Unit 3 - Research

Unit 3 - Research

Research means gathering as much information as possible about a specific subject.

Example: Cranium Drizzle

Think about the Muppets - What do you think about?

Muppets - Green Frog, Puppets, Crumpets, Shot out of a cannon. This is known as data.

How do you know that Kermit is green?

How to research:
Secondary - Always begin with secondary research.
Data: Where? It's everywhere. 
Use sources such as books, paper (essays), website.org, government census, questionnaire (primary or secondary), podcasts, interviews, journals.
Is the data reliable (i.e: repeatable)? Is it valid? Does it measure what it is supposed to measure?

Secondary data is created by someone else.
Primary data is created by myself.

• 1000-Word report
• Powerpoint
• TV interview (primary research)

Target audience - The target audience is children, as shown through the games overall difficulty. Junichi Masuda, the game's creator, stated that the difficulty is made this way since "children these days would want to play smartphone apps". The game's story is also very child-friendly, but it can go rather in-depth for long-time fans of Pokemon.

Market research - Due to being an updated version of Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, the developers chose to not only figure out how to update the graphics in 3D, but also take many aspects of the game that people loved and add new features that were included in the previous games like the mechanics of Mega Evolutions and newer evolutions that were not available prior to Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, and integrate them into the story. 

The series itself was inspired by how Masuda used to play a sport in Japan known as beetle fighting. Other inspirations include how the Pokemon themselves were designed; for example, Groudon and Kyogre are based on the legendary Behemoth and Leviathan. Other inspirations are from Japanese Yokai, paladins and the Golem seen in Jewish Folklore. 

This particular entry's region itself (Hoenn) is based on the country Japan (Southern Japan to be exact). With that, the region having a lot of islands with one large island with a volcano makes sense as Japan has quite a few volcanoes due to its tectonic plate structure.

Other areas are based on popular land marks, towns and cities. For example, the opening town (Littleroot) is based on either Imari City and/or sasebo city. Other important areas are based on land marks, such as the sealed chamber being based on yonaguni.

Sources:

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_world_in_relation_to_the_real_world - An image used to pinpoint the regions that served as inspiration for the regions in the Pokemon games (shown below).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junichi_Masuda - Research on J. Masuda, the series' creator.

https://www.discogs.com/GAME-FREAK-Pok%C3%A9mon-Omega-Ruby-Pok%C3%A9mon-Alpha-Sapphire-Super-Music-Collection/release/10830710 - Research on the game's soundtrack

Source A: https://www.inverse.com/article/23138-pokemon-region-real-life-inspirations

The Pokemon regions are heavily based on regions and countries in real life, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh are based on specific regions in Japan, (The Greater Tokyo, The Kansai, Kyushu and the Hokkaido regions respectively). The latter three regions, Unova, Kalos and Alola, take inspiration from the following:

• Unova is based on New York, USA, with large reference points being Castellia City, Skyarrow Bridge and Nimbasa City. 

• Kalos is based on the country France and some areas are based on buildings from the UK. Geosenge town is a lot like Stone Henge, The Parfum Palace is based on Buckingham, etc. The bulk of the regions inspiration is based on France. However, the main city in the game being based on Paris and many places like Anistar city is some sort of reference to French landmarks.

• Alola is based on Hawaii, and has the most influence from that string of islands, containing references to its culture and legends.

16/1/19

Evidence. Screenshot. Phone.

Secondary Data

I write what I think, find what someone else thought.

Data.

Question...

Open: Why? How? When? Who (Whom)? What? Where? 

Closed (Y/N): Do? Am I? Is it? Alright?

1. What genres do you like?

2. Do you enjoy cooperative games?

Closed (Y/N):
1. Is your favourite game a platformer?
2. Did you play video games during your childhood?

Closed (more than Y/N):
1. Do you play "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate"?
2. Will you make a YouTube career out of playing games?

Open:
1. When you are at school, can you play games?
2. Which game have you played the most recently, and do you like it?

What do I want to know about gamers?

• What is their favourite genre?
• What is their favourite game of all time?
• What is your favourite console?
• When and how did you start gaming?
• Do you enjoy competitive play?

Answers

• Y/N
• Scale of 1-10 (can be percentage)
• Multiple-choice
• Written - 5 words
• Verbal - 10 seconds

Quantitative:
Closed

• Numerical
• Statistics

Examples:

• Age?
• How many.....
• On average, how much...
• What is your....
• What is your eye colour? Blue x5 (more than one source) - is a question that fits into both categories.

How much do you weigh?

Qualitative:
Open
Types of data:
Attributes
Behaviour
Aspirations
Culture and Lifestyle
(all relate to emotion)

Ways you can get this data:
Interviews
Survey (open)
Email
Notes
Photos
Video

Valid data means that it is believable, whereas reliable means it is repeatable. An open question is one with an unlimited number of possible answers (e.g: What is your favourite game genre?), while a closed question is a Boolean question, so it is limited to either yes or no (e.g: Do you have "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate"?). An example of secondary data is from an article (link below) about the head of Sonic Team, Takashi IIzuka stating that he is interested in remaking Sonic Adventure. I know this is valid since it includes a quote from IIzuka himself. Qualitative data can be any type of open data, including names and attributes, usually facts linked to how a person is feeling; while quantitative data only includes numerical data (e.g: How old are you?). There are many ways in which you can collect these kinds of data, which include secondary data methods such as interviews, surveys (which are an open method), emails, notes, photos and videos. When interviewing someone, remember to make eye-contact, sit up straight and do not talk after asking a question otherwise you could cause the interviewee to start rambling.

https://comicbook.com/gaming/2018/12/31/sonic-adventure-remake-of-interest-team-sega/

Demographic

Student (Dave):

• Male
• Fat
• Lives in basement
• Lives with parents
• Acne
• Glasses
• 3 Bed House
• Corsa 2004
• Works at McDonald's
• £5000 a year income
• English

Artjem:

• Female
• Fit (a little bit muscular)
• Flat shared with boyfriend (who is Vietnamese)
• Beautiful/wears makeup
• Ice white hair
• Is Russian
• Mobile Games
• Bus
• Gym: P.T
• ₽320,000

 Artjem's Day:

• Wakes up at 8:00am
• Facebook, mobile
• Walks to the bus, drives to the mobile gym to a park at 8:30am - Exercise/Boxercise
• Lunch time - Never stops
• 5:00pm home
• Waits for her boyfriend to get home, and then eats
• Gaming (either together or individually, varies)
• After 6:00pm, continues gaming and goes to bed at 9:00pm (her boyfriend goes to bed at the same time) 

Dave's Day:

• Wakes up at 8:15pm
• 8:30am breakfast
• Showers at 8:45am
• Drives to school
• Gets home, changes clothes to casual wear and starts playing games in the basement
• Has tea at 7:00pm
• Continues gaming
• Goes to bed at 11:00pm, and leaves the console on.

Audience
Demographic:

• Age
• Race
• Ethnicity
• Location
• Work
• Gender

Geodemographic

• Clusters (Daves in Japan, Brazil and England)
• Gender: 48% women play games, but only 6% of them admit it. 52% men play games, but 15% of them admit it.
• Age: 16-24 = 16%, 25-27 = 14%, 28-30 = 12%, 31-34 = 10%, 35-40 = 8.6%, 41+ = 10%

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Research Essay (1000+): Due 13th February
Define secondary research.
Define tertiary research.
Define primary research. Must also define the following:

• Qualitative data
• Quantitative data
• Reliable data
• Valid data

Use game design examples

Show which sources I have used (e.g: a book, a website, etc.)

What is audience research (player)? Consumer only.

Game? +bad examples.

What is market research? Existing market, competitors.

How do I make a game that exceeds expectation (e.g: Minecraft's history)? Advertising (am I wasting money?)?

GTA Examples: IV->V Who is the player? How is it marketed?

Similar Games (+their stats), I choose a game and apply research theory to statistics I find, then choose 2 further games with similar statistics. 

Secondary                                            Qual&Quant                                Valid&Reliable

                                                                 Data

Platforms?

Create 10 questions for a TV interview (Primary Research)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------GTA

Demographic: On average, most of the GTA playerbase consists of people aged between 18 and 24 (42.32%) 

Geodemographic: 

Create 10 questions (primary research)

Open/closed?

Qual? Quant?

Valid and/or Reliable?

With a view to using these in the TV studio on 6/3/19

Get a screenshot and writing from a published online source (e.g: an article or a video)

What am I going to expect in the answer?

(GTA)

(Fox - Roblox<--Creating)

Step 1) Make up a prototype question

Step 2) Screenshot a site with data surrounding the above question

Step 3) Write the answer(s) you expect to get the most

Step 4) If needed, Re-write the question (this ends up being the final version of the question)

1. Which next-gen console is your favourite? 

"Sony PlayStation 4 Pro

THE MOST POWERFUL GAMING CONSOLE

The Sony company managed to develop the most powerful gaming console as of today, which offers the support of such cutting-edge technologies as HDR and 4К resolution output. The new console is a modified Sony PlayStation 4 model, though its title has a “Pro” suffix.  This suffix indicates the use of a new more powerful hardware, which offers a performance higher than that of a predecessor. The PlayStation 4 Pro integrates the most powerful console graphics subsystem available on the market today. The GPU with an impressive 4.20 TFLOPS of processing power opens the new possibilities for game developers in creating more visually sophisticated digital worlds and for gamers in indulging themselves in stunning gaming titles. The raw GPU power is backed up with the modern features support that’s why Sony PS4 Pro offers 4К video output both cabled and streamed and enables you to enjoy a smooth and detailed picture all the way. Using the reworked and optimised for the Pro model Netflix and YouTube video content services help you utilise the advanced capabilities of the Sony Playstation 4 Pro fully. Thus having connected your PS 4 Pro to a LED TV with a big screen that supports the 4К resolution and HDR standard that becomes very popular, you will experience the most technically advanced and visually riveting video gaming and videos watching to date. Another noticeable step in technical evolution that this gaming console by Sony has made is a significant frame rate increase in virtual reality experience, which makes gaming even more immersive. Cooperative gaming and user communication features were also enriched by the implementation of the Share Play feature that allows reassigning your gaming controller to another person, inviting your friend to your gaming session as a spectator and play PS titles without installing them to your console."

The answers I expect to get are either PS4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch since they are all the current consoles (the site says Wii U in November 2018, but I disagree with this since it is not the current Nintendo console, the Switch is). Therefore, the final question will be as followed.

1. If you had the money, which next-gen system (e.g: PS4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch) would you ideally buy and why?

2. Which platforming sub-genre do you play the most? 

"Top 10 Most Popular Game Genres Dominating the Global Gaming Market 2018

1.      Action games

Action games have long been one of the most popular game genres. Games in the ‘action’ genre put emphasis on challenging the player’s reflexes, reaction time, and hand-eye coordination. The best action games include the perfect blend of everything this genre has to offer and channel it into a unique experience which only an action game can deliver. Given the longevity and popularity of the action game genre, game developers have played around with the method quite a bit. Consequently, action games have branched out into various sub-genres that include Beat ’em Ups such as Double Dragon and Final Fight, Shooter Games, and Platforming Games like Mutant Mudds, Super Mario 3D Land, and Kirby’s Adventure"

The answer I think I am most likely to get is action games, since it they have been ranked at the number one spot on the above list. Since there is a possibility that the interviewee may not like platformers, the final version of the question is as followed:

2. Do you like platformers? If so, which platforming sub-genre is your favourite?

3. How fond are you of difficulty in video games?

"Difficult or A Cheat? Thoughts on Arcade Game Difficulty

It’s not some highly guarded secret that arcade games are usually difficult. They are by nature since it’s a pay-per-play structure and the games are made to make money. I have heard that the charge of the games making money is some great sin but let’s be honest – if there was no motive to make money from the machines, they simply wouldn’t exist at all. We all have to make money to survive and one thing I think a lot of players forget about arcade operation is that it’s not exactly easy to profit off a machine. You have the cost of the machine that needs to be paid off but more than that – rent, electricity, wages if you have employees, insurance, taxes, maintenance/up-keep, anything else that pops-up at random and then if you are lucky maybe you can pay yourself a little after that. There is the expression “laughing your way to the bank”, which is certainly not something I have ever caught myself doing, as it’s generally more of a “oh crap I’ve got bills accumulating and I hope I have enough to pay everything off on time” sort of feeling that is the opposite of joy. This article is really coming along after I was tipped off by AH writer Heavy Electricity to an opinion article found on Computerandvideogames.com. Its title is “Feature: OPINION: Free-to-play cheats as blatantly as arcade games did“. He did his own rebuttal but decided to not publish it to the site here since it’s a bit more confrontational but it’s still good. Read it here. I am not looking to tackle the whole Freemium thing, just the lousy comparisons that are being used with arcade games. By the title alone I have a problem with that as the breakdown of this claim that arcades blatantly cheat implies that they are a scam. This is ridiculous and let me state my case as to why. Now if we were talking about gambling machines where skill is pretty much meaningless then I think one can make an argument along those lines. There are redemption games like pushers where skill may not be very helpful but usually redemption in general has to have some skill element to them to avoid problems. But in the world of video arcade games, chance is not something built into a vast majority of games but it has an opposite cousin, an elusive word that from my own observations of watching people play a variety of games on different platforms (arcade/console/PC) seems to be misunderstood in a way that the concept is lost on some. That word is “skill”."

I do not think that I will get one answer much more frequently than the other since the quoted article above makes points to back up both points of view. Since the article phrases it differently, this question's final version is shown below:

3. Do you think it is okay for games to have high difficulty levels?

4. Do you prefer retro games (games released between 1985 and 2005) or modern games?

"Are classic video games better than modern video games?"

60% Say Yes

It's no longer about the game itself, but what's around it

The only good thing about new major games is currently... Graphics. I love HD graphics, and the current level of detail, but modern games lack of fantasy and "magic". And it seems to me that they don't appeal if they don't have swears, blood and boobs. Furthermore, these one-use disposable games need to be covered with trophies/achievements, unlockable content and futile extras to be played for more than one month. Almost none of my new games deserve to be remembered, whereas most of the classics do. And I'm not of the nostalgic type."

The answer that I think I am most likely to get is retro games since there are more people who DO think they are better than modern games than people who don't, according to the article quoted above. I will not change the question's final version since the article basically tells you how many people prefer retro games, and how many people prefer modern ones.

5. Do you prefer playing with others or by yourself?

"Two Thirds Of Video Gamers Prefer To Play Alone

Video game revenues are expected to hit $93 billion by 2019. FORBES was curious as to what factors continue to drive the growth of this market.

To that end, in a FORBES/Qualtrics survey, 500 video game players answered questions to get to the bottom of what keeps gamers shelling out cash at every big game release. The survey group, selected by Qualtrics—a research software company—mirrored the demographic breakdown of the video game market. Fifty-six percent of the respondents were male and the largest age group in the survey pool was 25 to 34. Of the group, 45% reported playing video games for more than two hours each day and 29% said they spend between one and two hours playing daily. The remaining 26% reported spending less than an hour playing video games on a daily basis.

The FORBES/Qualtrics survey found that action/adventure games were the most popular genre, with 57% of respondents saying that they liked them. When respondents were asked what their favorite games were, Candy Crush, Call Of Duty and Madden were the most commonly listed titles. The majority of people surveyed prefer solo gameplay (67%), compared to 23% who prefer multiplayer games."

I think that most people will respond with playing alone since the quoted article above uses a statistic to back up a point about most people preferring solo play. I will not be changing the question since the article coincides with exactly what the original question means.

6. Do you like playing on console or PC?

"PC Gaming vs Console Gaming – Which Should I Choose?

Short Answer

PC offers better visuals, a greater number of indie titles, and more affordable games while being substantially more expensive to buy than consoles. It can also be plagued by compatibility and hardware issues. Consoles, on the other hand, are cheaper to buy and can last for an entire console generation, and are much easier to troubleshoot, but games tend to be more expensive."

I think that most people will say PC since the quoted article above sums up why PC gaming is better in one simple paragraph. Since there are people who may say both, the final version of this question will be...

6. Do you prefer console gaming or PC gaming?

7. How much money do spend, quarterly?

"JUST HOW MUCH MONEY DO WE SPEND ON GAMES?

• In short: A whole lot. Consumers spent $23.5 billion on the gaming industry in 2015. $16.5 billion was spent on gaming content alone.
• Since 2010, more and more buyers are spending their money on digital releases. Last year, 56 percent of sales were made digitally. That's a four percent increase over last year."

I think that the interviewee(s) will be most likely to say that they spend between $100-160 per year, since the total amount of spent money per year could have changed since 2015. To make the statistic clearer, the final version of the question will be as shown below:

7. How much money do you spend on gaming, annually?

8. What is your favourite video game art style?

"No budget, no rules: the 10 most original indie art styles

Journey

It's not the destination, it's the Journey. Thatgamecompany's 2012 masterpiece taught us to take things one step at a time, to look around and admire everything around us. Whether going it along or being joined by other travelers, the world should be appreciated for its beauty. Admiring the world of Journey definitely isn't difficult, as it sports some of the most beautiful visuals an indie game has ever seen. The glistening desert, the snowy mountain, the shining sky... no matter where our Journey took us, we couldn't help but be overwhelmed by what surrounded us. Journey isn't a game to be rushed through, after all; every little detail must be considered, every landmark examined, every inch experienced. It's all a part of the Journey, and without taking the time to appreciate it, it'll fly by way too quickly."

I think that most people will say that the art style used in Journey is their favourite, since it is the number-one pick on the quoted top ten list article above. Since the article refers to specific artistic games, the final version of this question is shown below:

8. Is there a certain artistic game that you really like the visual style of?

9. How long (in hours) do you like the game to last, usually? 

"Length Matters

Why no one knows how long video games are — and why maybe we should

A line of text at the top of this page told you that this story would take 10 minutes to read. That’s only an estimate, based on average reading rates; you might go slightly slower or faster, and along the way, you might pause to pretend to be working. Even if you don’t reach the end in exactly 10 minutes, though, the guess is still useful in setting expectations. That’s long enough to learn something, but not so long that you won’t have time to finish (if you feel like finishing) before you head home to your hot date/Sears catalog. In almost every medium (not to mention Medium), this is how entertainment operates: The consumer opts into an experience after the creator gives guidance on how long the content will last. Movies, videos, TV shows, plays, albums, songs, board games, and even amusement-park rides offer either approximate or precise runtimes. Books provide page counts; e-book readers, like this website, include estimated times to completion. Most sporting events include clocks. The benefits of being upfront are twofold: First, consumers can make more informed decisions about whether the payoff will be worth their investment, and second, they can pursue that payoff with a feel for how much of their lives they’ll need to set aside. Video games don’t work that way. They’re exceptions to the status quo, stubborn black boxes that leave more to the imagination than most media. You won’t find an estimated playtime on a given game’s packaging or its listing in an online store, even though many games last longer than entire TV seasons, with enormous (and, at the extremes, increasing) variability from one title to the next. That doesn’t keep people from guesstimating, though: “In addition to the forever game that has the capacity to be a lifelong hobby (Overwatch), and the 50-hour game that is the standard, canonical video game consumer product (The Witcher 3), we now have the 5-hour game (Inside), the 3-hour game (The Beginner’s Guide), the 1-hour game (Frog Fractions), the 15-minute game (Dys4ia), the 1-minute game (Passage), [and] the 30-seconds-per-day game (VESPER.5),” says Frank Lantz, a game designer who serves as the director of the NYU Game Center."

I think most people are bound to say that a game should last for at least 8-12 hours, since that is roughly twice the length of what the quoted article above considers the 5-hour game (which is Inside, a platformer). Since the game I am thinking of making is a platformer, the final version of this question will be as shown below:

9. How long do you think the average platformer should last?

10. Do you prefer to pick up and play casual games, or do you like to immerse yourself in a story-driven gaming experience? 

"Serious gaming vs Casual gaming

Traditionally serious (or hardcore) gaming and casual gaming have been distinguished by genres and time within the gaming community. For example, FPS, Fighting, and most RPGs/JRPGs are considered to be games for hardcore players. In some circles this is especially true for games where more time is needed to master the game itself, so there is a longer learning curve. Casual gaming is often defined by the Puzzle, Adventure and Family genres for causal players. They are games that anyone of any age can pick up and play regardless of skill level. So the learning curve is actually much smaller. Now these differences don't always hold true in the minds of all gamers, mainly because that genre difference is becoming a bit problematic. For example, some gamers don't consider fans of Nintendo to be "mature hardcore gamers" because that company tends to cater to all ages and many of their games might fall under the causal market. On the other hand there are plenty of gamers that jump both hardcore and causal genres on a regular basis. So there are also gamers who believe that anyone who simply just plays a lot of console games are into serious gaming. Especially since there is a causal gaming market, though most of that market exists on the PC and as Apps. These are genres that would include Hidden Object, 3 Match, and Time Management Games. Also most social media games..."

I think most people will say that they casual games, since they can you do not have to invest so much time into them due to them consisting of mostly puzzle, adventure and family games, according to the quoted article above. I will not need to change this question since the article refers to the exact meaning of the question.

Answers:
Q1. PS4, since the interviewee is a JRPG fan, and Sony is primarily a Japanese company that produce these JRPGs.
Q2. The interviewee does likes platformers, more specifically, Metroidvanias.
Q3. The interviewee thinks that high levels of difficulty are okay, so long as they are optional.
Q4. The interviewee prefers retro games.
Q5. Whether the interviewee prefers playing alone or with others depends on the genre of the game.
Q6. The interviewee prefers PC gaming (but used to prefer console gaming).
Q7. The interviewee spends between approximately £1000-2000 per year.
Q8. The interviewee likes the art style of the game Persona 5 for its uniqueness and astounding UI.
Q9. According to the interviewee, the average platformer should last between approximately 4-5 hours.
Q10. The interviewee goes either way depending on the game. For example, the interviewee likes to pick up and play games such as Overwatch, but with story-driven JRPGs such as Final Fantasy VII, they like to invest lots of time into them (approximately 1 month straight).

DATE	SUBJECT	TARGET FOR THIS SESSION Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Timely	REFLECTION  DID I ACHIEVE MY TARGET? What went well? - What didn’t go well? - Why?	TUTOR SIGNATURE
20/3/19	Research Pitch Powerpoint	Complete my Powerpoint presentation for Unit 3 - Will try to complete in this session. Realistically, should be possible if I do it quickly, I will try to get it done by the end of the lesson.

DATE	SUBJECT	TARGET FOR THIS SESSION Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Timely	REFLECTION DID I ACHIEVE MY TARGET? What went well? - What didn’t go well? - Why?	TUTOR SIGNATURE