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Women and videogames: blog tasks

  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?  one of the first fronts of the modern culture wars, driven by social media, misogyny and the weaponised disaffection of young men. 2) What is the recent controversy surrounding narrative design studio Sweet Baby Inc?  People beleived Sweet Baby Inc is secretly forcing game developers to change the bodies, ethnicities and sexualities of video game characters to conform to “woke” ideology. They think that Sweet Baby has written and controlled almost every popular video game of the past five years, shutting straight white men out. 3) What does the article conclude regarding diversity in videogames? The article concludes that diversity in videogames is natural and positive. It sa...

Sims Audience and Industry

  Audience 1) What game information is provided and which three elements help the appeal? The page describes customising Sims, designing homes and building a town, and also explains life stages, careers and relationships, along with social features like visiting friends. The three most appealing elements are creativity, life simulation and the chance to share designs with others. 2) How does the information show participatory culture? Players can create homes, characters and stories, which shows that the game depends on player creativity. The option to visit friends and compare designs shows community involvement. The game encourages players to take an active role rather than just follow a fixed story. 3) What do the reviews suggest about audience pleasures? Reviews show that players enjoy creativity and building their own world. Many enjoy escaping into a calm and controlled environment. They also like achieving goals and forming emotional connections with the Sims they creat...

OSP: Assessment learner response

  OSP: Assessment learner response 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 synoptic style essay. The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark and 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 your mocks and 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). Abdiillah, a very strong Q2 respons...

The Sims FreePlay CSP - Language & Representations blog tasks

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  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? Elements include customisation of your character, "dream" homes, pets, romance, families, and activities 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 ideo...

OSP index

  1)  OSP: Clay Shirky - End of Audience blog tasks 2)  OSP: Influencers and celebrity culture 3)  OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Language and Representations 4)  OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Audience and Industries   5)  Baseline Assessment learner response 6)  OSP: Postcolonial theory - Gilroy and diasporic identity 7)  OSP: The Voice - blog case study

Henry Jenkins Fandom and Participatory culture

  Henry Jenkins - fandom blog tasks The following tasks will give you an excellent introduction to fandom and also allow you to start exploring degree-level insight into audience studies. Work through the following: Factsheet #107 - Fandom Read  Media Factsheet #107 on Fandom .  Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or log into your Greenford Google account to access the link. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions: 1) What is the definition of a fan? A fan (fanatic) is a person with extreme and uncritical enthusiasm. 2) What the different types of fan identified in the factsheet? Potterhead, Trekkie, Twilighter, Twihard, Gearhead , Whovian 3) What makes a ‘fandom’? True fans have devotions that go beyond their media texts, and affects their identity in the same way class gender ethnicity and age do.  A fandom has its roots in a group people with an exceptional enthusiasm in any to...

The Voice CSP: case study blog tasks

  The Voice CSP: case study blog tasks Language and contexts Homepage Go to  the Voice homepage  and answer the following: 1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage? The homepage includes a top menu, a search icon, adverts and small thumbnail images for stories. 2) What are some of the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content, values and ideologies of the Voice? Site mixes hard news with lifestyle+ entertainment. Appeals to many readers. Most section focus on interesting stories to individuals, showing the voice prioritising positive soft news. 3) Look at the news stories on the Voice homepage. Pick two stories and explain why they might appeal to the Voice's target audience.  The article about spiderman attracts possibly younger readers? And also a very wide "mainstreamer" audience who is interested in general celebrity/hollywood/pop culture. The Eubank article celebrates black success which aga...