The videogame industry

A brief history of the videogame industry

Research 
Three key facts of video games:

  • The industry is fairly recent compared to other media products, with the first video game called 'space war' coming out in 1962. It was made in an American Laboratory, the founders didn't want to make it as a commercial product it was more for a proof of concept. It is a shoot 'em up, so you fly around and shot things on the screen it is also controlled by a remote. In order to play these videos games, you had to be studying in that field, for instance, computer science. 
  • There is another video game that had come before 'space wars!', Drafts, It was created for Nimrod computers in 1952. It had a series of various lights on the screen which would flick up on the screen instead of the standard cathode-ray tube screen we might see today. This was programmed with a series of punch cards. It took a vast amount of time and technological equipment to run this game. 
  • The first video that came out commercially, Computer Space, in 1971. Has a lot of similarities to modern arcade cabinets. Even the actual cabinet is a 70s retro-futuristic design. Video Games also had similar marketing techniques where they use the male gaze, for instance, the women in the cover next to the cabinet. We don't even see the visual of the videogame. The control just buttons instead of joysticks 
Mario kart: 
  • Genre: Racing video game 
  • Year released: 27 August 1992
  • Developer:  Nintendo, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Namco
  • Publisher: Nintendo, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Namco
  • Platform (eg Xbox 360): Wii, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Nintendo DS, Super Nintendo Entertainment 
  • Price when first sold/RRP:
  • Units sold/total revenue: $86 million 
  • Average review score (google '[name of game] Metacritic'): 8.6 
  • Age rating: 7y+
  • Google [name of game] how long to beat and click on the first 'howlongtobeat.com' link. Note down how long the game takes to complete on average:  on average the main story takes 6h 07m
  • Development facts (how was the game made? How long did it take to make? What issues did the team face?):  Mario kart Wii was the sixth in the Mario kart series, the developers wanted to avoid the races becoming more deserted as they progressed. 
Fruit Ninja 
  • Genre: Arcade and Action game  
  • Year released: 21 April 2010
  • Developer: Halfbrick Studios
  • Publisher: Halfbrick Studios 
  • Platform (eg Xbox 360): Android, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, iOS, PlayStation Vita, Symbian, Bada, Windows Phone
  • Price when first sold/RRP: free
  • Units sold/total revenue: $1 million/ month  
  • Average review score (google '[name of game] Metacritic'): 7.3
  • Age rating: 7y+
  • Google [name of game] how long to beat and click on the first 'howlongtobeat.com' link. Note down how long the game takes to complete on average:  on average the main story takes 6h 07m
  • Development facts (how was the game made? How long did it take to make? What issues did the team face?):  Mario kart Wii was the sixth in the Mario kart series, the developers wanted to avoid the races becoming more deserted as they progressed. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Online Media - Zoella

Image
Target Audience - Perhaps younger teenagers/Kids (11-15yrs old) can infer this through the Lexis and Language they used in the video  Child Friendly, laugh at almost everything. There's no explicit language.   Inoffensive - cultivation character  Comments discuss the friendship they have aspirational  Insanely repetitive  Editing is simple- Icons of Pizza chains, simple editing - lots of jumpcuts  Stereotypically represented as feminine with her makeup and hair. She is presented as a perfect persona the video subtly produces a narrative about the lives they live from the products they consume and their buying habits such as Zoe "gets pizza like every week"   For comic effect, she chooses to leave in the blooper to make it more funny and interesting. Naturalistic tone  Her appearance is part of her brand - her own style naturalness and effortless however is trying  video is heavily constructed but is suppose to be natural  Loud ...
Read more

Analysis of a chosen scene

 Task  1. List the Media Language (mise-en-scene, editing, Cinematography etc.) that constructs meaning in the scene 2. Identify the preferred reading and the dominant ideology of the scene (e.g. 'a deliberately confusing and distressing ideology that positions the audience uncomfortably') 3. Identify the possible negotiated readings and oppositional reading- how is the audience being positioned?  Claire's reaction to Camille returning (11:45- 14:40) The scene starts with the frame focusing on the back of Claire's head, after seeing Camille in her house. This is a hermeneutic code as the audience are left to wonder what Claire's reaction is. The suspense is further anchored through the hallow unsettling music.  There are various moments within this scene where Claire changes her pace dramatically in seconds which may position the audience in an unnerving situation. As they feel alert and placed in a way through the cinematography as if they are there. Some of the sc...
Read more

The BBC

  The BBC - Key Facts These principles ensure all BBC content should…Inform, educate and entertain The BBC abides by ‘Reithian principles’…Which were proposed by its first Director General, John Reith The BBC does not prioritise commercial profit…Instead, it focuses on providing its audiences with the best possible content as a public service broadcaster The BBC is paid for by…The TV licence fee Because the public pay for the BBC…It, therefore, has a duty to reflect stories from people of all walks of life Prides itself on being PLURALISTIC Plurality Where a media product exhibits and gives voice to a wide range of ideological perspectives The BBC is a public service broadcaster. What does this mean? What responsibilities does this entail?  It has a self-imposed remit to “inform, educate and entertain” To what extent does the BBC offer it’s audiences ideological plurality?  Analyzing LNWH - Power and profit Curran and Seaton argue that all media products are motivated by ...
Read more