AQA GCSE Media Studies

Unit 1 Investigating the MediaExam Topic: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games

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Lesson 12

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Starter

If there were no video games at all, what would you do in your spare time?

You have 1 minute to discuss this with a partner.Join up with another pair.

You have 2 minutes to discuss this in your group.

Select a spokesperson for your group who will feed back to the rest of the class

on the activities you would do.

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Video games provide hours of entertainment for their users and, even during a recession, still sell in bulk numbers to make this a very competitive and successful business for all the video-game publishers and their hardware that the games are played on.

But there are questions to be asked:

Is playing video games bad for us?Are advertising techniques tricking us into buying things we don’t need?

As always, there are different theories as to the impact of advertising and playing video games too.

Audience

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The Hypodermic Needle Model

This theory states that people watch/read media texts and theybelieve every part of every media message they are told.

They consume it like a drug straight into the brain.It is the effect of brainwashing someone.

If the Hypodermic Needle model is to be believed,

then audiences are passive.

Audience Effects Theories

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The Hypodermic Needle Model

This theory fits well into the concept of advertising.

'Could this be the world’s greatest fighter game?' 'Hardcore players only!'

'Not for casuals!' 'The best game you will ever play!'

If these concepts are reinforced during adverts (print or TV platform) then people will believe they need them and therefore buy the products.

Audience Effects Theories

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The Two-Step Flow Model

The two-step flow model details that there are opinion leaders insociety.

Opinion leaders are people who have seen the media text andhave been able to make up their own mind about its qualitiesand messages.

These opinion leaders are active; however, except for decidingwhich opinion leaders to believe, the rest of the audience arepassive.

Audience Effects Theories

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The Two-Step Flow Model

This theory fits the concept of game reviews and game magazines; people who write for these magazines are highlyrespected for their opinions.

They will decide whether a game is worth buying and ‘simplify’ the content and qualities of the game, helping passive people to make a decision about whether or not to buy it.

Audience Effects Theories

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Passive or Active?

Are you a passive buyer?You buy a game because of a review, advertising or someone recommends it.

OR

Are you an active buyer?You decide to buy a game of your own choice with no influence whatsoever.

Why?

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Passive or Active?

Either way, you are still influenced.

Even when browsing for a game, there are always ‘teasers’ on the front of the game cover!

'Unlike anything else you will play this year – 9/10’

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The Effects of Playing Computer Games

There are several different arguments put forward into the debate about how playing video games can actually affect us.

The three we will look at are:

1. Temperament theory2. Desensitisation theory3. Social learning theory

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The Temperament Theory

The temperament theory comes from the ancient Greeks.‘Temperament’ is the part of our personality that is genetically based.

Hans Eysenck identified four types of people.

He believed that if they experienced the same trauma or event they would allreact differently due to their genetic differences – their individual nature.

The event/trauma would not change who they are.

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Eysenck’s four types were:

Neurotics tend to develop phobias / have panic attacks

Extroverts have no fear or real memory of a traumatic experience

Introverts are unlikely to put themselves in a similar situation again

Psychotics may feel a connection to the negativity and get obsessed about it, perhaps wanting to recreate it again and again

The Temperament Theory

If applied to playing video games, the temperament theory explains that people willnot generally be affected or traumatised by violent games unless it is generally in theirnature to do so in the first place.

PROBLEM:

The theory does not take into consideration the ‘nature v nurture’ theory,

i.e. you can be born like it or exposed to it when growing up (desensitised).

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The Desensitisation Theory

Desensitisation means becoming accustomed to something so that it no longer provokes a reaction.

On 14th December 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and six adult staff members in a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the village of Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut. Before driving to the school, Lanza shot and killed his mother Nancy at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Hook_Elementary_School_shooting.

Watch this news report discussing the effect of violent video games:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7_XDYWs-08

The Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura believed that we learn new behaviours by copying the values and beliefs of role models. In other words, we learn from watching or following the example of others, i.e. our friends, our parents, our teachers.

Bandura theory has three models:

Live model in which a person carries out the preferred behaviour.

Verbal instruction in which someone describes the preferred behaviour in detail which the person then carries out.Symbolic in which a person will carry out the behaviour shown in the media, by following the behaviour and actions of someone in films,

on television, on the Internet, in books, on the radio and even in

video games!

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Opinion

What do you think about this comment?

'As a gamer myself, I have played loads of violent video games just like thousands of other gamers. Out of these thousands of people, a few commit violent crimes and so video games are said to have "violent effects on children". I have just finished reading Bill Bryson's The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, when Bryson was younger, comics were blamed for violent acts, so people tried to ban them, the same is happening to video games. It's stupid!'

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Violent-Video-Effects-Children-Adolescents/dp/0195309839

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Questions

What do you think about these theories?

Do you agree with any of them?

Can you think of any event that you first watched on TV or in a film which really upset you, but which you now take for granted?

However, all theories are difficult to prove.

There is a general sense, however, that we believe that media does affect our behaviours, and advertisers justify their fees by working on this assumption.

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Using advertising techniques to target an audience

Audience

Incentive

Incentive

Teaser

Teaser

Teaser

Teaser

Teaser – mode of address is personal ‘you’

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Using advertising techniques to target an audience

Incentives

Features

Incentive

Incentive

Feature

Feature

Feature

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Team Production Task

Get into groups of four and read the brief you are going to be given.

Each group member should have a job assigned to them, e.g. drawing the front cover, competitions, games, freebies, ensuring the target audience needs have been met.

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Welcome to Gamer Publications’ first editorial meeting!

You are the editorial committee in charge of putting together the first issue of our exciting brand new game publication.

On the table in front of you is the title of the magazine that you will be creating and an outline of your target audience. We need to ensure that our new magazine follows all of the conventions of the magazine industry and that the needs of the target audience are met.

Most importantly, we need an eye-catching, colourful front page which features interesting and engaging lead and support stories! It is YOUR job to ensure that we produce a magazine that will fly off the shelves!

Team Production Task

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Things to discuss: What will the cover price be? What lures will you include? Why? Are you giving away any free gifts? What? What conventional features must you include? What game will be your main image? What will your splash headline be?

Why is this game appropriate? What will your support games be? Why?

Team Production Task

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Magazine title: GAME POWER! Target audience: young girls and boys aged 9–14. A weekly magazine which aims to meet the needs of young girls and boys. The target audience is of school age and enjoys, in particular, apps and social networking site games. They would not normally have access to much spending money, i.e. 99p apps are perfect! Magazine Title: RETRO GAMZ! Target audience: men (and some women) aged 30–40 years old. A monthly magazine which aims to meet the needs of retro video-game fans. The target audience dislike ‘modern’ games and enjoy meeting up and playing games on old video-game consoles. They spend time on online retro gaming communities and take part in online competitions. They have a disposable income of approximately £50 per month. 

Team Production Scenarios

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Magazine Title: HARDCORE MORE!

Target audience: 15–29-year-old hardcore gaming fans. A fortnightly magazine which aims to meet the needs of young hardcore gaming fans. The target audience like to play FPS or RPG games on games consoles, such as COD or Final Fantasy, and spend most of their spare time playing these multiplayer games with other online players from across the world. They spend £30–£50 per month on games, mostly on DLC (downloadable content) expansion packs for their regular games.  Magazine Title: CASUAL GAMER GIRLS Target audience: 13–16-year-old girls who enjoy casual games. A monthly magazine aimed at young teenage girls who like to spend time online chatting with their mates using social networking sites. They like to play games on these sites where they can play against their friends. They like to play games like Sorority Life, Candy Crush Saga and FarmVille. They would spend minimal money to play games, but would enjoy getting freebies of make-up on the magazine.

Team Production Scenarios

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Speed Dating – Peer Assessment

Half of your group should move over to the next group’s table.

Your job is to make sure the group have all the necessary features on their design and that they have followed the brief given.

(Approx. 2 mins each table)Move onto the next table.

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Plenary

What about the good effects of playing video games?

Are there any?

You have 5 minutes to list these in your exercise books.

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Plenary

Now watch this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNycSARuGcE

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Homework

Revise for a quiz next lesson on the things you have learnt today!

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