working on the flash video at home

Going pretty well, now I've finished the most ambitious part animation-wise. Still got about 2 minutes left to animate, but it shouldn't take too long. Will post some stills soon.

Finally decided

'As the rpg genre has evolved, how have some rpg series evolved, and are these changes making these series and the genre better overall?'
I'll mention several rpgs but concentrate on pokemon and final fantasy as the main series. It could be fun ranting about some of the console pokemon games.

Today's awesome presentation on research!

So we looked at pervasive gaming! I might go to the lighthouse event. But it said I have to register, and I think they're trying to steal my details and do bad things, so I'm not sure if I want to risk it. But pervasive games take gaming off the screen and into the real world, so to speak. And the event has a bar. So I must say it's tempting.

Had a quick look at modernism. Well, more looking at how the image said more than words. Which reminds me, I should put an image on this blog entry. We then looked at a poor example of a powerpoint layout. Juxtaposing... pretty useful, in terms of making comparisons.
Anyways, then a few examples of males represented as violent and dominating, with fire and flames, as Tom Cruise demonstrates on the left. And a few other ways of advertising. Finally, looked at Harvard referencing.

Dungeons and dragons. Admit it, you love it.

D&D, everyone's heard of it. Gary Gygax's fantasy tabletop role playing game is widely considered one of the nerdiest possible past-times. So that's an achievement in itself! But in all seriousness, many consider it the beginning of modern role playing games and therefore the start of the RPG industry. So it really is quite something.

So what made this dice rolling boardgame so appealing? Let's analyse the way the game plays. Players create characters that embark on imaginary adventures in a fantasy setting. One person assumes the role of Dungeon Master, and acts as the game's referee and storyteller, maintaining the setting in which the adventures occur. Players listen to the DMs explanation of their surroundings and possible choices, then describe their actions. These actions generally involve interacting with fantasy world characters, solving problems, battling monsters and finding treasure. Does this sound familiar? It should to anyone who's played a 'traditional' style role playing video game. The idea's exactly the same in computer RPGs like dragon quest for example; just the storytelling is done by the game rather than being assigned to a player as a role.

So so far, the game sounds like a big daydreaming session. However the game's more complex actons are decided on the roll of a dice, rather than players just describing every action. Therefore, there is an element of risk involved in the game, and this random element is similar to the damage element in modern computer RPGs. Characters also gained levels, gaining skills, gold, etc. Consideirng its similarities to popular modern RPGs it is no surprise how popular it is... the main difference being that D&D requires a much larger degree of imagination.

Well I don't know what my angle is exactly yet but...

But I'm beginning by researching into the roots of video game role playing games. So what is the definition of an RPG? It is a game where players assume the roles of fictional characters and follow stories. Rather than being competitive, players generally have to collaborate by forming a party to make it through the challenges within the game's rules. These journeys, often done in weekly sessions, could potentially take place over a period of months or even years, though some players preferred single sessions. They are essentially forms of interactive story-telling, therefore computer games adopting their take on the genre is a natural development, especially with the increasing significance of narrative in games. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's look at an example of the old fashioend board game rpgs... Case study: Dungeons and Dragons? It sounds like the most logical choice..

advertising for women

More feminine colour scheme means it's aimed more at women

Emphasis on fashion, sophisticated look: stronger woman's representation

Emphasis on thighs but not in a really sexually appealing way to men, more aiming at sporty women.. Nike = sportswear so, makes sense

Old fashioned advertising for women was a little.. questionable?

Sexualised scene, man on top, but woman appears more in control then on similar men's ads. Also, half naked men used to appeal to women!

Unfortunately the results aren't quite as entertainingly sexist as the ones for men. Oh well

Advertising aimed at males eh?

Notice the emphasis on specific parts of the woman's body...

Darker colour scheme etc. makes for overall more manly look

Alcohol ad from a teen magazine. I somehow don't think alcohol is the central focus of the image though...

Guinness: bold, dark, manly. I think that sums it up.

And here we have another example of women's representation in men's adverts!

Gorilla Drumming

The gorilla video rules. It makes me want to buy Cadbury's. That's alot more than I can say for most ads, even though there's no immediately obvious link between a gorilla drumming and a bar of chocolate. I guess random does work!
http://www.aglassandahalffullproductions.com/?CMP=KNC-gkw

Chris Cunningham

Chris Cunningham's work is... shall we say.. unique? Above's a shot from his Aphex Twin video 'Come to Daddy'... perhaps twisted is a more appropriate word for much of his work. Still, it definitely works, that's for sure... take his video for Bjork for example, which won multiple awards and was even nominated for a grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. So, weird and strange is the way forward!

His work on adverts definitely strays away from the conventional.. and whether you think it advertises the product well or not, it certainly gets people talking; which is what the big companies want, it seems. Personally I thought the 'mental wealth' playstation advertisement was more off-putting than anything... then again it beats the 'fun, anyone?' playstation ads I suppose. I thought the Levi's ad was very good and clever though, so I suppose with randomness on ads, it comes down to personal taste much of the time. Oh, on the subject of randomness in ads, I thought the gorilla drumming cadbury's ad was pure genius. Researching weird ads is a possibility I guess.

Decision

I'm going to work around the RPG genre for my research. I'm thinking the development of the genre as my central focus, unless of course I get some major brainstorming ideas. I've already done alot of primary and secondary research on this subject in my spare time.. no harm in revisiting though! I'll begin my research by researching the genre itself, before starting on any specific games.

trying out some practical research

Since I had no idea what to do the research on, I decided to pick quite an abstract topic: money. Or specifically, the use of money. Once I had this in mind I picked up a 5p coin, and two leaflets, demonstrating how you could save, invest, or waste money.

While this topic wasn't exactly linked to my main idea for the unit it did serve as an opportunity to practice quick research. Generally I prefer to take my time deciding on a topic or finding sources, though...

I have a blog now! First blog post

Ok, I guess it's time I started working out what to do for the project. Right now I'm thinking of researching a genre of video games... I was thinking of beat-em-ups until Lukas said that's what he was probably doing earlier. So, maybe Role Playing Games (RPGs) instead. Or I'll stick with beat-em-ups at the risk of stealing his idea, cos they'll have more interesting controversy to consider.. since they are just about beating people up. Above is a perfect example of a video game character needlessly beating up a streetful of people!