Year 12: What you need to have posted (to be up to date)

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

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
...

Tekken Tag Tournament 2
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.

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.

In Pictures: Angry Birds theme park opens in Finland

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/17921633

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.

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.

There’ll also be panels to attend and Mojangstas (Mojangutans?) to stalk. If you do snag a ticket, make sure to look out for handsome ex-PCG web editor, Owen Hill, who sadly leaves us to join the ranks of Mojang. He loves it when strangers attempt to gently insert a finger into his belly button.
Also, here’s a badass video of the PC Gamer UK Minecraft server by player WubbaDuckii: