VideoGames

HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES

Very first video game - created in 1962 - SPACE WAR 
developed using military technology

Computers were very new at the time, very few had them. Computers were vast and therefore very impractical.

Some of the very first video games were role playing games 

Japanese Arcade Boom

Tito (company) created space invaders and launched in 1992. Very popular game found in arcades. It is a shooting game.

Atari and Nintendo began releasing bare games - arcades became a very big deal in the 1980s

Video games became more affordable at home. Bedroom coding - teenage boys making games in their bedrooms.

ZX spectrum - console popular in UK at the time

There was a lot of different genres of games as the industry was very young and people were just coming up with anything and making them into a games . Therefore the quality was not that good.

So the video game industry crashed in the 1980s and Atari went bankrupt after releasing an E.T game.

DRAGON QUEST - roleplaying games - adventure games.

Supermario brothers - released in 1986 by Nintendo. MOST SUCCESSFUL VIDEO GAME EVER MADE. Marketed specifically towards kids.

1994 - Sony Playstation 1 Advert:
This advert is a parody. It is using a clever style of reverse phycology, using satire making fun of the idea that video games make you stupid. Tongue in Cheek.
SOPHISTACATED ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN - playstation wanted to challenge the stereotype that games were only played by nerds. They made the soundtracks more like house music and clubbing sounds in order to appeal to an older audience

Indie games - made by small developing teams for small amount of money
Major game - takes thousands of people to make. Controversy surrounding the workers that sometimes get fucked over when working hard to make these games

Controversies surrounding video games- representations. Laura Croft (main character of Tomb Raider) was made to be a woman to be more appealing to a heterosexual male audience

Digital Distribution - Download Games, Steam, Playstation store.

Who is the intended audience for video games?

This Sega Advert targets a heterosexual male audience.


Lots of innuendos - the audience is old enough to understand the jokes but also young enough to find it funny.

No attempt to target anybody who isn't a teenage boy. This assumes that other audiences, e.g. women, aren't interested at all. 

Here video games are presented as something to keep you busy.

Video games target a very core/niche audience
Assumption that video games are played by younger audiences. "Games" - associated with kids
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WHAT IS A VIDEO GAME?

Require a console
Interactive
Core Audience
The assumption that video games have a bad effect on people - if you play too many you may become violent HYPERDERMIC NEEDLE MODEL
Video games have a vastly more complicated narrative - TODORAV'S EQUILIBRUEM 
Thousands of people come together to create video games much like the film industry
Video games are very pricy

The Video game industry is a specialised industry

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ASSASSINS CREED ||| - LIBERATION

Published by Ubisoft in 2012 for Playstation Vita, then re-released on Xbox 360 and Playstation in 2014. only 600,000 copies sold. Not enough. Main character is Avaline. railer shows off the grpahics creating an imersive atmosphere

Video games are regulated in a different way to films. PEGI regulates assassins creed. It is rated 18

Assassins Creed Liberation Trailer

HOW DOES THIS TRAILER TARGET A SPECIALISED AND A GENERALISED AUDIENCE?

"It is essential for industries to minimise risk and maximise profit" - David Hesmondhaghl

• Black Female character - subverts expectation that the target for video games in young heterosexual men
• "New Missions" - appealing to audience that have already played the game, spend more money, "double dropping"
• Re-released on more popular consoles - gives more people access to it, originally didn't sell very well on PS Vita
• Tackles big ideological issues about race, slavery and colonialism - pushes boundaries, increase word of mouth sales
• Intertextual reference to Django Unchained (2012) - cult film, slavery in Antebellum America. The main character has a whip - intertextual reference to the Castelmania game
• High quality, quality animation, graphics, soundtrack, locations - has high production values. Developed by Ubisoft who have experience in creating high quality, selling Assassins Creed - The soundtrack had big ratings
• It is a multi-platform release - larger audience. Not an exclusive game. Targets a Mass Audience
• Exclusive games drives up sales of consoles
• The trailer shares conventions of high budget Hollywood film - Voice Over/Narrative. Loads of action - Proairetic codes. Soundtrack - orchestral soundtrack 
• This game is similar to the other Assassins Creed - The art/covers/advertisements all look the same - A BRAND IDENTITY IS CREATED VERY RECOGNISABLE TO THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE
• It is being re-released again in 2018 (SECOND TIME) - an easy way to make money
• Audiences who play on a PS3 receive additional content - characters and costumes - and a DLC
• The sales for Assassin's creed liberation did not meet company's expectations - hence why they re released 
• This game was not very well  critically received - mixed reviews. IT UNDERPERFORMED

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REGULATION OF VIDEOGAMES

Videogame sin the Uk are regulated by Pegi, but were previously regulated by Elspa.

Pegi stands for  Pan European Gaming Information. So they regulate in Europe too.

Pegi is an advisory classification system.

REGULATION OF VIDEO GAMES in UK has NEVER been EFFECTIVE. Parents can easily buy games for children.As well as this digital technology has an impact on this - you can just go online and create accounts and pretend to be older than what you actually are

PEGI RATINGS

The content of games with a PEGI 3 rating is considered suitable for all age groups. The game should not contain any sounds or pictures that are likely to frighten young children. A very mild form of violence (in a comical context or a childlike setting) is acceptable. No bad language should be heard.

Game content with scenes or sounds that can possibly frightening to younger children should fall in this category. Very mild forms of violence (implied, non-detailed, or non-realistic violence) are acceptable for a game with a PEGI 7 rating.

Video games that show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy characters or non-realistic violence towards human-like characters would fall in this age category. Sexual innuendo or sexual posturing can be present, while any bad language in this category must be mild. Gambling as it is normally carried out in real life in casinos or gambling halls can also be present (e.g. card games that in real life would be played for money).

The adult classification is applied when the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence, apparently motiveless killing, or violence towards defenceless characters. The glamorisation of the use of illegal drugs and explicit sexual activity should also fall into this age category. 

This rating is applied once the depiction of violence (or sexual activity) reaches a stage that looks the same as would be expected in real life. The use of bad language in games with a PEGI 16 rating can be more extreme, while games of chance, and the use of tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs can also be present.



PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
Within my research i noticed that there is a very specific iconography presented within all of the promotional materials.
It's really hard to differentiate between the different games and the franchise. One of the criticisms of the franchise - It's  oversaturated. All of the games are very similar and not that distinguishable

There are certain items of merch that will only appeal to a niche audience

AUDIENCE THEORIES - FANDOM - HENRY JENKINS

ASSASSINS CREED FANS - 'THE CREED"

FANS DO STUFF WITH THEIR MEDIA PRODUCT. TEXTUAL POACHING (AUDIENCE IS TAKING AWAY THINGS THAT THE PRODUCER NEVER INTENDED)- DIFFERENT TO AUDIENCE

Manifestations of Fandom

Benifits of fandom - cosplay/conventions - gives the opportunity to have social interaction. People bunch together with similar interests

What happens when you play too many video games?

- your attitude and opinions change

- you become stupid

- loose out on social interaction - becoming anti social

HYPERDERMIC NEEDLE MODEL - AUDIENCE IS PASSIVE - ASSUMES AUDIENCE IS MINDLESS - NEGATIVE THEORY. 

To what extent does Assassins Creed 3 present a threat to both the target audience and secondary and unintentional?

Video games are universally violent and violence is presented as the only way of solving things. 

CULTIVATION THEORY - GEORGE GERBNER  

ULTIMATE DOOM - 1993
First person shooting game. First of its kind

Ultimate Doom - played by the kids that committed the Columbine Massacre 

moral panic - an event is over exaggerated to create fear within the public
If we see violence over and over again we become desensitised to it

Stuart Hall - RECEPTION THEORY

encoding - when the producer places a message/ideology within a product

decoding - audience receives the message.

ASSASSINS CREED READINGS

PREFERRED READING - AGREE WITH THE READING

NEGOTIATED READING - AGREEING WITH PARTS OF IDEOLOGY

OPPOSITIONAL READING - REJECTING IDEOLOGY

ABERANT READING - NOT UNDERSTANDING THE READING

DOMINANT IDEOLOGY/PREFERRED READING/ANCHORAGE OF ASSASSINS CREED

VIOLENCE IS ACCEPTABLE AND ALSO THERE ARE GOOD GUYS AND BAD GUYS IN LIFE (BINARY OPPOSITION) - SIMPLIFIED LIFE VIEW

WOMEN ARE CAPABLE OF ANYTHING - GENDER EQUALITY

THE GAME IS ABOUT SLAVERY AND FREEDOM - ANTI SLAVERY

AUDIENCE REJECTS IDEOLOGY -
violence shouldn't be used to solve problems
Not enjoyable

AUDIENCE NEGOTIATES IDEOLOGY -
boring but good messages

Video games are more negotiable than any other media form

LORE - the story behind video games, story lines that are not apparent 

VIDEO GAMES are predominantly violent and are made to be fun.

The 25th Ward: The Silver Case - VideoGame

ATYPICAL GAME - text narrative. INTERTEXUAL REFERENCES TO POKEMON. APPEALS TO A MINORITY AUDIENCE

COMPLETE LACK OF GAMEPLAY AND STRUCTURE. There is the argument that this is not even a video game. No continuity whatsoever. NO ENDING. excessive use of strong language. Lots of violence and mature topics such as sex work

VIDEO GAMES FORCE AUDIENCES TO NEGOTIATE READINGS IN WHICH FILM DOES NOT

END OF AUDIENCE THEORIES - CLAY SHIRKY

Audiences are no longer passive anymore. They interact with the producers and media products. Audiences don't just watch stuff, they produce stuff too - becoming producers. Audiences are part of the marketing and apart of the product. Audiences are part of the way of making money.

Death Stranding - Upcoming VideoGame

No release date.

Features the likenesses of several famous Hollywood Actors - All friends with the producer. Producer (HIDEO KOJIMA) is famous for very eccentric games e.g. Metal Gear Solid. His games break rules. POSTMODERNISM 

DEATH STRANDING TRALIER Premiered at Game Awards 2017

Within this trailer Kojima creates an audience.

ANALYSIS - How does this trailer construct audiences?

• Intentionally bizarre iconography, and completely lacking genre conventions. This presents many invitations for active audiences to create "Fan Theories". However this can be disappointing for audiences when they do not get what they expect.
• Famous Hollywood actors - high production values. 
• Sony funding and extremely expensive and likely to fail video game in exchange for exclusivity (game only available for playstation)
• Little merchandise options - a direct contrast to Assassin's Creed, and little opportunity for DLC or multiple sequels.
• Very immersive array camera shots - audience positioned directly with actors - single take: exceptionally hard to achieve in film, though possible with CG

ASSASSINS CREED FRANCHISE IS ALL VERY SIMILAR AND ONLY OFFERS A SINGULAR IDEOLOGY