Successful critera for a band 4 exam essay:
- Do a clear plan of how you are going to answer the question.
- Make sure your facts and answers are relevant to the question before starting.
- Always use the wording of the question in your answer.
- Use relevant and accurate terminology in your answer.
- Use facts and figures that are relevant to the given question.
- Back up every point you make with a different fact to the last.
- Start every paragraph with the wording of the question in order to make it relevant.
- Use both sides of the argument well and develop each with examples.
- Use a lot of argument indicators in order to make it successful e.g. "However".
My opinion on the learning in Media:
Our style of learning in Media Studies is different to that of my other subjects. In Media we do a lot of group work and gather our collective thoughts in order to understand the task at hand and we pool the resources as a key revision tool for the exams. Currently we are doing a lot of paste exam questions in order to prepare for our exam, We are learning how to break down the question at hand in order to understand it better aswell as how the layout the structure of our answer. I like all of the learning in Media but my favourite is project work in which we either gather collective research in groups or we do a practical task such as moving around the class and working together.
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Wednesday 7 November 2012
Assassins Creed III Research
Publishing:
The franchise first attracted a younger audience with the first Assassin's Creed hence the rating was 15+ while Assassins Creed 3 is an 18+. The franchise has grown up along with the audience to maintain its faithful fans. This new game has been marketed as the perfect time to buy into the Assassins Creed franchise and has tried to widen its audience. You would expect the main audience to be teenage boys but the game is also popular with middle aged men that were the first generation to grow up with the gaming industry and experience all the changes from Tetris all the way to this new Assassin's Creed.
The PSP version has the main character as a female. The target audience for this version is aimed more at females as they would be able to relate with this female. As a female it goes against the normal stereotype and instead the character is fighting and killing men. All the stereotypes are subverted unlike the other versions that follow the stereotypes. The game includes lots of different genres and because of this appeals to a wide audience. The new character is bigger, stronger and better at fighting which appeals to boys that are "obsessed" with war. Assassins Creed has captured the imagination of many people.
The game will has been released alongside other popular franchises such as Call of Duty, Halo and Forza Horizon all competing over the same target audience so by widening this audience with the PSP, online game play and multi-genre. These aspects make it competitive in the market against other games.
The game will has been released alongside other popular franchises such as Call of Duty, Halo and Forza Horizon all competing over the same target audience so by widening this audience with the PSP, online game play and multi-genre. These aspects make it competitive in the market against other games.
The story starts with Connor. After Charles Lee informs a young Connor that he wishes to speak to the elders of his village, he returns to find the village burning, causing the death of his mother. Later, a teenage Connor is told by a village elder that the reason no one is allowed to leave the valley is because they are there to protect the Temple. After showing the woman the symbol of the Assassins, she tells him to leave the valley, finding Achilles Davenport, an Assassin, and convinces the fighter to train him.
After collecting supplies to rebuild the decaying homestead, Achilles presents Connor with the Aquila, a ship Connor can use to patrol the Eastern seaboard. Connor soon is taken to Boston, where he is finally dubbed Connor Kenway, after Achilles' son.
As Connor learns the art of being an assassin he is brought into the cities of Boston and New York as well as a large open area called The Frontier. After being made a full-fledged member of the Brotherhood by Achilles, Connor sets out to eliminate the Colonial Templars. William Johnson is first assassinated after he attempts to purchase the land in which Connor's people reside on. Connor next targets John Pitcairn, who leads the British forces at Bunker and Breed's Hills. After he is dealt with Connor next targets Thomas Hickey whom Connor discovers is plotting to assassinate George Washington.
Upon travelling to the Caribbean and pursuing a boat, Haytham and Connor find Church and kill him. The two then travel to meet Washington. Here, Haytham discovers a letter revealing that Washington has ordered the removal of all the Indigenous tribes from the land as a number of which have supported the British. One of the lands to be removed is Connor's own despite the tribe being completely neutral. Connor severs his ties with Haytham and Washington and takes off to protect his tribe's village. Connor finds the village safe, but the wise woman has dispatched several tribesmen to turn back the Colonials sent to purge the village. Connor neutralizes them to avoid conflict; however he is forced to sacrifice a friend mentally blinded by Lee.
Connor becomes torn in his mission to eliminate the Templars with the thought that he could possibly turn his father for good. Connor sets off to pursue Lee who has been disgraced by Washington and taken refuge in Fort George. Connor infiltrates the fort only to find Haytham. Haytham reveals Lee has escaped (with the medallion) again and he and Connor engage in battle. Now accepting that his father will not turn, Connor kills Haytham, who refuses to repent in the end.
As Desmond plays these events out in the Animus he is occasionally taken out in order to find power cells crucial in the process of exploring the temple. The efforts take Desmond to locations including Manhattan and Brazil. During these trips, he encounters Daniel Cross, an Assassin-turned Templar who was responsible for nearly wiping out the Assassins in 2000 by killing their Mentor. While exploring the temple Juno tells Desmond the events leading up to the first cataclysm. It is during one of these lectures that Desmond reveals that him killing Lucy was no accident and that he chose to after the Apple revealed to him that Lucy was a double-agent and intended to take the Apple to Abstergo.
Connor becomes torn in his mission to eliminate the Templars with the thought that he could possibly turn his father for good. Connor sets off to pursue Lee who has been disgraced by Washington and taken refuge in Fort George. Connor infiltrates the fort only to find Haytham. Haytham reveals Lee has escaped (with the medallion) again and he and Connor engage in battle. Now accepting that his father will not turn, Connor kills Haytham, who refuses to repent in the end.
As Desmond plays these events out in the Animus he is occasionally taken out in order to find power cells crucial in the process of exploring the temple. The efforts take Desmond to locations including Manhattan and Brazil. During these trips, he encounters Daniel Cross, an Assassin-turned Templar who was responsible for nearly wiping out the Assassins in 2000 by killing their Mentor. While exploring the temple Juno tells Desmond the events leading up to the first cataclysm. It is during one of these lectures that Desmond reveals that him killing Lucy was no accident and that he chose to after the Apple revealed to him that Lucy was a double-agent and intended to take the Apple to Abstergo.
Connor now pursues Lee again. After pursuing Lee into a burning ship the two come to a stalemate after falling through a section of the ship. Connor is impaled in his side by a piece of the ship. Lee asks him why he continues to persist even though the Templars only rise again and again. Connor replies, "Because no one else will", and shoots Lee in the chest. A mortally wounded Lee escapes in a ferry across the lake with a badly injured Connor in pursuit. Connor finds Lee in a pub taking one last drink and finishes the job by stabbing Lee in the chest. Connor takes down the portraits of the Templar members in the secret basement and burns them, signifying the end of his journey. In addition, his return to his home village (shown before) is detailed further- upon arrival he spoke to a hunter that had been camping there, who revealed that the new U.S. Government had sold the land his village rested upon to settlers in order to settle war debts. He also travels to the pier in New York, seeing the last of the British Redcoats leave America for good. However, at this same encounter, Connor sees the beginnings of the slave trade present in the newly formed nation- right next to the pier of citizens cheering at the departure of the British there is a stand where a slave trader is peddling three of his "wares".
Genre;
Assassin's Creed 3 is very much a multi-genre game. Fantasy, adventure, strategy, beat em up, sandbox, sci-fi, puzzle, stealth and racing. This makes the game very immersive and allows the gamer to explore and spend many hours completing the missions, collecting or just enjoying this virtual world which in this new assassin's. One minute you can be tearing apart some guards the next collecting collectibles. This makes the game incredibly varied and diverse. The game is mostly third person which means that the camera is behind the character.
Not many games have this multi-genre so assassin's creed 3 doesn't have many competitors and is different from other popular franchises such as Call of Duty, Halo and Need for Speed. The multiplayer in the Assassins Creed has been included since Brotherhood and has been mostly successful. It is a different concept from the usual team death match on most first person shooters and includes players hunting each other. The genre of the multiplayer is very much stealth and is popular for its inventiveness.
Development:
Game engine - Anvil next;
Can do weather cycling (random weather), Create crowds of at most 2000 , the world changes over time to do things like growing plants or making damage to buildings permanent. The characters in the game have artificial intelligence. In the crowds each person has their own personality, wind and water simulation is so accurate you use the actual naval techniques to aim at the enemy, when the character walks through snow his footprints are remembered for the duration of the mission. This shows continuing sales figures because the player wants to see how the game improves via the small details like weather and crowds. An example of this is when people pass by the shop windows.
Can do weather cycling (random weather), Create crowds of at most 2000 , the world changes over time to do things like growing plants or making damage to buildings permanent. The characters in the game have artificial intelligence. In the crowds each person has their own personality, wind and water simulation is so accurate you use the actual naval techniques to aim at the enemy, when the character walks through snow his footprints are remembered for the duration of the mission. This shows continuing sales figures because the player wants to see how the game improves via the small details like weather and crowds. An example of this is when people pass by the shop windows.
Game design;
Characters - The characters have stayed quite similar. The protagonist in each is a healthy thin attractive man who kills men via some fluent fighting style. Also the women in each game are thin, big breasted and appealing to men. However the way in which the protagonist moves is more fluent and smooth compared to previous games, like in Assassins Creed where Altair would only run left after stopping running forward.
World – How one interacts with the surroundings and in the case of Assassin’s Creed 3 how the free running system works. This is evident when one runs free as Connor. Instead of the dilapidated buildings we start free running through trees and up cliffs. This makes the long time player want to continue playing as it shows the evolution of skills from the easy blocky buildings to the intricate branches. It also makes the player feel like they are achieving something as they have been playing through the evolution so they feel they have got better at controlling it.
Characters - The characters have stayed quite similar. The protagonist in each is a healthy thin attractive man who kills men via some fluent fighting style. Also the women in each game are thin, big breasted and appealing to men. However the way in which the protagonist moves is more fluent and smooth compared to previous games, like in Assassins Creed where Altair would only run left after stopping running forward.
World – How one interacts with the surroundings and in the case of Assassin’s Creed 3 how the free running system works. This is evident when one runs free as Connor. Instead of the dilapidated buildings we start free running through trees and up cliffs. This makes the long time player want to continue playing as it shows the evolution of skills from the easy blocky buildings to the intricate branches. It also makes the player feel like they are achieving something as they have been playing through the evolution so they feel they have got better at controlling it.
Game Software - This is how the hardware is used. The software is the content of the game in its basics. This involves the graphics and how they improve. In Assassin’s Creed the graphics are ahead of its time but we focused more on the buildings and looks. Now in Assassins’ Creed 3 we focus more on the character and the background. An example of this is the first protagonist Haytham when he boards a boat. His face is uncovered unlike the previous games and we see how the better graphics affect his face. Also in the background there’s new motion (a sea moving or people passing windows). The long time players will wish to play the new game to see how the graphics have advanced.
Marketing:
On 28th September 2012, Ubisoft announced that they were to spend £4million on marketing in anticipation of the release of Assassin's Creed 3. This is the largest spend on the promotion of a product by the developer, in a big push to up intake compared to the losses of the previous game, despite its 9 million sales.
This helps sales figures in an obvious way, the more people who see it across the TV, radio, advertising boards etc, the more people are aware of it, and then they look into it, find a large network of exciting "exclusive reveal" videos on the internet and get excited for the game, and want it when it comes out.
This helps sales figures in an obvious way, the more people who see it across the TV, radio, advertising boards etc, the more people are aware of it, and then they look into it, find a large network of exciting "exclusive reveal" videos on the internet and get excited for the game, and want it when it comes out.
On YouTube, you can find a wide range of videos showing interviews and new features of the game. These helped build up anticipation for the game from fans, without revealing too much. This is a good way of promoting something as it comes at absolutely no cost whatsoever, but is a great way of building up excitement and draw in more people who pre-order because they are watching the videos and want the game as a result. The videos have over 1 million hits each. As well as those, there are numerous trailers for different parts of the game, such as the new storyline, the new character "Connor", the new weapons and various others.
In total, across 4 consoles, there are 7 different editions of Assassin's Creed 3. The Standard Edition is available on Xbox 360, PS3, PS Vita and PC. The Limited Edition, which includes various extras which come with the game disc, including a belt buckle and a large embroidered colonial flag, and is available on Xbox 360 and PS3. The Digital Deluxe Edition is available just on PC, but comes with various add-ons from past versions of the game, like favourite missions and a "Best Of" soundtrack. Available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC- the main 3 consoles the game is available on- are the Special Edition, the Join Or Die Edition, the Freedom Edition and the UbiWorkshop Edition. These each come with their own arrangements of extras, including exclusive lithographs, an encyclopedia and rare prints, among others.
This helps the franchise develop sales figures as collectors and "hardcore gamers" will buy a number of, or at least the most expensive edition. This helps bring in much more money to the franchise, at little extra cost to them. It also helps the franchise establish itself as it shows the commitment from the developers and designers.
This helps the franchise develop sales figures as collectors and "hardcore gamers" will buy a number of, or at least the most expensive edition. This helps bring in much more money to the franchise, at little extra cost to them. It also helps the franchise establish itself as it shows the commitment from the developers and designers.
Distribution:
Assassins Creed III has been distributd across many different platforms including Xbox-360, Playstation 3 and the all new PS Vita. This has enabled the game to be distributed on a much wider scale which allows customers to get hold of the game very easily. The marketing for the game shows an advertisement of the game and also advertises the fact that it is sold at the Game store.
The Game store itself has both a physical store and an online store. On the online store customers can order and even pre-order the game for bonus features. The physical store allows the exact same capabilities in both pre-ordering and buying the game directly.
With Assassins Creed III been a sequel in the popular Assassins Creed franchise, most local game stores and even some supermarkets now sell the game. This distribution allows the game to be recieved by customers in a wide variety of locations without an effort to find it.
Aswell as been sold widely throughout stores, The most common distribution for the game is online, not only can big retailers that have physical stores sell the game online, but companies like Amazon and Play.com are distributing the game widely because of their trusted customer base. This allows the game to be distributed on a huge scale for customers and shows how the game is getting to the audience.
When the game is ordered online the customer can either pick the game up from the store that they purchased it from or they can choose to have the game delivered directly to their home which allows the game to be sold to more and more people that can't get out to a physical store.
Monday 5 November 2012
Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road, Season 8 Episode 2 (Spirit Child)
Gerard Findlay is the Headteacher of Haverlock High. He has a feud against Michael Byrne, the Headteacher of Waterloo Road. In this episode he actually helps Mr Budgen respay his car after it has been vandalised by students of Haverlock and he doesn't want Grantley to get the police involved.
This episode is the first time we see Lula. At first she is presented as coming from a stereotypical African family where her uncle doesn't speak English. She is a very mixed character who we gain sympathy for due to the way she is harshly treated by her Uncle and the pastor.
Mr Byrne is very quiet in this episode. He doesn't do too much other than tell Grantley not to tell the police as he doesn't want to cause trouble between Waterloo Road and Haverlock High.
Lula's Uncle is immediatly shown as being a vicious figure. We see from the start that he scares Lula, and he won't listen to what she wants. He is very religious and doesn't believe in any other methods for trying to help Lula. He is also very vicious towards the teachers at the school.
Tom Clarkson (Protagonist)
Mr Clarkson is presented as a bit of a hero in this episode. Despite what happens to Lula he doesn't give up on trying to help her, and he manages to persuade Lula's Mum to come and rescue her from her Uncle and the Pastor.
Lula's Mum (Antagonist)
Lula's Mum is very quiet in this episode. At first she appears as being very ill, but we later see that Lula's Uncle is actually trying to control her, and that despite what we previously hear she can speak English and she helps Lula out and gets rid of Lula's Uncle.
Lula's Mum is very quiet in this episode. At first she appears as being very ill, but we later see that Lula's Uncle is actually trying to control her, and that despite what we previously hear she can speak English and she helps Lula out and gets rid of Lula's Uncle.
Connor Mulgrew (Neutral)
Connor is a bit of a troublemaker. He tries to get his mum caught out after having Vodka in school, but then he owns up because he feels guilty. At the end of the episode he accidently sets the house on fire, and because his mum is recovering from drinking he tries to pin the blame onto her.
Christine Mulgrew (Neutral)
Christine is a teacher who has a drink problem. She is caught with alcohol in the school but her son takes the blame for her. At the end of the episode Connor sets the house on fire accidently and blames in on Christine.
In this episode we see the conflict between the binary opposites. According to Levi-Strauss most films and TV Dramas are based around conflict between binary opposites. Hero V Villain, Good v Evil and Love v Duty. In this episode Lula and her Uncle are the opposites and stand for Good v Evil. As is usually the case with most TV shows and films good eventually triumphs over evil, despite always looking like evil will come out on top. The story follows a linear structure, where it is all in chronological order. The clips all work as a chain, with something in between the seperate storylines which develop through the storyline. These include Connor and his Mum's drink problem, where Connor accidentally sets his house on fire and Gerard Findley and Michael Bryne's Feud over Waterloo Road and Haverlock High.
We see Love as a duty of care reversed. Normally we'd expect the uncle to be the one showing love towards his niece, but what we actually see happening is Tom loving Lula and showing her care and the Uncle not really being interested. This is a role reversal which helps Mr Clarkson look like a hero. This helps to provide the ending, when Tom managed to get Lula's Mum in just in time and manages to to prevent the exorcism and allow Lula and her Mum to restart their relationship with one another.
This episode manages to fit in with Todorov's theory of narrative equilibrium. We have an Equilibrium where Lula is starting at school, however this doesn't last long before she is already causing trouble by stepping out in front of Mr Clarkson's car. The disruption starts fully when other students try to interact with Lula, she reacts very badly to it and causes problems. Lula recognises this when she tells Mr Clarkson about her Uncle and how he plans on taking her to the pastor for her exorcism. The attempts to repair this start when, after being taken out of school by her uncle, Tom and Lula's mum stop the exorcism from happening, and the police are contacted, and for the main storyline we see the happy ending that was expected. To an extent it also conforms with Syd Field's 3 Act Structure, although nowhere near as well as with Todorov's theory.
The roles of the characters don't conform with Propp's Character Types Theory. We have Tom who is the hero in this episode, Lula's Uncle who plays the role of the villain, Lula's Mum as the helper and Lula as the princess. But we don't have anyone who acts as a donor, dispatcher or false hero. In Waterloo Road many of the characters are based on Stereotypes. Lula and her family are based strongly on a typical Western African family with the way they speak French and being very religious. Whenever Lula's Uncle is on the screen the camera is always looking up at him to try and make him seem as big as possible, while with her Mum we always see her from a long way and dressed as being very ill, almost the opposite of Lula's Uncle.
This episode manages to fit in with Todorov's theory of narrative equilibrium. We have an Equilibrium where Lula is starting at school, however this doesn't last long before she is already causing trouble by stepping out in front of Mr Clarkson's car. The disruption starts fully when other students try to interact with Lula, she reacts very badly to it and causes problems. Lula recognises this when she tells Mr Clarkson about her Uncle and how he plans on taking her to the pastor for her exorcism. The attempts to repair this start when, after being taken out of school by her uncle, Tom and Lula's mum stop the exorcism from happening, and the police are contacted, and for the main storyline we see the happy ending that was expected. To an extent it also conforms with Syd Field's 3 Act Structure, although nowhere near as well as with Todorov's theory.
The roles of the characters don't conform with Propp's Character Types Theory. We have Tom who is the hero in this episode, Lula's Uncle who plays the role of the villain, Lula's Mum as the helper and Lula as the princess. But we don't have anyone who acts as a donor, dispatcher or false hero. In Waterloo Road many of the characters are based on Stereotypes. Lula and her family are based strongly on a typical Western African family with the way they speak French and being very religious. Whenever Lula's Uncle is on the screen the camera is always looking up at him to try and make him seem as big as possible, while with her Mum we always see her from a long way and dressed as being very ill, almost the opposite of Lula's Uncle.
Assassins Creed Research
Assassins Creed (The Original). Assassin's Creed is a historical action-adventure open world stealth video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows. On April 16, 2009, Ubisoft revealed that the game has sold 8 million copies to date. Ubisoft also revealed that Assassins Creed as a franchise has sold over 29 million copies.
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