Dark Souls II Case Study

Name of game: Dark Souls 2

Release date: March 11th 2014

Institutions behind the game (game studio/publisher): FromSoftware in Japan and Namco Bandai in the rest of the world.

Print:

Print adverts;




On the print adverts, the viewers can easily identify the game name situated at the top alongside what edition the game is (collectors, black armour, standard etc). The typical font used in the souls game series is used once again on the print adverts which can somewhat be a feeling of nostalgia to the fans. The slogan 'Prepare to die' is surprisingly not shown on these print adverts because these are used to show what editions the game has instead of a print advert of the game itself. The image of the knight wearing the certain armour is used in different things such as the collectors art book, the game cover itself and even the CD. The colour scheme resembles a dull atmosphere of purely grey (the colour known to be colourless) and black (possibly smoke) with fire as the background.

Reviews;

'Despite this schism, it’s definitely a nice world to look at.' Positive.
'The game looks gorgeous when you're roaming around outside in a naturally lit area, or carrying around a torch.'  Positive.
'Iconic bosses also provide a ton of memorable moments of pain and regret that eventually become triumph.' Positive.

Dark souls 2 was also shown in the EDGE gaming magazine. This is extremely effective in promoting the game because gamers and fans can learn more about the game or even find out about it through this magazine as some fans who are interested in gaming might read these magazines but are not notified through social media when a new game is released. This allows a wider range of audience to be targeted.
This front cover was especially successful because it shows the same knight as the background (which became as somewhat a logo to the game) and shows other reviews of related things such as PS4 or XBOX ONE. 

Broadcast:

TV advert;

Game trailer;

This trailer is effective because not only does it show you sections of the game and game play, it also gives the audience a brief of the story of the game too. This is really good for the gamer fans because they will be interested in the plot behind the game.

Another huge way the game is promoted is through YouTube. Dark Souls 2 is played by many YouTubers but the most YouTuber promoting this game is Pewdiepie. Pewdiepie is a video game commentator and player and most games he plays his fan base sooner or later buys the game. He has the most subscribed YouTube channel therefore since he does a Let's Play series on Dark Souls 1 and 2, the game is promoted to millions of people worldwide simply through Pewdiepie.

E-Media:

The main website for the game is www.darksoulsii.com/uk/.  This website is essential for core fans and gamers because it tells you all the latest news relating to the game, the website has links to the games Facebook and Twitter pages with recent tweets and comments shown. You can pre-order the game from that website as well as the date of release of the PC version (25th of April 2014). Furthermore, there is a designated Media section where all the screenshots of the game can be found as well as videos (past trailers etc). On addition, the large community can be found on the website and can be accessed via different ways such as the forums where fans and gamers can share there experience playing Dark Souls 2 and ask for tips and advice.

YouTube examples;

As said above, this helps promote the games as the subscribes (especially on Pewdiepie's) might like the game and buy them themselves.

The Facebook page of Dark Souls 2 is literally called  Dark Souls 2 and has 46,009 likes currently.

These screen grabs promote the game additionally because they show different sections of the game section. The different areas show how the game has a large variety of different places to explore. Also, the award from one of the best gaming websites in the world IGN of being the best game on March is hugely important in the promotion of Dark Souls 2 because gaming fans who might not know about this game but check what are the best games according to IGN regularly will see this game and might buy it.

The Twitter hash tag for the game is @DarkSoulsGame

The campaign on Twitter was unfortunately not so successful due to the lack of followers in being slightly under 8,000. 

Fifa 14 Case Study

Name of game: FIFA 14

Release date: Late September 2013

Institutions behind the game: EA Canada and Electronic Arts

Print:
In this print advert, the audience can see logo of the developers (EA Sports). The title of the product (FIFA 14) is clearly shown and the background is a scene from a section of the game. There is no slogan shown but the audience can infer the slogan of EA games from the logo (EA sports it's in the game).

The massive success of the FIFA franchise gave many reviews from video gaming magazines to FIFA 14. Some of these reviews  are proven to be slightly negative as seen by,' FIFA 14's slower pace may not have won over the entire footballing fan base, but it certainly made us rethink some of our long-held and highly effective sprinting strategies,' written by DigitalSpy. However, other reviews give a positive review to FIFA 14 such as,'FIFA 14's next-gen tweaks and improvements are largely aesthetic.' On the other hand, the audience should not forget that there are more negative reviews such as,'The commentary seems slightly less impressive.'

These reviews are important to the target audience because they can infer whether they should buy the game or not. A gamers opinion might influence the audience whether FIFA 14 is so much better than FIFA 13 that its worth it to buy or that its not a good choice to invest money on. This is effective in promoting the game as good reviews will influence the target audience to buy this game.

I think that e-media and print is very effective and efficient for FIFA 14 because a lot of there fan base uses social media such as Twitter or Instagram e.g and follow FIFA 14 pages such as @EASPORTSFIFA on Twitter. 

Broadcast:

The advert on YouTube attracts the audience because it shows a variety of different players from different regions of the world to make it relatable to the audience. This means that football fans worldwide will see there favourite player(s) from there region shown on that advert. This is effective because it allows a wider range of target audience (global).

I think that Lionel Messi is driving the van because since he is the most famous player in the world, he will most likely have the biggest number of fans globally football and non-football fans.
The TV advert continuously shows the number 14 throughout the video. Sections of the game play is shown being played by different football players such as Bale. Also, although the main star was Lionel Messi, Drake and some other famous individuals were shown on the video to attract non-football fans to buy the game. Furthermore, near the end of the advert, the slogan of the game was shown as well as the logo (EA) and the name of the game.
Famous football players were shown to attract to football fans globally. Celebrities such as Drake where shown to attract non-football fans gamers to the game. Regular people where shown to show that different races and ethnicities play the game.
The FIFA 14 YouTube trailer differs greatly from the TV advert because it doesn't show any real people but instead sections of the game and an overview of how it looks like in-game. The different voice overs and colour of players shows that the game is targeted to audience worldwide.
The trailer was effective in promoting the game because it shows gamers what new features are installed in the game. "Real ball physics" and "Pure shots" are examples of things that gamers can see from this trailer of new instalments inserted into the game.
E-media:The FIFA 14 website tell the audience the new features in the game as well as guides the audience on release dates and latest trailers of the game. It also leads the audience to news and media relating to the game as well information about the game (such as what platforms FIFA 14 is played on) which is crucial for gamers.
EA SPORTS FIFA on Facebook got 21,349,542 likes.

These pictures found on the FIFA Facebook page appeal to the target audience because they show a variety of teams for the different fans and also show sections of the game.
The hashtag for FIFA 14 is #fifa14.
@EASPORTSFIFA is the twitter page for FIFA 14 with over 1.52 million followers. Tweets such as this,"Rare Gold 25K packs are now available for 24hrs. Limit of 5. #FUT #TOTS," are found on there twitter page which is free advertisement to there additional content. This maintains the audience (gamers) as it keeps them focused on any additional information regarding the game.
YouTube FIFA 14 videos; 

Chester See - Set fire to the Rain

250+ Word Analysis - Creative Concept

In the start of this video, the use of burning a piece of paper reinforces the lyrics of the song at that section (Set fire to the Rain). This makes an atmosphere which supports the original song.

Furthermore, throughout the video, there has been many edited visual effects where the guy playing the instruments (Andy Lange) is shown on screen alongside Chester but not directly 'next' to him. There were also scenes were multiple footages of Andy were shown at the same time. This can be done through taking several footages then editing them into one. 

The repeated use of fire glimpsing in the background can as stated above reinforce the words used in the song. Likewise, the scene where paper is being burnt up on the floor and the fact that Chester was the one who 'set fire' to it allows the audience to be engaged throughout the whole video.

Moreover, the pitch black background can represent darkness and that the kindled flame is the only light left. This is due to the lyrics (There's a side to you, that I never knew) which can connote to the meaning of black and light, that in every human there's a good side and an evil one. This is because of the effects created by using a plain background.

On addition, the narrative of the video is about losing someone close (possibly a lover due to the lyrics) and it says about the things that they had together and the things that were 'never true'. This is a typical narrative of a music video related to love.

200+ Word Essay - 21 Jump Street and Theories

 21 JUMP STREET

Channing Tatum is being represented as a White American jock in school. There are many stereotypes such as a jock having to be rude to other students (shown at the beginning with Jonah Hill, the school geek) and the way he acts in school grounds (wearing a bag with one strap). This representation can be negative because jocks in school might not be rude in reality.

Jonah Hill is being represented as a White American geek in school. The stereotypes regarding his character are also not positive but can be occasionally realistic as they are showing that geeks are nerdy technology people that have a 'pathetic' social life. The realistic part is that geeks are nerdy and most of them might be intrested in technology or science but in reality, most geeks have a better social life then even jocks as they might get along with others better.

The student that hands out drugs (Dave Franco) is being stereotypes as if American students that deal with drugs are 'high', popular and somewhat rich. This can be realistic in certain area's of the USA where teens sell drugs illegally to get money and well become popular but also not necessarily true because teens selling drugs do not certainly take them which does not make them 'high' in any way.

Note: Its also being represented here that the 'jocks', 'geeks' or 'druggies' are mostly male.

THEORIES

Todorov:

Todorov's theory surrounds the equilibrium in a film. There are three stages:

Equilibrium > Disequilibrium > New Equilibrium (Resolution)

In 21 Jump Street, there was equilibrium at the beginning before Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum became cops. After they were assigned to the school at 21 Jump Street, thats where the disruption happens and the balance breaks. There is a new equilibrium in the end after the drugs been removed and the bad people where caught.

Propp:

Propp's theory is about character types such as the protagonist or antagonist for example.

There are seven types of characters.

In 21 Jump Steet, the protagonists are Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The antagonists are the drug dealers. The heroine might be the girl in the school where Jonah Hill develops a crush on. The helpers might be the geeks that aid Channing Tatum into discovering who the drug supplier is. The father is most likely Ice Cube.

Barthes:

Barthes theory involves two codes that are both similar, enigma codes and action codes. The main reason for these codes is to absorb the audience and keep them in a state of tension and suspense by working together.

Enigma Code:

The Enigma Code is based around mystery to draw the audience in for them to pose questions and as such become intrigued in the film.

21 Jump Street has a massive mystery of who the drug supplier might be. At the beginning, the audience might suspect the 'high' student only to later find out that he is a mere seller. This leaves a number of questions in the audiences mind.

Action Code:

Barthes action code relates to tension. It is to keep the audience engaged through any action or event that suggests something else may happen.

In 21 Jump Street, there were many scenes where it involves gun shooting or the villain suspecting the protagonists being cops where tension is at its peak and the audience is kept engaged.