C1 Gaming

Do Now                                                                                                       Wednesday 18th September 2024

1. There is radio, magazines, films, advertisements, newspaper, TV, and music, video games, news.

2. Media can easily be accessed through the internet.

Video Games

LO: To explore the history and context of video games.

1970s . Two decades before Doom, Maze Wars introduces the first-person shooter by taking players into a labyrinth of passages made from wire-frame graphics.

1980s. A missing slice of pizza inspires Namco's Toru Iwatani to create pac-man, which goes on sale july 1980. That year a version of pac-man Atari 2600 became the first arcade hit to appear on a home console.

1990s. Blizzard releases Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, a real-time strategy game that introduces millions of people to the legendary world of Azeroth.

2000s

2010s

Uses and Gratifications theory.

The theory states that an audience will use a media form for either one of four reasons: (PIES)

Personal Identity

Information

Entertainment

Social Interaction.

Baseline Test:

The uses and gratification theory refers to the thought that an audience will indulge in a media form for one of four reasons. Number 1- Entertainment, using the example of gaming, people will go online and use the media in form of games to seek entertainment and have fun, whether that is by themselves or with friend, for example 'it takes two' is a multiplayer game in which two players have to work together to escape and is commonly represented as the most enjoyable co-op game of the decade. Number 2-Personal Identity, people can be whoever they want online, and express feelings and thoughts that they otherwise cannot say out loud to the people that surround them and they are associated with, this could be for a number of reasons, but people seek comfort online and on many different social media forms as they can open up and find who they really are and what they aspire to be like, they can do so by using different games, for example Call Of Duty. This is a teamwork based game set in various warzones, somebody may play this game to shape their future and find inspiration if they are thinking about the army as a possible job opportunity in the future. Number 3. Social Interaction, In many games you can connect a microphone and freely speak to people playing the same game as you, whether it is used to find new people with the same interests as you, or to further communicate with friends or family, online gaming is perfect for social interaction, for example in Fortnite you can join a game with multiple different people, and are able to talk to them in real time through the game, possibly sparking friendships. Number 4. Information... ran out of time.

Do Now                                                                                                    Wednesday 25th September 2024

1. PIES Y

2. Entertainment Y

3. Personal Identity Y

4. Social Interaction Y

5. Information Y                                                                                                                                            

1. Phone, Xbox, PC, Playstation, Wii, Switch

2. Because most people have phones now, so it is easier to use that than buy something new that costs you more money.

3. the gaming audience has definitely grown because it is more accessible to people and there are games for everybody

4. Through downloads and ads

5. Augmented reality is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated 3D content. 

45% of video game players are female, 55% are male.

Case Study: Fortnite

LO: To research the case study and explore the context. of video games

1. Epic games

2. 7yr

3. 25.3 billion pounds

4. Battle royale, Rocket racing, Festival, Lego fortnite

5. In Fortnite, people are dropped into a map from a flying bus and work as either a duo, squad, or by themselves to eliminate all the other players and be the last one standing.

6. Survival, battle royale, sandbox

7. youtube, tiktok, and twitter

8. you can play in duos or squads

9. multiple sections that will appeal to everybody 

10. entertainment is a big part of fortnite, you can interact with new people as well, hence social interaction

1. epic games was started by tim sweeny in 1991, and was originally run from his parents house

2. in 2014 the guiness book of world records named unreal engine the most successful video game engine

Do Now                                                                                                         Wednesday 2nd October 2024

1. Epic games

2. 1991

3. Survival, Sandbox, Shooter

4.Personal Identity, Information, Entertainment, Social Interaction

5. A blend of Virtual reality and real life

Exploring Context

LO: To explore the context of video games.

Prince Harry

"Its created to addict"

Gaming addiction is classified as a disorder

Keeps you in front of a screen

Should be banned.

I agree because I think it video games are specifically made to appeal to vulnerable people like younger teens who a drawn into the addiction and have no other major responsibilities, therefore they spend a vast majority of time in front of the screen, getting more and more addicted, therefore draining their energy for things that are largely more important, for example schooling and education.  However I also slightly disagree, I believe video games and online worlds spark lifelong friendships and help certain people to find their true identity and feel more confident.

Healthcare Triage 

The main points found in this video are that there is no connection between video games and aggressive behaviour and that people who play violent video games have less aggressive thoughts

I disagree that violent video games make people become more violent. In various different studies video games have been proven not to make children more violent. However, they do make people think more violent things, but just from anywhere between 4 and 30 minutes, but that is the same with adults and a sad book, whilst reading it the reader starts to think or feel sad, just like violence and games.    

Media Insider- Bandura and Video games

I agree that video games could influence younger generations to act with certain signs of aggression through copy-cat behaviour. Bandura constructed an experiment called the Bobo experiment. He gathered multiple children from the age of 3 years old to 6 years old and put them in a room together, with a video of adult humans acting with aggression and violence towards an inflatable, bouncy, Bobo doll, then, one at a time he introduced the children to the doll and recorded their actions, they were extremely clear signs of copy-cat behaviour, as almost every single one of the children demonstrated violence and some even used hostile language and tones, just like the adults in the video.

I agree that video games create violence, because there was an experiment conducted by Bandura and it displayed adults being aggressive toward the dolls, and showed a video of this to children between the age of 3 and 6, the children copied the adults actions. This shows young children exposed to video games will most likely copy what they see on the screen.

Do Now                                                                                                         Wednesday 9th October 2024

1. Bandura

2. They cause violent behaviour

3. They are too addictive 

4. It increases because it becomes available to more people as it is on more platforms. Higher expectations of the games. 

5. Advertisements, in app purchases

Regulation.

LO: To explore how video games are regulated.

PEGI regulates video games

3-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.

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

12-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 posturing can be present, while any bad language in this category must be mild.

16-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.

18-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 use of drugs, gambling, and explicit sexual activity should also fall into this age category. 

VIOLENCE 

games rated PEGI 7 can only be non-realistic violence.PEGI 12 can include violence in a fantasy environment or non-realistic violence towards human-like characters. PEGI 16 or 18 have more realistic-looking violence.​

How is the video game industry regulated? Refer to Fortnite in. your answer.

The video game industry is regulated by a company called PEGI. PEGI has 5 different age ratings. PEGI 3, which is suitable for anybody over the age of 3, this age rating does not include any sounds or images that are likely to frighten young children. PEGI 7, a game of this age rating can possibly be frightening to young children, with very mild forms of violence, usually non detailed and non realistic. PEGI 12, this may show slightly more graphic violence, however should only be towards fantasy, non realistic characters, and could have mild sexual posturing present. There is also a PEGI 16 and 18, which feature an increase of realistic violence and language. An example of a PEGI rated game is Fortnite, a video game rated a 12, this is because it is a violent game, in which you have to shoot people, however the characters within the game are unrealistic/ cartoons. People below the recommended age of 12 should not play this, as it is not suitable for children because of the ability to irrationally spend real money in the game, and because of the purpose to kill everyone else playing and be the last one alive.

Technology

Technological convergence is when different technological platforms are mixed and brought together.

Cross media convergence is when different media platforms mix together.

Synergy is a collaboration of media products to promote each other. 

Do Now.                                                                                                      Wednesday 16th October 2024

1. PEGI

2. When pieces of technology are mixed together

3.  When pieces of media are mixed together

4. Synergy is when two pieces of media collaborate to promote each other

5. 12, because it is a shooting game, however is not graphic

Convergence benefits Fortnite because it allows a larger audience across platforms and creates a larger fanbase throughout multiple platforms like Xbox; Playstation; Nintendo Switch; and PC. This is massively benefits Fortnite because the wider fanbase and more followers of the game they have, the more publicity and awareness they gain, therefore causing more money to be made. Platforms and devices such as Nintendo Switch are easily mobile and transportable as they are small and will fit right into your pocket. This is great for Fortnite as it allows their players and fans to continue promoting and streaming the game on multiple different media platforms, even when travelling and on the move. Fortnite can be streamed on almost all, if not every single one, of the consoles and devices, this is hugely beneficial as tournaments and competitions can easily be streamed on platforms like: Youtube, TikTok, Twitch, and many, many, more. Furthermore gaining publicity and therefore money.       Synergy benefits the Fortnite brand because it creates a wider audience outside of gaming. For example when Marvel collaborated with Fortnite it massively increased the publicity for both, because the fan bases from both of the brands see that they are working with each other, and decide to give the other a try. It also keeps the game fresh with collaborations to new released media, this keeps the fans from getting bored with the original game.

How Do Video Games Make Money

LO: To explore how the gaming industry is funded

Fortnite's crucial money maker is the battle pass, it costs $10 for a quarterly subscription, and offers exclusive access to the games updates, characters and map features.

In game purchases such as spending real money for in-game skins and characters, as well as guns and different weapons.

gained 10 million players in the first 2 weeks

150 million users across gaming sites. 

Fortnite is a free to play game that is available on most gaming platforms. It offers in-app purchases such as the battle-pass, which is a special pass you get by paying $10 in real money, it offers many exclusive perks, for example, early access characters, updates, and map features. Fortnite also allows companies to make Fortnite merchandise such as clothing or school bags/accessories if the companies pay a certain amount of money to do so, this creates massive amounts of publicity within the younger audience and gains Fortnite money. There have been many successful collaborations between Fortnite and other companies or brands, for example, one of the most successful has been Marvel. Fortnite added superhero features and skins in the game, available for purchase, therefore severely broadening both of their fanbases. Fortnite is still a massively popular game and has been gaining more and more publicity since its release in 2017. It has remained popular through many different ways, like collaborations and merchandise, but also through constant change in updates, map features and additional weapons and characters available for purchase. 

Wednesday 6th November 2024

Audiences

LO: To explore the appeal of video games and how the 

industry targets different audiences.

1. A list of the different elements of the game that you can click on for further description, for example the item shop and the different game modes

2.  Has the latest news

3. Shaquille O'Neal, Lego, Snoop Dogg, Futurama

  78% male, 22% female, 53% are 10-25, and 42% are in full time employment.

Younger audience are appealed by the cartoon graphics and collaborations. eSports stars are made famous through. Gamer celebrities like athletes and singers/rappers promote the game to more people through collaborations.

Wednesday 13th  November 2024

Do Now

1. Fortnite makes money from in-game purchases like skins, along with merchandise and collaborations

2. A collaboration in Fortnite is Marvel

3. Because of regular updates and new items, and maps

4. Personal identity, Information, Entertainment, Social interaction

5. Unreal Engine

People who like music

People who like marvel

People who likes DC

Lego- Lego Fortnite is an easy to understand game mode perfect for a younger audience because of its lack of violence and similarities with other stereotypically childish games like Minecraft

Active Audience: Engages with media messages by interpreting, evaluating, and responding to them.

Fortnite is active- Game mode, Select guns, work with others, Build, Design in creative, Create games via Unreal Engine

Passive Audience: An audience that accepts media messages without any question and is more likely to. be directly affected by them.

Fortnite: entertainment- ( escapism and catharsis) , social interaction, ( collaborative nature ) personal identity, ( search for role-models of celebrities through collaborations ). 

Video games target the audience through synergy. Synergy is the collaboration of multiple different media products in order to capture a new target demographic. The idea is that if your favourite game, brand, or celebrity collaborates with something like a video game, you are more likely to try out the game, because of your likeness for whoever is promoting it.

For example we can see this in Fortnite with their many collaborations with brands, athletes, musicians, etcetera. Fortnite collaborated with marvel a little while ago, this was perfect for both of the companies because each of their fanbases decided to try out the other collaborator and therefore widens the target audience for both. Marvel is aimed at teenagers and young adults, this is brilliant for Fortnite because the game is aimed stereotypically at younger children, therefore Fortnite will get more people trying out the game.

This is where the user and gratification theory comes into play. This is a theory that involves four reasons people play video games, they are: Personal Identity, Information, Entertainment, and Social Interaction. This perfectly fits in with the synergy of Fortnite and Marvel because of the use of Personal Identity, many children seek inspiration when watching superhero films, and Fortnite allows those children to not only watch but play as their favourite hero.

Bodmin College Media Mrs Busby commented on "C1 Gaming"

Nov 13, 2024

13/11- Great in depth examples/. T:3 theory, you need to cover how the theory fits to the examples you have previously discussed e.g. Marvel

Do Now                                                                                                   Wednesday 20th November 2024

1. Messages/ideas that engage with media by interpreting, evaluating, and responding to them.                2. An audience that accepts media messages without any question.                                                            3. the theory that people use media for one of four things- Personal Identity, Information, Entertainment, Social Interaction.                                                                                                                                        4. Through constant collaborations, new items to buy, and new maps and game modes.                          5. Unreal Engine

Video Games: Exam Preparation

Fortnite is published by Epic Games

Fortnite is a PEGI rated 12, because of its mild violence and light graphics

Fortnite has been made very popular from its synergies and new additions into the game, the adaption of technological development of it being available to play for free on almost every media platform has helped.

Fortnite is funded by its in-game purchases and merchandise, for example from the item-store you can buy weapons and skins to play with, and there are physical items like lunch boxes and backpacks.

Fortnite targets everybody throughout hundreds of collaborations but more recently they have been targeting older male audiences through their collaborations with Eminem and Snoop Dogg.

Fortnite is appealing to their audience through the thousands of different mini-games, Fortnite can not only be used as one specific game, but also a host and a platform for people to share their own creations and games that sometimes aren't remotely even related to traditional Fortnite Battle Royale.

The uses and gratifications theory is the thought that people use media for at least one of four reasons: Personal identity, Information, Entertainment, Social interaction.

Audiences most commonly gain entertainment from Fortnite.

Video games use technologies to reach audiences in a range of many ways. For example Fortnite uses technological convergence to widen and gain their audience by making their game free-to-play and available of a vast majority of platforms and consoles. This means more people can play the game and do not need to invest in expensive devices to play a game with their friends.