Unit 3: Introduction to professional practice in creative media production

 Understanding Creative Media Companies

For the first lesson of Unit 3, we looked at the differences between different company types involved in media production and what roles they take on. 

The term 'Game Designer/Developer' generally refers to a person/company that develops games and all of their contents. They are usually contracted with and financially supported by a publisher to help with the costs.

Publishers are companies that publish games and handle development costs.
Additionally, they generally cover all of the marketing costs, which can sometimes surpass the cost of making the game itself. Big publishers will generally also distribute the games that they publish.

Indies/Independent Studios are notably smaller development teams--sometimes even just a single person that creates games without any financial support from a large game publisher.

To get game releases to the general public, they obviously must be distributed and sold. This can be achieved through Retailers, but digital distribution is commonplace nowadays.
Retailers (like GAME) sell games at a 'Recommended Retail Price' (RRP) which covers the cost of physical production and shipping costs. 

Digital distribution completely avoids these costs as all that needs to be done is to package the game digitally. Indie devs can't always produce physical copies due to physical production costs and industry contacts, so Digital Storefronts make it much easier to get developer's games out there. 

The most notable digital distribution for PC gaming is Steam, but big companies like Nintendo generally have their own digital storefronts, in this case being the 'Nintendo eShop'.

Next, we looked at Vertical & Horizontal Integration, what the difference between them is and how it affects media companies.

Vertical Integration refers to when a parent company owns multiple stages of production. It's a strategy to allow the company to streamline the game's development. For example, Doom Eternal is developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. Both are subsidiaries of ZeniMax Media, which is a part of Xbox Game Studios, which is a division of Microsoft.

Horizontal Integration is when a parent company owns multiple companies and/or studios across different industries. An example is Sony, which has subsidiaries like 'Sony Pictures', 'Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Sony Music Entertainment that are in the Film/Home Entertainment Industry, Video Games Industry, and Music Industry respectively. 

Research Task - Microsoft Diagram

Microsoft Subsidiaries. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Microsoft_subsidiaries. Last accessed 17th Nov 2021.

Jobs in the Gaming Industry

Understanding Critical Perspectives - Game Reviews

LO: To critically evaluate working practices and methods

Review Structure

Overall Impression: A review will generally start with the reviewer's overall reaction, starting with a riveting fact or opinion of the game. It may also introduce a selling point if applicable. Hooking the reader in is the top priority in this section.

Plot Summary: The reviewer briefly describes the game's premise and what gets the game rolling forward. They will give their opinion as to if they think it's convincing and/or engaging.

Gameplay: The reviewer gives an explanation of the core gameplay, how they function and how they fit into the game's world and/or plot. They will generally refer to other games by the same developer or in the same genre as a comparison. Opinions mean nothing if you can't back them up.

Presentation: The reviewer describes the game's presentation--essentially anything that isn't directly related to gameplay like the art style or audio design.

Themes: The reviewer identifies the game's messages and how they are conveyed.

Conclusion: The reviewer concludes the review and gives it closure by justifying their opinion and giving the reader a definitive answer as to whether or not the game is worth their time/money.

Written Game Review - Bubsy 3D

Skills Audit