Unit 3: Introduction to professional practice in creative media production

Understanding Creative Media Companies

6th Nov. MM XX III

The goals of this lesson were to understand the differences between the various types of companies involved in creative media production and how they contribute to the industry, as well as to understand the distinction between horizontal and vertical integration and what it means for creative media industries.

We learnt about different company types, which are seperated into three distinct main categories.

Designers/developers, Publishers, and distributors play three major roles in making a game.

Developers, are the ones who make the game. Some developers do not rely on publishers to fund and promote their games; these developers are known as indie developers. The developers are in charge of the games' updates and patches, as well as all of the game's content. Unless stated by the Publisher that they have to update the game for an "X" amount of time(s). Examples of Developers would be Mojang, Double Fine Productions, Tango Gameworks, etc.

Publishers are the ones in charge or either, funding, marketing, and/or helping with the making of the game. Usually most of the time, Publishers are in charge of funding the game, giving the developers a set amount of time to make the game, then market it to gain attention from the public. Publishers are the middle men in the world of game publishing, they help make the game gain retention. They are not needed for being successful, however they help get you the coverage you need, at the cost of taking a cut from the sales. Examples of Publishers would be Xbox Game Studios, Electronic Arts, Devolver Digital, and so on.

Then lastly, we have Distributors. The people in charge of selling the games on a platform or store front. They can be both physical or digital, but most of the time, a Distributor would exclusively choose the former or the latter.

In stores in the real world, there are specialised gaming stores like GameStop for USA, and GAME for UK. And regular stores that have a small gaming section in where they sell games, like Best Buy, ASDA. Here, games are sold physically, in disks, and sometimes offer digital keys instead. Where most of the time, the Publisher is in charge of making or finding a way to print out copies of the games to be put on disks then put on shelves to sell in the store. This has been the standard since gamings inception, as the average guy won't know much about digital and online copies of a game, and would just buy a physical copy to save themselves the hassle.

Then there's digital distribution of games, each system of games got their own dedicated store front, with the exception of the pc and mobile market. The PlayStation got the PS store, Xbox got Microsoft Store, and the Xbox Marketplace, Nintendo got the eShop. For PC, Steam is the most popular option for PC gamers, but there are other options, Epic Games got the EGStore, and Good Old Games, which is owned by CDProjekt. Media sold on Computors aren't restricted to one store like consoles do. Which allows for smaller indie distributors to flourish like "itch.io"

Then we have Mobile games, which make up the majoirty of gaming revenue, theres the Apple Store on Apple products, and then the PlayStore on android devices. Apple actively restricts what apps and games you can install and where they're from. While Androids, mostly give the user freedom of choice on where they want to get their apps and games from. The Samsung store, EGStore/Launcher on mobile, and other third party apk distributors online are options for the user to download apps from.

Games sold online, technically have unlimited amount of stock. Which cuts the need for making copies. However an internet connection is required to download and play games this way. Which makes it harder for third world countries and some rural areas to enjoy digital only games.

Understanding Critical Perspectives - Game Reviews

7th Nov. MM XX III

The lesson objective for today was to critically evaluate the working practices and methods of game journalism

Game reviews, for the majority of gamers, are usually very easily, reduced to a number, as many don't care for the strengths and weaknesses of the game. The merits, which parts of the game are enjoyable, which aren't. And etc. But an well formed review done by a professional game journalist or prestigious and well liked game reviewer like a youtuber, will go into detail of what the game actually is, it considers the good characteristics of the product, the downsides, or rather, unfavourable parts the reviewer didn't quite like as much.

How much of a game should a paid, professional critic/journalist have played before they can give an impartial, honest review of it?

We were asked this question in class, and for me, it always depends on the game, blanket statements, like "about 70 percent" sounds right, but if the game is short like a critically acclaimed short game: "Limbo", then it wouldn't make sense for to not complete the game. As well as for large games, something like World of Warcraft. Where the game is massive, and even completing half the game is a grueling task in of itself, as it is ever changing, where the game might not be good now, but if the game improves over time, then the review is outdated.

We learnt about a case where, IGN reviewed the game "God Hand" for the PlayStation 2. This review was most curious, as they gave it a staggeringly low score, from the rest of the other major review publications, where it generally got a mixed reception. The review showcased that the journalist did in fact not get passed the first major level of the game. Frustrated, he gave up and gave the game a "3/10", for comparison, IGN gave a game, a "7.5/10", to "Imagine Party Babyz" for the Wii in the same year. A shovelware title where it was a collection of minigames that was made quickly to hopefully make a quick buck. This level of discrepancy led to many people questioning the legitimacy of review websites.

A different case, where a good come back story happened, with the game, "No Man's Sky", where the game was lacking a ton of features and game mechanics that the developers either exaggerated or emphasised would be there. But it wasn't. So it got extremely low reviews and reception. The game came out with updates and updates throughout the years, and is now what was promised in the original E3 trailer, or even more than what was promised.

Studying Review Structure Eurogamer’s Bioshock Review (2007)

Playtesting Work Experience with Inhalation

9th Nov. MM XX III

We had a session in which an Indie game company wanted us to playtest their game, and its mechanics. But we signed an NDA, so I can't talk specifics about the game and its contents. However I can talk about the experience I had in these questions.

The goal was to get first hand experience on how actual Playtesting worked. As We learnt what and why playtesting is used for, but we don't have the actual practical experience of "playtesting" a small demo or snippet of a game. I learnt that play testing certain "mechanics" or "design concepts" take beyond the time I thought it would take, as I know the systems that we tested took time, but I didn't know that it was about a year it took for it be implemented.

The key skills I had to apply were; Critical thinking, and using the right words to describe how I felt during the playtesting. While also writing in full sentences, as what I wrote, was a bit more formal than I would have liked to write in, but it wasn't too difficult to evaluate. However, when I wanted to communicate my honest, critical feedback. It was slightly easy to put into words about how I actually felt, in hard honest words. The main problem lay in how I approached writing what I wrote, as I wanted my sincere feedback to be heard, but sometimes I would sugar coat a tiny bit,

I expected the game developers to be more serious, not like business men in suits, but rather nerds in suits. However that was a humorous thought rather than a serious one, as I didn't have much or any expectations for when the developers present themselves. But how they were when they showed up, they were calm and well mannered, I saw that they had passion and believed in what they were about to show us for us to play test. And etc. The one thing I expected them to do was be hands off from the play testing, as it isn't good to generally change how someone plays the game, as it changes the person's answers, feedbacks, and so on.

I can apply this learning experience to my own games, or even other media products. The play testing showed me how useful it is for the developers to be hands off. As when writing, I was inputting my honest opinions onto the questionnaire. As, if the developers came around answering and pointing us towards how we are supposed to feel about the game, I would have immediately changed my outlook on the game retroactively.

Overall, I can apply this both professionally and in my studies. I would use play testing to hard test certain features, even if I liked them, I would test that hypothesis, by requiring feedback on said features. I would want the feedback to be about, if the game was fun to play, was the part clear on what was presented, and/or would they like to play more.

Personal Game Review: Practical work

14th Nov. MM XX III

After learning about different game reviews, what it means to actually play and understand what the game is. We were set a task to write a review on a game that we have either completed. Or if the game is a never ending multiplayer experience, played for at least 10 hours to grasp it at an intermediate level

I, being indecisive, decided to put a couple games I enjoyed a lot, into an online "wheel spin", which decided what game I should pick, it landed on "Citizen Sleeper" a "Tabletop-inspired narrative RPG", akin to games like "Disco Elysium", "Tharsis", "Synergia", and a dice mechanic similar to "Dicey Dungeons"

A simple requirement of 800 words was needed, which I have easily fulfilled, a bit over 1800 words instead. I chose the font; "Inconsolata", which is similar enough to the font ingame, so that I can mimick the bold, desperate, cyperpunk aesthetic present in the game.

Overall, this was a good practical exercise in being able to properly format and write a well structured review of a game, and this can be applied to other forms of media as well. Not only games, but rather, movies, tv shows, music, books, etc. And I would nail on writing a review if needed be in the future.

DDS 7 - How to Become a Game Designer

Job Roles in the Games Industry

21st Nov. MM XX III

Today's lesson objective was to understand a better comprehension of the variety of job roles that are available in the games industry. Recapping, there are 3 types of main company types that are involved in the games industry. We were also taught about the different jobs in each of these company types.

Developer: The ones in charge of developing the game

Publisher: They are in charge of funding, marketing, and promoting the game, as well as being in contact with offline (in real life) game stores.

Distributor: And they are in charge of putting the games on shelve to sell. They can be offline and online stores. GameStop is a popular american game store. Meanwhile, Steam is the most popular digital distributor of games

Then we learnt the different job roles by watching a video on the end credits of "Abe's Oddysee"

Direct Link/Preview

Roughly I counted 53 different forms of jobs and posititions that is in the credits for "Abe's Oddysee". Which is a lot for an indie studio, even for today's standards.

I want to be a Lead Game Designer or a Game Developer, as I think I can lead a team of people into making and designing the game concept and game prototypes. I don't need to be a "Leader" per se. But just being a Game Designer is alright enough for the skills that I have.

The job company that would employ this type of job role would definitely be a Developer. Publishers and mostly Distributors would have no need of services from any Game Designer or Game Devs. As their priorities would just be either helping publishing the game, or store the game in shelves in stores or sell online.

Why am I interested in these two particular jobs? Depending on the studio or firm I work at, I love the sort of creative freedom that I'm given when making and designing game mechanics/ideas. I do think I won't be give total freedom in doing what I want obviously, but most of the time, I can find ways to input my own style or interpretations of which would be good, as I wouldn't feel restricted.

What would I need to be a Game Designer or Game Dev?

Well first, earn a High school diploma, or an equalivant or higher degree. Obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in grapic design, multimedia design or in a related field.

Then this ones the most important factor in whether or not you can land a role in the Games Industry. EXPERIENCE!!! It is quite vital to have a bit, or rather, a lot of experience in the games industry. Which ties into also building your resume and portfolio, a portfolio includes Game screenshots, Links or download to a game level, Videos of gameplay, Gaming reviews, Links to a demo reel. Back-end programming. Very Important stuff to consider when applying to jobs.

Learning new skills can help as well making you stand out more from your peers. As software and coding languages evolve constantly, being experienced or having the necessary skills, makes you more "valuable" or "wanted" by employers.

The average yearly salary (not including bonuses) for a Game Designer is 34,770 Pounds in the UK.

Personal Skills Audit

22nd Nov. MM XX III

Blibography

Indeed Editorial Team. (2023). How Much Does a Game Designer Make and What Are Their Skills?. [Online]. Indeed. Last Updated: November 2023. Available at: https://uk.indeed.com/career/video-game-designer/salaries [Accessed 21 November 2023].

Indeed Editorial Team. (2023). 6 Essential Steps To Becoming a Video Game Designer [Online]. Indeed. Last Updated: November 2023. Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/becoming-a-video-game-designer [Accessed 21 November 2023].