Star Trek: blog tasks

1) Pick out the five most significant aspects of the Star Trek campaign from the list above and explain why they were important in creating a buzz about the game.

June 2011

1) teaser trailer this is important when creating a buzz of a game as the teaser trailer gets you all excited for the actual game to come out and leaves you curious for the actual game which is important as it's the main point of wanting to get the game.

2)March 2013

Official advert released

Pre-order promotional boxes arrive in stores

Game co-promoted TV and radio adverts

The official advert released is important when creating the buzz of a game because the official advert is what gives you information and detail about the game and makes the audience want to buy the game.

3)August 2012

New trailer which is the latest version of the trailer shows what new aspects of the game is being added to the new trailer.

4) June 2012 – E3

Website and Twitter feed launched

Updates on Facebook this is very vital when releasing a game to get it talking on social media websites which is the 'hype' of most games come from which either makes the game worth the hype or pointless letting updates on facebook allow fans to keep updated on the game.

5)  E3 announcement this allows the fans to actually see what the games like before actually trying the game out getting fans excited.

 

 

3)Watch the following YouTube trailers and explain why they might appeal to an audience:

• Teaser trailer it might appeal to people who like fantasy games and people who are creative eg: younger children aged 8/10+ 
• Xbox teaser trailer it has more violence and more action which again appeals to children over 10 as it has more action.
• Full trailer the full trailer reveals more action, setting and the atmosphere which I think would appeal to 12 year olds or younger.

3) How many views did these trailers receive in total?

teaser trailer has 107,732 views

xbox trailer 7,883

full trailer 4,052

comedy trailer 66,125

4) Why did the Star Trek videogame publisher develop the marketing campaign over such a long time?

The campaigner wanted to build tension making everyone curious about the game for a long time till they released it but by the time they released it everyone got bored of it but still bought it. They also wanted to get it talked about on social media sights before releasing it.

5) What other examples can you find online from the Star Trek marketing campaign? Print? Reviews? Broadcast? E-media? Do you feel the campaign as a whole was successful?

Phone and tablet gaming: tasks

Read this BBC News article about Candy Crush Saga. Answer the following questions:

1. How much money is Candy Crush Saga estimated to make each day from its users? £610,000
2. How does it make this money? buy add-ons extra lives and high levels.
3. How many people are estimated to have installed Candy Crush?
4. Where do people play? Tube journeys, buses journey to work
5. When was the game released?
6. When did it reach 500 million downloads?
7. Who is the typical Candy Crush gamer?
8. What percentage of gamers have spent money on Candy Crush, buying in-app purchases etc.?  April 2012 on facebook, November 2012 on iphones, December 2012 on androaid
9. What percentage say they are addicted to the game?230%
10. What is your own experience of playing Candy Crush? Have you played it? I have played it and found it very  frustrating but it wasn't that interesting as I've played ton of games like it before and didn't really think it was worth the hype.

General research

1. When was Wii Party released on the Nintendo Wii?
2. Which developer/institution created Wii Party?
3. How many copies has the game sold since release?

Broadcast

1. What are the key conventions of a videogame TV advert? What would you expect to see in most videogame TV adverts? expect to see a typical family pretending to play wii enjoying it and coming together with friends 
2. How many of the key conventions you have listed above appear in the Wii Party TV adverts? List them with specific details from the Wii Party TV adverts.
3. What is the typical setting for Wii Party TV adverts? Why is that setting used? a typical classic modern house with a huge sofa that has all the family sitting on.
4. How might the setting appeal to families? it shows they play in the comfort of their own homes.
5. What celebrities do the adverts feature?
6. What do you notice about the celebrities' costume and make-up? its very natural
7. Why do you think those particular celebrities were chosen? because they're famous and quiet elegant but still a typical family
8. What do the celebrities suggest about the Wii Party target audience? anyone can play it weather your from the upper class or lower class
9. What else can you learn about the Wii Party target audience from the TV adverts? Suggest a demographic profile: gender, age, social class etc.
10. What audience pleasures do the Wii Party TV adverts offer to viewers? Refer to Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory when answering this question.
11. What examples of branding can you find in the Wii Party TV adverts - either for the game itself or Nintendo Wii

Print

1. Find a Wii Party review from a magazine or newspaper. What does the review suggest about the target audience for the game? its a very interesting game 
2. Is the review positive or negative about the game? Copy and paste one quote from the review to support this view. mostly positive reviews done
3. Do you think magazine reviews are effective in promoting the game to Wii Party's target audience?

E-media

1. Visit the Wii Party website. How does it attract and maintain the interest of a Wii Party fan?
2. What do you notice about the people in the scrolling central image featured on the website?
3. How many times can you find the words 'friends' or 'family' used on the official website? Why do you think the website emphasises this aspect of the game?
4. What is the colour scheme for the website? What does this suggest about the target audience?
5. Look at the 'Video Gallery' on the official website. What do the 'Invitation' videos suggest about the Wii Party target audience?
6. How many 'likes' has the Wii Party/Wii Party U Facebook wall had?
7. How does the Wii Party Facebook wall cross-promote other Nintendo games? Find three examples and explain why they appeal to the Wii Party target audience.
8. Wii Party does not have such a strong presence on other social networking sites. Why do you think this is?
9. Which platform do you think is strongest in promoting Wii Party to its target audience - broadcast, print or e-media? Why?

Task 1: developers and publishers

Research the following game developers/publishers:

Rockstar Games
Background: Founded in 1998 based in New York City
Owner/founder: Terry Donovan
Most successful games: GTA (grand theft auto)
Interesting fact about the institution: On GTA V, Rockstar games spent a sum of 300 million dollars and received it all back only on pre-sales. 

EA (Electronic Arts)
Background: Founded in 1982 based in Redwood city
Owner/founder: Trip Hawkins
Most successful games: The Sims
Interesting fact about the institution: Their most successful game (The Sims) is the worlds most successful pc game ever and they have been awarded 5 different Guinness world records.

Zynga
Background: Founded in 2007 and based in San Francisco
Owner/founder: Mark Pincus
Most successful games: Farmville
Interesting fact about the institution: Zynga is named after the found (Mark Pincus') dog.

Nintendo
Background: Founded in 1889 based in Kyoto Japan
Owner/founder: Fusajiro Yamauchi (founder) & Saturu Iwata (Global President)
Most successful games: Mario
Interesting fact about the institution: 4 of the top 10 selling games is Produced and Developed by Nintendo.

Sony Computer Entertainment
Background: Founded 1993 and based in Tokyo Japan
Owner/founder: Andrew House
Most successful games: Tekken

TASK 

1. What do the letters stand for? (Clue: look at the very bottom of the website) Wieden and Kennedy 
2. What brands have W+K Amsterdam advertised?New jersey 
3. In your opinion, what is the most creative campaign on their website?The legendary campaign  because it has the history behind W+K Amsterdam which is very interesting talks alot about the past history over coming in years. 
4. What videogame campaigns have they created? FIfa 14 
5. What additional information can you find out about the FIFA14 advertising campaign? There's going to be a World Cup in brazil and millions of other games occuring. 

Rokkan

1. How long has the Rokkan advertising agency been around for? Since 2000
2. Where is Rokkan based?Heineken
3. What brands have Rokkan advertised?Canon Cinema EOS
4. Why was Rokkan's campaign for the videogame 'Dishonored' so successful? They have such a catchy small name and took it into the most talked about games as it has variety of different campaigns and games talked about  
5. Who was the publisher for 'Dishonored'?Bethesda softworks

1. What is PEGI and where is PEGI based?
2. How does PEGI rate games?
3. What are the age classifications used by PEGI?
4. What are the seven aspects that PEGI look for when giving a game a rating (e.g. violence)?
5. What is PEGI online? What does PEGI online regulate?

How will you create marketing materials that attract audience attention to the game?
Marketing materials such as advertising would attract the audiences attention because they would see it on television or online. The target audience who are teenagers tells me that they spend a lot of time on the internet. Therefore there should be advertising on the internet so that they would easily see it and wan to buy it to see what it is like.

How will you generate audience interest?
The graphics play an important role in this because that is what will amaze the gamers and get them into it by appearance. On the other hand the story line and the main narrative needs to be very interesting to make sure that they do not get bored and are extremely into it instead exactly like they are the actual characters.

How will you promote audience action?
I will promote audience action by showing some game play to the gamers to show them what its like and how much action is involved.


who might play the game and what platform they will play it on? Teenagers might play the game as it involves crime, solving crime, staying on the good side of the law and maintaining all rules given. The game is most likely to be played on PS3 or xbox 360. The name of the game is 'RAGING CRIMINALS' this name comes from the idea of out of control criminals who need to be put down and made sure they stay out of trouble. How will you stimulate audience desire to buy the game?

To make the audience to desire to buy the game it needs to have a good name that screams violence, terror for the target audience and needs to be advertised in a way that makes you want to buy the game eg: using bill boards which are big that makes it eye catching.

 PLANETSIDE 2

What is Planetside 2?

Planetside is  a multiplayer online first person shooter video game fighting for territorial control over ten different continents.

What genre does the game belong to?  The game belongs to a MMOFPS.

Planetside 2 developer/publisher: Sony online entertainment  and publisher Song online entertainment Ubisoft.

When was it launched? November 20  2012

How does the gameplay work? it features territory control in an open-world, large battles featuring up to 2000 players per continent on foot or in land/air vehicles.

What are the six different player classes in the game? There are six unique player classes which are sniper class, Light Assault, The combat media healing class, The engineer class, Heavy assault class: machine guns, The max class

How much does Planetside 2 cost to play?  free to play

What does a subscription offer to players? provides players with points extra services grenades 

and medical equipment

What can the in-game currency be used to buy? cars, medical kit and guns.

Why do some players dislike games in which users can buy additional weapons or health? they think its unfair as you dont need any particular skills.

The terran republic is a authoritarian government that leverages the millitary to take control through violence, The Terran Republic (TR) is an empire with a rich history extending 1,112 years, and the originator of the other two empires. They brought order out of chaos and introduced the world to an era of peace. Since the armistice and the formation of the new government, and as the singular political force on Earth, They use red and black to represent death and danger.

The Vanu Sovereignty is one of three Empires waging war on Auraxis. Of the three, the Vanu Sovereignty has most embraced the technology of the Ancients. Most of their infantry weapons use Energy Cells instead of conventional rounds. This provides provides flexibility in allowing most weapons to have an anti-infantry and an armor-piercing mode without having to change ammunition. All of the Vanu Sovereignty's empire-specific weapons launch energy instead of projectiles.

The New Conglomerate (commonly abbreviated NC) is one of three empires vying for control over the planet Auraxis. They are characterized by hard-hitting weapons and heavily-armored vehicles. Their faction colors are blue and yellow. The New Conglomerate was initially formed on Earth, over a century before the wormhole collapse as a mega-collective of civilian corporations who worked alongside the Walt Disney Republic government on virtually every project throughout the solar system. After arriving on Auraxis, the New Conglomerate continued to work along with the Walt Disney Republic on shaping and building up the new world.

This print advert promotes the game by showing a few main characters in the spotlight kicking the ball towards the camera showing new skills and movements made making people wanting to buy it. It also has a 'OUT NOW' sign showing you can go get it right now which helps promote fifa. The advert also has a 'IT JUST GOT REAL' slogan from this i can infer that people want to buy it as the real deal just came which hugely promotes FIFA

The fifa advert has a very colourful theme which involves colours mainly targeted at boys using blue,yellow,green and white to attract people to buying the game. The font  is enlarged which is the centre of attention which is a yellow and white colour following along with the whole theme of the print advert following off with a slogan below it attracting more people to go get it immediately. The central image is of 4 main footballers kicking the ball making it look more intriguing

The reviews for fifa were mainly good but some were bad.

"fifa 14 patch introduce fixe and stability issues. overpowered headers and freezing" shows a bad review that the game keeps freezing it was shown in a video game magazine

' new FIFA pixels are better as the characters have more detail and depth to them" showing the improvement made before and after editing from fifa 13 to fifa 14 has made a huge difference.

Living worlds make next generation more authentic than ever before also interact with other ball boys-

These reviewers are important when promoting a product as if the reviews are bad you are most likely not going to buy the product whereas if the reviewers are good you are more likely to buy the product which makes reviews very important when launching a product

The advert for FIFA 14 attracts people as different cultures, genres are attracted towards it making it diverse to other people makes it very interesting to watch and intrigues the audience to buy it!

The fifa page has showing how many fans they have  21,345,704 likes   within 24 hours of launch fifa has already been on twitter worldwide trending with the hashtag #fifa! showing how social the fans of fifa are promoting their game and have high expectations for the game itself.  fifa have been announcing  new players on twitter showing the new characters and changes being made by fifa company itself these appeal to the fifa target audience as they want to keep updated on whats happening with the game.