"What have you learnt from the analysis of the specific new media form?"
This blog entry is related to my final project, which in my case will be an analysis of everything about the Dark Souls Facebook Page.
To clarify, Dark Souls is an RPG (Role-Playing Game) that I've been extremely interested in since before it was released over a year ago. This was one of the first games to captivate me in quite a while. The player plays an undead character who has the ability to change the fantasy world they've been thrown into.
From Software (The company that developed Dark Souls) currently has nearly two-hundred thousand 'likes' on Facebook. This means that at least 200,000 individuals are subscribed to seeing updates and content posted by the official Dark Souls page. The company can use this primarily as an informational tool, allowing them to inform players/fans of updates made to the game. Additionally players can converse with each other on this page and talk about the product as well.
Not only is this an example of fantastic marketing, but it also aligns with the goals the company had for the game in the first place. Dark Souls is notorious for being labeled as "one of the most difficult games to ever come out". That was the draw to it for a lot of players; Finally, a game that I would drop $60 on and be able to play for more than 10 hours. From Software made this game difficult because they wanted players to try and cooperate online. Whether this cooperation happened through their online co-op play features, or by players posting their findings on a forum/message board/facebook page, they certainly struck a chord with their fan-base.
Early 2012 I was perusing Facebook, and suddenly I see an update from Dark Souls in my news feed. The post had said "PC port for Dark Souls Petition". There was a group of individuals who loved Dark Souls on the consoles (such as myself), but had REALLY wanted to see a version of the game on PCs. Personally, preferring PC controls, I had to start following this story. Petitions were signed, information was given to remain updated; I would be naive to think that the email address supplied to sign up for these updates was not sold to other companies at some point, but the benefits outweighed the costs for me, I wanted a PC port. August 2012, my wish came true, and it was the Facebook Page that notified me of that. The next expansion of Dark Souls would be released later in the year, and the PC version of the game would get it for free.
Shortly after the PC version of the game was released, many fans were fairly disappointed (myself included). They were expecting a polished game with seamless controls and full user support on the PC. The problem was none of this happened, some of the buttons were remapped, the resolution was kept below HD-quality, and the interface wasn't touched at all so all the button commands on screen were for xbox-controllers. Luckily the official Facebook Page was able to provide fans with explanations as to why the company did not have time to completely polish a redesign of their current game (just two days ago or so we learned this was because they were already working on developing the sequel!). The company's ability to quickly address the issue allowed them to retain a large number of disgruntled fans and players, as well as continue to promote in the manner they set out to. Players now uploaded and submit links to modifications they made to make the game more playable. I instantly went and downloaded a mod that would allow me to play in higher resolutions and hide the cursor on the screen.
So far, From Software has the right idea behind marketing their product through new media forms, more specifically Facebook. The page set up is easy enough to understand, and all the company and game information is readily available. Contact information is also provided and separated by which region the user prefers assistance in. I'm excited to delve deeper into seeing how this page has been a positive (and potentially negative, in some aspects) influence in marketing one of my favorite games.
Monday, December 10, 2012
MDIA 4902 Blog 7
We covered a ton of topics in my New Media & Marketing class this semester, one of my favorite modules to work on would probably have to have been our 6th module:
1. I have mixed feelings about Google Glass. Since I was twelve I'd imagined a user-interface within a pair of glasses responding to hang-gestures, so it's interesting to see Google hard at work on that. This is obviously the first step a major company has taken towards producing a more seamless interface between social media and everyday life. This is apparent by the "One Day" video that goes through an average day aided by the features and utilities of Google Glass. On the other hand, part of me feels that Glass will not be as effective as the promotional videos and reviews let on. There are many cases where a company produces a 'unique innovation that will change the industry as we know it' and that innovation either ends up flopping, or takes another 5 years to work the bugs out. As long as Google backs the Glass project intelligently I feel that Glass could be the invention of the decade. My only other concern is the fact that it is worn like a pair of glasses; how many users will be people who don't regularly wear glasses? The product has a small appeal to me already, simply because I can already connect to the 'style' of the device, it will be interesting to see what consumers think.
2. As outlined in the parody video, the 'in-your-face' style UI might get to be annoying if the device screen is directly in front of the user's eye. The I/O video seems to reinforce that the screen is not covering the eye though. Another limitation I predict is that we still have not seen a flawless sense of voice-command controls on any form of device, be it Siri, Glass, or otherwise. Part of this might be due to needing to get used to performing voice commands on the user's end, or programming a more intelligent interface on the company's end. The great part about innovation is it's constantly building upon what was already innovative.
As made apparent by my first response, this technology is something I've been fascinated with for at least the past ten years or so. We were asked to discuss something I have had a general interest in and been following (at least somewhat) since I'd heard about the announcement of Google Glass. Additionally, we were required to analyze potential cons of the product. I had to sit down and break down the product I was completely infatuated with, and determine where its faults could be. When the only thing on your mind is "this is going to be so perfect/awesome/cool/etc" it's extremely difficult to look at it through a critical lens. This module taught me to disregard my personal connections to an extent and analyze the product from an unbiased/curious consumer perspective. Because of this I feel i've developed a new skill set that I could use immediately, and only to my own benefit.
Google unveils Google Glass Explorer Edition at I/O - CNET NewsWhat follows are my responses to the discussion questions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLn0cSZfl6c
Project Glass: One day...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c6W4CCU9M4
Google Glasses Parody! (Google Glasses vs. Siri)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVIV3UtGBtY
Please watch above three short video clips (copy and paste the links into your web browser) and answer/post the following questions on the discussion board:
1. What do you think of the Google Glass? Do you think it represents of the future of social media taking the advantage of technology development. Please explain why you think it does/does not.
2. Can you think of any technological features, according to the video clips or research you did yourself, which make social media not easy or convenient to use?
1. I have mixed feelings about Google Glass. Since I was twelve I'd imagined a user-interface within a pair of glasses responding to hang-gestures, so it's interesting to see Google hard at work on that. This is obviously the first step a major company has taken towards producing a more seamless interface between social media and everyday life. This is apparent by the "One Day" video that goes through an average day aided by the features and utilities of Google Glass. On the other hand, part of me feels that Glass will not be as effective as the promotional videos and reviews let on. There are many cases where a company produces a 'unique innovation that will change the industry as we know it' and that innovation either ends up flopping, or takes another 5 years to work the bugs out. As long as Google backs the Glass project intelligently I feel that Glass could be the invention of the decade. My only other concern is the fact that it is worn like a pair of glasses; how many users will be people who don't regularly wear glasses? The product has a small appeal to me already, simply because I can already connect to the 'style' of the device, it will be interesting to see what consumers think.
2. As outlined in the parody video, the 'in-your-face' style UI might get to be annoying if the device screen is directly in front of the user's eye. The I/O video seems to reinforce that the screen is not covering the eye though. Another limitation I predict is that we still have not seen a flawless sense of voice-command controls on any form of device, be it Siri, Glass, or otherwise. Part of this might be due to needing to get used to performing voice commands on the user's end, or programming a more intelligent interface on the company's end. The great part about innovation is it's constantly building upon what was already innovative.
As made apparent by my first response, this technology is something I've been fascinated with for at least the past ten years or so. We were asked to discuss something I have had a general interest in and been following (at least somewhat) since I'd heard about the announcement of Google Glass. Additionally, we were required to analyze potential cons of the product. I had to sit down and break down the product I was completely infatuated with, and determine where its faults could be. When the only thing on your mind is "this is going to be so perfect/awesome/cool/etc" it's extremely difficult to look at it through a critical lens. This module taught me to disregard my personal connections to an extent and analyze the product from an unbiased/curious consumer perspective. Because of this I feel i've developed a new skill set that I could use immediately, and only to my own benefit.
MDIA 4902 Blog 6
I realize this comes late in the semester, but it's been one hell of a start to my junior year so far.
I'm supposed to cover what I have learned so far in the semester; at the point this assignment should have been done I had actually come to realize there was a lot I hadn't realized about marketing in new media. The biggest thing that stuck out to me at this point was just how effective blogging could be. Maybe this is because I never utilize blogging as a medium. I feel blogging is similar to LiveJournal, both of which are fantastic connection tools, but I prefer to use Facebook and Twitter a lot more.
Companies can and will capitalize on new media forms, it gives the company an edge; Being able to quickly adapt to new communication and media forms shows a willingness to expand the consumer experience. The company that already has a presence on Facebook or Twitter is going to be able to communicate to their customers more easily than those that have not jumped on board with social networking trends.
This also applies inversely; companies that have yet to create a facebook or google+ page are already at a disadvantage. They're missing an entire audience that they could be generating potential interest from. Before this class I would have argued that certain companies may not want to advertize through SNS's, but only because I felt they wouldn't have been able to reach certain demographics. In the back of my mind I always thought that companies attempting to reach a senior demographic shouldn't even worry about advertizing in new media. I realize now that there are plenty of senior citizens that are fully capable of operating social media (they could teach my grandparents a thing or two!) and thus a more streamlined customer experience tailored to them should not be out of the question.
I'm supposed to cover what I have learned so far in the semester; at the point this assignment should have been done I had actually come to realize there was a lot I hadn't realized about marketing in new media. The biggest thing that stuck out to me at this point was just how effective blogging could be. Maybe this is because I never utilize blogging as a medium. I feel blogging is similar to LiveJournal, both of which are fantastic connection tools, but I prefer to use Facebook and Twitter a lot more.
Companies can and will capitalize on new media forms, it gives the company an edge; Being able to quickly adapt to new communication and media forms shows a willingness to expand the consumer experience. The company that already has a presence on Facebook or Twitter is going to be able to communicate to their customers more easily than those that have not jumped on board with social networking trends.
This also applies inversely; companies that have yet to create a facebook or google+ page are already at a disadvantage. They're missing an entire audience that they could be generating potential interest from. Before this class I would have argued that certain companies may not want to advertize through SNS's, but only because I felt they wouldn't have been able to reach certain demographics. In the back of my mind I always thought that companies attempting to reach a senior demographic shouldn't even worry about advertizing in new media. I realize now that there are plenty of senior citizens that are fully capable of operating social media (they could teach my grandparents a thing or two!) and thus a more streamlined customer experience tailored to them should not be out of the question.
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