What else is there to do?In the beginning of march, a flu-like disease known as COVID-19 began to sweep across our world, shattering our society and changing it forever. As more people became infected, more and more placed began to shut down, leaving us with nothing to do, except stay home and play video games. And that is the reason why the video game industry is thriving right now, is because there really isn't much to do. Sorry casinos, your anti-gaming spray doesnt work, simply because what else is there to do. Until the lockdown is over, what else is there to do? Why shouldn't I play video games during this time, as they can help me focus somewhere else rather than the pandemic. How long will this last?Even though the industry may be thriving now, later on, it may not be doing as well. This is simply for the reason that there is no development on many new projects, since work would need to be done in studio, however, some games that do not require this may still be released, which likely means that the industry won't die during the pandemic, fortunately. One example of a new project released at "just the right moment" is Riot Game's Valorant, which entered beta testing in May, as production had already concluded on it. It's not just video games. The consoles needed to play some of these new-generation games could be delayed, since manufacturing has probably been delayed due to social distancing guidelines, which could mean that the console's release date could be pushed back, and many more games with it. To summarize...
ReferencesSmith, Noah. “The Giants of the Video Game Industry Have Thrived in the Pandemic. Can the Success Continue?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 May 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/05/12/video-game-industry-coronavirus/.
Bayliss, Ben. “Online Casino Selling Irritated Partners Strange Anti-Gaming Spray...” DualShockers, DualShockers, 29 Apr. 2020, www.dualshockers.com/anti-gaming-spray-strange-product-from-casino/.
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So what is this aboutXbox vs. PlayStation: The Console Wars. Fanboys, industry analysts and game journalists alike love them. The steady chatter about who’s winning and losing rises to a roaring level when Sony and PlayStation are set to release a new console generation. This year is no exception, the clamor has already begun. Except this year is an exception and only one company is involved. The console wars are a series of events that correlate to one company releasing an innovative product and leaving the rivals behind. The rivals will then release a product that rivals or surpasses the original and the cycle repeats. But this time is ending for the video game industry. The days of Playstation vs xbox are beginning to seem like bygone days and here is why. It is simple yet shocking. So why are the console wars ending?The console wars are ending simply because consoles themselves are becoming obsolete and unstylish. Unfortunately for PlayStation fans, Sony's product does not match up to what Amazon and Google are making. But fortunately for fans of Microsoft's products, it is moving into this new age of gaming called cloud gaming. Cloud gaming is a field of gaming in which the games data is stored on a cloud or a virtual storage and enables multiplayer through it.That is where the real competition now lies. Gone are the days of LAN parties and come are the days of computer gaming, which uses the cloud. So what does this mean for Sony? It likely will mean very little in the here and now, but as more gamers switch away from consoles to the cloud, Sony will likely lose money on their PlayStation and will likely be forced to abandon it or lose even more money. To sum it up...
ReferencesMurnane, Kevin. “There Is No Console War Because Xbox Moved On And Left PlayStation Behind.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 9 Feb. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/kevinmurnane/2020/02/09/there-is-no-console-war-because-xbox-moved-on-and-left-playstation-behind/#6019d6074c23.
So what are these unions?The Communications Workers of America is a labor union created to protect the rights of those in the telecommunications and information technology, and it seeks to protect the rights of telecommunication and information technology workers. The group started out in 1938 as the National Federation of Telephone workers and has since grown to over 700,000 members, and has plans to expand to the game industry. They also organize worker strikes, having organized over 13 since 1955, and is headquartered in Washington D.C What will they do in the game industry?The major significance of this potential move would be to bring a labor union to an industry that is largely devoid of such an organization. According to the Hollywood Reporter, "Nearly half (47 percent) of workers polled in the 2019 Game Developers Conference "State of the Industry" survey supported staffers' calls to unionize. And game workers are becoming increasingly vocal about their workplaces. A staff walkout last May at League of Legends maker Riot Games roiled the industry over the company's forced arbitration policy disclosed in a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and gender pay disparity. (Riot settled claims in August.) And Blizzard incited ire inside and outside of its Irvine offices when it suspended a professional Hearthstone player following pro-Hong Kong protester statements in October.". This shows that many more workers are gaining an interest in idea of unionizing due to "unjust policies", which further inform us that workers will likely welcome this with open arms. However, there are some skeptics including Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, who is unsure of the potential consequences unionizing would bring upon the industry. It is also important to note that CWA is willing to work with Game Workers Unite, a group that wants to unionize the game industry. To sum it up, even experts are unsure about the potential consequences of unionization. To sum it up...
ReferencesShanley, Patrick. “Game Makers Stare Down Major Union Drive.” The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/video-game-makers-stare-down-major-union-drive-1269510.
“Communications Workers of America.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Workers_of_America. “About.” Communications Workers of America, 16 Sept. 2019, cwa-union.org/about. So what group is becoming into video games?The answer to this question may surprise you. It appears that the oldies, otherwise known as the 50+ generation or the Baby Boomers, are actually the fastest growing group of gamers, according to a new study by the AARP. One example of how this is happening is in senior living houses, digital bowling is now becoming commonplace.. This rapid increase in senior playing video games is further showcased by the seismic shift of 50+ people playing video games, in 2016 only 40 million 50+ people played video games, In 2019, that number skyrocketed to about 44% of oldies, more than 50 million people! Senior citizens alone spent 4 billion dollars on video games in 2019, which further showcases this groups rapid interest in video games. So why is this happening?Senior citizens are getting more exposed to video games and are picking them up as a hobby. There are many possible reasons for this. One,many of these old people have seen kids play them and may have thought that they looked fun. Second, due to the increased usage of mobile devices, more old people have access to these devices, which lets them be exposed to video game ads. Since a lot of these old people have facebook accounts, video game companies may start there. But why invest in boomers. As the Baby boom generation is getting older, theo population of those over 50 is rapidly increasing, which is showcased by a Harvard study which showed that 34% of the U.S population is in this age group, which makes them a very lucrative group for video game companies to target. To sum it up...
ReferencesRodriguez, Maya. “Number of 50+ Adults Playing Video Games Is Soaring.” WFTS, 9 Jan. 2020, www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/older-adults-becoming-big-business-in-the-video-game-industry.
What are the working conditionsMany veteran developers state that the conditions vary from "amazing" to "deplorable". Usually, video game developers offer unique work perks, such as free healthcare and insurance. However, there are many downsides to the game industry's working. Although game companies may provide unique benefits to their workers, their working conditions are usually terrible due to long work hours exceeding 16 hours to exploiting workers for their work during crunch time with no extra pay. So why are working conditions so badIn the game industry, the working conditions are usually terrible due to long work hours exceeding 16 hours to exploiting their workers during crunch time for little to no pay. One such example of why workers are exploited is due to the workers generally being younger and not able to fight back against bad working conditions. One such example of these long work times is evident by an article from the CBC where it states, "...16-hour days, seven days a week, sometimes for months at a time. It's a long-standing feature of the video game industry that is often presented as mandatory, sometimes without overtime pay.". This shows that video game companies are forcing people to work overtime and with little overtime pay. One such example of how crunch can be very detrimental to people is how workers are unable to have a life outside the workplace, as evident by the story of Osama Dorias, in which he couldn't buy his son the diapers, because he was rarely home. To sum it up, the working conditions in the game industry are usually terrible and need to be changed. To sum it up...
References“'I Just Broke down Crying': Canadian Video Game Creators Face Gruelling 'Crunch' Hours | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 30 Apr. 2019, www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/burnout-crunch-canada-1.5109599.
“As Canada's Video Game Industry Booms, Spotlight Turns to Working Conditions | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 23 Nov. 2019, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/migs-2019-workers-rights-1.5368055. So what's happening?The game industry is currently undergoing a seismic shift in the way it makes money. New methods are being tested every day to try to figure out the best way to give video game companies the most amount of profit in our ever-changing world. Although video game companies are still trying to maximize their profit, they are now moving away from pay to play games to free to play and using third party in-game markets First of all, video game companies are moving away from a pay to play model to a free to play model. One such example of how this generates revenue is due to the games being played more since you don't have to pay to get the game, and since this enables many new players to join, the companies can make in app purchases more accessible to the audience. This is shown by games such as Fortnite and PUBG, which are free to play and use in AP purchases to generate revenue Another way based on the previous way of using the free to play model is to hire an outside company to create an ingame market. By doing this, Company A who hired Company B pays them to create the in app purchase or trading shop, and money that they make gives a share of the money they earn on the market back to the original company, which will in the future help to stimulate this growth To sum it up...
ReferencesKoksal, Ilker. “Video Gaming Industry & Its Revenue Shift.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 Nov. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/ilkerkoksal/2019/11/08/video-gaming-industry--its-revenue-shift/#576c5ebb663e.
So what is happening? - ContextThe gaming industry and the popularity of e-sports is causing tech giants, like Apple and Google, to create special streaming services for these events. These companies move into e-sports is proven to be a good business move by the statistic that by 2022, the gaming industry will generate 196 billion dollars in revenue. This shows that the game industry is going upwards at a fast rate, as in 2018 alone it made over 135 billion dollars. That is a projected increase of 61 billion dollars, which shows that video games are a fast growing market Thoughts on this moveIn this present day, the video game industry is one of the most fast growing industries in the world due to the economic value and the increased popularity of these video games. Although the video game industry may not be the most lucrative business presently, it will be in the not-so-distant future, due to it's increased popularity and due to this popularity, more money to be made, and will be a great benefit to society. First, the video game industry is getting a large increase in the popularity due to it's target of younger people, as evident by a research project by Tapjoy which finds that 27 percent of video gamers are 13-17, and that 29 percent of video gamers are between the ages of 18 and 34, which shows that video games will be increasing in popularity in the near future. Second, video games have the potential to create new jobs. This is evident by the fact that until very recently, you had a hard time making money playing video games, but due to apps like YouTube monetizing video games and their creators, there is now a way of new income for gamers alone. To sum it up, video games present lucrative financial opporitunities and are a great benefit to society. To sum it up...
ReferencesWebb, Kevin. “The $120 Billion Gaming Industry Is Going through More Change than It Ever Has before, and Everyone Is Trying to Cash In.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 1 Oct. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/video-game-industry-120-billion-future-innovation-2019-9.
Duran, H.B. “How Different Generations Play Video Games, From Platforms To Genres.” AList, AList Daily, 22 July 2017, www.alistdaily.com/strategy/different-generations-play-video-games-platforms-genres/. What is this belief? What are my thoughts?In this modern age, many of us have conflicting viewpoints on video games, their message they give to society and their overall physical health that they provide us with. Many people are divided whether restrictions should be placed on them, like limiting or all together removing in-app purchases, one feature that has been highly controversial lately. However, some people view playing video games as satisfying an addiction. Although many people, especially mental and other health experts, fear that video games are a means to satisfying one's craving for these pieces of art, the people who play these video games are just seeking kinship and bonds with people who are just like them and like similar things to them. Video games are not a means to satisfy one's craving for digital media. One such example of this kinship is in "internet cafes around the world games such as League of Legends, Dota 2 and Fortnite have become a cultural phenomenon, bringing young people from different regions and religions together and bridging divides. Slang, inside jokes and dance moves flow out of them as if they were a proto-society.". This shows that video games have a way to bring us together and do good, not bad. Second, it is not a mental health problem. This is shown in an article by The Guardian in which it states "more than 125 colleges in the US have esports scholarships, with more than $9m awarded to students since 2017.". This shows us that even universities are not trying to combat video games and e sports, and welcoming them into society, which shows they are not a mental disorder. To sum it up...
ReferencesGera, Emily. “Don't Fear the Rise of Fortnite and Other Video Games – They Bring Young People Together| Emily Gera.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 9 Oct. 2019, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/09/fear-video-gaming-fans-addiction.
So what are compound objects and what do they do?Compound objects combine to or more primitives or splines into one single object. There are six major types of compound objects which are ProBoolean, Blobmesh, Loft, Procutter, Scatter, and Terrain. Proboolean combines two or more objects using the removal of parts of an object, removing all but the intersections or combining the two objects into one figure without removing any parts of the figure. Blobmesh uses metaballs to take objects and transform them into more rounded and liquid. Loft uses one shape to wrap around a line. The ProCutter tool is very similar to the ProBoolean so much so that the ProCutter tool is used very much like the Subtraction part of ProBoolean. The scatter tool takes one object and duplicates it and randomly places it in a scene. The Terrain compound object takes two or more freehand lines and combines them into a new object which can be used as terrain. So which one is the bestAlthough all compound objects have moments where they are the go-to and the best, the best compound object for video game design is Terrain. This is because of it's ability to create a good majority of the environment, as evident by our Unit Project where we are using the modifier quite heavily to create our landscape. Another reason why Terrain is the best compound object is it's versatility. With modifiers like ProBoolean, one can only merge, add, intersect and subtract whereas with Terrain you can create all kinds of land forms and structures; the possibilities are endless. To sum it up, Terrain is the best compound object, as it has the most uses. To sum it up...
What is it?In short, it is a high-profile subscription service that will feature games funded by Apple. But it is also more than that, as shown by the fact that this subscription service will feature games by manufacturers including but not excluding Square Enix, SEGA and Konami. It will feature many well-known games like Frogger (by Konami) and Rayman (by Ubisoft). By having these familiar names, Apple hopes it will draw in people to get them, and for Apple to make money. It will be much cheaper than other subscription services like Ubisoft's UPlay, but will still feature many potential problems like in-app purchases. My thoughts on itAlthough Apple's new Arcade subscription service may seem innocent at first, it promotes apps that have numerous in-app purchases. Apple's support of this is evident in an article by Wired.com which states "Take a quick look at the top-performing apps in the App Store. Each of the top 50 grossing games has in-app purchases. Forty-one of the 50 most downloaded free games have them. Even among games that you pay up front for—anywhere from $1 to $8—37 of the top 50 will still pester you for more money as you play.". This shows that by letting these apps stay on their store, they are supporting this aggressive marketing. To sum it up, Apple's new subscription service will only exacerbate an already growing problem today. To sum it up...
ReferencesBarrett, Brian. “How Apple Arcade Will Reshape Mobile Gaming.” Wired, Conde Nast, 20 Sept. 2019, www.wired.com/story/apple-arcade-reshape-mobile-gaming/.
Shanley, Patrick. “Apple Takes Big Swing at Gaming as Subscription Service Arcade Launches.” The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Sept. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/apple-arcade-a-primer-tech-giants-new-gaming-service-1240401. |
AuthorHello my name is Owen Howard. I am a junior currently enrolled at Durham School of the Arts and this blog will document my experiences in this class. Categories
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