Horizon Forbidden West: Audience and Industry
Audience
Look at this YouGov blog on the console gaming audience and answer the following questions:
1) What statistics can you find for the number of male / female players for the major consoles?
-PlayStation 5 (68% male; 29% female)
-Xbox Series X|S (68% vs. 32%)
-Switch has the highest proportion of women playing its consoles, with 54% of gamers identifying as male to 46% identifying as female.
2) What is the difference between 'hardcore' and 'casual' gamers - and which do you think would play Horizon Forbidden West?
“Hardcore” – those who say they take video games seriously, or play competitively.
''Casual'' - those that take video games less serious and don't play as often.3) What are the different reasons YouGov researched for why players play games? Which of these would apply to Horizon Forbidden West?
The reasons are:
-To relax and wind down
-To pass the time
-To escape from reality for a while
-To challenge myself
-To complete challenges and puzzles
-To interact with games from around the world
-To do something I can't in real life
-To have an emotional connection to a story
-To gain mastery of something within the game
-Out of habit
-To create a world of my own
Look at the PlayStation website page for Horizon Forbidden West. Complete the following tasks:
1) How is the game promoted to an audience?
There are videos on the gameplay, trailer, the game over view, key features and a section on why you should play which encourages audiences to download it and play it.
2) What are the key features for the game listed on the site?
Brave an expansive open world, A majestic frontier, Confront new dangers and Unravel startling mysteries.
3) What information does the website offer players about the game world and characters? Give a few examples.
The website talks about game characters and their backgrounds such as Aloy, Sylens, Erend, Regella, Alva, Tilda and more. It also talks about machines of Horizon Forbidden West and their abilities.
4) What spin-offs and additional content are available as part of the Horizon franchise?
The spin off was Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores where players go beyond Aloys adventures and main quest towards the Burning shores. Additional content shows papercraft guides of machines, there are multiple cosplay guides as well as an official soundtrack.
5) Applying Henry Jenkins's work on fandom, what aspects of the website (you may need to scroll down) encourage fan activity and engagement with online Horizon communities?
There are many fan activities shown on the page such as how the cosplay guides and even papercraft engage an audience to go further than just playing the game. That even without being in the made up world you can engage with the character's and explore more into the background of them.
Read this Wired feature on Horizon Forbidden West's open world design. Answer the following questions:
1) Why did the writer enjoy Horizon Forbidden West?
The writer enjoys it because it tackles the concept of an open world incredibly well. ''To date, I’ve spent about 75 hours in the game, and even though I completed the main story a while ago, I’m still eager to spend time in its deliciously crafted world.''
2) How is Horizon Forbidden West structured for players when they first start the game?
It creates structure and a sense of the goals for gameplay—the ideal introduction to a game built around wide-open spaces.
3) Why does the writer feel HFW created a more successful open world game than The Witcher 3?
The writer said that once he arrived at a massive city, he realized it would take hours to traverse all of its streets, talk to all of its NPCs, and finish the quests.
Industries
Industry research
1) Research Sony PlayStation Studios.
2) What studios are part of Sony PlayStation Studios?
-Asobi
-Bend Studio
-Bluepoint Games
-Firesprite
-Firewalk Studios
-Guerilla Games
-Haven Studios
-Housemarque
-Insomniac
-London Studio
and more..
3) What notable games have they produced?
4) Now research Guerrilla Games. Look at the 'Explore' page in particular. Who owns Guerrilla Games and how does it reflect the modern videogames industry?
It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe.
5) Choose one of the 'Guerrilla Spotlight' features and write three things you learn about the videogames industry and/or Guerrilla Games from the interview.
It is an owned subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. Sony operates the PlayStation brand and the world's largest company in the video game industry showing its mainstream approach.
Read this USA Today feature on Guerrilla Games. Answer the following questions:
1) Which three companies merged to become Guerrilla Games?
Orange Games, Digital Infinity, and Formula Game Development.
2) What other games and franchises were created by Guerrilla Games?
3) How did Guerrilla maximise the Killzone franchise?
It was earmarked as a Sony-published title.
4) What did Sony sign with Guerrilla in 2004?
It was to ensure that all the titles it developed would appear only on PlayStation consoles.
5) How is Horizon Forbidden West described in the article and what is the next stage for the franchise?
Its described as a totally different games that bearing the scars of a mysterious lost civilization, a far future that looks like a distant past.
Regulation and PEGI
1) What is HFW's PEGI rating and what age rating do you feel would be appropriate? Why?
HFW is rated 16 which I could agree with due to the violence and fighting.
2) Why is regulating videogames difficult in the digital age?
It is much easier to get games that don't match your age especially since most people create accounts with different ages in order to bypass the system. This makes it hard to regulate games.
3) Are attitudes towards media content and regulation changing as a result of the internet? Explain your answer.
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