The Sims FreePlay CSP - Audience and Industries
Create a new blogpost called 'The Sims FreePlay CSP - Audience and Industries blog tasks' and complete the following tasks.
Audience
Read this App Store description and the customer reviews for The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:
1) What game information is provided on this page? Pick out three elements you think are important in terms of making the game appeal to an audience.
3) Read a few of the user reviews. What do they suggest about the audience pleasures of the game?
-'Building the houses are so cool, and creating the Sims is an awesome addition instead of being stuck with lame ones.'
2) Why was development company Maxis initially not interested in The Sims?
The board of directors thought that ‘doll houses were for girls, and girls didn’t play video games’. Luckily for Wright – and for Maxis in general – publisher Electronic Arts (which had bought Maxis in 1997) saw potential in the idea – something that would appeal to both boys and girls, and men and women alike.
3) What is ‘modding’? How does ‘modding’ link to Henry Jenkins’ idea of ‘textual poaching’?
A culture wherein players were able to modify game assets by manipulating the game code (a practice called ‘modding’)
4) Look specifically at p136. Note down key quotes from Jenkins, Pearce and Wright on this page.
Wright saying: ‘We were probably responsible for the first million or so units sold but it was the community which really brought it to the next level’
As Pearce has noted, ‘The original Sims series has the most vibrant emergent fan culture of a single-player game in history’
Audience
Read this App Store description and the customer reviews for The Sims FreePlay and answer the following questions:
1) What game information is provided on this page? Pick out three elements you think are important in terms of making the game appeal to an audience.
-Pictures of the game
-Customize every aspect of your Sims' lives
-Build a town and create your own virtual world
2) How does the game information on this page reflect the strong element of participatory culture in The Sims?
There are some events in the game, which could mean that some of the players may want to participate in them.
-Customize every aspect of your Sims' lives
-Build a town and create your own virtual world
2) How does the game information on this page reflect the strong element of participatory culture in The Sims?
There are some events in the game, which could mean that some of the players may want to participate in them.
3) Read a few of the user reviews. What do they suggest about the audience pleasures of the game?
-'Building the houses are so cool, and creating the Sims is an awesome addition instead of being stuck with lame ones.'
-'I love all of the jobs and places that you can get on the map because they are all unique in their own special way and they all hold an awesome activity like going to work or buying something.'
Participatory culture
Read this academic journal article - The Sims: A Participatory Culture 14 Years On. Answer the following questions:
1) What did The Sims designer Will Wright describe the game as?
Will Wright describes as akin to ‘a train set or a doll’s house where each person comes to it with their own interest and picks their own goals’
Participatory culture
Read this academic journal article - The Sims: A Participatory Culture 14 Years On. Answer the following questions:
1) What did The Sims designer Will Wright describe the game as?
Will Wright describes as akin to ‘a train set or a doll’s house where each person comes to it with their own interest and picks their own goals’
2) Why was development company Maxis initially not interested in The Sims?
The board of directors thought that ‘doll houses were for girls, and girls didn’t play video games’. Luckily for Wright – and for Maxis in general – publisher Electronic Arts (which had bought Maxis in 1997) saw potential in the idea – something that would appeal to both boys and girls, and men and women alike.
3) What is ‘modding’? How does ‘modding’ link to Henry Jenkins’ idea of ‘textual poaching’?
A culture wherein players were able to modify game assets by manipulating the game code (a practice called ‘modding’)
4) Look specifically at p136. Note down key quotes from Jenkins, Pearce and Wright on this page.
Wright saying: ‘We were probably responsible for the first million or so units sold but it was the community which really brought it to the next level’
Jenkins notes, ‘there were already more than fifty fan Web sites dedicated to The Sims. Today, there are thousands’
7) How have Sims online communities developed over the last 20 years?
'The original Sims game is now hopelessly outdated. Its last expansion pack was released over ten years ago, in 2003. One might well question why anyone would still want to play it at all. But for some fans of the original game, it is still regarded as the purest form of the game, uninhibited by the more goal-orientated gameplay of the later games.'
8) What does the writer suggest The Sims will be remembered for?
'But what it will be remembered for, I think, is for the cult following that it engendered well beyond the usual lifespan of a popular computer game; and also for the culture of digital production it helped to pioneer, one that remains such a staple of fan and game modding communities today.'
Read this Henry Jenkins interview with James Paul Gee, writer of Woman as Gamers: The Sims and 21st Century Learning (2010).
1) Why does James Paul Gee see The Sims as an important game?
'There has been lots about modding for games like Half-Life and its connections to technical skills--and indeed this is important. But much less has been written about modding the Sims to create challenges and game play that is simultaneously in the game world, in the real world, and in writing things like graphic novels.'
2) What does the designer of The Sims, Will Wright, want players to do with the game?
He wants players to 'empower people to think like designers, to organize themselves around the game to become learn new skills that extend beyond the game, and to express their own creativity.'
3) Do you agree with the view that The Sims is not a game – but something else entirely?
I would say that the Sims is more that a game; it is a creative platform when you can live a simulated life. Although it can also be argues that it is a game and many other games can offer the same type of escapism too.
Industries
Electronic Arts & Sims FreePlay industries focus
Read this Pocket Gamer interview with EA’s Amanda Schofield, Senior Producer on The Sims FreePlay at EA's Melbourne-based Firemonkeys studio. Answer the following questions:
1) How has The Sims FreePlay evolved since launch?
It started out as a game where you could control 16 Sims, have a pet dog and a career and that was most of the game. It hadn’t yet introduced getting married, much less having children, and now it’s this rich world which covers every aspect of the Sims’ lives.
2) Why does Amanda Schofield suggest ‘games aren’t products any more’?
She suggests that they’re services built in a partnership with our players. This means that functions like customer support and community management are a critical part of the game development process and must be embedded with our game.
3) What does she say about The Sims gaming community?
She says the community is very active and always hungry to see more features and content in the game.
4) How has EA kept the game fresh and maintained the active player base?
After that, some of our bigger beats have been things like professions to evolve the game and keep it fresh. Professions have a lot more choice and strategy then most other parts of the game and are paired with a core part of the game that we knew players wanted to see more depth in.
5) What examples of intertextuality are discussed in relation to The Sims? (Look for “replicating works from popular culture”)
From the early days of the game’s release, skins depicting characters from cult media such as
Star Trek, Star Wars, The X-Files and Japanese anime and manga were extremely popular. If one wished to recreate the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, all one had to do was search the internet looking for the relevant website.
From the early days of the game’s release, skins depicting characters from cult media such as
Star Trek, Star Wars, The X-Files and Japanese anime and manga were extremely popular. If one wished to recreate the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, all one had to do was search the internet looking for the relevant website.
6) What is ‘transmedia storytelling’ and how does The Sims allow players to create it?
Transmedia storytelling: a process wherein the primary text encoded in an official commercial product could be dispersed over multiple media.
The Sims helped to pioneer other transmedia, narrative practices such as gamics (comics made from game screenshots) and machinima (films made from captured game animations)
Transmedia storytelling: a process wherein the primary text encoded in an official commercial product could be dispersed over multiple media.
The Sims helped to pioneer other transmedia, narrative practices such as gamics (comics made from game screenshots) and machinima (films made from captured game animations)
7) How have Sims online communities developed over the last 20 years?
'The original Sims game is now hopelessly outdated. Its last expansion pack was released over ten years ago, in 2003. One might well question why anyone would still want to play it at all. But for some fans of the original game, it is still regarded as the purest form of the game, uninhibited by the more goal-orientated gameplay of the later games.'
8) What does the writer suggest The Sims will be remembered for?
'But what it will be remembered for, I think, is for the cult following that it engendered well beyond the usual lifespan of a popular computer game; and also for the culture of digital production it helped to pioneer, one that remains such a staple of fan and game modding communities today.'
Read this Henry Jenkins interview with James Paul Gee, writer of Woman as Gamers: The Sims and 21st Century Learning (2010).
1) Why does James Paul Gee see The Sims as an important game?
'There has been lots about modding for games like Half-Life and its connections to technical skills--and indeed this is important. But much less has been written about modding the Sims to create challenges and game play that is simultaneously in the game world, in the real world, and in writing things like graphic novels.'
2) What does the designer of The Sims, Will Wright, want players to do with the game?
He wants players to 'empower people to think like designers, to organize themselves around the game to become learn new skills that extend beyond the game, and to express their own creativity.'
3) Do you agree with the view that The Sims is not a game – but something else entirely?
I would say that the Sims is more that a game; it is a creative platform when you can live a simulated life. Although it can also be argues that it is a game and many other games can offer the same type of escapism too.
Industries
Electronic Arts & Sims FreePlay industries focus
Read this Pocket Gamer interview with EA’s Amanda Schofield, Senior Producer on The Sims FreePlay at EA's Melbourne-based Firemonkeys studio. Answer the following questions:
1) How has The Sims FreePlay evolved since launch?
It started out as a game where you could control 16 Sims, have a pet dog and a career and that was most of the game. It hadn’t yet introduced getting married, much less having children, and now it’s this rich world which covers every aspect of the Sims’ lives.
2) Why does Amanda Schofield suggest ‘games aren’t products any more’?
She suggests that they’re services built in a partnership with our players. This means that functions like customer support and community management are a critical part of the game development process and must be embedded with our game.
3) What does she say about The Sims gaming community?
She says the community is very active and always hungry to see more features and content in the game.
4) How has EA kept the game fresh and maintained the active player base?
After that, some of our bigger beats have been things like professions to evolve the game and keep it fresh. Professions have a lot more choice and strategy then most other parts of the game and are paired with a core part of the game that we knew players wanted to see more depth in.
5) How many times has the game been installed and how much game time in years have players spent playing the game? These could be great introductory statistics in an exam essay on this topic.
200 million installs of The Sims Free Play to date. Players have spent 78,000 hours playing the game.
Read this blog on how EA is ruining the franchise (or not) due to its downloadable content. Answer the following questions:
1) What audience pleasures for The Sims are discussed at the beginning of the blog?
It lets players to create “Sims” with their own unique personalities and ambitions and take complete control of their lives. Players can also use the game to experiment with architecture, decoration and landscaping.
2) What examples of downloadable content are presented?
-The Sims 4: My First Pet Stuff
-The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs
3) How did Electronic Arts enrage The Sims online communities with expansion packs and DLC?
Fans made online petitions for the pack to be free DLC, called for others’ refusal to purchase it and requested that the $9.99 DLC fee be donated to a local animal shelter, instead. In addition, some popular Sims video creators on YouTube expressed their disappointment in the pack and the development team.
4) What innovations have appeared in various versions of The Sims over the years?
There has been different innovations such as: “The Sims 2” refined the virtual families, allowing players to create multi-generational legacies. Developers gave players full access to every inch of a hyper-realistic world in “The Sims 3.” Capability to travel between multiple neighborhoods, download other players’ creations within seconds through the “Gallery” and customize gender options to improve the level of diversity present in the game.
5) In your opinion, do expansion packs like these exploit a loyal audience or is it simply EA responding to customer demand?
I would say it could potentially exploit their audience especially because they give the game for free but make it limited by making audiences pay for extra, better things in the expansion packs.
The ‘Freemium’ gaming model
Read this Business Insider feature on freemium gaming and multiplayer games. Answer the following questions:
1) Note the key statistics in the first paragraph.
Their in-app purchases account for about 70-80% of the $10 billion or more in iOS revenue each year.
2) Why does the freemium model incentivise game developers to create better and longer games?
It's difficult for developers to constantly improve the game experience. With freemium games, players are continuously spending money on the game, as opposed to paying once and forgetting about it. Developers are then incentivized to put that stream of revenue directly back into the game to improve it.
3) What does the article suggest regarding the possibilities and risks to the freemium model in future?
-The freemuim model has seen to be extremely profitable.
200 million installs of The Sims Free Play to date. Players have spent 78,000 hours playing the game.
Read this blog on how EA is ruining the franchise (or not) due to its downloadable content. Answer the following questions:
1) What audience pleasures for The Sims are discussed at the beginning of the blog?
It lets players to create “Sims” with their own unique personalities and ambitions and take complete control of their lives. Players can also use the game to experiment with architecture, decoration and landscaping.
2) What examples of downloadable content are presented?
-The Sims 4: My First Pet Stuff
-The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs
3) How did Electronic Arts enrage The Sims online communities with expansion packs and DLC?
Fans made online petitions for the pack to be free DLC, called for others’ refusal to purchase it and requested that the $9.99 DLC fee be donated to a local animal shelter, instead. In addition, some popular Sims video creators on YouTube expressed their disappointment in the pack and the development team.
4) What innovations have appeared in various versions of The Sims over the years?
There has been different innovations such as: “The Sims 2” refined the virtual families, allowing players to create multi-generational legacies. Developers gave players full access to every inch of a hyper-realistic world in “The Sims 3.” Capability to travel between multiple neighborhoods, download other players’ creations within seconds through the “Gallery” and customize gender options to improve the level of diversity present in the game.
5) In your opinion, do expansion packs like these exploit a loyal audience or is it simply EA responding to customer demand?
I would say it could potentially exploit their audience especially because they give the game for free but make it limited by making audiences pay for extra, better things in the expansion packs.
The ‘Freemium’ gaming model
Read this Business Insider feature on freemium gaming and multiplayer games. Answer the following questions:
1) Note the key statistics in the first paragraph.
Their in-app purchases account for about 70-80% of the $10 billion or more in iOS revenue each year.
2) Why does the freemium model incentivise game developers to create better and longer games?
It's difficult for developers to constantly improve the game experience. With freemium games, players are continuously spending money on the game, as opposed to paying once and forgetting about it. Developers are then incentivized to put that stream of revenue directly back into the game to improve it.
3) What does the article suggest regarding the possibilities and risks to the freemium model in future?
-The freemuim model has seen to be extremely profitable.
-Freemium games have generated most of their criticism over the mobile gaming experience. Last year, South Park famously skewered the concept as a money grab that preys on addicts and leads to boring games.
Regulation – PEGI
Research the following using the Games Rating Authority website - look at the videos and FAQ section.
1) How does the PEGI ratings system work and how does it link to UK law?
PEGI age ratings appear on games supplied in boxed form as well as on many online storefronts where games can be downloaded. The ratings are there to help parents decide whether a game is suitable for their children to play.
2) What are the age ratings and what content guidance do they include?
The PEGI age ratings are: 3, 7, 12, 16, 18. The age ratings let you know whether a game contains certain elements, such as violence, sex, drugs or bad language, that might be harmful, upsetting, disturbing or just unsuitable for children below that age.
3) What is the PEGI process for rating a game?
Regulation – PEGI
Research the following using the Games Rating Authority website - look at the videos and FAQ section.
1) How does the PEGI ratings system work and how does it link to UK law?
PEGI age ratings appear on games supplied in boxed form as well as on many online storefronts where games can be downloaded. The ratings are there to help parents decide whether a game is suitable for their children to play.
The PEGI age ratings are: 3, 7, 12, 16, 18. The age ratings let you know whether a game contains certain elements, such as violence, sex, drugs or bad language, that might be harmful, upsetting, disturbing or just unsuitable for children below that age.
3) What is the PEGI process for rating a game?
Examination process:
1) Content declaration assessment
2) Submission materials
3) Video footage examination
4) Game examination
5)Recieving the PEGI lisense
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