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Success criteria for a band 4 essay+my opinion

Success Criteria for a Band 4 essay question

-Introduction-Define how you are going to answer the question, bring up the points you will go into in further detail in future paragraphs

-Conclusion- From your findings, evaluate and conclude your opinion and what you believe on the question

-Always refer to the question

-Begin each paragraph with a direct reference to the question, to keep your paragraph answering the question

-Cram every paragraph with as many facts and figures as you can.

-Always back up your points with evidence

-Use argument words e.g however, on the other hand etc

-Use wording from the question as often as possible, if the question says "Synergy", for example, bring it up frequently

-Try not to ramble, keep your points and evidence concise

-Use examples of games developers frequently, e.g Ubisoft, Gearbox etc

-Refer to the games you have studied often as well, e.g AC3, DBA

- Make every paragraph clearly different to the previous, explaining a different aspect of the question.

-Use lots of relevant terminology

My opinion on learning in media

The learning style in media is very different to other subjects, it relies on group learning and so far I have really enjoyed this aspect of the subject. I enjoy the more practical lessons but I know they can't be done all the time. I have found my favourite thing in media is when we are set a project to do in lesson, and I would like to see more of this in lessons. However I think we need to do some more on the facts and figures aspect of the essay

Essay on Video Game Industry #2

Tom Woodhouse

How is "crowd funding" affecting the relationship between institutions and audiences at  the Publishing, Design, Marketing, and Distribution level? Answer with specific reference to Assassin's Creed 3 and Double Fine Adventure

"Crowd funding" is a key factor in affecting the relationship between institutions and audiences in many ways. It directly affects all stages of the game development cycle, but affects Publishing, design, marketing and distribution the most, which I will discuss further during this essay. Assassins Creed 3 and Double Fine Adventures are good examples of both a franchise and a crowd funded game, and I will refer to these throughout.
Crowd funding affects the relationship between institutions and audiences at the publishing level because, firstly, traditional control exerted by big companies on indie game producers can be avoided. Companies such as Double Fine Studios, with the help of sites such as Kickstarter, can raise money through crowd funding to complete projects such as their new game, Double Fine Adventure, which raised over 3 million dollars in funds, avoiding big publishers such as Ubisoft who may want to portray their game in a different way, or may simply not want to take on such a project. Traditionally, games like Assassins Creed 3, published by Ubisoft, are taken through the entire publishing process without much input from the consumers and the publisher has complete control over the process, as they will make their games appeal to as wide a target audience as they can and make as much money as possible, whilst with indie publishers like Double Fine Studios, this doesn’t happen as they have complete creative license to do whatever they like with their game. This allows indie companies to rival the big superpowers in the game industry, for example the backing for Tim Schafer of Double Fine, who has generated over 87,000 backers for his game through crowd funding alone.
Crowd funding also affects the relationship between institutions and audiences at the design level because, firstly, crowd funding allows the audience to get involved in a typically "closed doors policy" of game design. Double Fine Studios, for example, with the 87,000 backers they have, can give access to a beta or alpha version of their game, allowing input from these backers as to what they want to be changed or fixed. Usually, games such as the Assassins Creed franchise are taken through the design process without any input from consumers, who are very passive in the process and all decisions are made by Ubisoft, who simply want to turn over as much profit as they can on the game, whereas with Double Fine, they have complete freedom in the direction they want their game to go. This input allows indie companies to generate massive backing, as consumers feel like they are a part of the game design, as shown by the over 3 million dollars in funds raised by Double Fine Studios, and the huge support given to these games allows them to have free creative license and make a game that will provide the most enjoyment for the audience.

Crowd funding again has a huge impact on the relationship between institutions and audiences at the marketing level because it allows indie developers such as Haemimont Games, producers of games like Tropico 3, to cut huge costs on marketing. Games such as Assassins Creed 3 have ludicrous amounts spent on marketing, with Ubisoft spending in excess of 4 million pounds on marketing in the U.K alone. With the use of crowd funding, indie companies like Double Fine and Llamasoft, producers of games such as Gridrunner Revolution don't have to spend anywhere near that amount on marketing, as they already have their audience, with 87,000 people in Double Fine Adventure's case. This allows the indie developers to produce higher quality games for a much cheaper price, as their marketing relies on people telling friends, relatives etc instead of shelling out huge amounts of money to gain an audience, as in Assassins Creed and Ubisofts case. Websites like Kickstarter allow companies to gain an audience for free, letting them rival the big companies and franchises in the video game industry.
Lastly, crowd funding has a big impact on the relationship between institutions and audiences at the distribution level because it allows indie developers like Double Fine, to cut huge costs on the distribution of the game. Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 have to spend huge sums of money, in this case over 15 million, just to simply get their game to online retailers and supermarkets such as Amazon and Tesco. Sites like Kickstarter essentially kick these costs out completely for indie game developers, as they know their audience and who to send their finished games to before they even begin creating the game, for example with the 87,000 people who paid for Double Fine Adventures. This allows them to rival big companies such as Ubisoft whilst keeping costs low and letting them make a quality game without risking running out of money half way through.
In conclusion, I feel that "crowd funding" has a huge impact on the relationship between institutions and audiences, as judging by my findings in the previous paragraphs, it allows indie games developers to make a game that can be enjoyed by their audience with little to no cost for the developer themselves. It gives them a direct audience to begin with, and allows them to rival big companies and franchises such as Assassins Creed 3 and Ubisoft with simple ideas and concepts like Double Fine Adventures.

How do Franchises establish and develop continuing sales figures.

How do franchises establish and develop continuing sales figures? Write a response to the question using Assassins Creed III and detailing the following areas:

Publishing is a key aspect in the establishing and development of sales figures because they define the target audience of the game. After the development of the game, the publisher can take the game and aim for an audience that they think will be most successful for the game, for example with Assassins Creed 3, a game which is clearly more aimed at a male audience, with a lot of violence and some sexual scenes. However Ubisoft have also tried to target a female audience with the PS Vita version of the game, as they have changed the main character to a female, obviously to target the more casual female gamers to pick up the game and to play as a female. With the average age of a gamer being around 30 years old and a very large proportion of gamers being male, Ubisoft have tried to please as much of the market as possible with the two seperate protoganists being used to please both male and female audiences. Another reason why publishing is so useful is that the genre can be defined by the publisher. Consumers do not want a product which is massively different to the previous games, for example with the Assassins Creed franchise, where Ubisoft have kept the core gameplay and genre the same throughout the game series, as their consumers do not want a completely different experience. The real challenge for producers is to produce a game which provides innovative ideas and gameplay without taking away from the original game concepts. Assassins Creed is a multi-genre game and it uses this to appeal to as many consumers as possible, with concepts from many genres such as stealth, beat'em up and platformer games. Publishing also allows the narrative of a game to immerse players and take them into the game. Gamers enjoy a sense of escape in a game and games such as Assassins Creed 3, with a very strong narrative and story throughout the game, allow gamers to escape from reality and enjoy an adventure in a different life or character. This appeals to many people as they want an escape from everyday life. All of these three things allow publishing to establish continuing sales figures, as with a strong narrative the consumers want to purchase the next instalment of the game to keep up with the story and immerse themselves in an escape. The target audience makes sure sales figures are as high as possible, as aiming for the wrong audience could result in poor sales so making sure you are aiming for the correct audience is a key part of maintaining consumers interests and keeping sales figures throughout. Lastly, the genre of the game allows the game to attract as many people as possible, establishing and continuing sales of the game as much more consumers wish to play a game that incorporates many different genre's of games.

Development is another key aspect of the establishing and development of continuing sales figures because of, firstly, the game engine. The game engine is a key aspect in making a game the very best it can be, by creating a system that can efficiently and best use the available RAM on a console and display the most detailed graphics and run the smoothest that it can without framerate drops. Assassins Creed 3 is a good example of the use of a game engine, because it is using a brand new game engine created just for the game, called AnvilNext, which allows for up to 2000 Non-playable characters on screen at once. The development of this new engine allows Assassins Creed 3 to take huge leaps from the previous games in terms of graphical and gameplay experience. These developments allow Ubisoft to create continuing interest in the game and keep sales figures up as consumers want a product which improves from previous games but keeps core gameplay elements the same. The game design is very useful for creating continuing sales figures, as it allows for a changing experience for the consumer. With the introduction of a new main character is Assassins Creed 3, for example, the game designers can reinvent their game and intrigue new potential consumers, and even possibly introduce new elements of gameplay, for example with "Conor" the native american in Assassins Creed 3, the game designers could possibly introduce new weapons, storylines and characters just from his ethnicity alone. With this constant change of gameplay and characters it stops the games from becoming dull, as these fresh elements to the game keep sales figures high, as people want to see the new things you can do in your favourite game. With the release of new gameplay elements consumers see the games as something new and fresh for them to enjoy. The release of game images prior to release is another key part of the development , as it creates hype for the game through the images. This creates sales as people want to preorder the game after seeing teasers of the gameplay and design and possible features the game may have, which creates continuing sales figures.

Marketing is yet another aspect of the establishing and development of continuing sales figures, as it allows the game to attract attention from consumers and creates hype. Assassins Creed 3 was a very well marketed game, with over 4 million pounds being spend on marketing alone, the biggest spend Ubisoft have ever shelled out on marketing alone. Adverts were rolled out on television, radio, and posters and other physical forms of advertisement were put out in tube stations, train stations and all around the country. These means of advertisement allow Ubisoft to get as many sales as possible when the game comes out, as sufficient hype will have been created and many more consumers will want to purchase the game than if they hadn't advertised at all. A successful advertising campaign across many formats allows for the most possible consumers of the game. Assassins creed and Assassins Creed 2 were a lot cheaper in terms of marketing, however because the idea and concept of the game was fairly new the game still generated hype and interest, while now the marketer's job is to interest in the game fresh and new, and introduce people who haven't maybe seen the game series to buy and consume the game. The use of TV commercials also tries to get casual gamers to see the trailers for this game, as more serious gamers probably would have seen it on YouTube or another media site. Another way that Ubisoft try to market their game is through the use of YouTube. Ubisoft will release trailers and use popular commentators or reviewers from the site to put out a good opinion of their game. They have also released behind the scenes development trailers, to get gamers an inside view of what goes on creating the game and also slip in gameplay footage to create hype and pull in as many sales as possible. All these marketing techniques are used to portray Assassins Creed 3 or any other game over as many formats as possible, roping in the biggest consumer audience and creating lasting sales figures for the game.

Distribution is the final aspect of the establishing and development of continuing sales figures, as it is a key stage of getting the product to the consumer. Companies such as Amazon and Play.com are key distributors of games such as Assassins Creed 3. Customers can preorder the game, allowing them to be some of the first people in the country to receive and play the game, and allowing them to get the advantage on other gamers. Schemes like the pre-order scheme are key in getting a good sales figures when the game first releases, as gamers can pre-order at any time prior to the release, allowing people with not as much money to still manage to get the game. Amazon distributes the games from their shipping headquarters, making sure they get there in the time specified by the consumer, for example with Super Saver Delivery, a free delivery from Amazon, products will come later and take longer to come, however with First Class Amazon will ensure it comes as soon as possible. This allows for Assassins Creed 3 and other games to be distributed countrywide and give as many people as possible the game as fast as possible, allowing for high sales figures. Companies like Amazon and Play.com also will slowly reduce the price of the game as time goes on, making people who didn't want to buy it on release day buy it, and therefore developing sales figures further. The distribution of games to consumers is often overlooked as an insignificant part of the video game industry, however with 3.5million copies of Assassins Creed 3 being sold in the first week of release alone, the distribution of the game is a very very important part of the cycle. Supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Morrisons have also began to invest into the video game industry, selling games at usually a discounted price to other retailers and prompting gamers to consider where they buy their games from. Distribution allows for continuing sales figures as without them, the consumers would have no outlet to purchase the games they want easily.

Assassins Creed Demo notes

Assassins Creed + Assassins Creed:Brotherhood Demo.

Genre

Assassins Creed is a multi-genre hybrid. It incorporates elements from many different genre's, for example the stealth aspect of the game, and the more beat'em up style of fighting. Also there is the platforming element of the game, as you leap between rooftops. There is elements of everything in the game which makes it so attractive to potential buyers.

Developments

There are some very obvious changes between the two games. Assassins Creed: Brotherhood certainly looks graphically a lot better than Assassins Creed, with more detailed shaders and backgrounds and what seems a more detailed environment. This is mainly because of the development in engine that the games use. Another difference between the two is the character animations. The animations in AC1, whilst not noticeably clunky, are clearly nowhere near as good as the sleek animations in AC:Brotherhood, which shows the development between the two games. The sound and voice acting in AC:brotherhood is also a lot better, with characters providing a more immersive feel and dragging players into the game.

How does the player interact?

The player interacts with the game through the immersive story and characters, along with the overall feel of the game. Providing an experience that you otherwise would not be able to experience is a key part of a video game and Assassins Creed provides this escape to another life perfectly.