Videogames case study 1: Lara Croft Go

Language

1) Who is Lara Croft and when did she first appear in a videogame?
Lara Croft Go is a turn-based puzzle video game in the Tomb Raider franchise. Its core gameplay and control scheme is similar to its predecessor, Hitman Go. Levels are composed of interconnected nodes and lines. The player controls the series' protagonist, Lara Croft.

2) What classic films influenced the creation of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider games?
The Indiana Jones films influences Lara Croft and the Tomb raider games.

3) How has Lara Croft and Tomb Raider moved beyond just being a videogame?
Lara croft has been in magazines and films and she's been advertised globally however she's been called a sex symbol worldwide.   

4) What devices can you play Lara Croft Go on?
Lara croft go can be played on mobile,tablet.

5) What type of game is Lara Croft Go?
Lara croft go is a turn based puzzle.

6) How does Lara Croft Go use narrative (storyline)?
Lara croft narrative is based on continuous levels you have to pass. 

7) What iconography can be found in Lara Croft Go? How does this help communicate the sub-genre of videogame?
The game includes items you can grab and take which will help you pass levels.

8) What other characters or enemies feature in the game?
The Queen of Venom antagonist 

9) What is the setting for Lara Croft Go? How does this compare to previous Lara Croft or Tomb Raider games?
It's on an island where other tomb raider games been based on to.

10) Read this BBC article on the history of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider. How has the character of Lara Croft evolved over the last 20 years?
Lara is a explorer with brown eyes and hair, ponytail. Her costume is usually a blue top, brown shorts,high boots and long socks. Her original back story was that she was the daughter of an aristocrat who had a plane crash in a unknown island. 

Representation

1) How are women usually represented in videogames?
Women are usually presented in video games as vulnerable damsel in distress.

2) How does the character of Lara Croft reinforce female stereotypes in the media?
She reinforces her role as she's a sex symbol which is still going on in the media .

3) How does the character of Lara Croft subvert female stereotypes in the media?
she subverts females as she has normal male aspects as in infallible.

4) Why do some people believe the videogames industry is sexist and needs to change?
They think it's its sexiest because there's normally a focus on male characters.

5) Do you think Lara Croft is an empowering feminist icon or just another objectified woman designed to appeal to male gamers?
yes as she has power however she is also represented a sex symbol.

Industries

1) What does PEGI stand for?
PEGI stands for Pan European Game Information.

2) What is PEGI's job?
PEGI's job is to inform audience of videogames what age the games are acceptable for and what to watch out for in them.

3) Which company created Lara Croft Go?
Square enix was the company that created lara croft go.

4) What two popular videogame franchises were combined to create Lara Croft Go?
tomb raider and hitman

5) What else is part of the Lara Croft/Tomb Raider franchise?
Lara croft go

Audience

1) Why might an audience enjoy playing Lara Croft Go?
They may enjoy puzzle and adventurous games.

2) Where and when might an audience play a game like Lara Croft Go? Think about the device it is played on and the times of the day someone might want to play the game.
They can practically play it anywhere in there free time.

3) How did Square Enix design Lara Croft to make it appealing to an audience?
Square Enix designed Lara Croft to appeal to an audience by making the game have interesting levels and rewards to make the audience want to play more.

4) Which of Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory might apply to Lara Croft Go?

5) Who is the target audience for Lara Croft Go? How does brand loyalty contribute to this target audience?
The target audience for Lara croft go is the loyal fans that play hitman and lara croft.

A brief history of videogames: blog task

Watch the YouTube video outlining the history of the videogames industry from the 1970s to the 2010s. Now answer the following questions:

1) What were the first videogames like? The first games were very simple and unproblematic.

2) How have videogames changed over time? Many thing's changed such as higher quality  

3) What do the most successful games have in common? Answer this in as much detail as you can. Think about audience pleasures - what do people like about playing videogames? Most gamers are interested in shooting game as its very addictive compared to other genres.

4) What criticisms have been made towards videogames?Definitely  the age ratings as younger kids are playing games that are 18+ which is very bad as it could affect there mindset.

Read this Guardian feature from last year about the sensationally popular videogame Fortnite: Battle Royale and watch the original trailer below.




Now answer the following questions:

1) How many Fortnite players are there worldwide? There are 250 million people playing fortnite. 

2) Why is it so popular? What are the audience pleasures of the game? The game is very addictive as its a shooting and building game.The game itself has great graphics and a good story line.

3) Why might some people criticise Fortnite?Young kids take that advantage of not attending school just to play fortnite which they end up missing important lessons for themselves.

4) Copy and paste two comments from 'below the line' of the Guardian article - these are comments written by Guardian readers in response to the feature. Select one comment you agree with and one you disagree with and explain why.
1st comment: "A fantastic game for all the family. The violence is cartoon-like, not gratuitous or graphic. I limit my children to only playing the Playstation at the weekends. Simple."
I agree with this comment because the game is cartoon-like unlike violent games like gta which includes swearing, stealing, drugs etc.Whereas fortnite only has shooting.

shot lists

Extreme close up			A shot of your face/feature	n
Long shot			A shot of my character walking to school	n
Over the shoulder shot			over the shoulder shot of a character looking towards the bully	n
Medium shot			A body shot of my character looking at the floor	n
Close up shot			A shot of my character facial expression of him sad	n
Medium shot			a wide shot of my character walking whilst sulking	n
medium shot			a medium shot of a new character talking to the main character	n
medium shot			A wide shot of the new character giving the main character lynx	n
Close up shot		Close up shot of the main character smiling		n
medium shot	A wide shot of the main character spraying himself			n
Wide shot	Wide shot of the main character walking towards his bully			n
Birds eye view	Birds eye view of the main character sticking up for himself. This makes the bully weak and the main character strong.			n
Medium shot	Medium shot of the main character smiling joyfully as he stood up for himself thanks to lynx for boosting his courage.			n

Statement of Intent: Feedback and learner response

1) Read your feedback carefully and then write a summary of it in your own words using WWW / EBI.
WWW:Some very good basic intentions explained and some links and mention of the brief.EBI: Re-read the brief carefully and make sure you have commented on each section.
  2) Do you need to make any changes to your narrative? Why?
I do need to make changes as i haven't mention that much narrative.I'm going to add some fast pace action of the young teenager getting chased by the group of bullies and i will add some music in the background yo create tension.

3) How can you improve the use of media terminology in your Statement of Intent?
I can go back to my statement and improve my sentences to make it better.I will use better media terminology in my statement and i'll answer the question carefully. 

4) Representation and stereotyping was a weakness in some drafts. How will you address the key concept of representation in your next draft?
I will reinforce the stereotype by keeping the main character a young teenager and the advert group of bullies predominant.The young teenager getting bullied is a stereotype however if i still use the young teenager who's getting bullied i'm reinforcing the stereotype of him being weak.

5) Finally, think about audience. Why would the target audience (14-18 year olds) enjoy your advert?
14-18 year old audiences love action movies, so if i add some action to my advert i will attract other teenagers to watch my advert and to enjoy it and also teenagers love funny videos so i might add some funny clips in my advert to attract my viewers.  

Preliminary exercise: TV advert - 'Late to lesson

Statement of intent: 100 words explaining what you plan to make.

I plan to make a 30 second advert for lynx.I will use high and low camera shots to emphasis the young teenagers power and weaknesses.The low camera shots will show how powerful the teenager is towards the bullies after he uses lynx and the high camera shots will show how weak the young teenager is towards the bullies.

I will reinforce the stereotype of young teenagers in my TV advert.Usually young teenagers are bullied and the lynx will represent courage and power.

TV advert planning and Statement of intent

My chosen body spray brand is lynx. Lynx is a poplar brand which lots of people through out the uk buy mainly men.

In the beginning there's a young teenager walking to his lesson however he meets a group of teenagers teasing him and saying unpleasant words towards him and his appearance. The young teenager is often bullied at school and is helpless as there's too many teenager's bullying him.Later that day he see's a older man who notices the young teenager was upset.The older man releases the poor upset kid is getting bullied so he gives him advice on what to do if they approach him again. However the next day the young teenager decided to listen to the old man's advice and he bought lynx from a shop an d sprayed himself.The lynx deodorant boosted his courage and allowed him to stand up for himself. Earlier that day the group of bullies decided to try and bully the young teenager however the young teenager stood up for himself and allowed him to stop the group of bullies from bullying ever again.

Camera shots : Birds eye view , Extreme close-up,close up , medium shot  , long shot.My diegetic sound will be dialogue with classmates my slogan will be called ''Be the champ''.This whole advert will be filmed in school as its based on someone getting bullied. A lot of teenagers use lynx so the lynx advert would be targeted at a age between 14-16. 

Summer project tasks

NIKE

Narrative: What is the story of the advert?
The main story behind this advert is that Londoners can do anything and that nothing is impossible.This also subverts some stereotypes. 




Audience: What does the advert suggest about the lifestyle of someone who uses this product or brand?
This advert suggests that their London audience are determined to do anything and nothing is impossible. 




Representations: What representations of young people can you find in this advert?
This suggest that young people live a hard life and are determined to do anything another representation of young people is that their careless and hard working.  


PUBLIX


Narrative: What is the story of the advert?
The story is about a kid struggling in class and failing tests however he was motivated by his parents which allowed him to go uni as his grades drastically improved. 



Audience: What does the advert suggest about the lifestyle of someone who uses this product or brand?
This suggest that if you follow their lifestyle you'll be as successful as them.


Representations: What representations of young people can you find in this advert?
Young teens might not understand why school is important as there careless but as they grow up and get at a mature stage they'll understand.

LYNX



Narrative: What is the story of the advert?
This advert shows others struggling to be themselves as there taught to behave.




Audience: What does the advert suggest about the lifestyle of someone who uses this product or brand?
The advert shows others and motivates others to be themselves not matter what you are.






Representations: What representations of young people can you find in this advert?
This represents young people as young people are insecure of themselves and they gain a lot of stress because of that.