We have now finished our final in-depth topic - Videogames. Your have done some superb work on women in videogames, Henry Jenkins, fandom and postmodernism. You now need to complete a Videogames blog index to ensure you have completed all the work for our in-depth Videogame CSPs.
This process is clearly excellent revision for the mock exams approaching as there is a lot of theory in there that could be applied across the full range of CSPs in both exam papers.
For your index, the text should link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work on each aspect of the case study quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can catch up with the work and notes and won't underperform in the mock exams due to gaps in your knowledge.
The final part of our Horizon Forbidden West case study focuses on Audience and Industry. This requires us to research the companies that produced the game and also consider how the videogames audience is changing.
Audience
Target audience
Does Horizon Forbidden West really target a female audience? Or is the console gaming audience still male dominated? Research by YouGov in 2022 suggests that console gamers are still majority male:
YouGov show that the major console audience is still male dominated - 71% male for PS5 and 68% for Xbox. However, the Nintendo Switch demonstrates that the videogame market is changing and perhaps games like Horizon Forbidden West are also pushing that change.
Postmodern pleasures
Horizon Forbidden West is a good example of the blurring of 'high' and 'low' culture that Strinati identifies as a key convention of postmodernism. We can see this in the game where the character Tilda's vault contains real exhibits from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Henry Jenkins suggested videogames as the "art form for the 21st century". Is HFW the evidence of this?
This collaboration is also a good example of Baudrillard's hyperreality - the increasing difficulty in telling what is real in a media-saturated world. The works of art in HFW are real - but the game is entirely constructed. Do audiences now enjoy greater pleasures from 'real' media products?
Industries
Guerrilla Games is the result of a merger of three earlier companies (starting in 1993) which reflects gaming’s origins in small independent companies in contrast to its current status as a global, billion-dollar industry.
The structure of Guerrilla Games and its parent company (Sony) is an example of contemporary media practice in maintaining control of production, distribution and circulation. This is also a case study in vertical integration.
20 years of Guerrilla Games - Killzone and Horizon
Working at Guerrilla Games: behind the scenes
Does this behind the scenes video challenge Hesmondhalgh’s theory regarding the lack of diversity in the cultural industries? It also links to the global nature of the multibillion dollar videogames industry.
Horizon Forbidden West: Audience and Industry blog tasks
Create a blogpost called 'Horizon Forbidden West: Audience and Industry' and work through the following tasks.
2) What are the key features for the game listed on the site?
3) What information does the website offer players about the game world and characters? Give a few examples.
4) What spin-offs and additional content are available as part of the Horizon franchise?
5) Applying Henry Jenkins's work on fandom, what aspects of the website (you may need to scroll down) encourage fan activity and engagement with online Horizon communities?
2) What studios are part of Sony PlayStation Studios?
3) What notable games have they produced?
4) Now research Guerrilla Games. Look at the 'Explore' page in particular. Who owns Guerrilla Games and how does it reflect the modern videogames industry?
5) Choose one of the 'Guerrilla Spotlight' features and write three things you learn about the videogames industry and/or Guerrilla Games from the interview.
1) Which three companies merged to become Guerrilla Games?
2) What other games and franchises were created by Guerrilla Games?
3) How did Guerrilla maximise the Killzone franchise?
4) What did Sony sign with Guerrilla in 2004?
5) How is Horizon Forbidden West described in the article and what is the next stage for the franchise?
Regulation and PEGI
1) What is HFW's PEGI rating and what age rating do you feel would be appropriate? Why?
2) Why is regulating videogames difficult in the digital age?
3) Are attitudes towards media content and regulation changing as a result of the internet? Explain your answer.
A/A* extension tasks
Read this fantastic GQ feature on Horizon Forbidden West - it takes in the history of the franchise, audience pleasures and also gender appeal and videogames. This is the kind of article that will make you an expert on the CSP and help you form opinions on the big media theories and debates. GQ is also another one of our in-depth CSPs too!
Read Factsheet 258 - Exploring the consumption of computer games. Look particularly at the application of media theory on the last two pages. You can find it in our Media Factsheet archive.
The Print aspect to our coursework brief is as important as the video work have been focusing on so far. It is crucial that you research, plan and design print work that could comfortably hold its own alongside professional examples. You will also need to include a section regarding your print magazine work in your redrafted Statement of Intent. A reminder of our coursework brief is here, with the key tasks as follows: Print
You should create four pages from a music magazine – specifically:
a front cover featuring the artist/band promoted in Task One
a two-page interview with the artist/band
one page with content relevant to the magazine and the target audience.
The magazine targets a mainstream music audience.
The front cover and interview can use some images from the same photoshoot but other original images should also be used that offer some visual variety.
The interview should be used to promote the tour and the music track. It should also reinforce the brand image of the artist/band and integrate some reference to the footwear manufacturers who are sponsoring the band/artist.
What do you need to produce? 1) The front page (A4 portrait) for a new, original music magazine aimed at a mainstream audience that you have created:
Title and masthead
Selling line (slogan)
Cover price
Dateline
Main cover image and at least two further smaller images related to the content of the magazine
At least 5 cover lines
2) A double-page spread feature interview with your artist (A3 landscape - i.e. two A4 pages next to each other):
Content that is appropriate to the conventions of the genre of magazine being created
Original copy (at least 400 words)
Each page to use original images as illustrations (the main cover image must not be repeated but can come from the same photoshoot)
Internal pages should reflect the design codes and conventions of the genre of magazine being created
3) A single-page with content relevant to the magazine and the target audience(A4 portrait):
This could be a contents page or alternatively a one-page tour poster advert for your original artist or band.
Make sure you have original photography here - NOT from the same photoshoot as the other pages. The contents page would help with this.
Print brief - overall minimum requirements
A clear house style should be used in the presentation of all pages
A minimum of 7 original images should be included in the submission.
All copy should be original and a minimum of 400 words should be submitted. Absolutely no use of AI in any way at all is permitted for the written elements of the print brief.
Work should be presented on pages that are an appropriate size or in proportion to the size of paper used by magazines
We recommend that all of the above should be A4 portrait page size (with the double-page spread doubling up to A3 landscape).
Research and planning blog tasks Create a blogpost called 'Print brief research and planning' and complete the following tasks to plan and prepare your print work: 1) Find at least five music magazine front covers (either current or former magazines as many have stopped their print editions) aimed at a similar target audience to your project (mainstream music audience) and research music magazine key conventions. For each one, pick out one design idea, convention or image/text style that you could use in your own print work. A few examples to start you off:
2) Find at least five double-page spread features from music magazines on Google images. How are they designed? How are text and images displayed? What design tricks can you borrow from your examples?
3) Find at least five magazine contents pages - ideally from music magazines - from Google images. How are they designed? How are images used alongside text? How are page numbers displayed?
4) Find at least five music artist tour posters from Google images. How are they designed? How are images used alongside text? Which UK venues would suit your artist or band? Some examples:
5) Read at least three example music interview features from newspapers and magazines to learn the format, writing style and content for a music magazine interview. You may wish to use the following to help you:
Planning and sketching 1) Plan the content and cover lines for your front cover:
Title (must be NEW original mainstream music magazine you have invented):
Slogan:
Cover image:
Main cover story/main flash:
Additional cover lines:
Additional two smaller cover images:
Font style / colour scheme, additional design aspects:
2) Plan the images you will use for the front cover - use the elements of mise-en-scene (CLAMPS). One main image and two smaller images required to meet the minimum content in the brief.
3) Plan the content for your inside page feature:
Subject of feature:
Headline:
Subheading:
Main image:
Smaller images (need minimum of four across the three pages)
Font style / colour scheme, additional design aspects:
4) Write the 400 word interview feature you will use for the inside page spread. This must be 100% original and written by you. It may help to use a Q&A approach to this interview.
5) Plan and write the text for your contents page. This will need to include a range of features and interviews that are not related to your artist but that do fit your target audience and brief (mainstream music magazine).
6) Research and select the font or typography you will use for your magazine. This is a critical element of your print work - the brief requires a consistent house style running through all of your pages.
7) Produce an A4 sketch of your front cover design and scan it/upload a picture to your blog.
8) Produce A4 sketches of your inside page feature with clear layout of where headline, subheading, images and text will appear on the pages. Scan or upload a picture to your blog.
9) Produce an A4 sketch of your contents page design and scan it/upload a picture to your blog.
10) Finally, create the pages in Adobe Photoshop or InDesign so you have the documents ready to go in terms of adding your text and images. This will need to include:
A4 portrait for front cover
A4 portrait for contents page
A3 landscape for double page feature
Photoshoot 1) Who do you need to photograph for your front cover and inside page images? Remember, you need seven original images across the whole print production.
2) What camera shots do you need? Write a shot list or draw a storyboard for your photoshoots. Make sure you plan a variety of camera shots you will look to capture - medium shots, close-ups etc. 3) Plan the mise-en-scene. What costume, props or make-up will you require for your photoshoots?
4) Finally, note down the time and date for your photoshoots. This may be inside or outside school (or a combination of both). You will have Media lesson time for this after the mock exams.
Statement of Intent
1) Once you have completed your print research and planning, go back to your statement of intent and make sure you have included the print brief in your final draft. Then, submit the final draft statement of intent to your teacher. The due date for this will be confirmed by your coursework teacher.
Use your Media coursework lessons to complete these planning tasks - homework time should be exclusively to revise for mocks.
Due date for research and planning on Google Classroom.
Our second videogames CSP is Horizon Forbidden West (2022). This is another in-depth CSP so will require two detailed blog tasks over the next couple of weeks. We'll start with an introduction alongside language and representation contexts. Horizon Forbidden West: introduction
Released in February 2022 as a sequel to the highly successful Horizon Zero Dawn (2017).
Available on PS4, PS5 and Windows platforms.
Horizon Forbidden West sold over 8 million copies in its first year.
Excellent reviews including 9/10 on IGN.
Developed by studio Guerrilla Games which is based in Amsterdam and owned by Sony.
Background and media language
Genres: Action adventure / Action role playing / Sandbox / Open world
Protagonist/avatar (character player controls): Aloy
Setting: Post-apocalyptic future version of USA following extinction event caused by a robot swarm.
Gameplay: Exploring open world, completing quests using weapons against hostile machine creatures.
Official release trailer:
Official gameplay trailer:
Representation: social and cultural contexts
Horizon Forbidden West has been both praised and criticised for the representations of different groups. Driven by a strong, independent female protagonist in Aloy, the game has been held up as an example of how gender in videogames is changing.
Horizon Forbidden West also has an LGBT storyline which can be seen as further evidence of Gauntlett’s view of the liberalising influence of the mass media, particularly in recent years.
However, the game has also been criticised for its representation of indigenous populations and Asian Americans with the accusation of lazy stereotypical tropes.
Key scene analysis
Watch the key scene where Aloy’s love interest storyline develops and think about how representations of gender and sexuality are constructed:
Edward Said: Orientalism
Edward Said (1935-2003) was a Palestinian-American cultural theorist and academic best known for his 1978 book Orientalism.
In it, he argued that the west – particularly colonising Europe – constructed a meaning of the east that suggested it was exotic, dangerous and uncivilised.
East v West
Edward Said argues that the Europeans divided the world into two parts: the east and the west or the civilized and the uncivilized. This was a totally artificial boundary; and it was laid on the basis of the concept of ‘them and us’ or ‘theirs and ours’.
The Europeans defined themselves as the ‘superior race’ and they justified their colonisation by this concept. Media to this day contains particular tropes associated with these views.
“A plethora of racist tropes emerge within Forbidden West’s world. There’s a stereotypical angry Black woman named Regalla, for example, who leads a rebel army and would rather die than seek peace. There’s also constant belittling between tribes, who call each other “savage” or “uncivilized” — terms loaded with racial undertones. There’s also plenty of Orientalism.”
Horizon Forbidden West: Language and Representation blog tasks
Create a blogpost called 'Horizon Forbidden West: Language and Representation' and work through the following tasks.
Our second CSP gives us the opportunity to explore the representation and role of women in videogames.
Women in videogames: an introduction
The representation of women in videogames has long been considered sexist. Female characters are rarely playable and usually reinforce traditional gender stereotypes. Games that did feature female characters presented them as damsels in distress or sex objects.
Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider series is one of the most iconic characters in videogame history. But while she is a strong, independent playable character, her appearance and costume turned her into a digital sex object. In contrast, the character of Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West could be a sign of progress.
Tropes vs Women in Video Games
Vlogger and gaming expert Anita Sarkeesian has produced two series of YouTube videos documenting the representation of women in videogames.
Vlogging as Feminist Frequency, the series are an important example of digital feminism (and a superb resource for Media students). However, as a result, she has been a target for online abuse and threats – most notably as part of the #gamergate controversy.
Further feminist theory
We have looked at a range of feminist ideas earlier in the course including Laura Mulvey, Judith Butler, Liesbet van Zoonen, the concept of post- or fourth-wave feminism and more. We now need to explore this further with a deeper understanding of bell hooks and van Zoonen.
Notes from the lesson Watch this short extract from Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox interviewing bell hooks at The New School in New York: bell hooks is a highly influential radical black feminist. She sees feminism as a struggle to end patriarchal oppression - it should be a serious political commitment rather than a fashionable lifestyle choice: “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression”. bell hooks also points to the importance of race and class when studying oppression.
Intersectionality
Intersectionality is defined as the common point of two forms of oppression and how they work against a particular group of people. For example, black feminism addresses both gender and race discrimination.
bell hooks suggests that race is so significant that the experiences of gender, class or sexuality-based discrimination cannot be fully understood without also considering race.
This is important when analysing power in society. For example, men generally have more power then women – but white, middle class western women generally have much more power than women from non-white backgrounds.
Liesbet van Zoonen
Liesbet van Zoonen is an influential feminist academic and linked gender roles and the media explicitly in her 1994 book Feminist Media Studies. Some of her key ideas:
Gender is constructed through media language
These constructions reflect cultural and historical contexts
The objectification of the female body is a key construct of western culture (building on Mulvey – male gaze)
If women have to be like men to be treated equally, then equality itself is repressive
Women and videogames: blog tasks Work through the following blog tasks to complete our work on women in videogames and further feminist theory. Part 1: Background reading on Gamergate Read this Guardian article on Gamergate 10 years on. Answer the following questions: 1) What was Gamergate? 2) What is the recent controversy surrounding narrative design studio Sweet Baby Inc? 3) What does the article conclude regarding diversity in videogames?
Part 2: Further Feminist Theory: Media Factsheet
Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or here using your Greenford Google login. Find Media Factsheet #169 Further Feminist Theory, read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:
1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?
2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?
3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?
4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?
5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?
6) Liesbet van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed. What does this mean and which other media theorist we have studied does this link to?
7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?
8) In looking at the history of the colours pink and blue, van Zoonen suggests ideas gender ideas can evolve over time. Which other media theorist we have studied argues things evolve over time and do you agree that gender roles are in a process of constant change? Can you suggest examples to support your view?
9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?
10) What other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?
11) Van Zoonen discusses ‘transmission models of communication’. She suggests women are oppressed by the dominant culture and therefore take in representations that do not reflect their view of the world. What other theory and idea (that we have studied recently) can this be linked to?
12) Finally, van Zoonen has built on the work of bell hooks by exploring power and feminism. She suggests that power is not a binary male/female issue but reflects the “multiplicity of relations of subordination”. How does this link to bell hooks?
A/A* Extension tasks: TED talk
Finally, if you’re interested in some of these ideas, there is plenty more reading and watching you can do. For example, watch this TEDx talk by renowned Nigerian/American novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ‘We should all be feminists’:
How has the videogame landscape changed with regards to the representation of women? What is the impact of the videogames industry being male-dominated?
The second aspect of our in-depth case study on The Sims FreePlay focuses on the audience and industries key concepts. We need to know how videogames audiences have changed, how the industry is regulated and also the companies behind the game. However, the most significant aspect of this concept is the 'freemium' model that The Sims FreePlay uses. Notes from the lesson: Audience
The Sims FreePlay: Audience
The Sims franchise has demonstrated there is a strong and lucrative market in female gamers.
When The Sims was first pitched by creator Will Wright he described it as a ‘doll house’.
The development company Maxis weren’t keen because ‘doll houses were for girls, and girls didn’t play videogames’. EA then bought Maxis, saw potential in the idea and one of the most successful ever videogame franchises was born.
Expansion packs available for The Sims FreePlay reinforce the view that the target audience is predominantly female.
Participatory culture
The Sims franchise is one of the best examples of Henry Jenkins’ concept of participatory culture.
Since the very first game in the franchise, online communities have created, suggested and shared content for the game.
‘Modding’ – short for modifications – is a huge part of the appeal of the game. Modding changes aspects of the gameplay – anything from the strength of coffee to incorporating ghosts or even sexual content.
Notes from the lesson: Industries
Regulation: PEGI
The videogames industry is regulated by PEGI – Pan European Game Information.
In the UK, the Video Standards Council is responsible for regulating game content. In 2012, PEGI was introduced to UK law to make the age ratings legally enforceable.
It is illegal to sell games to people below the age of the rating.
The Sims FreePlay is rated 12+ due to mild references to alcohol, sexual content and similar adult themes.
Electronic Arts
The Sims franchise is owned by Electronic Arts (EA), a huge name in the videogames industry.
The Sims FreePlay was developed by Firemonkeys Studios, EA’s Australian subsidiary.
The franchise was originally developed by Maxis after EA acquired the company.
EA is famous for big-budget console games such as the FIFA series but has moved more into mobile gaming in recent years.
The 'freemium' model
The Sims FreePlay uses the ‘freemium’ model – free to download and play but with in-app purchases.
Although initially more popular with smaller, independent game developers, the freemium model is now a huge revenue generator for major publishers like EA.
The Sims FreePlay CSP - Audience and Industries blog tasks
Create a new blogpost called 'The Sims FreePlay CSP - Audience and Industries blog tasks' and complete the following tasks.
1) How has The Sims FreePlay evolved since launch?
2) Why does Amanda Schofield suggest ‘games aren’t products
any more’?
3) What does she say about The Sims gaming community?
4) How has EA kept the game fresh and maintained the active
player base?
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.
1) How does the PEGI ratings system work and how does it link to UK law?
2) What are the age ratings and what content guidance do they include?
3) What is the PEGI process for rating a game?
A/A* extension tasks
Read this New York Times feature on freemium gaming - you may need to create a free account to access this. Think about the influence of Temple Run and why the bigger gaming studios like Electronic Arts used to avoid the freemium model. Why are they now embracing it?
Complete for homework: due date on Google Classroom.
Your Online, Social and Participatory media assessment was a great opportunity to test yourself on two key aspects of Media Paper Two - an unseen question and a 25-mark essay. The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. If anything doesn't make sense, ask your teacher - it's crucial we're learning from the process of assessments and feedback as we move towards the exams at the end of this year. The second focuses on using the mark scheme as a learning resource and developing our skills in essay planning and structuring. Your learner response is as follows: Create a new blog post on your Media 1 Exam blog called 'OSP assessment learner response' and complete the following tasks: 1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential). 2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify three specific aspects from Figure 1 (the Google Home advert) that you could have mentioned in your answer (e.g. selection of image, framing and focus, colour, text etc.) 3) Now use the mark scheme to identify three potential points that you could have made in your essay for Question 2 (Hesmondhalgh - validity of theory/narrow range of values and ideologies). 4) Use your exam response, the mark scheme and any other resources you wish to use to write a detailed essay plan for Question 2. Make sure you are planning at least three well-developed paragraphs in addition to an introduction and conclusion. 5) Finally, identify three key areas you plan to revise from the OSP unit before the January mock exams (e.g. CSP elements or media theories) having looked at your feedback from this assessment.
If you do not finish your learner response in the lesson your work is returned, this needs to be completed at home by your next exam lesson.
Our first videogames CSP is The Sims FreePlay (2011). This is another in-depth CSP so will require significant work and research to complete your case study. Background: mobile gaming
The videogames industry has changed massively since the emergence of the smart phone and app store distribution model.
Mobile gaming has changed the audience demographics for gaming and brought the industry into the mainstream.
The app store model means tech giants such as Apple and Google are making significant sums from mobile gaming but mobile hits can still earn developers millions.
Angry Birds made developer Rovio $200m in 2012 and broke 2 billion downloads in 2014. This paved the way for the market we see today.
The Sims FreePlay
The Sims FreePlay is a spin-off from the hugely successful Sims franchise first published by Electronic Arts (EA) in 2000.
The game is a strategic life simulation game (also known as the sandbox genre).
The Sims FreePlay takes the game on to phones and tablets and uses the ‘freemium’ model that makes money via in-app purchases.
The game has seen more than 200 million downloads since 2011 – remarkable success.
Representations The Sims franchise offers range of representations on gender, age, race/ethnicity, sexuality, capitalism and even reality itself. One aspect of The Sims is the values and ideologies that the game reinforces. Although it has been praised for its liberal values over, for example, LGBTQ+ representation, it could also be argued that the game reinforces dominant American capitalist ideologies. Expansion pack trailers A useful way to analyse representations in The Sims FreePlay is to study the trailers produced by EA to promote expansion pack DLC. For example: Using these expansion pack trailers, we can study the representation of gender, age, race/ethnicity and much more.
The Sims and postmodernism Watch this introduction to Baudrillard from 8-Bit Philosophy: Baudrillard argued that our culture now perceives the ‘copy’ (media representation) as more real than the ‘original’ and stated that we live in a culture where the ‘fake’ is more readily accepted than the ‘real’ – therefore creating hyperreality. This blurs the line between fiction and reality. The Sims franchise is a perfect study in hyperreality as it allows players to create an entirely constructed life through the game. The Sims FreePlay social media channels also provide an example of simulacra – they are situated in the real world and interact with real players but feature entirely constructed fictional content from the game. Here, they also make intertextual references to real celebrities. Where is the line between fiction and reality?
The Sims FreePlay CSP - Language & Representations blog tasks
Create a new blogpost called 'The Sims FreePlay CSP - Language & Representations' and complete the following tasks.
Language / Gameplay analysis
Watch The Sims: FreePlay trailer and answer the following
questions:
1) What elements of gameplay are shown?
2) What audience is the trailer targeting?
3) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer?
Now watch this walk-through of the beginning of The Sims FreePlay and answer the following
questions:
1) How is the game constructed?
2) What audience is this game targeting?
3) What audience pleasures does the game provide?
4) How does the game encourage in-app purchases?
Representations
Re-watch some of the expansion pack trailers and answer the following questions: 1) How do the expansion pack (DLC) trailers reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies? 2) What stereotypes have you identified in The Sims FreePlay? 3) What media theories can you apply to representations in The Sims FreePlay? Representation reading Read this Forbes article on gender and racism in The Sims franchise and answer the following questions:
1) How realistic does The Sims intend to be? 2) How has The Sims tried to create more realistic representations of ethnicity? 3) How has The Sims responded to racism and sexism in society? 4) What is The Sims perspective on gender fluidity and identity? 5) How does The Sims reinforce the dominant capitalist ideologies of American culture?
1) How did same-sex relationships unexpectedly help the original Sims game to be a success?
2) How is sexuality now represented in The Sims?
3) Why have fans praised the inclusion of LGBTQ relationships in The Sims franchise?
4) Why did the Sims run into regulatory difficulties with American regulator the ESRB? How did EA respond?
5) How is sexuality represented in the wider videogames industry today?
Reality, postmodernism and The Sims Read this Paste Magazine feature on reality and The Sims franchise. Answer the following questions: 1) What does the article suggest about the representation of real life in The Sims 4? 2) What audience pleasures did the writer previously find in The Sims franchise? 3) Why the does the writer mention an example of a washer and dryer as additional DLC? 4) In your opinion, has The Sims made an error in trying to make the franchise too realistic? 5) How does this representation of reality link to Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality - the increasingly blurred line between real and constructed?
The Sims FreePlay social media analysis Analyse The Sims FreePlay Facebook page and Twitter feed and answer the following questions: 1) What is the purpose of The Sims FreePlay social media channels? 2) Choose three posts (from either Twitter or Facebook) and make a note of what they are and how they encourage audience interaction or response. 3) Scroll down the Facebook feed briefly. How many requests for new content can you find from players? Why is this such as an important part of the appeal for The Sims FreePlay? 4) What tweets can you find in the Twitter feed that refer to additional content or other revenue streams for EA? Extension: Postmodernism academic reading If you're interested (or planning on studying Media or Cultural Studies at university), read this highly academic and challenging summary of hyperreality, implosion and postmodern theory from the University of Chicago. Consider how these approaches apply to the digital media landscape we’ve been studying and in particular the videogame industry and franchises like The Sims. For example, linking to our work on postmodernism and The Sims, how could The Sims FreePlay's social media presence be an example of Baudrillard’s hyperreality and simulacra?
