-relationship between major and indie producers
-controversies
Like all industries, the videogame industry is a specialized industry- it works in a completely different way to other specialised industries. This industry has it's own peculiarities and niche, it does things very differently.
The videogame industry extends much further back than people realise.
spacewar! (1962)
Often considered to be the first videogame, released before the arcade boom of the late 1970's. This game was made in an American computer laboratory. The idea of it being a commercial product was not at the forefront, instead it's a proof of concept- what can computers do?
It's a shoot em up, switches and paddles were used to control the game- so actually the first videogames were remarkably similar to what we can play today. But to play this you would have to be part of the institution that made it.
Drafts (Nimrod computer, 1952)
Predates Spacewar, the computer used by modern standards is extremely rudimentary but the nimrod computer was absolutely vast. Clearly, video games, although not necessarily the kind we play today, go back over half a century- although this game also wasn't commercial, the only people who could play were the technicians etc.
Computer space (1971)
Often considered to be the first game commercially released, the game has a lot of similarities to arcade cabinets.
You can see from the advertising that video games were marketed in a very similar way. If you look at the game the graphics are extremely rudimentary but there's also a lot of similarities to video games we play now. On the pad you can see it was controlled by various buttons but no joystick etc
Pong (home version, 1974)
Videogames didn't really take off until they became particularly widespread, and the first home video game is often cited as pong- although released in arcades first. It's an extremely basic video game- ping pong.
So one of the very first video games was actually a sports simulator game (which is still popular today)- not a shoot 'em up. Pong did capture the public's imagination.
The Japanese arcade boom
Of course, video games didn't really capture the public's imagination until they expanded to arcades- perhaps the largest catalyst of grabbing consumers attention, beyond things like pong which was pretty much a distraction, was space invaders.
Space invaders was a shoot em up, this game included many innovative factors which was included in many video games onwards.
-lives
-scores (highscores)
Being an arcade game you also had to pay- 100 yen in japan. The array of colour and noises on-screen were particularly exciting, the colour within the game, however, was merely achieved by putting plastic overlay on the screen.
What's really interesting about space invaders is that the imagination didn't need to be harnessed as much, consumers can actually see aliens on the screen etc rather than just dots and lines. It also used a soundtrack which at the time was very effective.
The game massively took off in Japan, there were entire rooms/halls dedicated to people coming and playing space invaders- this was the 'genesis' of modern arcades.
There was a national shortage of 100 yen coins because of the game, there was also a rise of 'gangs' hanging around these halls, which invited moral panic over video games and the narrative that video games are a part of some form of deviancy is one that is still stuck to the medium today.
The American arcade boom
It wasn't just japan who got so involved in the idea of this arcade boom- just a few years later America joined in with games like centipede being released.
Centipede was released (not created) by atari, the same company as pong. Centipede was interesting because it was in colour and had a more varied soundtrack than space invaders. Players could also use a trackball (similar to an upturned mouse) to play.
From the advert, you can see how videogames were marketed, with loads and loads of colour. The graphics on the side and marquee were extremely important to attract attention, due to the non-impressive graphics (especially compared to film)- advertising was extremely important, the excitement, the colour, the aggression.
Bedroom coders and UK micros
Why were people leaving the house to go to arcades to play games? Because video games were extremely expensive and no one could afford these cabinets at home. But there were computer games at home- the ZX spectrum was popular in Europe.
One thing that was very prominent about the ZX spectrum was that it allowed users to make their own games- their was a rise of bedroom coders, especially in the UK. Teenagers would make games in their bedroom and often sell them for a lucrative sum- check out Bandersnatch.
In the arcades there was violence and colour but in the bedroom coders realm there was creativity- many games were being created (particularly in the UK) that are very interesting (although often boring to play). These games would take many many different forms- Skool daze, girty goose, telewise. There was a lot of experimentation and generic fluidity at this stage.
The 1980's videogame crash
One of the big issues with home video games was that their quality varied absolutely massively. A lot of games were utterly crap- there was no quality control that games have now, often games were rushed out very quickly to be sold. The game ET, developed and released by atari, is an example of this. The developer rushed it out incredibly quickly to cash in on the films hype- and although they were very respected the game was not respectable, it was so bad basically no one bought it and to save face atari buried a lot of the cartridges. Consumer confidence was at an all-time low because of this- the industry was destroyed and atari's fortunes completely went down.
Another reason why the video games industry went down was that without regulation utterly disgusting games were being released.
For example; Custer's revenge. In which you play an American coloniser, walking up to a tied up native American women whilst dodging arrows in order to rape her. This cultivated the idea that video games were gross and offensive as well as a waste of time.
Japanese imports
Although the video game industry was saved, whilst consoles crashed PC games soldiered on- imported from japan,
Left- Wizadry, released in the mid 1980's, first person perspective which was pretty exciting at the time, but very poor graphics so everything had to happen in the mind of the player. It was based off of dungeons and dragon and did extremely well in Japan.
Right- Dragonquest, ridiculously popular, released on the nintendo entertainment system, took the roleplay format of wizadry and simplified it for children.
Regional differences- Japan vs the rest of the world
So what we start to see during the 1980's was a split between Japanese and western games.
Above are four adventure games, on the left are Japanese games and on the right are western.
This demonstrates how at this stage Japanese games were a lot more sophisticated than western. They were much more complicated, text heavy- pushing narratives and the system a lot more.
Top left- Snatcher, pc 88
Top right- Shadowgate, many different computers
Bottom left-
Bottom right- Fantastic dizzy, many different computers
Japanese console boom
After the video game crash it was seen that video games were for nerds, geeks etc. For people who wanted to solve puzzles, read lots of texts or do coding themselves.
Videogames were in pursuit of enthusiasts.
However, in 1985, a game was released for the Nintendo entertainment system which completely changed everything- Mario bros. It is an example of what we call a platformer. It captured the imagination of the public completely, there were no barriers to entry.
It completely changed the 'nerd' stereotype, even today this first Mario game is extremely successful with soundtrack, bright colours, an identifiable character and the scrolling element- British platformers didn't scroll left and right at this point. Mario bros was a feat of technical engineering and an excellent example of game design.
Super Mario bros invited the audience to explore the world in which the game is set, it's not about playing once and putting the game down. The audience were encouraged to play over and over, find things in the game others hadn't and get good at it. This shifted the perspective on video games to something you can actually be skilled at and isn't just a throwaway pass time.
Street fighter II (1991)
This idea that video games could be cool, fun and played with other people really came to fruition with the game Steet fighter II, released by capcom. No one remembered street fighter as it was so rudimentary, but street fighter II took the genre of the fighting game, the idea of a versus fighting game already existed in many other consoles but it was street II that captured the imagination of audiences.
It was an arcade game, in japan the arcade cabinets were set out so you wouldn't see the other person fighting, but in places like the UK and America it was different. You would have to go into the arcade, find someone playing and fight them standing next to them- it was an intimidating and exciting experience. You weren't playing a machine anymore you were playing a person-it was extremely popular in both the arcade and home consoles.
It was arguably the first game that emphasised the idea of competitive gaming.
Arcades and consoles
There was an obvious difference between arcade and console playing, there was a very clear division between the two.
Left- Alex kid in miracle world, released on the sega console which wasn't particularly popular in the UK. Platformer, rudimentary, cheap and cheerful
Right- outdone, released by topeplan for arcades, blows everything u
One big usp for arcades, was that it had games on a level that you couldn't do at home. Although you had to pay each time you wanted to play a game it can easily turn out cheaper- especially if you get good at the game. As you can see on the bottom right image they had these huge sprites and images that were interesting and extremely exciting, arcades also had far louder and more complicated soundtracks.
Essentially if you played a console game at home you were slumming it and it would be better in the arcade.
Mushihimesama (2004)
Arcade games continued, and to an extent still do today, one excellent example of a late period arcade game is the game mushihimesama- it demonstrates what arcades had to do to keep attention.
Back then arcade games were aimed towards casual fans, pacman machine in pubs would target drunk casual player whilst nowadays they target the hardcore of the hardcore fans.
Sony enters the market
In the mid 90's there was a situation where there were extremely technically wonderful arcade games and more basic but still exciting home console games.
Games that tended to do the best were sports simulation games and games like Mario which challenged players but were still straightforward and aimed at younger audiences. There was a perception that the video games industry was for children.
In 1994 there was a big rivalry between sega, megadrive and Nintendo.
Sega- arcade games, trying to take the arcade experience game home
Nintendo- More family-friendly, Zelda, Mario, Kirby, Yoshi. deep exciting, repeat playing
But then sony decided to make a video game console- they were an extremely well-regarded electronics company wanting to barge into the video games industry, which they did with the PlayStation which is still to this day an extremely important and popular brand.
They decided to take a different tact when marketing video games-
-they really emphasised the idea that most of their games would be in 3D, which was extremely exciting and stirred up the market completely
-they marketed to older audiences with abnormal marketing campaigns, instead of setting up consoles in toy shops they put a console in the club ministry of sound to attract 18+ audiences, who perhaps used to play video games but ditched them for being childish. Their adverts were extremely weird and freaky- capturing the public imagination because it was something audiences were not used to seeing.
e.g- https://youtu.be/YWmbUMStlGI
-no game footage
-weird
-targets older audiences
it created this idea that video games were very exciting and could be for adults.
Nintendo also innovated and changed their perspective, pushing the technology they had
Super Mario 64- the first Mario in 3D, wasn't controlled using a digital dpad but with an analogue stick, now a convention of the industry. they weren't the first company to use analogue sticks but they were the first company to popularize it. A world you could completely get lost in- a glimpse into the future of video games.
Regional differences- Japan vs the rest of the world
Once more there was a huge gulf between Japanese and western game- but it wasn't a technology gulf it was about style and what consumers wanted.
Two rpgs but very different, both part of bigger series, both going now. they may both be in the same genre but they work in completely different ways reflecting how diverse the video game industry is.
left- final fantasy 7, a massive smash hit, PlayStation 7, story-heavy, does have stats and numbers but in general the emphasis is on the atmosphere, it's very linear in the sense that you run through rooms to progress the story, it's a long game with lots of plot twists
right-fallout, you pick your own camera and choose how you want to play the game- as a hero as a villain, there's a lot more stats and things to think about, much more complicated and in depth
Indies and majors
There's not just a divide between east and west producers there's also one between independent and major ones.
left- undertale, PC, made by one person; Toby fox. Very straightforward with interesting concepts and contexts. does all kind of things major labels probably wouldn't do- although its a modern game it has straight forward graphics (but stylistically very nice), a major success for an indie game and you can download it for basically every modern console
right- gears of war franchise, a huge budget video game with loads of explosions, guns and things to kill, used 100s and 100s of people to play. AAA game- meaning it has very very high production values, markets towards a mass audience, majority of the consumers in the video game industry are looking for something like this
Indie video games have creative freedom in a restrictive industry that major label games don't have. There's only a certain amount of roots a major video game producer can take, to sell millions you need to shoot someone, kill or kick a ball.
visual novel- text-based game usually Japanese in origin.
Video games can manipulate audiences and cause audiences to commit violent acts, in extreme circumstances (doki doki literature club) can lead to the player taking their own life.
The idea that video games make people violent is often reported on in newspapers, in such, you can still see this negative perception of video games that has been going for years. The two ideologies presented being; video games are trash and a waste of time, video games are extremely violent and make you violent.
The vast majority of video games do include violence and are able to kill people in, often with a gun.
Does the fact that video games include violence as a resolution to problems make players more violent? this is something we need to consider later on.
Controversies surrounding production
Video games often take 100s and 100s of people working very hard, ridiculously long hours for a long long period of time.
Games like LA noir and, more recently, red dead redemption take many years to make. These processes involve exploiting and overworking people. Working conditions can be absolutely horrible because of the competition and the massive financial implications of the video game industry.
Controversies surrounding representation
Female characters and their sexualisation is very prominent in both Japanese and western games.
The game tomb raider can be taken as an example of this, it's subversive in the sense you play as a woman but she is extremely sexualised. Although in subsequent releases of the series it's been toned she is still very much a hegemonically sexually appealing character.
Digital distribution
In the early days of video games you had to be working in a university to gain access to a computer, then you had to take 25 cents down to an arcade and then you had to pay for a game console and buy video games from the shops.
Nowadays video games aren't bought physically but digitally. This is a fairly recent advancement and is more common in the western industry, in Japan it's still favoured to buy physical games.
steam is a PC based digital distribution website which is extremely successful and negates the need to go down to the shop and actually buy something- giving audiences an advantage.
In what ways do videogames represent a specialized industry? How do they differ from other media?
-interactivity
-huge expenditure of resources
-much higher RRP (recommended retail price)
-significantly longer length
-a dedicated, 'core' target audience
-games developed for specific hardware or released multiplatform- you cant play an Xbox game on a playstation
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