ZC Innes-Mulraine
How the sectors interact in terms of working together to produce media products
Television and publishing
The last of Us Remastered was published by Sony computer entertainment on June 14th, 2013 and they used TV as a medium to promote and build a buzz with the first trailer (see below) being shown on TV during the commercial break of the walking dead season 3 finale episode. Shortly after that a longer red band trailer was released online creating more buzz.
Dark Horse Comics published a 4 issue-issue miniseries and was set prior to events that take place in the game.
Film and games
On naughty dogs website the home page has a latest news feed announcing the latest trailer with a link to view it on the latest trailer on the Sony PlayStation website and on loading it your hit with a cinematic scene of what looks like a woman staring at a romm filled with white string lights giving an instant excitement about what’s to come and also an insight into how far the digital animation process had come on since the first instalment 6 years ago.
You tube has a lot of fan made films on the last of us and dansg08 has published among many others The last of us movie it is made up of all the cutscenes and story (with gameplay), just over 6 hours long and 7.8M views it is a really popular medium.
Fashion and web design
The web design for naughty dog is very specific to each game they produce with a hub website which gives latest news and details on new and coming games/project’s and is set as more of a blog website but click on any of the games and they have their own independent site that have a more interactive experience with a page wide banner of the latest trailer or game footage all the site are copywritten by Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.
Insert coin clothing an online fashion website is dedicated to all things game inspired and has a section dedicated and inspired by the game. One item is called Joel (see Below) and is based on what one of the main characters wears in the game.
Audience
The Last of Us received a 95 Metascore rating and a 9.1 user rating and won over 200 game of the year awards worldwide it also is listed in the top 20 best video games of all time at the top tens.com and at the time was the biggest launch of a video game with 3.4M units sold.
With a ESRB Mature rating and a PEGI 18 certification the demographic was aimed at 18 years plus but on Common Sense Media a review site for Parents, Educators and Advocates give it a 14 years plus rating and Statista.com in 2018 stated the average age for American gamers was 18 to 35.
How Last of Us was created
Pre-production phase
Research, concepts, initial ideas, team assembly
When an idea is first realised its vital to get ideas done and a rough outline of the story and how it develops, researching in the case of The Last of Us would be vital and the Zombie Genre has been around for a very long time (White Zombie by Victor Halperin 1932 is considered the first ever Zombie film see trailer below). With this is mind the whole concept has to be worked through and assembling a team will bring in fresh ideas and purpose.
Production phase
Artwork, assets, development, story, characters, implementation
Once Pre-production has finished then it’s time to produce the game, getting the story finished, character traits and any additional content finalised at this stage is key to the completion of the project and pulling all the components of the game that have been produced separately so it can be prepared for release.
Post-production phase
Testing, publish, marketing, advertising, release, review
It is extremely vital that the game goes through vigorous testing before release especially as the marketing and advertising will have already started with TV ads and buzz being created online through social media platforms and as with The Last of Us the release was pushed back a week so it was ready. It’s also important to review the process afterwards so you can determine what can be improved upon for future releasees.
Job roles in the games sector
Role 1: Character Artist
This role is what brings an idea to fruition, bringing the concept sketches to life. They work under the supervision of an Art Director and they create character assets for games and marketing.
Role 2: UI Programmer
This Role stands for User interface and is responsible for writing and implementing code for the game engine. The UI programmer may also be responsible with porting some graphic elements of the interface.
Role 3: Events Manager
Can also be known as Event planners or Coordinators, are in charge of finding and booking venue for launch events and venues. Liaising with suppliers and clients, managing budgets, risk, organising accreditation and presenting reports after complete.
Role 4: Fraud Operations Manager
The role manages all form of fraud detection and prevention and must keep current with the company’s policies on fraudulent activities such as the game being leaked before release and any potential game spoilers being leaked. Selecting new software or hardware and developing new safety procedures to minimise the fraud potential.
Employment contracts in the games sector
1 Full time
The most common type of employment, they are permanent positions. There is no set minimum number of hours that you can work but most employers recognise 35+ hours per week.
2 Part time
Part time work is fewer contracted hours than full time but are generally still on permanent contract and offers a more flexible schedule.
3 Contract
Normally fixed term and last for a specific amount of time/task which is agreed in advance it’s also usual for contracts to be extended depending on the individual’s performance.
4 Freelance
Freelance workers are generally considered self-employed meaning that it’s their responsibility to look NI and tax contributions and work can be time or project based so the work end upon delivery.
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