Lara Croft : Go

1) Who is Lara Croft and when did she first appear in a videogame?
Lara Croft or 'Tomb Raider' is the hero of the adventure game franchise 'Tomb Raider'. She first appeared in the original 1996 'Tomb Raider'
2) What classic films influenced the creation of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider games?
The 'Indianna Jones' franchise's generaL AESTHETIC AND COLOUR SCHEME CLEARLY INFLUENCED THE TOMB
3) How has Lara Croft and Tomb Raider moved beyond just being a video game?
Tomb Raider became a movie, starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft and it is due for a reboot in 2018, she also has been on magazine covers more frequently than any 1 supermodel. This shows that the franchise has become part of all pop culture not just video games.
4) What devices can you play Lara Croft Go on?
Lara Croft Go can be played on both phones and tablets.
5) What type of game is Lara Croft Go?
Lara Croft Go is a turn based puzzle game
6) How does Lara Croft Go use narrative (storyline)?
Lara Croft Go is divided into 3 stages and the basic story line is that Lara Croft is on a quest to defeat the evil Queen of Venom.
7) What iconography can be found in Lara Croft Go? How does this help communicate the sub-genre of videogame?
There are levers and tombs in the classic action adventure colour scheme of gold and green.
8) What other characters or enemies feature in the game?
Snakes and spiders are the other characters that appear in Lara Croft Go (except the title character L:ara Croft.) the main antagonist is The Queen of Venom.
9) What is the setting for Lara Croft Go? How does this compare to previous Lara Croft or Tomb Raider games? The setting of Lara Croft Go 
Lara Croft Go is set in the ancient ruins of the Amazonian jungle in earl
10) Read this BBC article on the history of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider. How has the character of Lara Croft evolved over the last 20 years? Lara Croft's original name was Lara Cruz and at first her body was very exaggerated to attract male audiences, then the vast majority of video game players.However, over 40% of players were female because women were not often represented in the main roles in videogames, fighting men and using weapons were typically acts only reserved for men.


Representation

1) How are women usually represented in videogames?
 Women are usually secondary characters in video games, if they are represented at all and are either in the 'damsel in distress' role where they are saved by a male protagonist like the Legend of Zelda games or any of the Super Mario franchise.
2) How does the character of Lara Croft reinforce female stereotypes in the media?
Lara Croft reinforces female stereotypes with her tight fitting clothing and exaggerated physique. Some may argue that she is not a representation of a strong female but rather a digital sex symbol made for the enjoyment of men.
3) How does the character of Lara Croft subvert female stereotypes in the media?
Lara Croft is strong, she hangs from cliffs and fights enemies, sometimes male ones, and is independent as she never relies on anyone but herself to save her.
4) Why do some people believe the videogames industry is sexist and needs to change?
The original target audience of video games were exclusively male and the video game industry is predominantly male so games often cater solely to male interests and if women are featured in games they are often sexualised, their body proportions wholly unrealistic and exaggerated and they usually just add visual pleasure ansd add little to the overall plot except to be sexualised or saved from danger
5) Do you think Lara Croft is an empowering feminist icon or just another objectified woman designed to appeal to male gamers? I think that Lara Croft is neither a feminist icon nor is she an objectified woman because I agree that show is strong and fearless which are attributes of an icon but in versions of the game, her trips are funded by her father, thus diminishing the independent aspect of her character and in regards to her costume, in some ways it is practical as she is in hot weather however I am almost certain that male protagonists wouldn't be dressed this way.


Industries

1) What does PEGI stand for?
Pan. European. Gaming. Information

2) What is PEGI's job?
PEGI is the European video game rating system who's job is to help costumers make informed decisions when buying video games and to make sure they are appropriate descriptors.

 3) Which company created Lara Croft Go?
Lara Croft Go was developed by Square Enix who developed Hitman Go, the game that inspired Lara Croft Go, a few years earlier.4) What two popular videogame franchises were combined to create Lara Croft Go?
The Hitman and Tomb Raider franchises.5) What else is part of the Lara Croft/Tomb Raider franchise?


Audience

1) Why might an audience enjoy playing Lara Croft Go?
Older audiences may have the pleasure of nostalgia as they may have played the original 1996 game or on of its many sequels and reboots.2) Where and when might an audience play a game like Lara Croft Go? Think about the device it is played on and the times of the day someone might want to play the game.
Lara Croft Go is a puzzle based phone and tablet game and since older audiences may play the game due to the nostalgia, they may play on the commute to work or waiting for the bus.3) How did Square Enix design Lara Croft to make it appealing to an audience?
Lara Croft is wearing clothes that match the action adventure colour scheme of gold and green which may remind the audience of films like Indiana Jones or the Mummy franchise and her hair is tied back in her signature ponytail.4) Which of Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory might apply to Lara Croft Go?
Diversion or entertainment, to distract yourself from your surroundings and pass time. Personal identity, being an independent woman and personal relationships, having an attachment to the character of Lara Croft and wanting to see what happens to her.5) Who is the target audience for Lara Croft Go? How does brand loyalty contribute to this target audience?
The target audience for Lara Croft Go is 25 to 45 year old men and women (perhaps more women than men as when casual gaming is concerned, more women than men play video games). They are old enough to remember the origins of the Tomb Raider franchise and are more likely to have loyalty to the franchise as they grew up with the character of Lara Croft.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Language
1) Watch some Lara Croft Go gameplay online or, even better, play the game yourself. How is the game constructed to attract and maintain the engagement of an audience?

2) How is narrative, character, iconography and setting used to create intertextuality? (Links to other genres and media texts)

Representation
1) Read this NME feature on the history of the Lara Croft character. Do you agree that she is now a 'feminist icon' rather than a 'trapezoid-boobed pinup'? What do these terms mean? I neither agree nor disagree that Lara Croft is now a feminist icon rather than a trapezoid boobed pinup because I don't believe that she is a particularly positive role model or just a digital sex icon. feminist icon- someone young girls should look up to because they're independent, strong and smart and subvert traditional female stereotypes. A trapezoid boobed pinup means someone that is just viewed as a mannequin with no substance and an exaggerated body shape, perpetuating outdated female ideals.
2) Have later versions of the Tomb Raider/Lara Croft franchise featured a less-sexualised version of the character? Does this suggest society is changing in its attitude towards women?
In the more recent models of Lara Croft/ Tomb Raider, she is depicted wearing trousers for the first time ever and her weapon looks more realistic and larger which shows that her being an action hero now overrides her original physical appeal.Industries
1) Why do videogame producers prefer the self-regulation of PEGI to government regulation? Why is videogame regulation increasingly important in the 21st century? Video game producers prefer PEGI over a government regulated scheme because it means that the regulations are less harsh and if one of their games goes against one of the regulations, the can fix it quietly without suffering the consequences of getting their game pulled from the market. Self regulation has increased in the 21st century because

2) Watch the full lecture embedded above: Distilling a franchise - the making of Lara Croft Go. How did the designers make conscious decisions based on previous franchises to create a successful game?

Audience
1) How has the marketing of Lara Croft/Tomb Raider franchise changed over the last 20 years.

2) Does Lara Croft Go target a female audience? Why do you think female gamers dominate the phone/tablet market? 

LR

1) WWW: This is a superb response - well done! Excellent detail and real understanding shown of the issues and concepts. Now we just need to add more flair for the 8/9 grade!

EBI: Make sure references to CSPs are always detailed and specific e.g. Kanya King CEO of the MOBOs.

Written english! Proffesional!

Revise serif and san serif.
2) 
Q1: 1
Q2:1
Q3:7
Q4:2
Q5:4
Q6:10

3) Five magazine cover conventions are : the main flash, sell lines, a headline, a cover image and a colour scheme

4) For Reveal I didn't include : .The quotes from reality television stars use controversy eg words like 'sex' 'jail' and  'stalker' to hint at the stories inside.
.Link between cover lines and images eg 'secret meetings' between Katy Price and Peter Andre  a well known divorced couple.
For Tatler I didn't include : .The use of strong makeup suggests luxury and socialising which has synergy with the cover lines  about socialising and 'aristos' which means aristocrats.
.The use of words like 'Millennial' and '21st century' make the magazine seem up to date as well as classy.

5) Nicola Adams, Ade Adepitan and Lady Leshurr. Nicola adams subverts the stereotype that women are weak as she is an Olympic boxer, Ade Adepitan subverts the stereotype that disabled people are not active because he is a wheelchair basketball player and Lady Leshurr also subverts the stereotype that women are submissive as she is a well known female grime artist who is well known for speaking out against issues in our society.

6) * On the other hand, many of the positions shown for women in the NHS blood campaign advert are stereotypical like the dancer or the fashionista, that are both positions that do not require university degrees thus perpetuating the stereotype that ethnic minorities are not as academic and that women are mostly interested in traditional female hobbies as no male dancer or fashionista was shown in the advert. This shows that although the representation of women in the Media has changed significantly over the years, in some subtle ways, they are still viewed as unequal to men.

Introduction to video games blog task

1) What were the first videogames like?
The first video games were very simplistic and basic, the very first video game called 'pong' featured no characters but simply was a table tennis simulator.

 2) How have video games changed over time?
Video games have become more and more like movies as time went on, they feature complex characters like Lara Croft and journey games became increasingly popular, especially on portable devices like the Gameboy where games like Pokemon could be played.

3) What do the most successful games have in common? Answer this in as much detail as you can. Think about audience pleasures - what do people like about playing videogames?
 The most successful video game franchises use nostalgia in their sequels by using similar visuals to previous games, others have an interesting premise or complex characters that audiences want to invest time in, this uses the audience pleasure of relationships. 

 4) What criticisms have been made towards videogames?
Video games have been criticised for promoting anti-social behaviour, especially in the past where people couldn't play with others online and have been critisised from promoting wrong behaviour like theft in the Grand Theft Auto games and Call of Duty

5) What is Fortnite: Battle Royale?
Fortnite: Battle Royale is a 100 player fight to the death in a surreal colourful life whrere the player only has 1 life to live, if they survive, they win. 6) How many Fortnite players are there worldwide?
There are 45 million Fortnite players worldwide.7) Why is it so popular? What are the audience pleasures of the game?
Fortnite is completely free on all devices so everyone can enjoy it, there is a colourful background and lack of gore so it can appeal to families with children and it is easy for beginners to pick up.

8) Copy and paste two comments from 'below the line' of the Guardian article - these are comments written by Guardian readers in response to the feature. Select one comment you agree with and one you disagree with and explain why.'A fantastic game for all the family. The violence is cartoon-like, not gratuitous or graphic. I limit my children to only playing the Playstation at the weekends. Simple.' I agree with this comment because it shows why Fortnite is a family friendly game."Shallow" It’s anything but shallow… I disagree with this as I think the premise of the game is reasonably shallow and in my opinion, there is little to no deep characterization.
 criticisms have been made towards videogames?

Revision for Advertising Assessment Grade 8/9 extensions

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Women in the 1950s are represented very differently in two of our advertising CSPs: OMO and Galaxy. What similarities and differences can you find by analysing the two products?

                                                  

OMO Representation of 1950s Women                                Galaxy Representation of 1950s Women      

Differences                                   

After the man offers Audrey Hepburn's character a ride, seemingly saving her but when she takes the hat off the bus driver and puts it on the head of Gregory Peck's character, she changes his character type from a hero to a sidekick, she is in ultimate control of the situation and she leads the narrative so she becomes the hero therefore subverting gender roles as the man is not in control of this situation wheras in the OMO advert, the speech bubble around the logo associated with superhero comics insinuates that the woman is being saved by how good the product is and the advert doesn't consider that the woman's hard work was 

  Similarities 

Both start off as 'Damsels in distress' the woman in the OMO advert not having bright white laundry and the woman in the galaxy advert being stuck in traffic.This pepetuates the steryotype that women always need rescuing.

Galaxy Advert CSP

1) Audrey Hepburn was a famous film actress in the 1950s and 1960s who starred in films such as Breakfast at Tiffany's and Roman Holiday.

2) Audrey Hepburn was selected for this advert so that older audiences have a feel of nostalgia, referring to the "good old days" when her movies were released, this makes many references to her film "Roman Holiday" due to the italian setting, retro cars and beautiful landscapes to create intertextuality which is when one media text - in this case, an advert relates to another - Hepburn's film "Roman Holiday." 

3)Audrey Hepburn is a timeless style icon associated with golden age Hollywood glamour.

4)The advert being set set in the 1950s provides the audience pleasure of nostalgia or a 'harking for yesterday' and will remind audiences of the good experiences they had watching Hepburn's film in their youth - thus enabling the audience to create a positive association with galaxy chocolate.
5) What is intertextuality?

6)  Hepburn's film "Roman Holiday" is referred to using scenery, retro cars and an actor that resembles Gregory Peck, her co star.

7) The Donor is the person who allows "Princess Anne" to take his hat, Princess Anne is the hero, the chocolate could be argued to be the princess character as it acts as the reward for the hero and Joe Bradley is the sidekick who helps the hero.

8)This links to Todorov's theory as there is an equilibrium, hepburn's character is taking a ride into town, a disequilibrium, her being stuck in traffic and a new equilibrium, her getting a ride from Peck's character 

9) A subverted representation of gender roles are shown as the woman  is the protagonist and leads the narrative and the driver is just a supporting character rather than vise versa.

10) The stereotype that women are submissive and live to support men's needs is subverted as the man supports the woman's needs by driving her and she has the power to change his role by giving him the hat, making her in control of the situation.

Women in the 1950s are represented very differently in two of our advertising CSPs: OMO and Galaxy. What similarities and differences can you find by analysing the two products?

NHS blood campaign

1) What does BAME stand for?
BAME stands for Black And Minority Ethnic

2) Why is there a need for blood in the BAME community? 

Only 3 percent of blood donors are either black or asian and those groups are more likely to have rare blood types and suffer from sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia respectively and blood from someone of their ethnic background is more likely to work in the treatment and is less likely to be rejected by their body as it is closer to their own.

3) What does this advert want people to do once they've seen it ('call to action')?
They want young people of minority groups to donate blood to those who need it.

4) Why is the advert called 'Represent'?
Represent is an urban term that they think is used by mainly minority groups in urban areas.Arguably, this is patronising as it assumes that certain types of people all use the same colloquialisms and speak in the same way.

5) Why have the producers chosen famous BAME celebrities to feature in the advert? Give an example of three well-known people who appear in the advert and why they are famous.
Lady Leshurr, Nicola Adams, Ade Adepitan appear in this advert. Nikola Adams is a gold medalist boxer and also a well known figure in the LGBTQ+ community, Lady Leshur is a well known grime artist and Ade Adepitan is a television presenter and wheelchair basketball player. The producers used these people because they are all reletivley young people of BAME backgrounds so similar groups will relate to them and hopefully want to donate blood as those who they look up to are endorsing it.

6) Why is there a slow-paced long shot of empty chairs at the end of the advert?
This aims to create an emotional response, the slow pace ensures that the audience pays attention and the stark contrast between this and the rest of the video will shock the audience into focusing on the importance of donating blood.

7) How does the advert match the key conventions of a typical rap music video?
It has a number of different people in different parts of the city, many rap videos have a similar thing, many different shots of parts of the city so that all the young people from everywhere feel included, since rap music is often seen as the voice of the people.

8) How does the advert subvert stereotypes? Give three examples (e.g. ethnicity, masculinity, femininity, age, class, disability/ability etc.)
The advert subverts the stereotype that women are weak by showing an olympic boxer, it also subverts the stereotype that those with physical disabilities aren't active by showing a wheelchair basketball player and finally, it shows women in science to subvert the stereotype that women's occupations are either in the humanities or non-academic.

Always Advert Analysis

1) What key conventions of broadcast advertising can be found in this advert?

The narrative is about different people who express what they think of when they hear "like a girl".2) What text appears on screen in the advert? What effect might this have on audiences?
Many rhetorical questions appear on the screen to make the audience think about why saying "like a girl" shouldn't be seen as an insult because girls do things in the same way boys do.3) How many different people feature in the advert?
Different groups including ethnic minorities, women, men and also young girls and boys are represented in this advert.
  
4) Why did the producers decide to feature a range of different ages, genders and ethnic groups in the advert? The producers chose a wide array of people to show that this is an issue that applies to everyone and also to relate with different groups.

5) What effect does the background music have on the audience - particularly towards the end of the advert?
The music is uplifting and inspiring to show girls and women that they can do anything just as well as others regardless of their gender

6) Pause the advert at 3.08. What key conventions of advertising can you find on the screen at this point? How do these encourage the audience to make the campaign go viral?
The Call to action told people to share this advert, spread the 'like a girl' hashtag on twitter and visit their website, the brand name and logo is also clearly present to bring attention back to the company that delivered this powerful message.Audiences can share this video to their contacts and those contacts can share with others until the word is spread, also, if someone clicks the "like a girl" hashtag, it will direct them to the always twitter handle which will inform them about the campaign and link them to videos in the campaign and the always website.

7) What representation of women can be found in this campaign?
Women are represented as powerful, shown by the mise en scene of the girl in a martial arts uniform to show that girls are strong too, most of the make up worn is minimal to draw attention to the message of the campaign, rather than how people looked.

8) The #LikeAGirl campaign was hugely successful with over 65 million views on YouTube alone. Why do you think the campaign connected with audiences so successfully? 
This campaign had groups of different people so that men wouldn't click off, assuming that it had nothing to do with them rather than being a conventional advert for sanitary towels in which many males would turn it off instantly, finally, it had a good message so people would want to share it around.