HBN303 – Blog analysis Part 2

This blog analysis discusses how the technology aspect of the blog content from this unit reveals the changes in society and technologies shaping the future.

In the week one blog entries nearly all of the ideas posted by students were alive in a science fiction capacity at one point; now they are socially adaptable due to the sheer technological grunt available.

Dystopian thoughts say impending doom from our own industrial & consumer waste will result in warming effect to threaten human survival. This technology boost in human evolution has a vicious by product of carbon pollution and we humans are now responding with awareness of such problems. Such as the resource shortages and how everything needs to be more power conservative to produce a more sustainable future. Are we using the cause of the problem to cure the result, is this feedback sustainable?

As Laura James mentioned in her experiences of a day without a mobile phone; the post titled “Future of the Phone” Laura commented, “i felt a great sense of uneasiness” which is evidence that people are going to be reluctant to change their current consumer habits. Laura concluded her post with “Though there is no fighting the fact that mobile phone use is becoming as essential to living life as breathing and eating already is.” No one mentions unplugging and turning off in the blog entries.

Week two discusses the fantastic ideas of breaking our selves down to a molecular level and the fears socially attached to ventures into bio technology. Julliete Pages posted “Things that appear unrealistic in biology now will appear as normal” in the future. The more we understand bio technology the more interest people will generates around the topic, this social change will adapt the future. Most people are fascinated with these advances especially because it directly involves them and also because they can benefit from the products created to prevent illness. Advocating change now for the future is not likely going to be easy when people are scared

Week three blogs reveal what students find powerful to them. Responses varied over many different fields, most tied into a desire of freedom to live a better life. I felt a strong connection with Binh Tran’s post “what action should we take?” he talks about nuclear technology, the negative impacts during war time, power station failure at “Chernobyl and Fukushima then consider whether we should continue or stop using it”. Anything dangerous that humans are manipulating for good reasons may have unintended outcomes. Binh says “the answer is because it is too powerful and the cupidity stops people to get rid of it.” It’s this type of thinking that also shapes our future.

Basic concepts of foresight:

How the past affects the present and influences the future. Traditionally a great product or service would generate a sale and create a strong brand and growth would ensue, while this is still presently true, Binh Tran’s week 5 post on “Business model trend” shows how this is just as important as it is influencing business transactions now and into the future. The importance of spending time getting the business model correct from the start is emphasised now more than in history. The past has affected the present situation with business models generating revenue in varied unconventional ways which influences the future of business models.

‘The future’ itself does not exist it therefore cannot be studied. The week 6 blog area has a strong set of ideas and images this is evidence of futures studies. The key being plural as it’s possible to consider multiple outcomes. This is known as Dators 1^st Law of the future. A good example of this is Gina Kandau’s post on “why the future of mobile will be screenless and touchless?” it included an image of glasses and how their hosting the new mobile medium. By contrast I found that Avineesh Jayakara Sheety’s post about “TATA MOTORS” to be an image of the past than the future, as it includes a photo and text that merely reported what had happened in 2008.

Binh Tran posted a link with ridiculous images of the future. His post “Microsoft Vision 2019” enables Dators 2^nd law of the future; the future concepts at times appear ridiculous. Such as, to have a single sheet of ‘newspaper’ and interact with it the way a person would currently on a tablet is absurd. A mug that shows statistic information about weather conditions and its contents is another ridiculous concept. This video depicts a very utopian existence, where everything functions well. There is endless space for one person and there doesn’t seem to be any external pressure impacting on their lifestyle, Similar to images found on the Swinburne website to attract new students.

HBN303 – Blog analysis Part 1

The class participation component of this subject saw me constantly advocating for debate and discussion. Open discussions would be met with awkward hesitation and people reluctant to comment. Rather than always overriding debates with my opinions I would withdraw to give others a chance to discuss the lecturers perplexing questions such as “what is life”. The global scenario exercise taught me that while there were many factors and perceptions taking place, the person with the loudest voice got heard, the lecturer confirmed to my surprise that this is how communication is done in boardrooms.

Each week I created blog entries for varied topics. This allowed me to reflect upon what we were learning during lectures. Expressing my ideas was important as it gave ammunition for debate within lectures and tutorials, while sometimes breaking redundant thoughts about how stable the current systems are. Also focusing on what my present and future objectives are.

Week 1 blog:

This subject has helped define my view on neotany (taking play into adulthood). It confirmed that people should be including play more in their life rather than always engaging in result driven actions. Playing is viewed as a lifestyle choice rather than survival. I found that creating effective scenarios called upon my creative abilities (developed during childhood), thus a diverse array of scenarios can be considered.

Week 2 blog:

Stone tools and language were a big part of human evolution from animals, this took thousands of years to develop. While change was slow and primitive the concept of a tool to  assist early man to be more productive within their lives required them to teach the skills to their young not knowing what the future would hold but learning how greatly it had assisted themselves in the past. I learned to immerse myself now in the change I want to become.

Week 6 blog:

I believe this subject has heightened my awareness to emerging opportunities. The yet to be released Windows 8 OS could be exploited for computer game opportunities. However after a quick evaluation i concluded that this would ideally need to be started 1.5 years earlier to have the desired impact required. This subject has helped me see more opportunities and evaluate them faster.

Week 7 blog:

Brainstorming scenario possibilities and imagining an alternative world is a productive approach to gaining direction and taking control of your current situation. My original beliefs on foresight theory were to develop my business brain and that it would help evaluate ideas and guide me on my path. While I cannot see into the future or change the past, I can use tools that give me clear signposts informing me which path I am on. The study of foresight will never end it and needs to be incorporated into any plans and ventures being prepared; however there is a limit and foresight practice should not impact on taking action.

HET234 – Journal Entry Week 9

Presenter

Martin Wilkes - mart...@addictiveagency.com.au

Presenter Outline
Martin talks about how important marketing is in the game industry.

How does the topic relate to the Games Industry?
Marketing is the only way of “cutting through” the competition and getting a release into the hands of people who want to purchase it. Minecraft had little obvious marketing activity, however with word of mouth and news stories the developers took a slightly different approach. By identifying Australia as a small market has a loud voice paid off when the USA and UK boosted sales.

By informing your customer that your release is available and what new features it hold makes advertising a marketing tool. Public relations (PR) is more about being nice to the right people this translate to writing nice things about you.

An independent (indie) group of 3 should consult their marketing and business plan rather than going straight to market. Having screen shots and demos ready is one thing, remaining focused on cash is the goal. Having quality work is very important and settling for 8/10 is not enough.

Getting the game ready for release:

• Name
• Description
• Demonstration
• A strong article
• Video
• Images / screenshots

A press release is a hook to expose what your product is. It should include a zip file containing plain text, video and images. Now you’re ready to refer back to your previous PR networking connections. Having these items greatly helps when getting initial feedback before the official press release.

Launching locations:

• Gamespot
• The age blog
• Game arena

If you get a bad response, follow up and ask why! Don’t just release without the green light from at least a single critical response. The Australian market is a sharing group of people; find someone who is going to point you in contact with good people. Get feedback before going into a formal review.

Working on the press release, use the 120 days countdown and get the print marketing sorted first then move to get a review from someone senior. Creating exclusives is the kick back journalist get when your product is a success as they get recognition for being first to find you. Make sure thorough usability tests have been completed. By this time you have your plan, use this time to get your website up. Once you have release you need to contact and follow up with people that need to know, especially people that are taking an interest.

Newspapers are probably the biggest medium however are only valid for the day, although magazines are less supporting they exist much longer with 30 days of read time. The concern with Facebook is that the title needs to be charged to the purchaser. People who pay for games spend more on in-game purchases, those who don’t wont. Having a Facebook page is the easiest way to market, building a market is harder. Facebook is free although takes much time to produce results. Make sure to delete negative feedback, forums also have ability to kill enthusiasm. It may be easier to just pay for people to like it through advertising.

Big exhibition events such as GDC have media lists, obtain these also from Google, then start cold calling. Most Journalists that write for iPhones are juniors and while there is approximately 15 websites for Iphone it is increasingly difficult to publish on these.

Manage where your press releases go. Management of conversation is a huge task, people who put the effort in to reply will get more interest. Feedback is important however if those comments start to add up to a page-full of negatives, you need to avoid this by addressing the first issue as it arises rather than letting them pile up risks losing any credibility. Getting media clout helps enforce the power of positives, these journalists and their affiliates will be more inclined to support you. Don’t argue with people as there is a lot of people that talk shit for no reason.

The work flow for an indie releasing a title for free should include around 6 additional sub-releases so that way you keep customers in the loop and up-to date. At the same time as development write the press release article, then as you approach the final version to release (free or pay for purchase) you will be able to up sell add-ons for example different ships and guns and the 99c cost of purchase. Consider $6.99 for unlimited updates. Martin used the “Don’t flog a dead horse” when explaining the importance of moving onto the next project. Reward customer loyalty helps strengthen the brand and product, with an eye on the horizon to potentially franchise the game so that everyone buys it globally after EA picks it up and releases for you. While Martin speaks of high ideas he has no doubt brushed alongside many successful people and has obviously gained great practical knowledge, his positive nature brings relief to the low morale of budding game development students.
How does the topic relate to my own ambitions in the Games Industry?
The use of a company globally is important, rather than locally as a sole trader. So when it comes to leaving university and doing work its probably best to setup a company if you have a clear purpose otherwise it will distract away from your primary objective. The company name is not as important as focusing on the product, not as much as the business structure.

University with its deadlines is a great motivator to get the white sheet of certification, however I feel the indie world would require great dedication, discipline and ambition. The payoff is a fulfilling career that is within your control.

Bridh Athanatos

Wicked Witch Software

9/381 Bayswater Rd, Bayswater, Vic, Australia, 3153
Office +613 97200597 - www.wicked-witch.com.au

Presenter
Daniel Visser

Presenter Outline
Daniel refers to himself as a typical nerdy kid, at 8 he got his first 8bit computer, installed with basic. Later in life he joined clubs to gain information on computer programming. He began working/playing on MUD games, Atari, Intel 386’s and progressed all the way up through the technology chain being an early adopter of technologies such as the Internet and 3D video cards.

After TAFE, Daniel continued on to program games at home and release as shareware. He discussed the problems with cobalt as a programming language for games, and remarked that it was the only language suitable 10-15 years ago. Daniel touched on assembler, and mentioned how important problem solving is within his business.

Entering the games industry as a programmer, Daniel is constantly updating his skills and speaks passionately about the importance of learning maths.