Degree Project Digital Media Analysis

 

Today we were shown a process of analysing Media to better understand the why and how of it all. Here are two examples, one was of my own choice, the other a given example. Both are very different but the framework can be used to analyse both.

1. What type of media is it? A 3rd-Person cover Shooter developed primarily for Xbox 360

2. What initial promise/s does it give? A single/ two player set of detailed levels full of set pieces and various encounters as well as a 6V6 online multiplayer mode with various arenas and characters to play with

3. What is its purpose & function? A 3rd person shooter game designed to always be played with others, with or against.

4. What are its unique/unexpected qualities & ideas? One team will always play as subterranean monsters 'Locust' one team will always play as humans. On the surface it is made to seem like a very one sided conflict, the good humans vs the evil monsters. However players that read into the lore and supplemental material found within the game shows to the player that the monsters only started the conflict to escape an evil hive mind that has taken their home, driving them to the surface - thus keeping the cycle of violence, the gears of war turning.

5. Is its branding original? Yes the game world and character designs are fully unique with its own culture and technologies 'Sera', the 'Tyrans', 'Locust'. The Game Logo 'the Bloody Omen' also has significance as it is the logo of the soldiers you play as the 'Gears'.

6/7. How can you explain the style / tone / emotions? Goes for a purposefully desaturated and muted colour palette, tries to represent the world as a lifeless husk ravaged by centuries of conflicts. the building design and architecture too is based on iconic areas of London after an apocalypse, inspired by the Creative Director (Cliff Blezinski) on his trip there for a pitch. The game also uses glowing reds, yellows and oranges as accents to distinguish players and enemies because the game is muted and grime in its aesthetic

8. Who is the main audience? (secondary audience?) 18+ Men "Call of Duty generation", "Dudebro" archetype/ audience. Also there would be E-Sports players because of the solid, high intensity multiplayer that exists with its consistent NETcode and customisable lobbies

9. Is the user experience exciting & engaging? (how?) The Game contains unique and inventive ideas for shooting games at the time such as a cover system utilising Unreal Engine 2, the "Roadie run sprint" and a reloading mini game "Active Reload" where if the player times it correctly they receive a temporary damage boost.

10. What qualities (above) could you incorporate in your work? I've always thought a seemingly simpler story with a twist that completely changes the meaning of the narrative was interesting and the minigames, making seemingly mundane tasks into something more interesting, such as the reload mechanic.




Other Choice: https://slaveryfootprint.org/ (2012)

1. What type of media is it? An interactive website and visualised survey

2. What initial promise/s does it give? Outlines modern slavery and maps it out in a visual way.

3. What is its purpose & function? to raise awareness of modern slavery and where it comes up in the production of goods

4/5. What are its unique/unexpected qualities & ideas? The chain aesthetic/ leitmotif was very interesting just in how it links the work all together, the iconography of it. The representation of the shackles used to hold slaves in the past and also the supply chain and how slavery is used to transport these goods.


6/7. How can you explain the style / tone / emotions? The style is cartoonish and simplified with accompanying illustrated graphics and pastel tones, they are trying to frame themselves as a group of like minded activists, being a force for good change

8. Who is the main audience? Middle-class, western, liberal values, activist, most likely 16+

9. Is the user experience exciting & engaging? (how?) The survey and the live updating statistics as well as the animations as the user progresses through the website engages the user and the usage of statistics adds meaning to the information relayed

10. What qualities (above) could you incorporate in your work? The question posed at the very top of the site is an interesting way to start the work and could be very useful guiding the user to perhaps the preferred viewing of a piece, it could also be used to set up a narrative in a game or establish the underlying themes. that's probably how I would incorporate something like this anyway.






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