This year I redeveloped my year 11 courses. I finished a module earlier this term, on Video games.
We looked at the industry as a growing medium for entertainment, and focused in on immersive and interactive narrative in triple a titles, and marketing and distribution practices.
I ended this module with an extended response task on “cyberpunk 2077” where the students were given a marketing trailer and a youtube video of a users initial PS4 twitch footage. For those of you who don’t know, the game was heavily marketed and hyped, only to release on consoles unplayable. It even sparked sony pulling the game from its online store, which is unprecedented. It also flies really far afoul of ACCC guidelines, which gave the students lots to explore.
Vids analysed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO8lX3hDU30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mv2eZdVF0s
The ATAR students had to answer the following question using research and the media work for examples.
Analyse how the marketing and distribution strategies associated with the Game Cyberpunk 2077 failed to meet the expectations of console audiences.
For my gennies (I have two combined classes), I set a production task, using the same two vids:
Utilizing the PS4 footage from Cyberpunk 2077 provided, craft a 2 minute video review of the game.
The module has been really successful and the ATAR student responses are really detailed and thoughtful. Also gave my generals an opportunity to analyse some content and show their editing skills in prem.
Happy Friday!
Brad Minchin