I will be going through my spreadsheet tomorrow evening checking who is missing what. You should have the following elements posted on your Blog.
1. My gaming history - A brief summary of your experiences with gaming to date.
2. Your essay on innovations in the gaming market out of the choices available
3. A post detailing what is known about the Wii U launch - how much will it cost? What are the launch games? Do you think the market for the Wii U will be the same as the Wii?
4. Post a few statistics lifted from the introduction of the Reality is Broken book by Jane McGonigall that I handed out to you all OR from the TED lecture we watched in class, as similar stats feature in both (also available on this blog!)
5. A post about the Hot Coffee mod - What was it? what were the consequences for developers Rockstar, publishers Take Two, retailers of the game and the gaming world at large.
6. Indie games - What are they? How do they differ? Find one indie game and research it, posting a case study on the game. You will need some knowledge of an indie game for the exam to compare with Rockstar and GTA4 and 5. If you are struggling, then click here for the Minecraft label cloud. That's what the label clouds are there for!
If you feel like you are up to date, then it is never too early to see what the examiners will be looking for in January - click here for the posts i've put up about the exam.
There is a list of past years' questions, examplar answers and other tips.
Or if that seems a bit heavy but you want to do a bit of media work, then you can do a lot worse than rewatch the History of Rockstar Games.
P.S I have the letters for Play Expo so will hand those out on Monday but please return with the cheques for £17.60 by the end of the week, thank you! Will be a great day :-)
Mr H
Saturday, 6 October 2012
List of Wii U Games you can play next week!
Like the following page on Facebook for updates on next week's Play Expo: https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents
Latest news:
"With just a week to go until Play Expo 2012, we have received confirmation of the games that Nintendo will be demonstrating at the show. As expected, the focus is on the Wii U, but there will also be some 3DS titles on display.
Wii U Games:
Batman: Arkham City
Darksiders II
New Super Mario Bros 2
Nintendo Land
Panorama View
Rayman Legends
...
Latest news:
"With just a week to go until Play Expo 2012, we have received confirmation of the games that Nintendo will be demonstrating at the show. As expected, the focus is on the Wii U, but there will also be some 3DS titles on display.
Wii U Games:
Batman: Arkham City
Darksiders II
New Super Mario Bros 2
Nintendo Land
Panorama View
Rayman Legends
...
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Trine 2
Zombi U
Nintendo DS/3DS Games:
Pokemon Black and White 2
Paper Mario: Sticker Star"
Trine 2
Zombi U
Nintendo DS/3DS Games:
Pokemon Black and White 2
Paper Mario: Sticker Star"
EA exec: we'll die the day we stop doing new IP
DICE veteran: we do innovate, Battlefield 3 is proof
EA's Swedish label boss Patrick Soderlund has defended the publisher's track record of delivering new IP and "innovation" at large, citing Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Battlefield 3 as proof of a commitment to new ideas.
"A lot of people criticise EA for not being innovative", Soderlund commented in an interview with MCV. "But look at what EA has done with Battlefield 3.
World of Warcraft hobby sparks US political row
The gaming hobby of a political
candidate has become an issue in a state senate race in New England, US.
Maine Republicans have created a webpage revealing that Democrat candidate Colleen Lachowicz plays an orc rogue in World of Warcraft (WoW).
Ms Lachowicz's liking for back-stabbing and poison in WoW raise questions about her "fitness for office", they claim.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19842704
Angry Birds flock to the world of children's books in time for Christmas
Via TechCrunch:
Rovio's Angry Birds are poised to make the leap – or is it flight? – to the world of print media in the UK, courtesy of a deal with children's book publisher Egmont.
The freshly-inked agreement will see Angry Birds-branded books distributed across the UK, Ireland, and English-speaking Commonwealth countries in time for the holiday season.
Kicking off the series is a double-sided joke book, featuring pigs on one side and birds on the other.
While hardly classic literature, Egmont hopes that the appearance of Angry Birds in books will convince children to put down their borrowed tablets and smartphones to read for a bit.
The joke book is planned to retail for £4.99/$8.00.
Book 'em, Rovio
Following the release of the double-sided joke book, Egmont plans to expand the range of Angry Birds titles by releasing a 'punch out' book and a 'search and find' title in 2013.
The move for Rovio to bring its successful Angry Birds brand to children's books is hardly unexpected, given the broad range of Angry Birds licenses that have popped up in the past year from card games, to theme parks, and even talk of an upcoming movie.
Rovio's Angry Birds are poised to make the leap – or is it flight? – to the world of print media in the UK, courtesy of a deal with children's book publisher Egmont.
The freshly-inked agreement will see Angry Birds-branded books distributed across the UK, Ireland, and English-speaking Commonwealth countries in time for the holiday season.
Kicking off the series is a double-sided joke book, featuring pigs on one side and birds on the other.
While hardly classic literature, Egmont hopes that the appearance of Angry Birds in books will convince children to put down their borrowed tablets and smartphones to read for a bit.
The joke book is planned to retail for £4.99/$8.00.
Book 'em, Rovio
Following the release of the double-sided joke book, Egmont plans to expand the range of Angry Birds titles by releasing a 'punch out' book and a 'search and find' title in 2013.
The move for Rovio to bring its successful Angry Birds brand to children's books is hardly unexpected, given the broad range of Angry Birds licenses that have popped up in the past year from card games, to theme parks, and even talk of an upcoming movie.
Angry Birds maker Rovio to unveil book app
Gaming isn’t enough to contain the ambitious of Rovio, maker of the highly contagious Angry Birds mobile game series, VentureBeat reports.
Next week, Rovio plans to disclose its “vision of digital publishing” and unveil its first book app at the Frankfurt Bookfair in Germany on Oct. 11. Peter Vesterbacka, Mighty Eagle and chief marketing officer at Rovio, will make a presentation about the app at the event.
The book app will serve multiple purposes. It will extend the Angry Birds (presumably that’s the franchise) property from one media to another, satisfying fans who can’t get enough of it. It also diversifies Rovio’s business into a new form of media, beyond the games and toys that it already sells. Rovio isn’t dropping any more clues about the content of the book yet, VB says.
Angry Birds-maker Rovio pins growth hopes on Bad Piggies
Mobile gaming developer Rovio has launched its latest title, Bad Piggies - a
spin-off of its hugely popular game, Angry Birds.
Rovio Teases “Angry Birds Star Wars,” Toys To Debut Monday
Red Bird is Luke in the mashup of two pop culture galaxies. A line of toys is expected to be announced on Monday.
Friday, 5 October 2012
MineCon 2012
From PC Gamer:
Mojang and the House of Mouse have joined forces to stage this year’s Minecraft convention, taking place on November 24th and 25th at Disneyland Paris. The amusement park has been hired exclusively for this event, so the amassed fanbase for its block-based imaginarium can mingle, make merry and attempt not to throw up on the rollercoasters without the usual crowds and queues. If that sounds incroyable to you, head over to the official MineCon site toute de suite – tickets are sure to go fast.
Early-bird tickets go for €99. For that sum you get:
- Admission to the Disney Events Arena from 10am to about 6pm.
- A party at the Walt Disney Studios Park, reserved for MineCon attendees, on the Saturday night.
- Discounts on Disney hotels (from €78) and park tickets.
- And, if you are over 18, access to .party() in Paris on Sunday night.
Also, here’s a badass video of the PC Gamer UK Minecraft server by player WubbaDuckii:
The development of Minecraft
The developer of
Minecraft, Markus
Persson aka Notch, had previously worked on games such as Wurm Online and as a game developer for King.com for over four years.[9][10]
Persson quit his job at King.com in order to independently develop
Minecraft.[9][11] Persson
was inspired to create Minecraft by several other games such as Dwarf Fortress, Infiniminer by Zachtronics Industries, and Dungeon Keeper by Bullfrog
Productions. He was still working out the basics of gameplay when he
discovered Infiniminer and played with others on the TIGSource.com
forums.[10][11] At the
time, he had also been visualizing an isometric 3D building game that would be a
cross between his inspirations and had made some early prototypes.[9][12] After
discovering Infiniminer, Persson declared, "My god, I realized that that
was the game I wanted to do."[13]
Infiniminer heavily influenced the style of gameplay that eventually
resulted in Minecraft, including the first-person aspect of the game and
the "blocky" visual style.[11]
Minecraft XBLA sales top 4 million
Minecraft PC joins the pre-paid gift card market
Mojang announced Monday that pre-paid gift cards for Minecraft on the PC are hitting major retailers in the United States.
The Minecraft gift cards cover the $26.95 price of the game and should be showing up at the likes of Best Buy, Target and Walmart today. Once purchased or received as a gift, you'll just need to go to account.mojang.com to redeem the code that comes on the card with your new or existing account.
The Minecraft gift cards cover the $26.95 price of the game and should be showing up at the likes of Best Buy, Target and Walmart today. Once purchased or received as a gift, you'll just need to go to account.mojang.com to redeem the code that comes on the card with your new or existing account.
The Story of Mojang- the Minecraft documentary out in December
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-story-of-mojang-the-minecraft-documentary-out-december
As most fans are awaiting the 1.8.2 title update for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, 2 Player Productions is getting ready to unleash their Minecraft documentary to the world. The documentary, The Story of Mojang, will take you back to the beginning of Minecraft, how it originated and what made it a success.
The Story of Mojang will allow us to follow Markus "Notch" Persson for about a year in 2011 after his fast rise to fame and fortune.
As most fans are awaiting the 1.8.2 title update for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, 2 Player Productions is getting ready to unleash their Minecraft documentary to the world. The documentary, The Story of Mojang, will take you back to the beginning of Minecraft, how it originated and what made it a success.
The Story of Mojang will allow us to follow Markus "Notch" Persson for about a year in 2011 after his fast rise to fame and fortune.
AS Exam Advice: Audiences and Institutions
AS exam advice: Audiences and Institutions
Whichever media area you are covering for
this question, it is important that you show understanding of the key concepts
and refer to specific examples in your answer. In this post, we will consider
some of the ways in which you can help yourself do well with five 'top
tips'.
1. Read the question carefully
You have no choice of questions, so you have to have a go at what is there on the paper; sometimes students panic and think that they don't understand the question- maybe because of one particular word- but so long as you have prepared on all the concepts there will be something in the question that you recognise. Words like 'technology', 'convergence', 'distribution', 'marketing', 'digital' come up and you should see them as your 'hook' into the question. Even if the overall wording seems to be baffling, look for the terms that are there in the question and see them as the springboard for your answer.
2. Don't spend ages on an introduction
You only have 45 minutes to answer the question, so there isn't time to waffle! A quick sentence which sets out what you are going to do and which media area or industry you are going to use will suffice. You can prepare a lot of this in your head in advance, so something like: In this essay, I shall write about (concept) in relation to the (film, music, radio, etc) industry, drawing on (examples) as my case studies.
3. Know your examples
Whichever industry you are writing about, you will need examples to support your points. I would always advocate having some contrasting examples so that you can look at all angles; for example, you might have a mainstream high budget film from the USA to contrast with a low budget independent Uk film, or a major record label to contrast with a little UK indie label. That way, you can talk about the different ways in which the industry might operate in different circumstances. You need not know absolutely eveything about just two examples, however. It could be that you know about the funding of a particular low budget film, but don't know about its marketing; in which case find another example of something similar where you can find out about its marketing. The important thing is to get a good grasp of the ways in which the concepts apply rather than every tiny detail of a specific case study example. What you do need is to make sure you understand the general principles well and can back up your points accurately.
4. Try to be systematic
Don't jump about between points; spend a bit of time at the start of the exam planning the structure of your answer and working out the main points and examples for each paragraph. this will ensure that the rest of your time is spent fruitfully as well. Know what key point you will make in each paragraph, what examples you will refer to and how you want to make a case from it all. Use similarity and difference as starting points for organising an argument; there will be differences between mainstream and indie which you might use as your way through, for example.
5. Make it all legible
Remember, examiners may be old and may have poor eyesight. Well at least that applies to me! Most students do not have great handwriting, so make it easier for the examiner to find the strengths in what you have written. Keep your paragraphs relatively short- half a page at most. Leave a clear line between each paragraph. There is nothing in the rules to say that you can't use a highlighter pen to emphasise your key examples or terms. Don't overdo this, but it does sometimes help to draw the reader's attention to points which ought to pick you up marks.
Prepare well and you should do well. Answers to Q.2 often look shorter than those for Q.1, but if you know your stuff and have revised properly, they shouldn't be. Good luck!
1. Read the question carefully
You have no choice of questions, so you have to have a go at what is there on the paper; sometimes students panic and think that they don't understand the question- maybe because of one particular word- but so long as you have prepared on all the concepts there will be something in the question that you recognise. Words like 'technology', 'convergence', 'distribution', 'marketing', 'digital' come up and you should see them as your 'hook' into the question. Even if the overall wording seems to be baffling, look for the terms that are there in the question and see them as the springboard for your answer.
2. Don't spend ages on an introduction
You only have 45 minutes to answer the question, so there isn't time to waffle! A quick sentence which sets out what you are going to do and which media area or industry you are going to use will suffice. You can prepare a lot of this in your head in advance, so something like: In this essay, I shall write about (concept) in relation to the (film, music, radio, etc) industry, drawing on (examples) as my case studies.
3. Know your examples
Whichever industry you are writing about, you will need examples to support your points. I would always advocate having some contrasting examples so that you can look at all angles; for example, you might have a mainstream high budget film from the USA to contrast with a low budget independent Uk film, or a major record label to contrast with a little UK indie label. That way, you can talk about the different ways in which the industry might operate in different circumstances. You need not know absolutely eveything about just two examples, however. It could be that you know about the funding of a particular low budget film, but don't know about its marketing; in which case find another example of something similar where you can find out about its marketing. The important thing is to get a good grasp of the ways in which the concepts apply rather than every tiny detail of a specific case study example. What you do need is to make sure you understand the general principles well and can back up your points accurately.
4. Try to be systematic
Don't jump about between points; spend a bit of time at the start of the exam planning the structure of your answer and working out the main points and examples for each paragraph. this will ensure that the rest of your time is spent fruitfully as well. Know what key point you will make in each paragraph, what examples you will refer to and how you want to make a case from it all. Use similarity and difference as starting points for organising an argument; there will be differences between mainstream and indie which you might use as your way through, for example.
5. Make it all legible
Remember, examiners may be old and may have poor eyesight. Well at least that applies to me! Most students do not have great handwriting, so make it easier for the examiner to find the strengths in what you have written. Keep your paragraphs relatively short- half a page at most. Leave a clear line between each paragraph. There is nothing in the rules to say that you can't use a highlighter pen to emphasise your key examples or terms. Don't overdo this, but it does sometimes help to draw the reader's attention to points which ought to pick you up marks.
Prepare well and you should do well. Answers to Q.2 often look shorter than those for Q.1, but if you know your stuff and have revised properly, they shouldn't be. Good luck!
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Top 10 Indie Games Of 2011
From IndieGames.com:
We don't need to tell you that the gaming industry is currently experiencing an 'indie boom' -- the evidence has been piling up throughout 2011, with numerous developers at AAA studios leaving their jobs behind to work on exactly the kind of games they want to make.
You only have to look at the Independent Games Festival record number of entries to know indies mean business this year. This time around, nearly 570 games were entered into the competition, marking an increase of more than 45 percent compared to the previous year.
We say this every year, but we genuinely mean it -- having to choose just ten titles from the incredible batch of indie titles this year was not only next-to-impossible, but also excruciatingly heart-breaking, as we had to knock favorite after favorite off until there were only ten remaining.
But never fear, as a good number of those titles that we close, but just missed out on a top spot, have been compiled below the main list as honorable mentions.
Here are our picks for the top ten indie games of this year:
We don't need to tell you that the gaming industry is currently experiencing an 'indie boom' -- the evidence has been piling up throughout 2011, with numerous developers at AAA studios leaving their jobs behind to work on exactly the kind of games they want to make.
You only have to look at the Independent Games Festival record number of entries to know indies mean business this year. This time around, nearly 570 games were entered into the competition, marking an increase of more than 45 percent compared to the previous year.
We say this every year, but we genuinely mean it -- having to choose just ten titles from the incredible batch of indie titles this year was not only next-to-impossible, but also excruciatingly heart-breaking, as we had to knock favorite after favorite off until there were only ten remaining.
But never fear, as a good number of those titles that we close, but just missed out on a top spot, have been compiled below the main list as honorable mentions.
Here are our picks for the top ten indie games of this year:
The Importance of Indie Games
From IndieGames.com:
PBS Arts' Off Book series, which looks to "showcase new and under-exposed art forms and reach arts communities online", has produced this really slick episode on the importance of video games as "a storytelling medium" and "a place for self-expression"
This video features interviews with several folks from NYC's gaming community, including GameLab head Eric Zimmerman, NYU visiting assistant arts professor Jesper Juul, Gamasutra editor-at-large Leigh Alexander, and Babycastles curator Syed Salahuddin.
The group talks about the evolution of video games, the emergence and popularity of indie titles in recent years, the use of choice in marquee games like Portal and BioShock, and even Cactus/Doomlaser's immensely weird Flash game Hot Throttle.
Oh, and it also features chiptune songs by Trash80, 4mat, and one of my favorite groups lately, The Shortsleeves. Click those links, listen to their music, and make your life a million times better!
Task for Thursday's lesson: Independent Games
Independent games
So far we have only concentrated on big budget mainstream games like those made by Rockstar. However, we cannot neglect another sector of the videogames industry: The independent games market, often referred to as 'indie games.'
TASK: (even though you are not in Thursday I would like this task completed in time for Monday's lesson)
To be posted on your Blog.
Research what an independent game is.
In what ways are they different from Big blockbuster or AAA games?
Consider cost, pricing, marketing, distribution etc. what are the most popular indie games?
Once you have made it clear that you know what a indie game is, I would like you to pick an indie game to write a case study for. Tell us everything there is to know about your game, ready to present to the class on Monday.
Links
http://indiegames.com/index.html
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_game
http://www.indiegamechallenge.com/2012-winners/
http://guardian.co.uk/technology/indiegames?cat=technology
So far we have only concentrated on big budget mainstream games like those made by Rockstar. However, we cannot neglect another sector of the videogames industry: The independent games market, often referred to as 'indie games.'
TASK: (even though you are not in Thursday I would like this task completed in time for Monday's lesson)
To be posted on your Blog.
Research what an independent game is.
In what ways are they different from Big blockbuster or AAA games?
Consider cost, pricing, marketing, distribution etc. what are the most popular indie games?
Once you have made it clear that you know what a indie game is, I would like you to pick an indie game to write a case study for. Tell us everything there is to know about your game, ready to present to the class on Monday.
Links
http://indiegames.com/index.html
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_game
http://www.indiegamechallenge.com/2012-winners/
http://guardian.co.uk/technology/indiegames?cat=technology
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
'Minecraft' heading into print after publisher buys rights
Minecraft is to make the leap to the printed page after publisher Egmont snapped up rights to the hugely popular social building game.
Egmont Publishing Group has signed a deal with Minecraft maker Mojang for magazine and book rights covering all territories apart from the US.
Often described as "virtual LEGO", Minecraft offers a universe in which players can create and build anything they want using virtual bricks.
(Article follows)
Egmont Publishing Group has signed a deal with Minecraft maker Mojang for magazine and book rights covering all territories apart from the US.
Often described as "virtual LEGO", Minecraft offers a universe in which players can create and build anything they want using virtual bricks.
(Article follows)
Monday, 1 October 2012
Fifa 13 for sale
Fifa 13 for Sale for Xbox 360
Amazon in their wisdom sent me two copies.
It says the Ultimate edition but the code for the “ultimate” content has been … misplaced … so it effectively is just the standard version.
Retails at £40, will do a quick sale for £35 – please ask me asap before bringing in £££ so you are not disappointed and are left with too much money on your person!!
Mr H
Lesson 8 - How are games consumed?
Consumption is important to consider - do not stop with the end users just playing a game in their home - there are many other ways gaming influences consumers.
PPT after the cut
PPT after the cut
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Essays: The other topics
Need to read up on a topic you did not look at for the exam?
Have a read of the following:
Is Mobile Gaming the future?
Shaun O
Or is Social Gaming?
Max S
Today's consoles - is there anything they can't do?
Tom C
Well done everybody, really pleased with the amount of effort and research that has obviously gone into all of these - the rest of us will find your essays useful reading for when the exam comes around!
Click here for a reminder of the Homework essay tasks
Mr H
Have a read of the following:
Is Mobile Gaming the future?
Shaun O
Or is Social Gaming?
Max S
Today's consoles - is there anything they can't do?
Tom C
Well done everybody, really pleased with the amount of effort and research that has obviously gone into all of these - the rest of us will find your essays useful reading for when the exam comes around!
Click here for a reminder of the Homework essay tasks
Mr H
Essays: The Controller Revolution
A lot has changed since I was a lad. We had an A button and a B button. Maybe even a Start button (which ironically was just used to pause the game...) - Nowadays you seem to be forced to subscribe to one of two camps: controllers with 13 (X360) or 15 (PS3) buttons - or a second group of consoles/systems where controllers have barely any buttons - you have Wii's gesture controller, or PS3's Move, or you forego controllers alltogether with the 360's Kinect system. Have a read on what those below have said about this peripheral shift...
Amy A
Oliver L
Amy A
Oliver L
Essays: Single player
Essays: Digital Distribution
This seems to be the most popular topic out of the available subject for this essay on technological innovations. If you are researching this topic, here are the essays on the subject:
Ashleigh F
Jonathan H
Casey McV
Thomas P
Zoe R
Check them out, lots of really well researched facts and use of real-life examples to back up their thoughts on the topic of the future of distribution: will we soon see the retail market moving purely digital/online? Have a read!
Ashleigh F
Jonathan H
Casey McV
Thomas P
Zoe R
Check them out, lots of really well researched facts and use of real-life examples to back up their thoughts on the topic of the future of distribution: will we soon see the retail market moving purely digital/online? Have a read!
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