Video Games - Specialised Industry

In what ways do videogames represent a specialised industry? How do they differ from other media?

• video games are interactive and require active audience participation
• video games often have interactive narratives that can be personalised to audience expectation
• video games are created by teams of specialists
• video games tend to be much longer than other forms of media
• you can get better at video games
• many video games are 'open ended'
• video games are often updated with DLC or downloadable content
• barrier to entry formed through a number of different platforms and high cost of hardware
• an assumption of a 'hardcore'
• requirement for accessories
• accessibility issues
• often high RRP, though some videogames are based a freemium
• a variety of audience responses
• a self-reflective industry
• recently games are community based and distributed
• video games are increasingly digitally distributed on platforms such as Steam, Origin and PlayStation Store
• heavily reliant on word of mouth and audience trends
• Ubisoft - French company - Assassins Creed is one of their best known works
• Triple A - high-budget, high-profile games that are typically produced and distributed by large, well-known publishers
• first-party games are made by companies that own a particular platform and can have studios working exclusively for them

Pre-production

• concept art - to inspire the developers, absolutely essential for video game pre-production
• design/storyline
• event planning
• casting

Production

• coding
• testing
• alpha and beta builds

Post-production

• patching and maintenance
• marketing and promotion