Media Studies Mest 4 - Linked Production Idea

For my linked production idea i have decided to focus on the print based of the media platform, and create a 4 page article that would go into the game magazines that i have focused on in my reaserch, magazines such as Gamesmaster, Playsation magazine, GamesTM magazine etc. Im going to look at the layout of each of the magazines and see how they produce their articles, the programme that i am planning to use for this is illustrator, as the programme is best for producing articles, and i found it comfortable to use in year 12.
Abit of reseach will be needed by looking into the language and the images that these magazines uses and also their use of color also, and what target audince these magazines focuses on.

For my linked production i am going choose to confirm the issue and go with the idea that games in our 21st are reflecting different type of relalities using the two texts that i have focusing on throughout my critical invsetigation and the reaserch that i have done for that.

Media Studies Mest 4 - Media CI Essay Draft 1

In media I have asked to critically investigate a certain topic area that I am deeply interested in, the topic that I have chosen to interrogate is the topic of gaming. I am particularly interested in this topic because gaming over the years have become a major part in our lives and the way it has developed over the years on the platforms that it is based on is quite extraordinary in terms of its historical contexts. 

My CI is asking the question, ‘Is our generation of 21^st century gaming a reflection of different realities?’ and for this question the two main texts that have a deep involvement in this question in terms of reality is Call of duty and Grand theft auto, the reason why these two texts is a perfect example is because these two games are the ones that stand out in terms of realism.

Grand theft auto is a playstation franchise that goes way back over the years, the game is based on the concepts of mainly crime, but as each of the games developed through the years it has introduced to the audience the key themes of love, loss, status, power, betrayal, family, friendship, and as these key themes have been involved within the game, the audience have come to love the storylines the way that they see it.

Call of duty itself in comparison to grand theft auto also goes has a significant historical context behind it, the games are set in world war 1 and 2 and in the today’s location of modern warfare, the game is entirely based on survival, teamwork and strategy, using real life weapons and locations throughout the game. For each call of duty games that has been released, infinity ward has improved and delivered, and as of now there has not been one call of duty game that has disappointed in terms of the content and the quality.

 The concept of gaming has become increasingly involved in our everyday lives, we play games for a number of reasons, to entertain, to test our brains, to compete against other people, so as these are the key factors we play the games we love more than we realize, and for the developers of the games, they have to consistently keep the quality of the their games to our satisfactory, in order for they sales figures to increase, and for them to earn money.

Each of the grand theft auto games has a different storyline, in which the audience can play a different character, and the next grand theft games always improve so the audience can get to experience and do different things, things that perhaps couldn’t do in the previous game. Mostly the storyline of grand theft auto is linked to a particular character trying to find their place in the world and being accepted and starting a new life.

For the call of duty games it focuses on the armies and infantries of America, and each storylines different except for the modern warfare trilogy, which is all, linked together. The storylines of each game has a part to play in the realness of the game and how each reflects a part of reality that the audience can see and interpret.

Each franchise maintain contents such as DLCs which are side stories of the main game, they also contain multiplayer and CO-op also, but depending on the game, some games have more contents than other, but for these games that I have focused on the contents are extremely important and links in a lot when talking about my critical investigation.

The Multiplayer for example in both of these texts is huge in terms of the audience figures on average that plays these multiplayer games. The purpose of these multiplayer games is that it gives a chance for the audience to play and experience the games with other friends, and as the multiplayer format is worldwide the audience can compete with people from around the world, no matter what country that you are in.

In the multiplayer for grand theft 4 the audience can do a range of stuff, from free roaming, to races, and even death match also in which you have to eliminate the other characters, the audience is also allowed to customize their own personal character, which is also good, the multiplayer format for grand theft is reflected through e-media which consists of a website in which the audience and the fans of the game can get information and tips in which they can get the best out of the game. 

For the call of duty franchise the multiplayer format is a gaming phenomenon, the multiplayer format across the games is more preferable than the storyline itself, it allows the fans to get the real experience of the game and interact with friends, using strategic game play and real life weapons so it makes the audience feel like there are literally in the experience.

The DLCs of the games are put into place as side stories to the games, it please the audience in the terms as, if the game may have seemed to short and the audience didn’t get enough of the game, then they can play the side stories to lengthen their experience of the game.

Linking the concept of media theory to my CI investigation, there is range of theories that have an involvement, these theories are; Postmodernism, feminism, Vladimir propp’s theory of the 8 characters.

Postmodernism is the main theory that links to both of my texts, outlining what postmodernism is, postmodernism is when a media text is reality based but certain parts of the texts is set up for our entertainment purposes, this theory has a major part to play in the two texts that I have focused on and could be the only theory that answers my CI question. Feminism is another theory that I have researched that links to my CI question, for call of duty text there is a lack of femininity, the gender demographic for this text is dominiated by males, due to the violence and blood content into the game, call of duty wouldn’t seem like a game that a female would be particularly interested in., due to this occurrence it can be said that as call of duty have more of a male demographical audience then it creates this masculine ideology to the idea that if boys had to see or hear a girl excessively speaking about call of duty then it would be seen as weird, whereas the grand theft auto game the femininity is balanced within the game, and the audience also. In grand theft auto 4 there are female characters that have a dominant role in the game, by doing this rockstar makes it fair to each gender, so the game doesn’t seem like it is being to sexist.

Vladimir prop’s theory also applies to CI in terms of my two texts, but not as straight forward as the theory is brought across, grand theft auto is a game that you can see what each character is and what they represent but in each of the games there are some happy endings, and there is not and the games are far from a fairytale. The way in which the Vladimir prop theory is applied to the grand theft auto game is that, for example in grand theft auto 4 the characters in the game fits the roles of the fairytales, e.g. niko bellic is the main character of the game, therefore for what he does in the game he would class as the hero, his cousin roman would be classed as the accomplice, as he is with the main character throughout most of the game, and so forth. For the call of duty franchise, the game is more open, and doesn’t follow a set structure in which each character poses a certain role-play. As the game is mostly about warfare it creates the ideology of blood and violence and fighting on the frontline, and also the way the institution of infinity ward has designed the game, the audience is allowed to play different characters, in different situations as you progress through the game.

The postmodernism theory would be the theory that would answer my question of if our 21^st century gaming is a reflection of different realities, because of the things that the audience can do within the game, and the content of which the game contains, the settings and style of both of the games also has a part to play in the realness of the games also, these two texts also follow the conventional structure of every game also, the fact that games are put into motion to entertain and intrigue the audience, giving them something to talk about and remember in the long term.

The question that is the most important that will answer the question is ‘what type of realities does these two games reflect?’ as these games reflect the postmodernism theory there are stuff in the games that can be mimicked in the real world, and this can have a both positive and negative effect on the audience, but it mostly have a negative on the audience, in my research I uncovered that grand theft auto: vice city was to blame for a man stealing a car and killing witnesses that was involved, for the institutions of the games this is not a good sign, if these games like grand theft auto is supposedly making people do these kinds of things then what kind of example is the game setting for the audience. The type of reality that the grand theft is bringing across is the reality of crime, power, love, loss, status and reputation, and it is these key themes that is brought into reality and that are present in our everyday lives.

With call of duty the game reflects the realty of warfare and conflict, a topic that is extremely present into today’s reality and something that is definitely on going, but the way that the game portrays the warfare and the media language that it maintains, that is what makes the game postmodern.

For both games that is being focused on it is important that all the media platforms is being addressed throughout, e-media, broadcast and print, and for my research as I addressed all three of them, M.I.G.R.A.I.N is a key thing to include when doing so, giving a overview for the call of duty franchise in terms of M.I.G.R.A.I.N, the media language that the games includes is that firstly the game is set in first person, which makes the audience feel as if they are part of the game, the camera shots vary throughout the game as from time to time it shows in different angles, the institution  that is involved in the text is the developers of the game which is in infinity ward, this institution has made most of the call of duty games, on the terms of the media platforms, institutions such as face book, YouTube, IGN, Gamescom, are involved with the info on the game and what the audience can expect from the game, these are the institutions I focused on in my research within the media platforms.  The genre that is being focused on is gaming, and in relation to my CI call of duty and grand theft auto is the main focus.  The representation that is being brought across to the audience is that of violence, heroism, and dedication, the game is based on war and the result of that in my research these themes are being shown. The target audience for call of duty is preferably teenagers but adults can be seen playing the game also, mostly the male demographical audience is the conventional audience for this type of game. The ideologies of call of duty are brought across as ‘being a hero’ and fighting for your country, while playing the game you feel as if you are doing your duty, and you are somewhat committing yourself to what you do and that is another factor that adds to the realness of the game, finally the game brings across a cinematic narrative, the mise-en-scene of parts of the game is quite shocking, so that adds intrigue to the audience.

For the grand theft auto franchise the M.I.G.R.I.A.N differs, the media language of the game is a variety, as an audience you it allows you to change the camera angles of the game in which you want to play it in, and in each game you play in third person, so a player of the game the audience can have full control of the character. The intuitions that is involved in the game is Rockstar which is the developers of the game and have been since the beginning, on other platforms, the same intuitions that are involved in call of duty is also involved with grand theft auto also. The genre of grand theft is also gaming and focuses entirely on that, the representation that the game brings across is that of status, power, reputation, control, love, loss and revenge, this is another factor which reflects the reality of the game. The ideology of grand theft differs from very game but the one that stays the same is the idea of the ‘American Dream’, this is what I uncovered in my research. And the narrative of the game is also cinematic, with the cut scenes that the game contains.

The historical context of each game is also important, the audience can pick up on how the game has grown up with our generation and as each game improves is it reflecting reality more and more?  Each of the franchises has gone way back and the audience of today can have a nostalgic feeling and reminisce how the first game use to be and by this a comparison can be made wit the first game and the latest game and we can see hoe these game has improved over the years.

In conclusion and basing these two game on my CI question I believe that in our generation of gaming, games are reflecting reality more and more, what you can do in the games and the way the game s are brought to the audience is evidence that it is. I generally think its is good thing and a bad thing that games like these are becoming more real, a good thing because it attracts more of a wide-range audience and the games are more enjoyable and realistic, but bad because depending on how real it can set a bad influence on younger people such as teens, but it’s the consumers that can choose what they do with the games they play. 

Media Studies Mest 4 - Detailed CI Essay Plan

For the fourth task of our critical investigation we are asked to present a detailed CI essay plan for the essay that we are going to do on our questions, marking out each of the sections that we are going to focus on in our essay.

CI - Is our generation of 21st century gaming a reflection of different realities?

Intro - 

• Introduce the question. 
• Outline the texts that is being focused on, e.g. Grand theft auto & Call of duty - (Brief overview)
• How involved is gaming in our everyday lives? - As games are becoming more real is that attracting consumers? 

Main Body 1 - 

• Outline what each game is about e.g Storyline, (talk about the concepts of the game) e.g. multiplayer, DLCs. - Why are these important? 
• Include the theories that you have covered that is linked in with the chosen texts - how do they link? - does the theories answer the question?! 
• Talk about what type of realties does the game reflects and how does it do that. e.g. for call of duty the game maintains the combined infantry of world war 1 & 2 and the modern warfare in today's reality. & for grand theft auto the game is based on crime, revenge, status, love and loss, all of these key concepts are present into our everyday lives. 

Main Body 2 - 

• Include M.I.G.R.A.I.N analysis of each text, include all platforms of media- Print, Broadcast & E-media-give an analysis of the websites that link to your chosen texts, outline the videos that have been looked at throughout the research e.g. gameplays, gamescom assemblies etc, analysis the print texts that also links to the CI, e.g. gamesmaster, playstation magazine - talk about the language invoved, how does this relate and appeal to the audience?   
• Outline the historical context of each text - how has the game grown up with our generation? - Explain how the pilot games of each franchise can be nostalgic to our generation. - What was the games like then? Make a comparison between thee first games and the latest game of the franchise.
• Outline the main theory 'Postmodernism' and how it links in with the texts that is being focused on. - What makes the games postmodern? E.g. Setting, contents, characters. 
• Outline each text, and make on reference to each media platform. - How does it relate to the target audience? (There is more to the texts than just playing the game!!) 

Conclusion - 

• Link everything back to the CI question. 
• Is our generation of 21st century gaming a reflection of different realities? - Answer the question with evidence. 
• Sum up the main points that have been made in the essay. - Give opinion. 

Internet/Web Reasearch - Rockstar.com/Grandtheftauto

The second website that i have looked at for my grand theft auto text which surrounds my CI is the official website for the grand theft auto franchise.
The website brings the audience back generations to the first ever grand theft auto game that was on the playstaion 1, and throughout the years the website shows how the most highest rated game of all time has changed and how it has adapted to our generation of gaming. The website includes information on each game and what the game is all about.
The website of the grand theft auto franchise is nostalgic in the sense that the audience can think back and remember the time when they were a kid and they and their friends were in to playing the grand theft auto game. the website allows the audience to play a series of demos and experience the way that grand theft auto use to be back when it first started, and that is what makes the game effective in terms of gaining audiences, and even though the new grand theft auto 5 is going to be released some time in 2012, the previous games of the franchise can not be forgotten as each game has a part to play in making the whole franchise succsessful in a whole.

Screenshot of the official website 

This screenshot shows the official website of the grand theft auto franchise, what you see here is the first grand theft auto game that was released nearly a decade ago, and when you click on it it will give you
a sample of the demo and give you information on the game, it also contains audio, video and links to do with the game.
'There is an 8 bit demo, a 24 bit demo and a 3DFX demo, all offering you the chance to have a little taste of Grand Theft Auto, completely free. Just click on the icon of the demo you would like, tell your machine where to save the demo, and let the downloading commence. All these demos are set in Liberty City'. This is a quote from the website showing the public what they offer. 

This screenshot is still from the same website, but i wanted to show you the contrast of the the first game and the latest game of the grand theft auto franchise, and how it has changed over the years, you can see by just the title of the game, its is shows more and gives more insight, as it show the characters of the game and the setting in which the game is located. 

when you click on the link it you can watch a video clip for each of the characters in the game and also the contents and also what the game contains.

Internet/Web Research - Rockstar.com

For my second text in which i am focusing on the grand theft auto franchise, and for my internet research i decided to focus on the main websites that surround the text, for this website it is rockstar, rockstar is the maiin developer of the game, and the company is well known for producing the grand theft auto franchise and the game goes way back in terms of historical context, our generation has grown up with the grand theft auto franchise and knows what the games conatins and what we can expect from each of the game that is released.
Rockstar is now officially developing the new grand theft auto game 'Grand Theft Auto V' which is due to be released sometime next year, what the fans expect from the game is all things new and exciting, as rockstar is an exceptional games developing company, the fans will be expecting nothing less.

Here is the trailer fro the new Grand Theft Auto game :

Rockstar games has also produced such games as; Midnight Club, Max Payne 3, LA Noire, Red dead redemption, Manhunt and other games which has been sucsessful.
The reason why i choose to focus on the rockstar website for my grand theft auto game is because part of the reasson why grand theft auto is the one of the highest rated games on ps3 is because of  rockstar and the ideas that they put into the games to make it look as real as possible.
The website includes videos and information on the the games that they develop and what you can expect from each game, the website has a target audience of young teenagers and adults that is mostly into these sort of games, most of the games that rockstar produce contains mostly to a male demographic.

Screenshot of Rockstar Website 

 This screenshot is of the official website for the rockstar website, in their website they talk about and give information on all the well known games that they have developed, including the highly rated grand theft auto franchise. The layout of the website is clear with links for each topic so the audience doesn't get confused on where to go and what to search for.

 

Internet/Web Research - Treyarch.com

The forth website that i am looking at in terms of my call of duty text is the developer behind the call of duty installment black ops.
Treyarch is also a major developer of the call of duty series, they have made Call of duty 2: Big red one, Call of duty 3 and Call of duty: world at war.
Call of Duty: Black Ops holds the record for the largest ever entertainment launch in history in any form of entertainment, breaking the record within 24 hours of its release. Sales from the game worldwide reached US$650 million within five days after its release.
The reason why i have chosen this website is because the company teryarch has a contribution to the quality that call of duty black ops have to offer, as call of duty is one of their biggest projects.

Looking on the treyarch website it includes clips from the call of duty games and it gives insight into the history of the franchise and what you can expect from the game, they also have an insight of the awards tht they have won showing the quality of games that they develop showing that they are a good games developing company.
Treyarch has developed a number of games ranging from different platforms of consoles, old and new and for each games that has been developed the quality has also been developed along with it.

Screenshot of the official website 

The screenshot shows the official website of the makers of call of duty black ops, and as you can see call of duty is the main focus in the website as the developers are best known for making a high rated game like this one.

Internet/Web Reasearch - Activision.com

The third website that i am looking at for my call of duty text is the publisher of each of the call of duty games which is Activision, the reason why i choose to broaden my research and focus on the company that is outside the game is because activision is has worked on one of the highest rated and best selling video games such as the call of duty franchise, activision is the premier international publisher of interactive entertainment software. 
They maintain a diverse portfolio of products that span a wide range of categories and can be used on a variety of game hardware platforms and operating systems. They have created, licensed and acquired a group of highly recognizable brands, marketed to a growing variety of consumer demographics. 


The games that activision has worked on is such games as; 

• Call of Duty 
• Spiderman 
• X-men 
• James Bond 
• Transformers ......and more 

The Official Activision Website 

The screenshot shows the website of activison and just like treyarch you can see that their main focus is of call of duty, at the top of the website they also show other games that they have published along with the call of duty franchise. The website also contains a youtube clip of the game and what you can expect from it. 

Internet/Web Reasearch - Call of duty.com

The second website that i am focusing on for my call of duty text is the official website itself for the whole game, the call of duty website in whole focuses on all of the call of duty franchise on both of the playstation platforms, playstation 2 and playstation 3.
The website includes insight into the latest call of duty game, 'Modern Warfare 3' which includes clips and information on the game and their own 'latest intel' which has discussions and a clip which goes behind the scenes of the new modern warfare multiplayer which contains 'Kill confirmed' and 'Team Defender' modes.
The call of duty website also contains mini sites and links of all the other previous call of duty games, by call of duty doing this they are not only looking at the latest call of duty game and ignoring the previous, they keep all of them so the public can go back to there favourite call of duty game out of the whole franchise.

The Official Call Of Duty Website 

These are the screenshots of the call of duty sites for each game:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 

Call of Duty 2 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 

Internet/web Reasearch - Infinity ward.com

One of the online sites that i am focusing on that contributes to my topic in terms of my Call of duty text is the online site of the developers of the game which is Infinity ward.
For Infinity ward they have only been producing Call of duty games such as the mordern warfare trilogy and world at war. The infinity ward website is a interactive website which allows the audience to get more out of the website and participate in whhat the website has to offer, e.g 'join the infinity ward community to get involved in every aspect of its development by connecting directly with the studio'.
As for each of my texts it is already clear that there is more to the game than just playing it and it is important that the public feels that they can get the best out of the game as possible, so its worth the money and the time also playing the game.

The infinity ward website broadens it self on the media platform in terms of twitter, facebook and myspace, by doing this, the audince can be kept informed with the latest news of the games that the company is developing.

Screenshot of Infinity Ward Website 

the screenshot above shows the official website of the developers of the call of duty franchise, on the homepage you can see that their main focus is of the call of duty franchise, and it also keeps the public up to date of the the latest news that surround these games, for example on the website you can see that they released the trailer for the new call of duty game, and has posted info on what contents the game has, from multiplayer to special ops.

Media Studies Mest 4 - Internet/Web Research

For the 3 part of our critical investigation i'll be doing a detailed study of into the online websites that contribute to my topic in terms of my critical investigation, this will include 'cross cultural' and 'wide-ranging'.

For my Call of Duty text the websites i will be looking at is;
Infinity ward.com
http://www.infinityward.com/

Call of duty.com
http://www.callofduty.com/

Activision.com
http://www.activision.com/atvihub/home.do?site=en_GB&country=UK

Treyarch.com
http://www.treyarch.com/

For my Grand Theft Auto text the websites i will be looking at is
Rockstar.com
http://www.rockstargames.com/

Rockstar.com/grandtheftauto
http://www.rockstargames.com/grandtheftauto/

gta4.net
http://www.gta4.net/multiplayer/