Videogames assessment: Learner response

-

Videogames assessment: Learner response

1) Copy and paste your feedback into your blog in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

WWW: This is a satisfactory response with your first main paragraph in particular offering real insight into the question. Clear focus on genre and The Sims franchise. However, it isn’t sustained or matched by the Tomb Raider paragraph in order to award a band 4/5 mark.

EBI: Ideally you would want to write more than this for a 25-mark essay but I think this was partly my fault for the time I gave you for the assessment and the online nature of it. If you can write at this level and sustain it across perhaps three well-developed paragraphs then you will be looking at a top grade in future PPEs/assessments.

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully - in particular the indicative or suggested content. Identify three specific points that you could have made in your response.

  • Use of the science fiction genre to market the original 1986 Metroid game. Intertextual references to the movie Alien and similar. Later versions of the franchise including Metroid Prime heavily lean on the FPS genre of videogames.
  • Counterpoint: genre was less important for Tomb Raider Anniversary as the game was not attempting to target new fans, rather an already established market. Indeed, some gamers (particularly female) may have been discouraged from engaging with the product due to the sexualised nature of the character of Lara Croft. Here, genre would be less of a consideration than the objectification of the female playable character.
  • The Sims broke new ground when it launched in 2000, almost creating a new genre. Creator Will Wright described it as a ‘doll house’.

3) Now read this exemplar answer. Write one thing that you can learn from this exemplar - it could be content, structure, writing style or something else. 

I have learnt to keep each paragraph relevant, clear and straight to the point as well as to use evidence from each CSP and link these to the question. Also, 3-4 paragraphs is enough excluding an intro and conclusion

4) Use your own response, the mark scheme, the exemplar essay and any other resources you wish to use to write a new essay plan for this question. Make sure you are planning at least four well-developed paragraphs in addition to an introduction and conclusion.

Intro- 

  • Why genre is important in the marketing, promotion and reception of videogame products. 
  • How Tomb Raider and Sims Freeplay meets audience expectations
  • Tomb Raider is a great example of the action adventure genre
  • Sims Freeplay- long running franchise
Para 1- Tomb Raider anniversary- exploring it's genre
  • action adventure genre
  • evidence of this from the cover art for the game- colour scheme, typography, props all evoke connotations of the action adventure genre
  • TRA and Eidos- marketing strategy
Para 2- Tomb Raider Anniversary- audience reception
  • Negative viewpoint of the marketing
  • Van Zoonen
  • gameplay- courageous protagonist- marketing emphasises her sexuality
Para 3- The Sims- exploring it's genre
  • Sandbox genre 
  • Will Wright- "doll-house"- game offers players the chance to simulate a successful life through the game
  • Baudrillard- hyperreality- where audiences are no longer sure what is real and what is a media construction. This has influenced the creation of media products so audiences expect hybrid genres or products that defy genre classifications
  • genre has become less significant in the marketing, promotion and reception of videogame products
Para 4- The Sims- marketing and reception
  • although original game broke new ground, The Sims Freeplay offers little that is new to mobile and tablet gamers
  • It also reinforces media stereotypes and audience's expectations of gendered behaviour (Butler)
  • DLC packs for "chic boutique" reinforce media stereotypes 
  • Steve Neale- repetition and difference
  • The Sims Freeplay doesn't satisfy audience expectations

5) Finally, identify three key areas you plan to revise for Videogames for the in-class assessment on Videogames after Easter. 

  • Timing
  • Thorough planning and clear structure
  • Content and knowledge

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Videogames: The Sims FreePlay part 2 - Industries

-
The Sims FreePlay - Industries blog tasks Regulation – PEGI Research the following  using the PEGI website . 1) What is the VSC and how does it link to UK law? The Video Standards Council (VSC), also known as the VSC Rating Board, is an administrator of the PEGI system of age rating for video games. It was established in 1989, and has been responsible for the age ratings of video games sold in the United Kingdom since 2012. It links to the UK law because i n the UK, PEGI 12, 16 and 18 rated games supplied in physical form, such as discs and cartridges, are legally enforceable and therefore, cannot be sold or rented to anyone under those ages. 2) Note down the key statistics on the homepage. 12000+ games rated 8000+ apps rated 1987 member outlets 30 years in operation 3) What is the purpose of PEGI? They supply detailed consumer information surrounding the content of the game and what is featured. This helps the consumer know if the game is appropriate for their age demographic. 4) Clic
Read more

Advertising: Assessment

-
David Gauntlett has argued against the idea that masculinity is 'in crisis'. To what extent do you believe masculinity is 'in crisis'? In your response you should refer to your Advertising and Marketing Close Study Products: the Score  hair cream advert (1967) and the Maybelline ‘That Boss Life’ YouTube advert (2017). I agree with this statement as Gauntlett argues that views of gender and sexuality, masculinity and femininity, identity and selfhood, are all in slow but steady processes of change and transformation. He also highlights the differences in views on identity between young and old- e.g. on homosexuality or masculinity and argues that the mass media has become more liberal, and considerably more challenging to traditional standards and this has been a reflection of changing attitudes, but also involves the media actively disseminating modern values. Moreover, there have been significant changes in the way gender roles are represented from the 1960s to
Read more