Notes on Games Britannia programme

• The games industry has always been developing and, starting off with board games.
• Games which took place in a virtual world attracted players as it allowed them to control a life/lives in a world different from our own, some which were known as Godly games.
• Games like 'Lara Croft' became so popular as she was an intelligent character which the players began to empathise with and care for.
• GTA 4 took playing to the extreme in the case of there were 'no rules' in this game based on racing, drugs, sex and gambling.
• Social Networks took the world by storm with Networks such as 'Little Big Planet', allowing players to create their own worlds to be adored and criticised by others.
• The present day has seen social networking games such as 'World of Warcraft' and British game 'Runescape', allowing the player to explore exotic and imaginative worlds, whilst interacting with other characters to broaden their experience.
  

Production of Guitar Hero IV:World Tour

Guitar Hero World Tour (initially referred to as Guitar Hero IV or Guitar Hero IV: World Tour) is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was launched in North America in October 2008 for the Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles, and a month later for Europe and Australia. A version of World Tour for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh also released in December 2009.

Sytstem: Wii

No.of players: up to 8 players

Release: Oct 27, 2008

Publisher: Activision

Research of terms and companies

Zynga is a casual game developer located in San Francisco, California, United States.^[1] The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Capcom is an international developer and publisher of video games headquartered in Osaka, Japan. It was founded in 1979 as Japan Capsule Computers, a company devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines.

Wideload Games is an American game developer located in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 2003 by Alexander Seropian—the co-founder of Bungie and head behind the games Halo: Combat Evolved, Myth, and Marathon—and 6 other former Bungie Studios employees 3 years after Bungie's acquisition by Microsoft Corporation.

Xbox Live Marketplace is a feature lets you search, browse, and purchase games, videos, and even avatar accessories while you are away from your console.

Braid is a platform and puzzle video game developed by independent software developer Jonathan Blow. The game was released on August 6, 2008 for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service.

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software.

Motion Capture

"The creation of a 3D representation of a live performance."

Software such as Motionbuilder is used with the raw motion capture software: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=13581855

Films such as 'Avatar were filmed using motion capture:

First Task

Rockstar Games:

Grand Theft Auto- Vice City:

• Certificate- 18, I think it is aimed up to the age of roughly 35.
• I think the graphics arent great, however this is because the game is not brand new, therefore the graphics would have been impressive when the game was first released.
• I don't think the point and purpose of the game was very clear, therefore it made the game quite hard to play.
• There are no limits or boundaries as to what you can do- therefore a negative thing about the game could be that it influences destructive behaviour (especially when driving), and also infliences a negative image towards the police.
• The radio is playing in the car as you drive, which advertises the music, and as it is an 80's based game the music playing is from that era.
• GTA Vice City is on the console Playstation 2 as this was the newest console out when the game was released.

Canis Canem Edit- Bullworth Academy:

• Certificate- 15, up to roughly the age of 30.
• I personally think the content of this game is quite dull as it is very repetative.
• Again in this game the general aim isn't clear.
• The music in the gane has no reference to any in the media industry.
• The game is very stereotypical of a posh boarding school.
• The game is similar to that of GTA as violence is the main object.
• Graphics quite poor.
• Once again played on Playstation 2 as it was the best console at the time of release.

Red Dead Revolver:

• Certificate- 16+ - seems quite a childish game however that would to young teenagers, despite the certificate.
• Graphics quite good and interesting as they are quite detailed, however the content of the game is quite dull.
• Violence seems to be the recurrent theme in most of these games.
• The game is very typical of Western films e.g. Wild West, which means it should appeal to those who enjoy that genre of films.
• Thsi game is based on the Xbox- this is because it became very popular when it was first released as it appeeals to more of the gamer market, with also being family orientated.

Table Tennis:

• Certificate- 3+ - young kids (under 11)
• Graphics really good and clear.
• Aim of the game is clear and easy to play, without necessarily the need for instructions.
• Can become quite dull as it is very repetative.
• The game is referenced to sport, which brings money into a new market by targetting sport enthusiasts.
• Advertisements- e.g. Adidas.
• Newest console out at the time- Xbox 360.

Midnight Club- Los Angeles:

• Certificate- 12+ - 35 approximately.
• Driving game with a very realistic reference to Los Angeles.
• Graphics the best out of all the games as it is the most recent release.
• Similar to the game GTA as they are both based on driving, however Midnight Club more so, and also the theme of ''No Rules''.
• It is easier to drive than Grand Theft Auto and is based upon the racing aspect of driving, whereas GTA is more based on violence.
• This game has a reference to films like Fast and Furious.
• Advertisement of the cars used in the game.