The Sims FreePlay CSP - Audience and Industries blog tasks
The Sims FreePlay CSP - Audience and Industries blog tasks
Audience
Read this App Store description and the customer reviews for The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:
1) What game information is provided on this page? Pick out three elements you think are important in terms of making the game appeal to an audience.
Age rating
Reviews
"What's new" section
2) How does the game information on this page reflect the strong element of participatory culture in The Sims?
There is a fan community made and the audience in the reviews gives examples and thier views on how this game can bew moidified and made better.
3) Read a few of the user reviews. What do they suggest about the audience pleasures of the game?
They claim that this game provides lots of entertainment elements such as quests, special events and much more- linking to blumer and Katz gratification theory.
Participatory culture
Read this academic journal article - The Sims: A Participatory Culture 14 Years On. Answer the following questions:
1) What did The Sims designer Will Wright describe the game as?
"Doll House"
2) Why was development company Maxis initially not interested in The Sims?
The board of directors thought that ‘doll houses were for girls, and girls didn’t play video games’ Publisher Electronic Arts (which had bought Maxis in 1997) saw potential in the idea – something that would appeal to both boys and girls, and men and women alike.
3) What is ‘modding’? How does ‘modding’ link to Henry Jenkins’ idea of ‘textual poaching’?
Short for modification- changing aspects of the game.
Modding- players can make changes/ modify.
Consumer and audience can contribute through activities
4) Look specifically at p136. Note down key quotes from Jenkins, Pearce and Wright on this page.
(Pearce) ‘The original Sims series has the most vibrant emergent fan culture of a single-player game in history’
(Jenkins) ‘there were already more than fifty fan Web sites dedicated to The Sims. Today, there are thousands’
(Wright) ‘We were probably responsible for the first million or so units sold but it was the community which really brought it to the next level’.
5) What examples of intertextuality are discussed in relation to The Sims? (Look for “replicating works from popular culture”)
Star Trek, Star Wars, The X-Files
6) What is ‘transmedia storytelling’ and how does The Sims allow players to create it?
7) How have Sims online communities developed over the last 20 years?
They are mentors and mentees that promote creativity.
8) What does the writer suggest The Sims will be remembered for?
For the cult
Read this Henry Jenkins interview with James Paul Gee, writer of Woman as Gamers: The Sims and 21st Century Learning (2010).
1) Why does James Paul Gee see The Sims as an important game?
" The Sims is a real game and a very important one because it is a game that is meant to take people beyond gaming"
2) What does the designer of The Sims, Will Wright, want players to do with the game?
"to empower people to think like designers, to organize themselves around the game to become learn new skills that extend beyond the game, and to express their own creativity"
3) Do you agree with the view that The Sims is not a game – but something else entirely?
I agree because this game is reflective of reality as it brings updates theres a reflection of world/society today realistically.
Industries
Electronic Arts & Sims FreePlay industries focus
Read this Pocket Gamer interview with EA’s Amanda Schofield, Senior Producer on The Sims FreePlay at EA's Melbourne-based Firemonkeys studio. Answer the following questions:
1) How has The Sims FreePlay evolved since launch?
Initially there were only 16 sims, now as it has delevepoed and gone through updates it provides other features incuding upper class life and consumerism.
2) Why does Amanda Schofield suggest ‘games aren’t products any more’?
3) What does she say about The Sims gaming community?
It is highly active and always seeking to see new developed features.
4) How has EA kept the game fresh and maintained the active player base?
They provide more updates ands features in areas of the game most liked by players.
5) How many times has the game been installed and how much game time in years have players spent playing the game? These could be great introductory statistics in an exam essay on this topic.
over 200 million installs and players have spent 78,000 years in game time in Sims.
Read this blog on how EA is ruining the franchise (or not) due to its downloadable content. Answer the following questions:
Entertainment: Players can also use the game to experiment with architecture, decoration and landscaping
Personal identity:"players’ ability to create “Sims” — virtual humans with personalities and ambitions — and take complete control of their lives"
2) What examples of downloadable content are presented?
“expansion packs”
“stuff packs”
"new clothing or furniture options"
3) How did Electronic Arts enrage The Sims online communities with expansion packs and DLC?
EA is no stranger to being on the receiving end of public backlash. Late last year, the now-infamous developers came under fire for locking several iconic characters and powerful multiplayer abilities behind DLC in “Star Wars Battlefront II.”
"As noted by many frustrated gamers, several of the furniture items seemed as though they were removed from a set included in the aforementioned expansion. Players suspected that the complete set of bedroom furniture was supposed to be included in “The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs” and a few items were extracted and offered as paid DLC, so EA could make some extra cash"
4) What innovations have appeared in various versions of The Sims over the years?
“The Sims 2” refined the virtual families, allowing players to create multi-generational legacies. Following this feat, the developers gave players full access to every inch of a hyper-realistic world in “The Sims 3.”The newest member of the family introduced the capability to travel between multiple neighborhoods, download other players’ creations within seconds through the “Gallery” and customize gender options to improve the level of diversity present in the game — all for free"
5) In your opinion, do expansion packs like these exploit a loyal audience or is it simply EA responding to customer demand?
I dont think they do exploit loyal adudience as they are fulfilling the consumers demand.
The ‘Freemium’ gaming model
Read this Business Insider feature on freemium gaming and multiplayer games. Answer the following questions:
1) Note the key statistics in the first paragraph.
“freemium” games and their in-app purchases account for about 70-80% of the $10 billion or more in iOS revenue each year.
2) Why does the freemium model incentivise game developers to create better and longer games?
Developers are then incentivized to put that stream of revenue directly back into the game to improve it.
3) What does the article suggest regarding the possibilities and risks to the freemium model in future?
The "freemium" feature is highly profitable however gamers may isolate large share of gaming community.
Regulation – PEGI
Research the following using the Games Rating Authority website - look at the videos and FAQ section.
1) How does the PEGI ratings system work and how does it link to UK law?
It connects closely and similarly with the rating of BBFC( BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION)
2) What are the age ratings and what content guidance do they include?
In the UK, PEGI 12, 16 and 18 rated games supplied in physical form, such as on discs and cartridges, are legally enforceable and cannot be sold or rented to anyone under those ages.
They let you know whether a game contains certain elements, such as violence, sex, drugs or bad language, that might be harmful, upsetting, disturbing or just unsuitable for children below that age.
3) What is the PEGI process for rating a game?
"We have clear guidelines stating which levels of violence, sex, bad language and other issues are allowed at each of the different age ratings. These guidelines were developed by experts in child welfare and protection, and by experts in media regulation.
We also listen to the views of parents and young people to ensure the ratings remain up-to-date and reflect current views about what's appropriate for children of different ages to play. The guidelines are kept under constant review in case changes are needed."
Comments
Post a Comment