HA10 Task 1 Analysis of a Game

MMO games analysis 
In this article I will be discussing and comparing the characteristics of 3 different MMO games. I will be discussing and comparing individual aspects of the three games World of Warcraft, DC Universe Online and Guild Wars 2. I will comparing different assets, attributes and aspects of these 3 games and comparing what each game consists of and how they are structured. 

The games

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is an MMO based game spread across the world, that is probably the oldest and most popular MMO available to play and is still going strong. In World of Warcraft you create your own character with its own specific class in which you have to learn and master skills and abilities to take on challenges throughout the in game world and battle NPC's and other players in game. The main aim of this game is to level up and achieve the highest level of skills and to gain the best possible gear for you character. World of Warcraft is set in an old style world in which players uses magic, swords and bows to battle each other throughout the game.  


DC Universe Online
DC Universe Online is an MMO based on he DC comics, in which it brings beloved DC characters such as Batman and Superman to life while allowing you to create your own character and choose your own class to master so you can battle world bosses, raid bosses and other players. This game is set in a  more modern/futuristic setting in which varies on where you are located in the in game world. 

Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2 is very similar to the game World of Warcraft though it is much newer and the in game structure and graphics are a lot more up to date. Similar to World of Warcraft it is set in an old style world with some modern aspects to it. Throughout the game Guild Wars 2 you have to level up and battle against other NPC's and players while progressing your skill and knowledge of the game, this is typically a standard layout for MMO games.

Structure, gameplay, interaction,  and themes

Structure and gameplay
Most aspects such as the structure, interaction, gameplay and themes of these 3 games in which I am comparing a very similar. Each game involves achieving the highest possible level and when you reach that level you have to acquire the best gear for you customized character which depends on which class you have chosen for your specific character.
At the beginning of each of these 3 games you are instructed to crate your own character and choose your own class which will determine what gameplay you will encounter throughout your in game experience and how your gameplay will be affected by the play style you have to develop. Below ae individual screenshots of the character creation screens use are prompted to use and alter to your own needs at the beginning of each of the three games I am discussing.

World of Warcraft character creation:


DC Universe Online Character creation:


Guild Wars 2 character creation:


As you can see, each individual game has very similar character creation screens in which the player can alter their character that they will be using for the entirety of gameplay unless they make a new character later on. The character creation screen in all three of these games is also where you get the opportunity to choose which class you wish to play as throughout your gameplay when playing that character, which determines your entire experience and how you progress throughout the game while playing as this chosen character.
Each of these character creation screens, though very similar, some have a lot more or a lot less features than the other. World of Warcraft typically has few aspects of your character which you can alter, meaning it is quite hard to have a character that looks significantly different than someone else's character. DC Universe Online and Guild Wars 2 have much more customizable aspects of your character, making your character more unique and decreasing the likelihood of finding another character that looks the same as yours.

When you have completed the character creation the structure of MMO games, specifically the three I am discussing is relatively straight forward after this. The structure for the continuous gameplay after this stage is to complete various activities such as quests and instances which you can que up for to play with other players, this is the same for all MMO's. After you have completed the levelling aspect of the game and you have achieved maximum level, you then go onto focus on instances in which you are rewarded with gear for your character and your aim in all MMO's, especially the three in question, is to get the best possible gear and to have completed all content before waiting for the next expansion for the game so you ca repeat the process.

Interaction
Within MMO's, interaction with the UI and in game features is usually very straight forward and the same structure of interaction is often replicated within all MMO's. In all three of these games, there are quests which you can receive from NPC's which you gain experience points, (XP) in order to help you to level up. In all three of these games and most if not all MMO's, you also have the choice of choosing to take part in instances both in PVE and PVP which you can que for whenever you like using easy to find buttons that are always visible on your screen which let you jump straight into action. As you can see in the pictures below, the UI's that make interaction an ease, are very smilar with your powers and abilities at the bottom with all other options and the features used to que are located in the same or similar positions.

World of Warcraft UI:


DC Universe Online UI:


Guild Wars 2 UI:


As you can see, the UI for all three of these games is very similar and each has features very similar if not identical features in the same position as another. The most common structure for interaction within the game is for the chat box in which you use to communicate with other players to be on the bottom left, the map to be on the right side and the bar with your powers and abilities is always located at the bottom of your screen.

Themes
The themes for each of these games and most MMO's are typically the main aspects that differ between MMO games though many aspects of gameplay are similar. Guild Wars 2 and World of Warcraft are two examples of games that are very similar, each is based around old style worlds that revolved around historic methods of battle and besides the magical aspect to them are often quite realistic and gritty.
DC Universe Online on the other hand has a very different theme to the others, it is based in a more modern time which revolves around the actions of super heroes and villains featured in the famous DC comics and content is based on defeating these heroes or villains depending on your personal preference and has much content relevant to modern humour and society.

Genre characteristics 
Typical characteristics of MMO's always include a set layout that is always found in these types of games. Throughout an MMO you always have the goal of levelling up and you are always trying to achieve superiority over other players, typically by achieving the highest level and having the best gear for your in game character possible. In MMO's you will always have the option of partaking in different types of activities, the main two are PVE and PVP based content. In PVP you are playing to win certain game modes in order to beat the opposing team. In PVE you group up with other friendly players to take on content in which you play against NPC's (non player characters) usually to achieve ar for your character and notoriety within the gaming world, these are characteristics of MMO's which are always predominantly featured within these types of games.

World of Warcraft PVP content


World of Warcraft PVE content


Guild Wars 2 PVP content


Guild Wars 2 PVE content


DC Universe Online PVP content


DC Universe Online PVE content


Narrative structures 
The narrative structure of MMO's is typically pretty basic, you quest to level up while narrative text and cut scenes are scene throughout teaching you about the game and the character within, always leading to the defeat of a high ranking boss to end the current narrative of the game before a new narrative is introduced with new content.


Representation of characters 
In MMO's characters are available to play and to battle against, you have a wide range of choice with characters and their abilities. For example, in World of Warcraft when you begin the game, you are prompted to create a character, as with other mmo's you choose your race and class which you will complete all further content with.

Wow character creation


In MMO's, charterers are often represented as often quite mysterious and sometimes lifeless personalities as their goal is to complete content and follow orders of others, with little say on whether or not you complete certain content.
Some of the characters within MMO's often have exaggerated appearances, typically because of the target audience of these types of games, the females are often quite stereotypical looking, especially in DC Universe Online, as he female characters usually have over sized breasts and skimpy clothing, where as the males are more covered up and made to look fierce and threatening. As players of MMO's are typically male, the looks of the characters are often based off there interest and lifestyle, for example, a male would much prefer to have a female player with large breasts than a male character with a prominent groin.

Female character in DC Universe Online


Male character in DC Universe Online

HA9 Task 2 Effects Debates

Violence
Violence is probably the key issue within games and how they supposedly effect peoples every day live's. In video games, violence is often a key element to the gameplay as the player usually has to carry out a violent act at least to some degree, even if it is not as extreme as other games. The key issue is whether violence in games actually has an impact on peoples live's and whether or not it encourages people to become violent and commit violent acts in real life. The theory, is that if someone was playing a game like Grand Theft Auto V, in which they commit various violent acts from small levels of assault to murder to huge scale destruction, that this would have an impact on their live's and actually make them want to go out and commit similar offenses. There is much debate on this subject and there is no real proof that violence in video games actually has any effect on peoples real live's, and it often seems that when violence is caused in real life people are always looking for something to blame, in many cases video games are blamed.

In Louisiana, there was a case in which a young by, only 8 years old, shot his 90 year old carer in the back of the head while she was watching television in her mobile home, killing her instantly.  Because the boy had recently played the game GTA IV, the link was instantly assumed to be the cause for this violent act to be committed by Louisiana police, stating the game is, “a realistic game that has been associated with encouraging violence and awards points to players for killing people.” Not taking into account any other possible causes or concerns, not considering the young boys mental health or lifestyle, but straight away jumping to the conclusion that the game itself is to blame.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/8-year-old-boy-played-violent-video-game-killed-90-year-old-woman-charged-cops-article-1.1435828

Personally, when it comes to the relation between violence in video games and violence in real life, I really don't think that violent games are to blame for the acts that someone commits, such as murder. For a person to murder, rather than blaming a video game straight away, you have to take into account their mental health and state at the time they committed the crime and their personal lifestyle and upbringing , because there has to be so many other aspects involved that would lead to someone committing violent acts, if anything, a game where you carry out these acts is an outlet of any frustration and an outlet of any anger or violent tendencies which would relieve people of the need to commit violent acts in real life. I can safely say, that video games are not the cause of real life violence, they are a solution to it.

Explicit Sexual Content
In video games, quite often in games that are rated 18+ or sometimes 15+, there are often a lot or at least some sexual references or sexual visualizations, but sometimes games take it far further than others and it can cause some controversy. The main issue with explicit sexual content is that it can be quite offensive, particularly to women, as they are often painted in an unrealistic picture. For example, with the game Grand Theft Auto 5, as the player is cruising through the in game streets they can come across stereotypical prostitutes that just jump into your car to carry out sexual acts with you. This feature in the game as well as the in game strip clubs, are not meant to be taken seriously and are mainly there to reflect on what the characters in the game are like and to reflect what the fantasy game world is like. Some people take this too seriously and see it as possibly something that could affect players minds, maybe thinking that they can just drive up to a random women, beep their car horn and pick up someone for sexual acts, though all players of this game that I know and I doubt there are any that think differently, are fully aware that this is just a game and everything that happens and you can do within the game, is very fantastical and very far from reality. Prostitutes do exist in reality and are a problem, but there is no way playing a game would make most people, if not all, go out and find one when they know of the consequences and the laws that they will breaking, also, someone that prefers to spend there time playing video games as a distraction from reality, are definitely  not the sort of people to be extremely social, so they would definitely not be the type of people to just go out and look and speak to a women asking for sex or sexual related acts.
 

Abusive/Inappropriate Language
Language that is seen as abusive and inappropriate is quite a big issue to some, but not to most players of video games. Bad language that is often in games rated 12+, 15+ and 18+ but players are used to it and don't really see it as an issue, though language in games can be quite abusive and inappropriate, players know that this type of language, should really not be used in certain instances in reality. Video games are obviously not the soul type of media that are responsible for the use of bad language, it would be ridiculous to say so, as with films and with reality itself, in our day to day live's people use "inappropriate language", but to most these are just words and unless someone is taking their own time to use "abusive language" to demonstrate their hate towards someone, then it should not really been as an issue, especially when it comes to video games. Video games themselves, though they may have some impact on peoples "inappropriate" vocabulary, if they were not hearing these words in a game, they would hear them from somewhere else, you can censor games, films and other medias, but you cannot sensor peoples choice of language in real life and they often wont think who's around before using "inappropriate language". I can safely say though, games do not have any impact on people using abusive language, they do not encourage language that would be seen as abusive as that would defeat the purpose of creating a game to entertain people and would not paint a very good picture of the people who created the game.

Addiction 
Addiction in games is something seen quite often, it is when people obsessively play games or particular games. Addiction to game is not seen as  much of a threat though addiction to games can take up a lot of your time and distract you from reality and other things that you need to do. Addiction to gaming usually comes from the fact that a game is of a very big scale and there is nearly an infinite amount of things to do and people crave a sense of completion with a game so they will usually prioritize the game they are playing in their life and put it before everything else. In some extreme cases addiction to gaming has proven to be fatal, as some players play for extreme amounts of time and even forget to eat.

In one extreme case an 18 year old Taiwanese gamer named Chuang died in July 2012 after a marathon 40-hour Diablo III session at an internet cafe at the time. The reason for his death was and still is uncertain, Chuang managed to fall asleep after the computer had crashed, but we he woke up he stood up and collapsed and was pronounced dead at the scene by police.

This story brought a lot of attention to the internet cafe in which the young man had been playing for so long as they had no policy or set rules on how much time and individual could  actually stay at the internet cafe, there should have at least been someone to monitor the activity of Chuang to ensure the safety of his health and well being.


http://www.ranker.com/list/8-people-who-died-playing-video-games/autumn-spragg?format=SLIDESHOW&page=1

Personally, I do see addiction as an issue, but I don't think laws should be implemented to dramatically reduce the amount of time someone can spend gaming, as it's usually down to someones general health how much time they should spend gaming, some people can actually withstand such long gaming sessions without it having any effect on their health, though I do not encourage such extreme gaming sessions.


Stereotyping and Representation
Stereotyping and representation in games in a well know issue surrounding gaming, it can often be offensive and misleading, especially when someone is unfamiliar with the character being represented and the character is represented in an inappropriate manner. The type of person that is represented and stereotyped usually is often characters relevant to war and, other races than white and quite often, women. One common stereotype is of how african american people are portrayed, particularly in games like Grand Theft Auto. If you watch the video below you can see that the african american characters act in a very stereotypical way, a way in which is assumed that similar people often act in real life, which is correct in some cases, but not all, some people can take great offense from this.

Most casual players of GTA V will not take into consideration the possibility of this stereotypical content being offensive and I personally myself don't, but some people, especially people that share the same race of the characters, could possibly take offense and probably don't appreciate being portrayed in such a way, though this majority is a very small one, as most realize that this is just a fictional game made to entertain,
Personally I myself see stereotyping in games as a slight problem, as it can lead to people making assumptions about different people from reality that they do not regularly associate with and this can lead to trouble in their real live's.

I think that in fictional video games, the false representation and stereotyping of different people from all aspects of life should not be taken too seriously and this type of content is only implemented into games for the purpose of entertainment.

Censorship 
Censorship in games is a very tricky subject, although it is an issue that some people see necessary, most people do not agree, especially people of the general public who are predominantly gamers. Censorship is bought into games when certain content has been deemed completely unsuitable to be featured in a game and often causes some controversy and annoyance within the gaming community. The main reason censorship is considered a nuisance to most people, is that they willingly buy an 18+ rated game and are fully aware of what it will contain and will not be surprised by what it will contain and would not even complain of graphic content that they did not even expect, when you are of the maximum age that exceeds all ratings, meaning you can buy whatever game or film you want, you do no expect to have censorship in the games you play. Understandably in game like Sims 4, you would understand that censorship is needed in instances like when the players use the shower and it is blurred out, as this game is a rated a 12+. When you buy an 18+ rated game though, you expect the freedom to make your own choices on what you want to see in a game, and you usually do not care at all for censorship, it should at least always be an option that you can change yourself, which in some cases like Call of Duty, you can toggle things like blood and choose which scenes you want to watch or skip, but this does not apply to all games.
One example of a game that has been censored recently, is the game Sothpark: The Stick of Truth. This game has been censored multiple times as some of the content is deemed to extreme and over the top, though the people who make the decision to censor certain aspects of the game are not the people that would typically play it or even enjoy the humor involved in the game.

As you can see in the picture above, this is a screen that pops up during one of the scenes while you are playing the game that has specifically been censored in Great Brittain and the EU, though not the USA. This scene, as you can see is quite explicit, though people who buy this Southpark game are more than aware of the Southpark franchise and expect to see things like this, like they usually do in the TV series, so when they play the game based on their beloved TV series, they do not expect any content to be censored.
I personally think that censorship should be alterable by the player in video games and not predetermined by anyone else.

HA9 Task 1 Audience Response and Behaviour

The Hypodermic Needle Model

The Hypodermic Needle Model is a theory that Dates from the 1920's, this theory was the first technical attempt to explain specifically mass audiences react to different forms of mass media. In this method, the target audience for mass media receive an injection of a media text, either positive or negative and are instinctively encouraged to respond. This is a short-term effect as the audience is seen as passive and they seem to think their opinion is more down to themselves and does not have any external influence in particular.
This method is mainly useful when companies or organisations want to change people opinions discretely, without people thinking their opinion wasn't down to themselves and to their own knowledge and personal views and opinions.

The Inoculation Model

The Inoculation Model is a theory that suggests that the long term exposure to similar repeated media messages makes audiences less likely to respond negatively to them. For example, when news is released relevant to a particular subject which people prefer not to discuss, as it can be quite a touchy subject, people see it as something to ignore and not discuss further. If people are subjected to small amounts of news related to a particular subject over time that they may not wish to discuss at first, they will see it as more of a normal subject to discuss, rather than avoiding it and it becomes more acceptable to discuss and evaluate with the current population.  The audience is desensitised by the media text and no longer reacts in a shocked manner.

The Two-Step Flow Model

The Two-Step Flow Model was discovered by Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet who conducted a study in the 1940's during the presidential election in their country. They found that 50% of voting participants had made up their minds six months before the election and did not change their minds despite the constant influence of media coverage, it was found that individual views were most affected by opinion leaders who played a key role in the communication process, filtering the message, making it appear distorted and inaccurate.
In the Two-Step Flow Model, peoples opinions usually do not originate from the primary mass media and primary messages from the people trying to get elected, they usually come from other sources such as family and friends who influence their opinion, meaning that a final opinion is influenced less by the key pitch and information and more from other people opinions who usually have less authority and knowledge, this audience is semi-active.

The Uses & Gratifications Theory
The Uses & Gratifications Theory came around in the 1960's, as during the 1960s the first generation to grow up with television became grown ups and it became apparent to the media that audiences made choices about what they did when consuming media such as advertisements and shows relevant to certain topics and products. Far from being a passive mass audience, audiences were made up of individual people who consumed media  for different reasons and in many different ways specific to themselves.

Researchers expanded this theory and published their own in 1974, stating that individuals might choose and use a media text for the following varied purposes:

Information

To be informed, news broadcasts and news from other media such as online news. 

Help with DIY jobs typically around their own homes.

General interest and curiosity such as quiz shows.

Learning from shows like documentaries on things like history and culture. 

Personal Identity

Comparing your own lifestyle choices to others by referencing shows and media similar people to you would refer to, such as certain bands you listen to, different games you  might play and films you might watch. 

Integration and Social Interaction

Social interaction with other people mainly online through integration into online sites such as Facebook and Reddit, where you can become part of groups and voice your opinion and interest in order to find people similar to yourself. 

Entertainment

People particularly look for entertainment in things like games and interesting TV shows in which they can escape from the troubles of reality, while also filling in gaps of time while they are waiting for something, entertainment can also be used as emotional release.

The Reception Theory 
In the 1980's and 1990's, there was much discovery in how people interpreted text and how what they interpret leads them to act in a certain way and how also their individual circumstances such as age and sex affect how they read.

The meaning of text is interpreted in different ways depending on the circumstances and reading ability of the reader and can lead to the text being interpreted in different ways:

The Preferred Reading - Audience understands and accepts the ideology offered.

The Negotiated Reading - Audience understands the ideology offered, accepts some aspects of it but rejects other aspects.

The Oppositional Reading - Audience interprets the ideology offered in the opposite way than it is actually intended.

HA8 Task 1 Products and Audiences

TASK 1 – Construction Glossary and Analysis

Media Text
Media text is the text you see within a game, different text is used in different genres of games. The media text varies in style, text would particularly be more vulgar in games like the Last of Us, where as in Just Dance it would be more suitable for younger generations and have a lot less swear words, if any. 

Semiotics

Games are constructed using a series of codes which are language or symbols which communicate various meanings, which allow communication between the player and the game.

An audience can also decode the signs in order to read them. Semiotics is the technical term for this process. When someone reads something they are decoding the information and interpreting it in their own unique way.
When playing a game, you as the player will see what has been demoted, to demote is to make something visible, by changing various aspects of a game such as lighting, the camera angle and interaction, the game can be given a series of connotations which the player will decode when playing throughout gameplay,  connotations are things like hidden or associated meanings. 

Genre

The term genre is used to describe the theme and setting of a game. If you refer to the games Just Dance and The Last of Us, both of these games are very different within game and are targeted at very different people meaning they have very different genres. The Last of Us falls under the survival horror genre, by labelling this game with this genre you can get an idea of what the game itself involves. By labelling a game with the correct genre people can find the game easier as they know which specific genre of game they are looking for, if you bought a games such as The Last of Us and for some reason the case was accidentally labelled as an FPS (first person shooter), you would be surprised to find that when you bought the game home and began to play it, that it is in fact, not an FPS game, as the game is set in third person and has a horror style within the game when the horror genre was not labelled on the case of the game and obviously, if you were sure the game you were bringing home with you was and FPS and it turns out that it is not, you would most likely take the game back and submit a complaint, especially if you have no interest in the genre the game actually is. In the videos below, you can clearly see that the genre of survival horror is very apparent in the trailer for The Last of Us and below that video is gameplay from an FPS shooter game, you can clearly see the difference between the two and why one game is given a genre that the other has not.

The game Just Dance is another example of a game which falls under very specific genres that have a very specific target audience. The kind of genres this game falls under are sports, fitness, family and party, which are very different genres than the ones The Last of Us falls under, meaning the two games both have a very different target audience, the majority of people that would play a game like Just Dance would most likely not be Interested in a game like The Last of Us, as they are extremely different types of games. Below is a video of a trailer for Just Dance, as you can see the people that are featured playing this game do not seem like the typical candidates that would play a game like The Last of Us, though there are many reasons for why they might not, the most likely one is that games like Just Dance appeals more to families and casual gamers and The Last of Us is more targeted at hardcore gamers, typically people that spend a lot of time playing games and have specific interest in certain genres.

The Last of Us gameplay

FPS Gameplay

Content

The content of the game is what a game contains. If you look at the two key games I have been discussing, Just Dance and The Last of Us, the two have very different content. Content in a game is altered relevant to things like the genre in order to fit the genre well. A game like Just Dance would feature upbeat content based around dancing and interactivity and The Last of Us does not involve much physical effort for the actual player compared to Just Dance, as people that play Just Dance have to revolve around the content in which inclines them to actually have to get up and dance, whereas people that play The Last of Us only have to sit still and manipulate a controller to interact with the game.

Content in the Last of Us is very different to a game like Just Dance, it has a vast amount of violence and anticipating moments and more of a story line, whereas Just Dance has a very limited story line and is basically just a copy and dance style game as you are simply copying the moves of characters on the screen and dancing along with them to get the best score possible. The two games are very different when it comes to content, specific types of content are listed on the back of the game case, to let buyers know what the game contains, so they are sure they like it and want to buy it. Games like The Last of Us are more prone to containing content like violence and use of swearing where as Just Dance's content just revolves around music with little content that the player needs to be aware of. Even at the beginning of the trailer above for Just Dance, there is a content waning, though it only warns of mild suggestive themes and some of the lyrics, the publisher of the game has to make sure people are aware of the content in the game.

Below are different content warnings usually found on the back of a game case.

Just Dance Trailer

Construction
The construction of a game is the general development and layout of a particular game. When playing a game like The Last of Us, you expect the game to be constructed in a way suitable to the genre, this construction should be visible with in gameplay using methods such as using dark lighting, repulsive gory special effects, dramatic music and sound ques that leave the player anticipating the worst and set out to capture the player and play with their emotions, usually frightening them when they least expect it as usually expected with a horror based game.
The construction of a game like Just Dance is very different to the game The Last of Us, as it has a lot more upbeat theme to it than most games and has been constructed to guide the player throughout, so there is never really a time where they will struggle with the gameplay. Just Dance is constructed so it can easily be navigated throughout and players simply have to copy what they see on screen and dance along with characters that are visually displayed on the screen. Just Dance uses much bright colors than The Last of Us, aspects like this are very different between each game, as they are both targeted at very different audience, so they have to make  sure that the gameplay is suitable for the people that will actually play each individual game, as Just Dance is targeted more at younger people and families, it has been constructed with a much more upbeat vibe and uses bright colours and happy music, whereas The Last of Us, uses music that leaves you on the edge of your seat and the game is very dark throughout, as people that want to play a survival horror based game, they expect this.
As you can see in the two images below, Just Dance has clearly been constructed in a very different way to The Last of Us, as one is clearly more upbeat and colorful.

Codes and Conventions
Codes are laws, rules and regulations that must be used as a guideline when creating a product like a game, to ensure that the content is not illegal or too inappropriate to e featured in a product before it an be released to the public. For example, a game could not be released if it an offensive word in the name which would be featured on the game case, unless it was censored.
Conventions are obvious rules and guidelines you would use when creating a product, which you would most likely already know of as they are based around commons sense and usual conventional methods of practice.
Codes and Conventions basically specify when you must and mustn't do when creating a product such as a game. Obvious forms and techniques are used to create the basics of a successful product, where as the more technical codes such as camera angles, lighting and interaction vary from product to product so they have a more vague guideline. Symbolic codes refer to the language, actions and depiction of characters in a product like a game.

Modes of Address

Modes of address is how the game communicates with the audience. A game can vary in how it communicates with a player, some games often rely on communication to progress in a game, such as Just Dance 2, whereas games like The Last of Us rely more on the players independence and intuition.
There are different ways in which a game can interact and communicate with a player, they often vary from first person, third person and omniscient narration. First person refers to me or I, meaning you have more choice over the communication and can control it, third person is narration, a preset script that is spoken to you by various characters throughout gameplay and an omniscient narrator is usually a narrator that you don't see but you here, they are usually telling a story and describing events throughout gameplay.

Target Demographic

 Demographics section off the population sharing common characteristics, such as age, sex, class. certain games like Just Dance and The Last of Us are targeted at different demographics, a game like Just Dance would primarily be targeted at more active, casual gamers and younger people whereas a game like The Last of Us would be targeted less at casual gamers and more at hardcore gamers that have a greater interest in action adventure games with a survival horror sub genre. When developing these two specific games, the developers would have considered these very specific demographics, especially key demographics such as sex and ages, as both games would most likely be targeted at the younger generations, and Just Dance would definitely be targeted more at females and The Last of Us targeted at primarily Males.

HA7 Task 3 Presentation of Research Results

Final research presentation

Gta v research from Luke Summers

HA7 Task 2 Applying Research Techniques

To apply my research techniques which I have developed while conducting research into different methods in which I can gather qualitative and quantitative information.

The first step I carried in out in conducting my research was to start the process of collecting and collating information by creating a survey with basic closed questions in which I can easily collate the data in order to find averages and percentages relevant to the game in question, which is Grand Theft Auto 5.

The first step in creating this survey was to decide what questions I wanted to ask the people I gave the survey too. When choosing the questions I had to make sure they were easy to answer, did not have to many options and I had to make sure the questions were closed questions in order to ensure that the research that I gather was quantitative rather than qualitative as the options for the questions were not open, so the research I gather can be easily collated and sorted into things like graphs to represent the information clearly and correctly. 

To collect the initial part of my quantitative I used the website survey monkey. I used this particular website as it is very useful when it comes to making an online survey, you can use a standard template and alter certain assets to suit your specific subject in question. I added different questions with minimal closed answers in order to ensure my research was quantitative.

Below is a picture of the survey monkey editor which I used to create my survey:

Below is the first question I asked in my survey:

Below is the second question I asked in my survey:

Below is the third question I asked in my survey:

Below is the fourth question I asked in my survey:

Below is the filth question I asked in my survey:

Below is the sixth question I asked in my survey:

Below is the seventh question I asked in my survey:

Below is the eighth question I asked in my survey:

Below is the ninth question I asked in my survey:

Below is the tenth and final question I asked in my survey:

When asking these questions I was sure to include questions that would apply to anyone taking part to get the best possible results, while finding out interesting facts about people who play the game.

As well as this survey monkey survey, I also used a back up paper based survey, which is probably the more reliable source of gathering this information and I will most likely use to determine my final outcomes when analyzing all the data.

Below is my paper based version of my quantitative research in which I gathered 20 responses as apposed to only 10 on survey monkey, as the questions vary on either online and paper based surveys, I am slightly limited on how to analyze my results, I will most likely gather data from the paper based survey as I have the most answers and the best questions.

To gather information to enter into my questionnaire I asked people in person and over facebook these questions and ticked the box appropriate to their answer. I did find that some of the questions don't gather either very useful or accurate information, such as where do you live, as I am studying in teh North East of England and most of my friends I asked over facebook live in Wales, so there is a very limited field for me to gather information. Regardless to slight issues, most of the information is still quite helpful.

I carried out my quantitative research on both survey monkey and on a paper based survey, but for my qualitative research I have decide to stick specifically to the online survey as it is easier to gather more detailed answers. Below is screenshots of the quantitative questionnaire I put up on Survey Monkey.

Here is a screenshot of the creation of the survey.

Here is the survey from the point of view of someone filling it in.

Analyszing data

Quantitative
From my 20 responses to my paper based form of quantitative research which I have decided to gather data from as it is the most accurate method and the method that got the best responses, I have created charts and analyzed and assessed all of the data to find out key information.

Below is the key data I have collected from my research and the conclusions I have drawn from it, I have analysed in the key information which shows interesting results.

GTA V Survey (Based on results of 20 individuals from Wales and the North East of England)

Age

By looking at the chart above, it is evident that the people I asked that play GTA V are primarily aged 18-24, 50% more so than people aged 25-45.


Type of gamer

In the chart above, it is worthy to note that only 40% of people that play GTA V would call themselves hardcore games, compared to the 60% that would describe themselves as casual gamers.

Occupation

It was quite intersting to find out that only 30% of the people that I asked who play GTA V are employed, this is probably due to the fatc that they have less free time as apposed to people in education such as college.


Played GTA V

Out of the people I asked, I was quite surprised to find that only 5% of people haven't actually played GTA V, which is evidence of the games popularity.


Played console

I had already assumed that most people would have played GTA V on Xbox 360 it often tends to be the more popular choice of gaming console, especially as GTA V is not yet released on next gen consoles.

Opinion on GTA V

Last but not least is this chart reviewing peoples opinions on GTA V, as you can see, 80% of people who I asked strongly agree that GTA V is a great game and 20% of people are neutral about it, which was quite surprising. An option to say they strongly disagree was include in the survey, which no one actually clicked so this is more evidence revolving around the popularity of the game and there is little negative feedback about the game. 

Qualitative
I conducted my research on survey monkey into qualitative data to get peoples true opinions of the game on aspects such as what the like and don't like, below are the results of what I found out based on opinions. As most were quite similar the information was easy to sort into charts. As this is qualitative research, none of the answers were put in place to pick by me, participants in the survey were free to answer how they like, I've just sorted the data out so key information can easily be gathered.

I collected the data from survey monkey before putting it into pie charts so the data can easily be assessed:

Charts:

Do you like the look/style of the game?

As you can see in the chart above, a massive 80% of people like the look/style of GTA V and only 10% mostly like it and 10%don't like it. These results were fairly surprising, as I didn't expect anyone to have a single issue with the look and style of the game.

What aspects of the gameplay do you enjoy most?

In the chart above are the results for which aspects of gameplay people mostly preferred, I was quite surprised to find that only 10% of people mostly enjoy the storyline and another 10% enjoy none, which makes little sense to me! A further 10% like collectibles which was also interesting as most do not and as expected, 40% of players prefer the online mode and 30% prefer the single player mode.


Which is your favorite character, Trevor, Franklin or Michael and why?

As you can see in the chart above, a massive 40% of people prefer the character Trevor in GTA V, 30% prefer Michael, 20% prefer Franklin and 10 percent said they don't favor any, which either means they can' make their mind up or they don't like any of them. Peoples reasons for liking the characters were as follows, peoplepreffered Trevor for his humor and general craziness, Michael for his story and family and Franklin for his "coolness".  Below are some of the more detailed answers to which character do you prefer and why?:

Trevor, really funny

Trevor, too funny!

Franklin, just too cool!

Michael because he as better storyline

Trev, fuuniest

Trevor, funny

Michael, funniest

Franklin, coolest :P

Michael, more crazy!

What would you do to improve the game?

















Lastly was the question, what would you do to improve the game? As you can see in this pie chart, a massive 40% of people would not change a thing in GTA V, which is very surprising! 30% of people would prefer no collectible as apposed to 10% wanting more collectibles, 10% of people would prefer a longer single player, and strangely, 10% of people said they would change everything, as they were not as specific as I would have liked in their answer I am not sure for what reason.

Some of the more detailed answers are as follows:

Nothing!

Nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Longer single player!

Everything!

More collectibles

Nothin
Nothing!

Get rid of collectibles!

I hate collectibles!

I would like to get rid of the collectibles in the story mode, they're horrible!!!!!

Final observation

After conducting my research I can accurately conclude that GTA V is clearly a very popular game, from my quntative and qualitative research I can clearly see that the preffered console to play GTA V on is Xbox 360, probably due to the fact that the release on the Xbox One, PS4 and the are not yet available. I can also see that there are little issues with the game except for the fatc that a majority of people are not overly fond of collectibles.
During this research I was quite surprised to find out that a small majority of people do not seem particularly fond of the game GTA V, for what reason I am unsure, though my findings are surprising never the less, though if there was any purpose to this research, it was definitely to find out particularly interesting information such as this.