects of a product’s manufacture from raw materials to distribution.
Use: Rockstar Games have become a vertically integrated company by buying out developers they had previously worked with, such as DMA Design who became Rockstar North and Angel Studios who became Rockstar San Diego. By doing this Rockstar now have control over development, funding and marketing of their products.
Media convergence
Definition 1: Convergence of media occurs when multiple products come together to form one product with the advantages of all of them.
Use: The PlayStation3 is an example of media convergence as it is machine that not only plays game, but can be used to watch Blu-Rays, surf the internet and organise and display digital content such as photos and music.
Definition 2: When old and new media intersect in such a way that the way in media producers and media consumers interact changes.
Use: The consumption of GTA 4 is a good example of media convergence as consumers have used both old and new media to alter the way in which they experience the game. For instance GTA fans have used the internet to create fansites and communities to share tips, stories and experiences about the game. They have also developed their own modifications and shared them over the internet.
Synergy
Definition: The interaction of two or more agents to ensure a larger effect than if they acted independently.
Use: Rockstar used synergy in their marketing by timing the release of the first trailer to coincide with the release the first GTA 4 magazine preview which was in the US games magazine Game Informer.
Viral Marketing
Definition: A marketing technique aiming at reproducing “word of mouth”, usually on the internet and through existing social networks.
Use: Rockstar used viral marketing to increase awareness of GTA 4 by setting up spoof websites designed to be ‘discovered’ by GTA fans who would then spread the word.
Guerilla Marketing
Definition: The use of unconventional and low cost marketing strategies to raise awareness of a product.
Use: To promote GTA 4, Rockstar used Guerilla marketing, putting up ‘wanted posters’ over New York, stickers up on notice boards and commissioning works of graffiti that featured characters from the game.
Third Party Game
A game made by a company that is completely independent from the manufacturers of the console that the game is played on.
Second Party Game
A game created exclusively for a specific console through a contract agreement with the console manufacturer. (The console manufacturer may own a percentage of the studio, but not enough to give it a controlling interest.)
First Party Game
A game created by the console manufacturers themselves or by a developer in which the console manufacturer has a controlling interest (over 51% of shares).
Game Engine
A game engine is a software system designed for the creation and development games.
Developer
The software developers who create the game.
Publisher
The company that funds, market and distribute games that they have developed internally or have commissioned or acquired from an independent games developer. (NB even though most publishers also develop games as well, they are referred to as ‘publishers’ to differentiate them from the companies that just develop games.)
Machinima
Derived from the words ‘machine’ and ‘cinema’, Machinima is art of filmmaking created by using real-time recording of computer games, virtual worlds or any already-existing 3D digital worlds.
Modding
Modding is a slang expression that is derived from the word “modify” and refers to the act of modifying a game to perform a function or to include content not originally conceived or intended by the designer, and then usually shared via the internet.
Sandbox Game
A game that allows the gamer to ignore the main objectives of the game (usually the Story Mission) and engage in other non-goal orientate activities.
Quiz
1) Which companies were responsible for creating the following consoles?
a) GameBoy
b) PSP
c) Xbox360
d) Jaguar
2) What do the following initials mean?
a) FPS
b) MMORPG
c) DLC
d) RTS
e) TBS
3) Which individuals are regarded as being responsible for the creation of these games characters?
a) Solid Snake
b) Mario
c) Lara Croft
4) Who were the developers and the publishers for the following games?
a) Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground
Developer:
Publisher:
b) Halo 3
Developer:
Publisher:
c) Resident Evil 5
Developer:
Publisher:
5) Give three examples of games for each of the following genres.
a) Shooter
1.
2.
3.
b) Sports
1.
2.
3.
c) Driving
1.
2.
3.
d) Action/adventure
1.
2.
3.
e) RPG
1.
2.
3.
6) What is the difference between a game described as a simulator and one described as an ‘arcade’ game?
Week 7
Rockstar – case study
Visit the website: http://www.rockstargames.com/
And the game: http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption/agegate.html?ref=index.html
Written task – What are the key features of the game and its marketing strategy?
DEVELOPMENT
In 2002 Capcom, the hugely successful Japanese games publisher, announced that they were working on a Western themed shoot-‘em-up called Red Dead Revolver. Developing the game for them were US based company Angel Studios who previously had ported Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 to the N64.
The game was due for release in March 2003 and was an arcadey shoot-‘em-up that used a mythical vision of the west with a mix of pantomine villains and comic characters. This wasn’t gritty or realistic recreation of the Wild West.
Also the presentation of the game was bold and intrusive, with large health and ammo gauges cluttering the screen.
CAPCOM’S RED DEAD REVOLVER
*Loads of on screen information – cluttered in its presentation of onscreen information
As well as working on Red Dead Revolver for Capcom, Angel Studios were working on the Smuggler’s Run and Midnight Club for Rockstar. Then in November 2002 Rockstar bought Angel Studios for $28million and renamed them Rockstar San Diego.
Despite Rockstar’s purchase the team working on Red Dead continued with the development. Capcom then announced in August 2003 that they would no longer be publishing the game. In December of 2003 Rockstar announced that they had acquired the game from Capcom and would be releasing it in the summer of 2004.
Rockstar changed the tone of the game giving it a grittier look and feel, they altered the presentation to give it a cleaner look (in terms of on screen information and increased the amount of blood and violence, enough to warrant a 16+ PEGI rating.
ROCKSTAR’S RED DEAD REVOLVER
*Less intrusive HUD (Heads-Up-Display) and a much cleaner presentation.
MARKETING
It wasn’t just the look of the game that changed, the way it was marketed changed. Take a look at these two trailers of Red Dead – one from Capcom and one made by Rockstar.
Capcom’s Red Dead Revolver Trailer:
The music is typical of a spaghetti western, but used for almost comic effect rather than giving the game any authenticity. The focus is purely on the game’s action rather than environment or atmosphere, and it is frantic in its delivery.
Rockstar’s Red Dead Revolver Trailer:
This is much more like a movie trailer in pace and presentation. It lingers over the environments before showing some of the action. When the action is then presented it’s from a contrived and stylish angle rather than the perspective from which it would be played in the final game.
RECEPTION
Red Dead received a warm if not necessarily gushing critical response and has a 75% rating on Game Ranking. It was released for the PS2 and Xbox and sold 1.5 million copies.
It does however stick out from Rockstar’s other games, which tended to focus on cool, contemporary culture and relative realism.
“Rockstar acquired the partially-built bits of first game, Red Dead Revolver, from Capcom. So with Red Dead Revolver, Rockstar wound up polishing and completing the product, but the core wasn’t what Houser termed a “Rockstar design.” “It didn’t fundamentally play like a Rockstar game,” he said.”
Exert from Ign.com feature interview with Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser (08/05/09)
RED DEAD REDEMPTION
Red Dead Revolver sold well enough to warrant the production of a sequel, so Rockstar began work on a follow-up called Red Dead Redemption. The first glimpse of this came in 2005 during the unveiling of the PlayStation3 so it has obviously been in development for some time.
Unlike Red Dead Revolver this will be a ‘Rockstar game’ from concept to completion and so will be a very different game to the original.
“We loved the mechanic of Deadeye (a slow motion aiming gameplay feature) and thought it was executed very nicely for the time… so we wanted to keep that and keep the Wild West theme, but beyond that I don’t think there’s much that’s being kept. I think the way we came to see Red Dead Revolver as being about the kind of myths and iconic images of the Old West, the cowboy with the scar on his face, the Indian, or the iconic set pieces put together in a somewhat linking story but it was really about trying to show off these very iconic myths about the Old West. Then what we wanted to do with Red Dead Redemption was to do something that felt more like the reality of the Old West…Story-wise we felt there was no point linking them because it wouldn’t make any sense.”
~ Exert from Ign.com feature interview with Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser (08/05/09)
Here are Red Dead Redemption’s key features:
- Different time period to Red Dead Revolver, a different lead character and different style of gameplay.
- Redemption is set in an open world in which you are free to explore, take on missions, hunt wildlife, play mini-games, shoot at whoever you want, and progress through the story. It’s a sandbox game.
- The lead character is John Marston a former bandit turned lawman who is trying to lead ag conventional life until his past catches up with him.
- For transport there will be horses, trains, and stagecoaches all around the game world for you to hop into. You can buy horses in town or use your lasso to break ones in the wild. On trains and stagecoaches you can either stay on in real time or, if you just want to get somewhere quickly, can just take a nap. When you wake up, you’ll be at your destination.
- Missions include helping or robbing the characters you come across, you can take on jobs for the Marshall and there’s even gambling in the local saloon.
- While you’re allowed to shoot at anyone, just like in GTA if you shoot innocent citizens the locals will form a posse to hunt you down. Act too recklessly and you’ll be unwelcome in certain towns.
- Just like GTA 4 it will use the RAGE game engine and Natural Motion’s Euphoria.
- The game already has an 18+ PEGI rating which suggests it will have violent and mature content.
The Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E8UFmPDRqc
See how it’s very similar to the GTA 4 trailers by focusing on the environment and the world in which the game is set. Again there’s a voice over to convey that the game is story led and it also feels like film trailer.
Week 8
Worksheet 8
Written task: Select one console and explain how it is publicised, what is its USP (unique selling point), which games it supports, and how its marketing links it to the games manufacturers.
Go to wordpress.com
TBSHS
p/word year12
blog – audsandinstitutions
Watch the presentation: distribution – case study:
Select one console and explain how it is publicised, what is its USP (unique selling point), which games it supports, and how its marketing links it to the games manufacturers.
Weeks 9/10
Specimen essay titles & examiners’ reports - see class teachers
•May 10, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Resources and info – read and follow the links. Add any new info ot your case studies. You can refer to more than one game -remember make a genereic point and support it with evidence/examples.
Glossary of terms – check through these again try to use them accurately in your essays.
Follow this link for PDF report on people’s use of video games:
http://crystaltips.typepad.com/wonderland/files/bbc_uk_games_research_2005.pdf
Click here for article on how people use video games:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/7041086.stmRegulation of video games
- Are a non-governmental regulatory body
- Their age classifications are enforced by law.
- They classify videogames which contain video footage of, or depictions of the following:
- Human sexual activity
- Acts of gross violence towards humans and animals
- Criminal activity
- Drug use
- Are a self-regulatory body (set up voluntarily by the videogame industry to regulate their own products)
- Their classifications are guidelines for parents and retailers and are NOT enforced by law.
- If any game contains depictions of human sexual activity, acts of gross violence towards humans or animals, criminal activity or drug use, by law the game is exempt from PEGI classification and must be classified legally by the BBFC before sale.
Go to the website: http://www.pegi.info/en/index/id/28/
OnLive could threaten Xbox, PS3, and Wii (Cnet)
Video Game Makers Seeing Red (The New York Times)
Grand Theft Auto IV release will re-ignite console battle (Telegraph)
GTA 4 Music Distribution Model Unveiled (Digital Battle)
In 2006 Table Tennis was the first game that Rockstar developed using RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Games Engine) and Euphoria, all subsequent Rockstar games use this technology, including GTA IV. The thing that makes Euphoria interesting is the naturalistic movement of the characters, the use of artificial intelligence and it ensures that the characters act and react differently everytime. Before Euphoria a lot of games developers used Ragdoll Physics.
Before Rockstar developed their own games engine (RAGE) they used to use a games engine called RenderWare, which was made by an external company called Criterion. Rockstar stopped using RenderWare and decided to develop their own games engine after EA, a rival games company, bought Criterion.
Avatar
The visual representation or embodiment of the game player on the screen.
Backstory
Videogames often have a brief story section at the start of the game to justify the scenario that the player finds him/herself in.
Beat-‘em-ups
A genre of videogame in which the key objective is for the player to beat up various opponents, the opponents can be defeated in a number of ways. This is a diverse and very popular genre, most beat-‘em-ups will have a multi-player mode on them.
Convergence
In the context of videogames it is the way in which platform developers have moved towards consoles being multi-functional. For example, instead of having three or four different devices to enable consumers to browse the internet, play a videogame and watch a DVD all of these activities can now be done by one piece of technology such as the Wii which is a games console, social-networking tool and internet browser. The downside to this process is that with the increase of multiple functions many of the converged devices are not as good at the individual functions, for example a games console is not as good at playing DVDs as a standalone DVD player.
Cutscenes
The term used to describe scenes in videogames in which the player doesn’t have any control over. They often contain narrative information to justify the forthcoming section or level of the game. Some cutscenes can be extremely detailed to help develop the narrative. Players can find that cutscenes obstruct the process of gameplaying.
Developers
The teams that create the videogames (the software that runs on consoles, PCs and handhelds). Developers may be ‘first party’ (directly owned by a platform holder), ‘second party’ where there is some platform holder support or funding, or ‘third party’ who are unaffiliated with the platform holder.
Distributors and Retailers
The role of the distributor is to get videogames to retailers in order to sell to consumers. As the majority of videogames are currently distributed in physical form (ie on CD, DVD or cartridge), this means getting game boxes onto retailers’ shelves or to warehouses. However, recent moves within the industry have pointed to the increased use of electronic distribution with extra levels or even whole games being downloadable.
First-person shooters
A genre of videogame in which the player’s view is first person, this means that the player does not see his or her character during play sequences. The key gameplay element is to shoot things. Often the game will allow the player to use a light gun as a controller.
Interactivity
A slippery term that is used in many contexts. In videogames, interactivity refers to the player’s ability to exercise control over the action presented onscreen by taking control of a character, piloting a spaceship or driving a car, for example. Interactivity is ooone of the defining features of videogames and they are often called ‘interactive entertainment’, although many parts of the games, such as cutscenes, do not allow such ‘interactive’ control over events.
Killer app (killer application)
The name given to a key piece of software associated with a particular piece of hardware that will help drive sales due to its popularity. An example of a killer app most recently is Brain Training on the Nintendo DS, which has boosted sales and attracted a new generation of older gamers to the console.
MMORPG
This refers to Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Games, for example, Second Life or Club Penguin.
Mod/Modder
Mods are literally ‘modifications’ to games that change their appearance, structure or level design, for example, but that usually leaves the underlying gameplay and mechanics intact. Most common in the world of PC games, the practice of modding relies on free ‘mod tools’ released by game developers. Most mod tools are distributed freely but their use is governed by End User License Agreements (EULAs), which usually prohibit modders or mod teams from selling their creations for commercial gain.
Platform Holders
Platform holders manufacture the hardware on which videogames run. The three main companies at present are Sony who manufacture the PlayStation series, Microsoft who produce the Xbox series, and Nintendo who produce the Wii, GameCube, Game Boy and Nintendo DS.
Publishers
Publishers provide money and support for the development teams who create videogames. Ubisoft and SCI (incorporating Eidos) in the UK, as well as Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft, Nintendo and Electronic Arts are among the larger videogame publishers.
Ratings bodies
Videogames, like other media, are subject to classification and age rating. While practice differs throughout the world, the UK operates a two-tier system within the voluntary guidelines of the European PEGI (Pan European Games Information) system and the mandatory BBFC regulations as determined by the Video Recordings Act of 1984.
RPG – Role Playing Games
A role-playing game is a videogame where the player controls one or all of the characters, and wins the game by completing a series of quests. A key feature of the genre is that characters grow in power and abilities, and characters are typically designed by the player. Players explore a game world, while solving puzzles and engaging in tactical combat.
Simulation
The deliberate artificial imitation of an experience, or a process, with the intention of making the imitation as close as possible to the ‘real thing’. Often used for training purposes where it is not possible to access the real experience.
Synergy
The basic definition of synergy is the interaction of two or more forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. In the context of the media it is the promotion and sale of a product (and all its versions) throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate, for example, films, soundtracks or video games. To give a detailed example the Spider-Man films had toys of webshooters and figures of the characters made, as well as posters and videogames, this resulted in the creation of more revenue for the creators of the Spider-Man franchise than if they had just released the one film.
Sources:
McDougall , Julian & O’Brien, Wayne (2008) Studying Videogames London: Auteur Publishing
Newman, James & Oram, Barney (2006) Teaching Video Games London: Bfi Publishing
Multiplayer Games
Videogaming is often thought of as a solitary pursuit but in fact it is much more social than people think. A key feature of many games is the multiplayer aspect, in fact one of the biggest selling points of the Nintendo DS was its ability to play wirelessly against other people. The same is true of the Sony PSP which also allows wireless and online play. Online multiplayer games are also hugely popular with PC game players, games such as World of Warcraft have over 5 million subscribers. In todays Guardian Aleks Krotoski wrote a very interesting article about the community and players in the virtual world of Azeroth.
Videogame Characters
Often when you play videogames you have a chance to choose the character that you play, I spent a large amount of time over Christmas being a green dinosaur in a go-kart chasing my friends and family around a range of tracks. To some people this may well sound very odd but others may recognise me describing Yoshi and Mario Kart, in this case played wirelessly on the DS. What makes me choose to be Yoshi? Why not Mario or Bowser instead? In this case it is due to his ability in the game, the ease at which he can corner and that this makes the game easier for me to play. This selection of a character based on their abilities within a game is fairly common and one that you may well recognise, you may well choose the same character in games such as Teken or Dead or Alive. In some types of videogames you can create your own player, often known as an avatar. This is often the case in MMORPG’s (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) You will be presented with a range of choices about how to present yourself online in a virtual world. How people choose to represent themselves online is extremely interesting and is an area that photographer Robbie Cooper focused on and below are two images from his exhibition Alter Ego as well as a link to a BBC article on it. The link is here:BBC article Canon Lucy aka Virtual Lucy Lucas aka Gaenank
Videogames & Ratings
Should you wish to find out more about how videogames are rated then check out the what ELSPA (Entertainment and Lesiure Software Publishers Association) have to say. ELSPA also have an interactive guide to ratings that features clips from different games in that catergory. There is also a site for parents and people who want to know more about games.
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