Instituition

Task 1: developers and publishers

 Research the following game developers/publishers:

Rockstar Games
Background: (year formed and location):based in New York and formed in 1998.
Owner/founder: Dan Houser,Terry Donovan,Gary Foreman,Jamie King,Sam Houser.
Most successful games:Read Dead Redemption,Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,Grand Theft Auto V,Bully,Grand Theft Auto IV.
Interesting fact about the institution: Rock star Games received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award at the British Academy Video Games Awards in March of 2014.

EA (Electronic Arts)
Background: (year formed and location) : Redwood City, California, USA, 1982.
Owner/founder: Trip Hawkins
Most successful games: FIFA,Battlefield, Need for Speed, The Sims, Medal of Honor.
Interesting fact about the institution: THE CEO of Electronic Arts resigned from his position.

Zynga
Background: (year formed and location): San Francisco, California, USA, 2007.
Owner/founder:Mark Pincus
Most successful games:  FarmVille 2, Texas HoldEm Poker.
Interesting fact about the institution:80 % of Zynga's revenue comes from Facebook users

Nintendo
Background: (year formed and location): Kyoto, Japan, 1889.
Owner/founder:  Fusajiro Yamauchi
Most successful games: Super Mario Bros
Interesting fact about the institution: Nintendo was founded as a card company in late 1889, originally named Nintendo Koppai.

Sony Computer Entertainment
Background: (year formed and location) : Tokyo, Japan, 1993.
Owner/founder:  Steve Race
Most successful games:  Killzone series, Infamous series.

w+k

1. What do the letters stand for?Wieden + Kennedy
2. What brands have W+K Amsterdam advertised?Nike, Powerade, Heineken.
3. In your opinion, what is the most creative campaign on their website?“Heineken, The Odyssey”
4. What video game campaigns have they created?EA FIFA14.
5. What additional information can you find out about the FIFA14 advertising campaign?In-depth explanation for the metaphors implied on the campaigns as well as tech-detail.

Rokkan

1)How long has the Rokkan advertising agency been around for? 14 years (launched in 2000)

2)Where is Rokkan based? New Jersey.

3)What brands have Rokkan advertised? Chipotle, SHARP, Nestlé.

4)Why was Rokkan's campaign for the videogame 'Dishonored' so successful? The  idea of creating a 

fully integrated 360°campaign to introduce the new game.

5)Who was the publisher for 'Dishonored'? Bethesda

Task 3: Regulatory bodies

PEGI

1. What is PEGI and where is PEGI based?
2. How does PEGI rate games?
3. What are the age classifications used by PEGI?
4. What are the seven aspects that PEGI look for when giving a game a rating (e.g. violence)?
5. What is PEGI online? What does PEGI online regulate?

planet side 2

Planet Side 2 is a massive on-line multi player game which is free to play. it is a first person shooter game and was published by Sony on-line entertainment and released on November 20th, 2012. Planet Side 2 is a re-imagining of Planet side, featuring the same world, factions and taking place at roughly the same time period. In the previous game 'planet side' it features territory control in an open world and has large battles which feature up to 2000 players per continent.It is also a faster paced game than the original Planet Side and now has the ability to feature possibly thousands of players.The six different player classes in the game are The Infiltrator,The Light Assault ,The Combat Medic,The Engineer,The Heavy Assault and lastly The MAX. Planet side 2 is completely free to play, however if you would like to get a subscription offer you would have to pay a fee. some players dislike games in which users can buy additional weapons or health because it is seen as cheating. players who are not as wealthy as other have to work hard to reach high levels which may take some time. whereas wealthy people who spend a lot of money on in game currency,health etc. can easily reach high levels without doing much work.The subscription offers players  increased experience,extra resources such as weapons like grenades and lastly Provides players with cert points. The in-game currency can be used to buy Medical kits,Vehicles and air craft.

The Terran Republic

An authoritarian government that leverages military might to maintain strict control over the colonial citizens. The Terran Republic is obsessed with the preservation of law and order through violence, and are thus seen by some to be an oppressive and dictatorial force, but many view the TR as the only hope for lasting security on Auraxis. Their colors are red and black. TR forces are distinguished by their use of rapid fire weapons and miniguns, large magazines, and high speed medium tanks and fighters.Gender: Male

Age: 25 - 35

social class: B

Education: A*-B* A-levels

Employment: B class employment 

New Conglomerate

The New Conglomerate operates as a loosely organized band of highly effective freedom fighters, vehemently opposed to the stranglehold that the Terran Republic has on Auraxis. Led by an unusual quorum of outcasts, industry titans, and pirates, the New Conglomerate is unwavering and prepared to achieve freedom from oppression by any means necessary. Their colors are blue and gold. NC forces use hard hitting gauss weaponry that is devastating at short and medium ranges with a medium reload time, supported by heavily armored assault troops and durable tanks and fighters that also have the highest damage per shot in the game.

Gender: Male

Age: 18 - 35

Education: A-levels

Employment: unemployed

Vanu Sovereignty

The Vanu Sovereignty believes that only through the mysterious power of ancient technology can humanity truly evolve its next state of existence. They are an advanced and cunning faction, employing powerful alien technology on the battlefield. Their singular purpose is to uncover the secrets hidden away in ancient artifacts scattered over the surface of Auraxis, and they annihilate anyone who interferes with their progress. Their colors are purple and cyan. Vanu employ advanced plasma and laser technology on the battlefield, distinguished by lack of bullet drop, high accuracy, and low recoil, as well as highly maneuverable hovering tanks and Empire Specific Fighters such as the Scythe. 

Gender: Male

Age: 18 - 30

Social class: B

Education: A*-B A-levels/university degree 

Employment B class employment 

Psychographic

The Terran Republic: Mainstreamers, Resigned

The Vanu Sovereignty: Reformers

The New Conglomerates: Explorers, Succeeders 

FIFA 14 case study

print 

The picture above is of a Fifa 14 print advert. It is promoting the release date of the game and persuading the people/customers to pre-order so they can gain additional Fifa 14 merchandise. The keys conventions found on the print advert above are the central image,slogan/flash line, title, colour scheme et.. The writers for Fifa 14  are experienced in video game analysis therefore they are considered reliable for the target audience. 

below are 3 reviews from a video game magazine:

http:///reviews/xbox-one-reviews/fifa-14-xbox-one-review - "it’s so close to perfect that it’s very likely to cause multiple jaws to drop." - POSITIVE 

Met score- “in FIFA 14 players have better decision making and teams play smarter on both the attack and defence to bring the beauty of the game to life ” POSITIVE
3. http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/09/23/fifa-soccer-14-review - "a fantastic experience. This time around it's more attacking, more polished, and will keep you coming back throughout the season." - POSITIVE

I think E-media is more effective in reaching the target audience. The target audience for Fifa 14 are people who enjoy using social media in there everyday life. An example of this is Facebook and using it on their home computer or possibly on their phone while on the work to work. As these social networks are used in their everyday life it would only be right to advertise games on Facebook etc. where they have no choice but to look at as they use these networks everyday.

BROADCAST

The Fifa 14 TV advert corresponds with the campaign 'WE ARE FIFA 14'  as they present a variety of different people from age, race to gender. Overall the advert portrays that anybody can play because we are all equal. Using Lionel Messi to drive the van portrays him as a normal person. By using a combination of different footballers,music artists etc. they are trying to establish the wide array of the target audience demographic. The trailer is effective in promoting the game because it is different to the actual TV adverts, this on-line you tube advert shows in-game footage and is more informative.

E-MEDIA

The Fifa 14 website attracts and maintains the interest of a FIFA14 fan because of its Interactive features, dynamic graphics and concise text. Its Facebook page has over 2 million likes.

The Fifa 14 twitter hashtag is #Fifa14
in game play : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ltEMOJcYek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guZnE3GiwOk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w6Vf1JcSUk

wii party case study

Wii case study

1(1)    Wii party was released for Nintendo Wii on October 8^th 2010.

2(2)    The developer of Wii party Nintendo SPD Group NO.4

3(3)    Wii party has sold over 7.94 million games since release date.

Broadcast

The key conventions of a video game TV advert and what I would expect to see in a video game TV advert are is the title, celebrity endorsement, pricing , release date etc. The key conventions I listed above that have been found in the wii party TV adverts are the title, in game footage, the release date etc. The typical setting used for a wii party advert is a living room, this makes the viewers feels as though they were at home which creates more comfort for them. I think the setting appeals to families because it is in a living room which is where most families spend time together and most important is where they play the game. The adverts feature celebrities such as JLS, Ant&Dec, and the Saturdays etc. These celebrities are dressed casually to fit in with the setting in order to make the viewers feel more comfortable. I think these celebrities are chosen because of their age, gender and perhaps their race. From the TV adverts I have learned that the target audience includes a wide range of different ages, races and genders. Wii party includes different scenarios of different relationships and adds quite a lot of humour to please the audience. I think the TV adverts were very effective because it reaches out to all of its target audience e.g. the younger and older generation.

Print 

www.nintendolife.com/reviews/ - this reviews says that the game was a huge hit in the house' for a family home.A positive 

review from this website is Wii Party is more than a reason to get out your Gamepad." I think the magazine reviews are very effective because it fits in with the game's target audience.

E-media

The wii website is very bright and attractive. in the centre image of the website there is a mixture of genders,races and ages making the company seem more multicultural.The colours I mostly see on the white are pink and white. These two colours are sometimes used for a younger generation although the target audience for the game is for people of all ages. The wii party facebook page has over 100 likes. The target audience is aimed for people who are not really involved in social networks this is why they do not have such a strong presence on other social networking sites. 

I think broadcast is the best platform for promoting Wii Party to its target audience because it is easy to access.

AIDA exercise: marketing a new game

My game will be called "JUST SING"

I think this game will be played by those aged 7-25. The platforms this game can be played on is wii and play-station 3 or 4. There will be a gender split of 75%female and 25%male.

marketing campaign

To attract the audience's attention my game will be advertised on tv channels based around their age. E.g for the younger generation aged 7-14 I will have my game advertised on children/teenage channels such as Disney junior and Disney channel.

To stimulate audience desire/interest I will have well known celebrities play the game and have it recorded. This may be used as my  game advertisement on either you-tube or TV.

MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

KATY PERRY - ROAR

This music video is called ‘ROAR’ by Katy Perry.  To begin with it is quite effective because of its narrative. In the beginning of the video everything seems to be going wrong, the plane that Katy had been travelling on had crashed; there-for she was trapped on a desert island with the pilot of the crashed plane.  Just seconds after that had happened the pilot had been attacked by a tiger and taken away leaving Katy by herself. Throughout the rest of the video she had to adapt to her environment where she learned that the rest of the animals were much like her; kind and friendly. The concept of the music video is also effective as well because of how creative and different it is. You wouldn't expect a young female to be trapped on an island with nothing but animals that become her friends. Our expectations of the scenario would be that she gets attacked or hurt by one of the animals whereas in this video she was pampered and well looked after ,as if she was one of them herself.  The use of visual effects was quite effective too as it was used very professional. In some music videos they have a small budget but would still like to add visual effects, this leaves the video looking unprofessional and rushed. Whereas in Katy Perry’s music video everything looks surreal creating an effect on the viewers because they then notice it is not realistic and actually a visual effect.

Taken film analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCbDUREBwUg (TAKEN)

Taken is a 2008 English-language French action thriller film which stars Liam Neeson.

He plays a former (CIA) operative who sets about tracking down his daughter after she is kidnapped by human traffickers for sexual slavery while travelling in France.

Enigma codes pose questions to the audience which are then answered shortly after or later on in the film. For example, who is she? Where is she going? Why is she doing that? They're questions enabling the audience to get intrigued with the film and wanting to find out the answers to these questions, therefore watching more of it. Enigma codes entice the audience to watch the rest of the film as they're curious as to what will happen next; they also help to move on the narrative.

An example of an enigma code is when the main character (Liam Neeson’s) daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers. People may question

 Why she was targeted out of the thousands of girls in Paris?

Does her kidnapping link to her father?