Understanding Creative Media Companies
This lesson showed the different company types and also different types of company integrations. Objectives are to be able to understand differences between various types of companies involved in creative media production and their contribution to the industry. The other objective is to know the difference between horizontal and vertical integration. For my work, I'm choosing Disney as it takes the lead on integrating. Many people recognise Disney due to its child friendly and long running theme of charismatic characters.
Disney:
Disney is vertically integrated by controlling the entire entertainment production and distribution process. It owns major content creation studios like Walt Disney Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm, producing films and TV shows. Disney also distributes this content through its own channels, such as ABC, ESPN, and its streaming service Disney+. Additionally, Disney maximizes profits through retail and merchandise, operating Disney Stores and managing theme parks like Disneyland. This integration allows Disney to manage production, distribution, and retail, capturing value at each stage of the entertainment process.
Warner Music Group is vertically integrated. It controls multiple stages of the music production and distribution process, including recording, marketing, and distributing music. The company owns labels and has partnerships with digital platforms, allowing it to manage both the creation and the consumption of music. This gives Warner Music greater control over its content and revenue streams from various aspects of the industry. Warner Music Group also owns and operates a variety of secondary labels, which allows them to manage a diverse portfolio of artists across different genres.
Bibliography
Fandom.com. (2025). Available at: https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Walt_Disney_Pictures_logo?file=Walt_Disney_Pictures_Logo_2006.png [Accessed 17 Mar. 2025].
Warner Music Group (2016). Warner Music Group Official Website. [online] Warner Music Group Official Website. Available at: https://www.wmg.com/.
Nintendo.com. (2020). Nintendo SwitchTM Family - Nintendo - Official Site. [online] Available at: https://www.nintendo.com/us/switch/?srsltid=AfmBOoqnwPIsde7itHq2XiOhH9qSUaHvyN6IoGC-JBdGlzZjJ8KLCw4q [Accessed 17 Mar. 2025].
Developing Contextual Awareness
The objective we are finding is developing our personal understanding of how 2D games have evolved through applications of critical analysis. This means how they have advanced through raw and constructive criticism from others analysing and playing their game. Seeing what they could do better as well as what they did well, which go in unison to craft something better, sharper and superior. We are also aiming to demonstrate an understanding of 2D platformer contexts and design elements through practical implementation.
A genre is a category that defines a type of content based on shared characteristics, themes, or styles. In games, genres group titles by similar gameplay mechanics, objectives, or narrative elements, helping players understand the type of experience they can expect. Examples include action, adventure, strategy, and role-playing, each offering distinct gameplay and emotional engagement.
Game genres differ from film and book genres primarily due to the interactive nature of video games. In games, the player has agency, influencing the plot and world through their choices, whereas films and books are passive mediums where the audience experiences the narrative without control. Game genres like rpg, fps, and strategy are defined by gameplay mechanics such as combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving, which often take precedence over the narrative. In contrast, film and book genres focus more on themes and storytelling, with genres like thriller or romance building tension and emotion through plot and character development. Games also offer varied pacing, where the player's actions can dictate the flow, unlike the fixed pacing of a film or book. Additionally, many games feature multiplayer or collaborative elements like morpgs, which contrast with the solitary or group experiences typical of films and books. While there is thematic overlap in genres like horror or fantasy across all three mediums, the core difference lies in the interactive, player-driven experience of video games compared to the narrative and thematic focus of films and books.
Adventure Genre:
Game:
In an adventure game like The Legend of Zelda or Monkey Island, players explore a world, solve puzzles, and interact with NPCs to progress. The player’s decisions and actions directly influence the progression and outcome of the story.
Film/Book:
In an adventure film or novel like Indiana Jones or The Hobbit, the adventure unfolds in a linear narrative, with the protagonist facing challenges and overcoming obstacles. The viewer or reader experiences the adventure, but they have no control over the story’s events.
Horror Genre:
Game:
In a horror game like Resident Evil or Silent Hill, players actively participate in the experience, often making decisions that affect the outcome and encountering scares in a first-person or third-person perspective. The atmosphere and gameplay mechanics, like limited resources or survival elements, heighten the fear.
Film/Book:
A horror film or novel like The Shining or The Haunting of Hill House delivers suspense and fear through atmosphere, narrative, and character development, but the audience remains passive, following a predetermined path with no influence over the unfolding terror.
(RPG) Genre:
Game:
In an RPG like The Witcher 3 or Final Fantasy, the player’s decisions—such as dialogue choices, character builds, and quest choices—directly affect the world and storyline. Players control the protagonist and shape the story based on their actions.
Film/Book:
In a traditional fantasy film or book like The Lord of the Rings, the genre involves world-building, magical elements, and character growth, but the narrative is fixed. The audience does not influence the characters’ actions or outcomes in any way, and the characters’ paths are predetermined by the creator.
In game design, verbs define the basic actions that players can perform, such as moving, jumping, or attacking. These actions are central to gameplay and help players interact with the game world. Versatile verbs, however, take this a step further by offering flexibility, allowing players to use the same verb in different ways depending on the context. For example, the verb "use" can apply to healing items, activating switches, or interacting with NPCs, creating more dynamic and engaging gameplay experiences. Versatile verbs add depth and creativity, enabling players to approach challenges in unique ways.
An invisible tutorial is where you passively show the player what to do or teach them the basic controls, for example: Displaying an arrow to show the player where to go, a hole in ground indicating they jump.
Level Design Workshop
For the Mario Maker group project, I was in a group with Leet and Aryan to design a level. We first started by drawing out our ideas on gridded paper, making sure to plan out where to place platforms, enemies, coins, and other key elements.
First of all, this level opens with a series of blocks to jump on, having coins in such a position that would want the player to explore and jump. We added an enemy afterwards, so as to teach players they can get rid of it by jumping on him. Finally, we put a wall-jump part in, using coins on the alternation of walls so that they'd guide players through and get them to understand the mechanic.
From there, it's a slope down which he can slide; adds some variety and movement. We also included one of those Thwomps that move up and down; players have to time their movements very carefully to pass. Finally, we lead him to the goal.
Our goal was to craft a level that introduces some of the basic mechanics of the game to the player in a gentle manner. I believe we succeeded in its ease and pleasantness to play.
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Introduction to construct
On the left hand side, the window displayed contains all the properties of the subject like the label, units of measurement, size, dimensions, grid size etc. On this pad this is where you set the foundation of the design and work off it. Shifting our attention to the middle this is the display screen, as you can see above, it shows the output and what both pads (left and right) show. This is crucial as it gives us a preview of what we come up with and allows us to see our craft and what we want to change about it. On the right hand side, we see the Project menu which is where you add the after effects like sound, background music or modify the objects used. This is what you do after you have the foundations for the game and laid out the settings.
In Construct 3, an object is a core element that makes up your game or app, like sprites, buttons, or text. Objects can have properties like position and size, and behaviours such as movement or collision detection. They can interact with other objects, respond to user input, and trigger actions like animations, sound effects, or changes in the game state. Objects define the elements in your project and their interactions, controlled through events to create dynamic and interactive experiences.
Construct 3 has behaviours, behaviours are pre-built sets of instructions that define how objects interact and respond within the game or application. They allow developers to easily add functionality to objects without needing to write complex code. Examples of behaviours include platform movement, for characters that can walk and jump, physics, for simulating gravity and collisions and pathfinding, for AI-controlled characters to navigate a level. By applying behaviours to objects, developers can quickly prototype and create dynamic, interactive experiences. The flexibility of combining multiple behaviours on a single object further enhances the creative possibilities within the game development process.
Self Evaluation:
Firstly, I found the experience great. From creating to coding and testing out the game however I don't see myself willfully using this newly obtained knowledge as it just doesn't interest me or align with the type of career I would like to pursue. I much prefer filming and animation over game coding or anything to do with games. What I did well was sufficiently producing a game that works and makes sense although I could've added sound to the game and sync it with the algorithm.
DDS - Planning for Game Project
PyxelEdit Task
I started off drawing the helmet then continued to draw a face I'm not entirely sure how to draw facial features so i thought about leaving it blank. This is supposed to be a medieval soldier, from the Scandinavian region.
Game Project - Idea generation & Planning
Our references
As of right now, I've successfully prepared the sound effects and sorted them into specific files. The only thing that I've left outstanding is converting them into the suitable file type.
Construct 3 Game
Evaluation - Reflective journal 20th Jan
For the game project, after long consideration of the role, I was assigned the sound department. Where I would scout and sample sound effects for the game as well as music for the background and home page. Matching audio to enhance the atmosphere. My initial response to this was mixed because I like working alone as there's less room for errors and feuds, I liked that it was sound design as I have alot of fun when creating sounds for my stop motions.
My game project didn't really change from what I noticed. The idea was to always make it a combat-based game however super mario bros definitely influenced my game, from the enemies to the very character, it follows the same format as super mario bros. During the project, there weren't any issues all around but for me, I had punctual issues like not sending the sounds to Kaleb on time (he managed the animation) and reviewing it with him. On the other hand, Kaleb and Victoria did a very good job managing the animation and graphic arts. In the end, I overcame the issues by focusing more on being team-orientated and less individualistic.
Since I'm already experienced in sound design in stop motion it did seem effortless however I did learn about the diversity in sound as my stop motions are centralised around realism and normality. Having cartoon sounds in the game broadend my views on sounds appropriate for such projects. The influence on the visuals was super mario bros and streetfighter. After discussing as a group we figured since it was combat-based/surreal, we should give it more of a fantastical appearance. Just like Ryu and Ken, our character was adorned in gritty fighting attire. The background and some enemies was adimently suggested by Victoria and masterfully executed by Kaleb.
From an honest look on the shortcomings, I feel like we should've made more of a challenge to the level, where the player tries to overcome harder obsticles for example, being trapped and overwhelmed with enemies and having to fight through and push to the end then well commended with a powerful tool that could help them in the next levels.
The audience feedback did reveal some flaws which is very similar to what I had said earlier regarding the difficulty on the levels. A lot of people said the levels need more challenges and lore. Aryan had suggested symbolism to indicate some information about our character, who he is, where he comes from. Others asked for better storytelling and suggested more history however a lot of people asked for more challenges and obstacles as it was too easy or easily overcame.
My overall view of the project is mixed. I believe I worked well in a team, as I've stated previously I prefer working individually as I find it easier to get on with my work and assignments. The team ethic was great, we all communicated well with one another and completed our tasks, I also learnt a lot about sound design and the diversity in it as well as not focusing so much about the realism and normality of sounds, this is good because it broadend my take on the different types of sounds. On the other hand I didn't enjoy the subject as a whole as my interests aren't in game design but in filming however this is a good learning curve as it shows me there are things I'll need to do for media and filming and it all depends how I can work around it and adapt to abnormal scenarios or situations.
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