J Brown Media Studies

Minecraft Production-Lesson 4 Game Development Game development is dominated by high budget productions from mainstream producers in order to reduce the risk of financial losses. Game developers are successful because: ·         They stick to safe genres and gameplay. ·         They focus on developing their popular franchises. ·         They aim to appeal to young men (the primary demographic for gamers) Games are developed by huge teams alongside expensive marketing campaigns. The Influence of Technology Game development relies on advances in technology such as faster CPUs, 3D graphics and sound cards, however, often these advances are a response to developer and gamer needs. VR is a good example of this. Console development was crucial in developing the industry, however the internet has been the driver behind maintaining such a successful industry because: ·...

Minecraft Session 3 Notes Industry Structure, Media Ownership & Funding The History of the Industry Video game technology has actually been around since the 1950s but the industry didn’t really peak until the 70s. The years between 1978 and 1983 were considered the golden age of video games where the industry peaked and was worth $11.8 billion in the US (which beat the figures for the film and music industry combined). Key players in the industry during the golden era were Nintendo, Namco and Atari. Because of rival consoles, poorly designed games and a lack of quality control, the market crashed heavily and by 1985, the games console industry in the US was estimated to be worth just $100 million. Over three decades later, the industry is enjoying a resurgence with new types of ‘gamer’ and much tighter regulation, aided by key development in technology, internet speeds and accessibility. Thus, video games are culturally and financially significant across major territ...

§   Minecraft Lesson 2   Conglomerate -A media conglomerate is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures or the internet. §   Subsidiary -a company controlled by a holding company. §   PEGI Rating -Pan European Game Information (PEGI) is a European video game content rating system established to help European consumers make informed decisions when buying video games or apps through the use of age recommendations and content descriptions. §   Sandbox -a virtual space in which new or untested software or coding can be run securely. §   Merchandise -Items designed in relation to a popular media product (film, game, singer, etc.) and sold to fans. §   JavaScript -an object-orientated computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers.

Minecraft-Lesson 1 Start by watching the following documentary on Youtube about Minecraft   ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rOUfNa7dxM   ) then answer the questions below: 1.      Who created Minecraft and when? Markus Persson in 2009. 2.      Name some Youtube influencers/gamers who are famous for playing Minecraft.   What can you find out about them? Ali A and The Diamond Minecart both attended the Insomnia event and competed for their audience in a Hunger Games style mini game as well as meeting fans. Ashley Marie also uses Minecraft in her YouTube videos to connect with fans. 3.      In 2014, Microsoft purchased Minecraft for $2.5 billion.   Why would this be a good investment for Microsoft and why did the founder of Minecraft agree to this?   (check out this clip for more help:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75hlBwHtM3o ) Markus Persson was fed up with all of the...