Assassins Creed

Assassin's Creed is a historical fiction action-adventure open world stealth video game series that as of 2012 consists of five main games and a number of supporting materials. The games have appeared on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, iOS, HP webOS,^[2] Android, Nokia Symbian and Windows Phone platforms, and will be coming to the Wii U and the PlayStation Vita. The main games in the franchise were developed by Ubisoft Montreal, with the handheld titles developed by Gameloft and Gryptonite Studios, with additional development by Ubisoft Montreal. All games in the franchise are published by Ubisoft. The series has been a success and won a number of awards. The series took inspiration from the novel Alamut by the Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol.

First Release: 13 Novemeber 2007

	GameRankings	Metacritic
	(X360) 82.51%[47] (PC) 79.17%[48] (PS3) 78.82%[49]	(X360) 81[50] (PS3) 81[51] (PC) 79[52]

Formats:
PS3
X360
Win
And

Narrative:
Desmond Miles i a bartender who is kidnapped by a powerful corporation called Abstergo. While captive, Desmond is informed that he can use a machine called the Animus created by Abstergo to relive his ancestors' memories. He consents to use the machine and relives the memories of his ancestor Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad.
Altaïr, Desmond's ancestor, is a disgraced assassin because he broke the three tenets of the Assassin's Creed:

1. Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent.
2. Hide in plain sight.
3. Never compromise the brotherhood.

In order to regain his former status, Altaïr must hunt down nine key targets. Altaïr reluctantly agrees and he slowly hunts down the men. He realizes they all have something in common. After assassinating all nine targets and discovering that his ninth target was in fact a trap, Altaïr confronts Robert, the leader of the Knights Templar, in front of King Richard I of England, leader of the Crusader army. Altaïr informs Richard that Robert is plotting to betray and kill him, which causes him to encourage a duel to the death between Altaïr and Robert. Richard then believes Altaïr. Upon dying, Robert confesses to Altaïr that there were not nine, but ten Templars conspiring to take the Piece of Eden, the tenth being the head of the Assassins, Al Mualim, who wanted to keep the Piece of Eden for himself and therefore sent out Altaïr to kill the others. Back at Masyaf, the assassin's fortress, Al Mualim had taken over the minds of the people inside. Altaïr manages to defeat and kill him in a duel. The memory Abstergo was searching for, which located the Piece of Eden, reveals it is only just one of 28 that are scattered across the world.
Back in 2012, Abstergo sends a team to recover as many Pieces as possible. Deciding they do not need him anymore, they give orders to kill Desmond. Lucy Stillman, an Abstergo employee who revealed to Desmond that she is an undercover Assassin, convinces them not to kill Desmond until they recover the Pieces, buying him time. Desmond is left alone in the Animus room, and by the use of Altaïr's Eagle Vision inherited from the "Bleeding Effect" caused by the Animus, he sees many symbols drawn in blood on the wall in his room and on the floors of the lab. These symbols contain references to the end of the world in many different languages and in the left side of his room, the player sees "I Entered the Animus and never returned".


Reception:
The Assassin's Creed games have received overwhelming popularity with the general public and much acclaim from critics. The series has also been financially successful, with the first and second games both selling over 8 million copies to date. In February 2011, Ubisoft announced that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood has shipped 6.5 million copies.^[85] As of May 2011, the first three main games have sold over 28 million copies worldwide.^[86] As of November 2011, sales for Brotherhood were "in line" with Assassin's Creed II, which sold close to 9 million copies worldwide through March 2010. Brotherhood has sold 3.14 million copies in the US through the end of September. As of February 15, 2012, the franchise as a whole has sold over 38 million copies since November 2007.^[87]
Assassins Creed 29 million units sold.

Ubisoft's full-year sales for its 2007-2008 fiscal year totaled �928 million, or roughly $1.45 billion, a 36.4% increase over last year's figure of �680 million / $1.02 billion. Fourth quarter sales were up 10% also, clocking in at �217 million / $340.5 million.

Following these sales figures, Ubisoft has raised its 2008-2009 operating profit forecast by 1 percent, to at least 12% from 11%, which means that fiscal year sales forecasts remain at around �1 billion. Ubisoft declared that the profit guidance increase is related to savings on royalties after the publisher acquired Tom Clancy's name for videogames and spin-off products: "Ubisoft's games line-up is particularly strong, with no fewer than seven existing franchises, five new releases and new brands in the casual segment," said CEO Yves Guillemot.


Sales of 1.93 billion in 2011 made the gaming industry the country's biggest entertainment sector.
ERA article

Computer Game Industry

The structure of the computer games industry: - wikipedia
Considered by some as a curiosity in the mid-1970s, the computer and video game industries have grown from focused markets to mainstream. They took in about US$9.5 billion in the US in 2007, 11.7 billion in 2008, and 25.1 billion in 2010 (ESA annual report).
Modern personal computers owe many advancements and innovations to the game industry: sound cards, graphics cards and 3D graphic accelerators, CD ROM and DVD-ROM drives, are a few of the more notable improvements.
Sound cards were developed for addition of digital-quality sound to games and only later improved for music and audiophiles.^[2] Early on, graphics cards were developed for more colors.^{[citation needed]} Later, graphics cards were developed for graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and games. GUIs drove the need for high resolution,^{[citation needed]} games drove 3D acceleration.^{[citation needed]} They also are one of the only pieces of hardware to allow multiple hookups (such as with SLI or CrossFire graphics cards).^{[citation needed]} CD- and DVD-ROMs were developed for mass distribution of media in general, however the ability to store more information on cheap easily distributable media was instrumental in driving their ever higher speeds.
Modern games are among the most demanding of applications on PC resources. Many of the high-powered personal computers are purchased by gamers who want the fastest equipment to power the latest cutting-edge games.^{[citation needed]} Thus, the inertia of CPU development is due in part to this industry whose games demand faster processors than business or personal applications.

www.obscure.co.uk
Industry structure – The key businesses within the industry are publishing, development, distribution and hardware manufacturers (console makers Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft). The key issue to be aware of when looking at the industry is the complex interactions of the various companies. A company focused on one of these areas may also be active in others. Publishers often own all or part of a development or distribution company and the hardware manufacterers all act as publishers for their own 1st party products. This means that an independent development company seeking to do business with a publisher may actually be approaching the owner of one of their main competitors.

The top 5 most important computer games ever - in my opinion/life

1. Pacman/Snake
2. Crash Bandicoot (PS1)
3. Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)
4. Fruit Ninja (iPhone)
5. Just Dance (Nintendo Wii)

I swear these games have shaped my childhood, The differences in technology is ridiculous from Snake that at the time could have my attention for literally hours yet involved 4 buttons and a line chasing a square round a screen to Just Dance that involves your movement being recorded on a screen by a small handheld stick that judges your movement. Nintendo DS's in my opinion where when things started to change regarding computer games with the touchscreen and stick which seemed crazily high tech compared to the little Gameboy with the Super Mario Bros or Crash Bandicoot.


The top 5 most important computer games ever - regarding sales, in the opinon of Wikipedia

Atari 2600 games that have sold or shipped at least one million copies

TITLE	Release Year	Copies sold	Comments
Pac-Man	1982	7 million[1][2]	Best-selling home video game up until that time.[3]
Pitfall!	1982	4 million[4][5]
Asteroids	1981	3.8 million[6]	Best-selling Atari 2600 game prior to Pac-Man.[6]
Missile Command	1980	2.5 million[7]
Space Invaders	1980	2 million[8]	First game to sell a million cartridges.[9]

Wii

 

 

Wii video games that have sold or shipped at least five million copies.

• Wii Sports (79.60 million)^[85][86]
• Mario Kart Wii (32.44 million)^[85][87]
• Wii Sports Resort (30.14 million)^[85]
• Wii Play (28.02 million)^[88]
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii (26.26 million)^[85]

Upcoming Christmas 2012 computer game release

23. NINTENDOLAND

Play it on: Wii U Out: November 30
For some reason, companies have used athletics to demonstrate the capabilities of their new-fangled controllers. Nintendo chose Wii Sports. Microsoft had Kinect Sports, and for Sony it was Sports Champions. This year Nintendo seeks to buck the trend with NintendoLand, a 12-minigame compilation making use of Gamepad, Nunchuck and Remote and based on various Nintendo franchises. Race around an F-Zero track, shoot from Samus' gunship, tackle a Zelda dungeon and hunt ghosts in Luigi's mansion. Oh, and get involved in a reprise of 1986 NES title, Balloon Fight. You wanted that, right? For those with gaming mates, and for those curious about what the Wii U actually does, NintendoLand will be a must-have. BG

 How changing technology is affecting video games

BBC report
The video game industry can have a tendency to surprise people. Not only does it employ very intelligent, driven, ambitious and talented people, but it is also a key driver for economic revenue on the UK, generating £1bn annually for the country's GDP.

Our latest game is holding its own right at the top of the charts in global rankings against the behemoths of the industry which are mostly US-created, and have massively bigger budgets for development and marketing.

One thing that remains unchanged is that there will always be change in our industry.

There have been many challenges, not only to the way games play but in the way they are made and they way they are delivered. Whilst sadly change and the recession has had an impact on UK game developers with many studios closing down, there is much to be excited about for the future.

gigaom.com
lst week, mobile analytics firm Flurry released the results of a survey of more than 60,000 users who play mobile social games — a space that includes everything from Electronic Arts’ Pogo lineup to Zynga’s Words With Friends and FarmVille. As it turns out, on-the-go gamers are very different than their console-playing counterparts.

For advertisers: Mobile social gaming is far more mainstream than the world of console gaming. So its audience is low-hanging fruit for a wide variety of potential advertisers, especially those looking to target both women and men. Unlike other types of mobile ads, social gaming is well suited to the kind of “actionable” advertising strategies that ask a consumer to engage with a brand or click to call. But those ads should be more than just the pedestrian banner ads that increasingly ignored by consumers (and that often just push other mobile games). Instead, advertisers should work with developers to integrate their campaigns with well-known games, and cross-promote them via traditional media and online ads.
For developers: Developers should employ every available strategy in monetizing mobile social games, from the promising freemium model to simple paid downloads to free titles supported entirely by ad revenues. And mobile social gaming is a particularly good fit for in-app purchases that encourage users to cough up a few dollars to acquire virtual tools or access new levels. (As long as those games don’t encourage kids to ring up ridiculous charges on their parents’ phone bills.)
For app store operators: The likelihood of an app being found gets increasingly harder as the Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market add more titles. So app store operators can cash in on the exploding space by making sure the best — and most lucrative — games are easy to find. They should spotlight the most popular and highest-quality games as “featured” titles, especially those from established, trusted publishers, and make it easy for gamers to find relevant titles by using recommendations based on past purchases and reviews. And app stores should leverage the social component by encouraging users to suggest specific games to their friends who opt to receive those suggestions.

Worst paragraph makeover

Maude wears simple clothes whilst the woman wears intricate outfits which is a stark contrast when you consider sexuality as Maude's sexuality isnt simple considering it is in secret and she cannot tell the woman how she feels. It is also noticable that from Maude's typical feminime dress sense her homosexuality is vaguely recognisable in comparison to the suspected heterosexuality of the woman. The part of the scene where Maude is in the bed and the woman is getting changed we see quick cuts of an eyeline match to and from the naked womans back which is positioned in the middle of a candle and a fire possibly connecting the woman to danger or sexual attraction.

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TERMINOLOGY

OCR VIDEO TERMINOLOGY
Camera shots
A variety of camera shots creates atmosphere and a specific mood for narrative
An establishing shot is usually at the beginning
A long shot helps the audience understand the relationship between character and setting
Mid shot focuses more on mise-en-scene
Contrasting represents binary oppositions eg. young and old
Close up is usually on an object of significance and works as reference for point of view shot which puts you inside the mind of the character
Extreme close up shot draws into emotions of character and is intense and uncomfortable for audience

Movements
A tracking shot is backwards and forwards, it draws the audience in or tells you that the action is over
A tilt shot is up or down and it gives a sense of height or power
Established camera shots create atmosphere and realism
Zoom is into or away and stimulates a tracking shot
Arc shot is a semi circle and it enables the audience to see the characters full emotions
A panning shot is left to right and is usually used when a character is searching a room

GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
Genre - The classification of any media text into a category or type.

Representation - The process by which an image etc may be used to represent/stand for someone or something.

Hypodermic Needle Theory - (also known as the hypodermic-syringe model, transmission-belt model, or magic bullet theory) is a model of communications suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver. The model is rooted in 1930s behaviorism and is largely considered obsolete today.


Discourse - The expression of ideologies or speech used to achieve social, personal or political power.

Media Institution – The operation of a large media corporation embracing production, distribution and consumption

Mis-en-scene – Everything that is put in a TV studio or film set

Narrative - The way in which a plot or story is told, by whom and in what order.

Form – The structure or skeleton of a text

Ideology - A system of beliefs/values, which can be identified in mass media products or texts.

Denotation - The common sense, obvious meaning of something.

Connotation - Associations triggered by eg. an image or an object.

  ADVANCED TERMINOLOGY

paradigmatic elements/ codes and conventions- items that are used at construction to make a complete product
syntagm- the completed product (such as a completed magazine or dvd cover
bricolage- a combo of genres, e.g. action and romance, or romance and comedy
in-house style- a company of organisation way of communication with a consistent layout
enigma- exciting (a engimatic character, like Sylar in heroes)
direct mode of address- when a character looks straight at the camera (at the audience, indirect mode of address is the opposite)

MISE EN SCENE TERMINOLOGY

This term is used in film to describe what is in the frame and why. There are several areas to consider when talking about mise en scene:

·         Setting and props

·         Costume and make-up

·         Body language and facial expression

·         Lighting and colour

Each of these factors combines to give the shot a certain 'look' or 'feel'. What is put in or left out of a shot can make a big difference to the signals we receive about what sort of film it is and how we are supposed to feel at this point. For instance, a simple shot of a tree can be made to look threatening by adding a vulture and a storm and shooting it in darkness. The same tree can be given a very different look by having children playing beneath its sunlit branches.

EDITING TERMINOLOGY

cut A visual transition created in editing in which one shot is instantaneously replaced on screen by another.
continuity editing Editing that creates action that flows smoothly across shots and scenes without jarring visual inconsistencies. Establishes a sense of story for the viewer.
cross cutting Cutting back and forth quickly between two or more lines of action, indicating they are happening simultaneously.
dissolve A gradual scene transition. The editor overlaps the end of one shot with the beginning of the next one.
editing The work of selecting and joining together shots to create a finished film.
errors of continuity Disruptions in the flow of a scene, such as a failure to match action or the placement of props across shots.
establishing shot A shot, normally taken from a great distance or from a "bird's eye view," that establishes where the action is about to occur.
eyeline match The matching of eyelines between two or more characters. For example, if Sam looks to the right in shot A, Jean will look to the left in shot B. This establishes a relationship of proximity and continuity.
fade A visual transition between shots or scenes that appears on screen as a brief interval with no picture. The editor fades one shot to black and then fades in the next. Often used to indicate a change in time and place.
final cut The finished edit of a film, approved by the director and the producer. This is what the audience sees.
iris Visible on screen as a circle closing down over or opening up on a shot. Seldom used in contemporary film, but common during the silent era of Hollywood films.
jump cut A cut that creates a lack of continuity by leaving out parts of the action.
matched cut A cut joining two shots whose compositional elements match, helping to establish strong continuity of action.
montage Scenes whose emotional impact and visual design are achieved through the editing together of many brief shots. The shower scene from Psycho is an example of montage editing.
rough cut The editor's first pass at assembling the shots into a film, before tightening and polishing occurs.
sequence shot A long take that extends for an entire scene or sequence. It is composed of only one shot with no editing.
shot reverse shot cuttingUsually used for conversation scenes, this technique alternates between over-the-shoulder shots showing each character speaking.
wipe Visible on screen as a bar travelling across the frame pushing one shot off and pulling the next shot into place. Rarely used in contemporary film, but common in films from the 1930s and 1940s.

SOUND TERMINOLOGY

Acousmatic sound - sound one hears without seeing their originating cause   Acousmêtre - akind of invisible voice-character with mysterious powers   Added Value - the expressive and/or informative value with which a sound enriches a image  Audiovisual Contract - an agreement to forget that sound is coming from loudspeakers and picture from screen    Anempathetic Sound - music or sound effects that seems to exhibit conspicuous indifference to what is goingon in the film's plot  Chronography   -  the stabilisation of projection speed madecinema an art of time   Empathetic Sound - music or sound effects whose mood matches the mood of the action  Extension(of SoundSpace)

External logic - the logic by which the flow of sound includes effects of discontinuity as nondiegetic interventions   Internal logic - the logic by which the sound flow is apparently born out of the narrative situation itself    Magnetization (spatial) -  "mental pan" of the sound source  Materializing Sound Indices (M. S. I.)  - sonic details that "materialize" the sound source  Rendering - the use of sounds to convey the feelings or effects associated with the situation on screen Synchresis - the mental fusion between a sound and a visual when these occur at exactly the same time    Temporalization - influence of sound on the perception of time in the image  Vococentrism - the privilige of the voicein audiovisual media

Mock exam re-done

    The initial wide shot helps set the scene and brings in comparisons of class by showing the well equipped guards against the gladiators who are wearing rags and this shows the lower class situation, which is obviously not good. One of the first few shots is a shot through the cage which is also reflected later in the scene through the net when the fighting takes place, this represents how the lower classes are stuck and caged into this lower part of society and want to but cannot break out of it. The point of view shot when the two main characters are in the box and the other two are fighting shows their lack in status and class as that is what they are destined for. The most prominent sign of the differences of class and status between the gladiators and the onlookers is when we have an over the shoulder shot from the onlookers which exaggerates their higher power and status in comparison to the low gladiators who casually watch whilst chatting in comparison to the brutal events taking place below this shows the gladiators to be the prorgaonists and the upper class to be the antagonists in this situation. The low angled wide shot we see numerous times throughout strongly represents the variations in class and status between all characters as the gladiators are lowest, the guards are middle and the upper class very much the highest.
    The most effective editing in this scene is when the black character has the most of the screen showing his superiority but we still see the upper class in the background although not the focus they are still prominent and signifying his lack in class. The cuts from the box with the gladiators in to the upper class who are casually chatting shows a strong contrast in class the cutting speed slows down in the box which helps exaggerate the emotions of the lower class and then in the actual fighting scene the cutting speed increases with the tension.
     The first we see of the characters is immediately added to with the sound of drums and low trombones that almost sounds like a funeral march which makes the audience aware that there is danger ahead and implies that the characters walking are the ones in trouble of danger and so lower class, the men are then ordered into a box like animals showing their lack of status which is juxtaposed with diagetic sound. The contrasts of the gladiators not speaking at all, the guards barking orders and the upper class speaking freely about things other than the fighting that is about to take place shows the differences in status as the gladiators are clearly so affected by what is about to take place and the upper class see this as nothing worth speaking about which is also represented as they are laughing when leading up to the fight as these people are fighting for their death and they show little recognition for this. The diagetic sound of the battle going on outside the box adds tension whilst also reminding us of their lack in class as this is what they are going to be doing also. The polite applause of the upper class juxtaposed with the climax of music contrasts the significance of the death to the lower class and the simple entertainment to the upper class. When the two main characters are fighting we hear frantic strings that shows the frantic terror of the fighters.
     The dull and muted colour scheme that is present from the first shot shows the low class of the characters and the rags in comparison to the full outfits of the guards again suggest the low class of the gladiators and vulnerability. The higher class members are dressed in rich reds and purples which are usually associated with rich and royal people, this could be connected with Levi Strauss' Binary Opposites. The lower class characters being in the dark and the other higher class guards and upper class being in the light shows literally that the lower are in the dark of society. The lack of clothing when the gladiators remove their rags signifies their vulnerability although they are muscley they are very much being exploited to the onlookers of the higher class. The mise en scene of the upper class playing with their hair as they look down onto the lower class who are playing with life and death shows the contast in status. The black character although wearing little, is wearing white which symbolises purity and could possibly be linked to the fact he doesnt kill the other man, it is also possible the size of weapons represents phallic symbollism and a signification of lower class. The final part of the scene shows blood squirting onto the upper class which represents and increases our dislike for them.

Preliminary Exercise

 Our preliminary exercise was called Waiting, the storyline consisted of a blind date which had a man waiting, a woman rushing to meet him and them instantly connecting as soon as she arrives. We used a variety of shots and the short film was constructed throughout school using the road, stairs and sixth form cafe. We used copyright free music to help the suspense and emotion of the film.

The first thing we did was brainstorm ideas for storylines and settings and then, once we had decided, we began to put our ideas of what we wanted to include onto a list and ordered them chronologically. Then we made this into a storyboard by placing different parts of the story into different boxes  showing how the film would flow and what would happen when and added extra information that might help us when filming. The next step was to add some dialogue and so we created a script so we were organised for filming and could organise things promptly particularly regarding the actors.
 When it came to filming we stuck to the plans really well and organised our time wisely giving different jobs to different people so we were using the time we had effectively. We shot the film in around 2 hours and shot extra shots just incase as the actors only had this time free. We shared the workload equally regarding filming and direction.

 FEEDBACK:
After watching editing our film we showcased it to the others and got feedback. Instantly from watching it on the big screen it was obvious things needed to be changed, particularly the audio. Our audio had been turned down too quiet which affected the overall film and really the audio we had chosen needed to fit the mood more which was mentioned in the feedback. We also had lots of continuity errors as the film was shot over a free lesson and break so the noise and amount of people changed quite a bit which affected how realistic it was.


SUCCESS:
- storyline, it was mentioned a few times that the story of the film was unique
- camera shots, we also had compliments on our range of camera shots
- editing, in particular the split screen which only we used seemed to be liked
- the mystery character, we made sure you could not see the face of the girl in the film until the end which added to the story and made it more dramatic.. possibly

FAILURES:
- camera, due to the weather a lot of the shots were overpowered by rain and the girl didnt really fit in when wearing a skirt in the pouring down rain, this also lead to a slightly shaky camera
- continuation, this was our main downfall and possibly with more time or maybe more time editing this could have been improved this also applies to..
- audio, we definitely should have done a pre recorded audio of the voices to compliment the film

WHAT I WILL LEARN FROM THIS
- planning is key, our successes in this were definitely due to the time we spent planning
- editing, we possibly should have spent more time editing than filming as this would have meant our major downfalls that were sound and continuation could have been resolved
- acting, I think if we had of had better actors the overall quality of the film would have been improved even if the acting was not marked