How often do you open social media and immediately see a cluster of ads? Furthermore, how unlikely is it that you play a YouTube video that did not have a series of advertisements beforehand? 

Advertising is an integral part of life within the 21st Century. With technological advancement and media consumption at an all time high, we are bombarded with it on a daily basis. Businesses and organizations spend millions of dollars to do this and showcase their products to you. Modern advertising can be defined as

“A paid persuasive communication that uses non-personal mass media-as well as other forms of interactive communication-to reach broad audiences to connect an identified sponsor with a target audience.”

(F Begum)

How often do you encounter a Facebook ad that you’re highly suspectful of? Maybe it’s something advertised by ‘Wish’ that you just don’t believe? 

Deception, defined as “dishonest or illegal methods that are used to get something, or to make people believe that something is true when it is not”, goes hand in hand with advertising. The essence of advertising within modern marketing is simply to sell you a product, where we can clearly see a shift from older ‘perception of advertisements in which they come in the forms of public announcers in the market’ rather than to persuade. Deception can occur within ads

‘‘When consumers acquire demonstrably false beliefs as a function of exposure to an advertisement’’

(Xie, GX., Madrigal, R. & Boush, D.M, 2015)

When discussing deceptive advertising, ethics need to be considered. Advertising ethics has a long history, however the basis of concerns and criticisms have stayed quite similar. We can define this component of ethics as

“What is right or good in the conduct of the advertising function. It is concerned with questions of what ought to be done, not just with what legally must be done”

(Minette E. Drumwright & Patrick E. Murphy, 2009).

Some examples of ethical issues are exploitation, subliminal perception, advertising to children, and deceptive advertising as we are looking at. 

Specifically within Australia, the AANA (Australian Association of National Advertisers) Code of Ethics (February 1st, 2021) needs to be upheld. Under said code, advertising means “any advertising, marketing communication or material which is published or broadcast using any Medium or any activity which is undertaken by, or on behalf of an advertiser or marketer.” 

Along with this, the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) Advertising and Selling Guide is considered to ensure the law is being upheld. “The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) is a national law that aims to protect consumers and ensure fair trading in Australia.” The ACL covers:

• misleading or deceptive conduct
• false or misleading claims
• consumer guarantees
• unfair contract terms
• unsolicited consumer agreements.

And also provides a guide to:

• was/now’ or ‘strike through’ pricing
• reviews and testimonials
• online group buying.
• environmental and organic merits
• country and place of origin.

In 2019 the ACCC were the applicant in a deceptive marketing claim against the billion dollar company Samsung (Australia) and not upholding these requirements. Proceedings for this case were based on the claim made against the water resistance abilities of certain Galaxy models. The applicant declares that marketing dated back to 2016 showcased advertisements from Samsung “has made and continues to make express or implied representations, or otherwise has engaged and continues to engage in conduct likely or liable to cause consumers to believe, that the Galaxy phones would be suitable for use in, or exposure to, all types of water.” This, based on visual representations, includes bodies of water such as pools and the ocean. The ACCC expressed that Samsung was without reasonable grounds to make such a claim, as the phones were not suitable for use or explode to all types of water. 

The ACCC relies on S4 of the ACL, Schedule 2 to The Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Misleading Representations With Respect To Future Matters, in this case.

Samsung has no grounds, according to this claim, to use visual representatives because they, accusedly, did not undertake or have knowledge of testing the effect of the Galaxy phones when immersed in water. There was no consideration of the possible damages to phone life, which may result in operational issues. There is also the knowledge that on the official Samsung website, the S10 range was actually stated that they were ‘not advised for beach or pool use’. Samsung has apparently “denied manufacturers’ warranty claims made by customers and claims made under the ACL on the basis that the customer’s Galaxy phone has been damaged through use in, or exposure to, liquid.”

Customers experienced harm from these actions as their products were damaged as a result of water exposure. An example of this type of damage is through the charging port of the phone, as when it ‘detects’ water or even moisture in the area, the phone will not charge for ‘safety’ reasons. This comes hand in hand with a pop up displaying a warning sign. Samsung has denied any liability under its warranty obligations.  

Based on all this, the relief grounds sought after are that Samsung produced deceptive, with the possible intention to mislead, advertising marketing their product. 

This is an example why the Code of Ethics and Advertising and Selling Guide, Australian Consumer Law are two important codes of practice that need to be heavily implemented throughout the advertising/marketing aspect of businesses. Providing truthful, tactful and accurate claims for your product is your responsibility, in company with going through multiple rounds of testing and trials to enable this. Otherwise you too could be at fault with the production of faulty, misleading and deceptive products to the public. 

REFERENCES

Act No. 51 of 1974 as amended, Competition and Consumer Amendment Act 2013

Attas, D. (1999), What’s Wrong with “Deceptive” Advertising?. Journal of Business Ethics 21, 49–59

Australian Association of National Advertisers, Code of Ethics, 1997

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Advertising and Selling Guide, Competition and Consumer Act 2010

Australian Competition And Consumer Commission v Samsung Electronics, 2019, Australia PTY LTD, Victoria Registry, Federal Court of Australia, Concise Statement, VID721/2019

F Begum, M N Nooh, Advertising Ethics: A Review, The Journal of Commerce, Vol. 4, No. 3, ISSN: 2218-8118, 2220-6043 Hailey College of Commerce, University of the Punjab, PAKISTAN

Minette E. Drumwright & Patrick E. Murphy (2009) The Current State of Advertising Ethics: Industry and Academic Perspectives, Journal of Advertising, 38:1, 83-108 

Samsung, My Device Displays a Water Drop Icon and Will Not Charge, 2021 

Xie, GX., Madrigal, R. & Boush, D.M. Disentangling, (2015), the Effects of Perceived Deception and Anticipated Harm on Consumer Responses to Deceptive Advertising. J Bus Ethics 129, 281–293 

When thinking of Vampires, do the 21st Century renditions populated through media culture such as The Vampire Diaries, Twilight, and True Blood come to mind? The most common denominator here, separate to that of the romantic scale, is that all three were originally novels, crafted from the mythology of Vampires.

In regards to novels however, arguably the most known featuring this breed of monster, is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published 26th of May, 1897.

In order to deep dive into why Stoker’s monster is so notably remarkable, the conceptuality of Humanism can be examined.

The origin of the word Humanism is quite compact, branching over many different layers of history. Humanism, in simple terms, is “a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives.”  Now, with the expansion of technological developments, Humanists see a sharp dividing line between humans and their ‘others’, typically animals and machines. The ideas of pure humanity, its values, importantances and divinity. 

When thinking of monsters, with most representatives being used to display a type of humanistic behaviour, they are petulantly depicted as “other”, with a defined line drawn between them and humanity. While this is not always the case, the line gets blurred, purposeful or not.

Stoker emulates this concept through his exploration of Vampires in Dracula in relation to his anxieties around the peak of industrial development, and cultural advancements the world was having at the time. “Stoker puts an emphasis on the newest technology of Britain and combines them with traditional and folkloric traits,” in order to create a fearful monster empowered through these traits.

A large anxiety present within the text is the sexual identity of women and men. The term ‘New Women’ has appeared over the years in regards to plenty of the womanly character’s. One of the monstrous traits of Dracula is his ability to steal women away. “My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side. Your girls that you all love are mine already. And through them you and others shall yet be mine, my creatures, to do my bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed”. (Stoker 357). An example of sexuality shifts and to “address the fact that women started to focus on pleasure and not only on pregnancy.”

Dracula has an “otherness” about him, and it is shown throughout that this is a trigger for women, present through Mina and Lucy. For example, as seen when feeding from Lucy during the night Stoker explores that she must “enjoy the night’s forbidden pleasures” (Stoker 71).

Stoker’s fear of sexuality has been referenced much throughout history, and in the terms of Humanism this is highlighted through his Vampiration of his monsters. Crossing the boundaries of pure humanity, its values, importantances and divinity. For it was not just the Count who had this nature about him, it is also present through the Vampire’s as whole, as we encounter Hacker’s invisible grovel with the creatures. “There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear.” (Stoker 42).

When discussing, especially within religious aspects, the element of ‘blood’ has been a recurring conceptualisation of purity for centuries. Thinking back towards royal families and keeping the bloodline pure, especially in regards to the era of the text being from the Victorian reign of 1837 and the Queen’s death in 1901. It comes to no shock that a bloodthirsty monster is the centerpiece for illuminating Stokers fears for future developments. 

“And you, their best beloved one, are now to me, flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin; my bountiful wine-press for a while; and shall be later on my companion and my helper.” (Stoker 367). Stoker illuminates here the importance of blood as well as the difference between what the Count is conceptually to those who are human. It’s not just the blood that flows through the Vampire’s that alienates them from humanity but their horror-esc desire for it. “First, a little refreshment to reward my exertions. You may as well be quiet; it is not the first time, or the second, that your veins have appeased my thirst!” (Stoker 327). The consumption of blood, while also being an example of sexuality, is a powerful example of the Humanist fear of a tainted, unethical divinity.

Blood is a cultural concept within the text. England at the time was expanding, as represented throughout the novel in reference to different ethnicities. Transylvania is a metaphor for this with “four distinct nationalities: Saxons…mixed with them the Wallachs…Magyars…and Szekelys.” (Stoker 8). The arrival of Vampires is said to symbolise colonisation, along with reverse colonisation with “Count Dracula’s desire to become a part of the English society”. This has always been a prevalent concern of cultural expansion within the West, the growing fear of other ethnicities taking their places. “Blood is too precious a thing in these days of dishonourable peace, and the glories of the great races are as a tale that is told.” (Stoked 33). Here, we can gauge that Dracula is gratified with his “race”, his aristocratic lineage of which he is birthing.

Blood is an abstraction for heritage, for cultural identity and ancestry. Blood holds weight and significance within humanity and purity while in contrast to not only sexuality but race, which have negative connotations within societal factors. Pairing these ideas with the beliefs of Humanism, Stoker’s fears are personified into an entirely new identity. 

A vicious blood drinking monster who prays on women, enticing them, tainting their innocence through the lense of religious historical boundaries, is the personification of relevant anxieties held by Bram Stoker. Count Dracula and the Vampireism of the monsters within the text stand outside their counterparts in remarkability when analysed contextually, especially within comparison to Humanism and its democratic and ethical life stance. 

REFERENCES

Benson Saler, Charles A. Ziegler,Philosophy and Literature, Dracula and Carmilla: Monsters and the Mind, 2005, Volume 29, Number 1

Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897

Bram Stoker and the Crisis of the Liberal Subject

By David Glover Year: 1992 Container: New Literary History Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Page: 983

Craft, Christopher. “‘Kiss Me with Those Red Lips’: Gender and Inversion in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” 1984, pp. 107–33, Representations, no. 8 

Kevin Dodd2 Blood Suckers Most Cruel:”The Vampire and the Bat In and Before Dracula”, 2019, Athens Journal of Humanities & Arts – Volume 6, Issue 2 – Pages 107-132

Kovač, V. (2015). ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Victorian anxieties and fears’, Undergraduate thesis, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

LitCharts. (n.d.). LitCharts 

Literary Devices. (2020). Quotes in Dracula with Examples and Analysis

Lohnes, Kate. “Dracula”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Apr. 2021

Taylor & Francis. 2022. Humanism | Tony Davies | Taylor & Francis Group.

SIMPLY TAYLORLANI, VIDEO GAME SOUND DESIGN VERSION

Contextual Report, BCM215, Game Media Industries 

Author – Taylor Housman, 2021

Overview:

As explained in the Pitch, I (Simply Taylorlani), would be exploring the concept of Video Game Sound Design in relation to the study of the class Game Media Industries. This class was an open area to create and study within, allowing for the picking of a Digital Artifact to be difficult to pinpoint. This is why ST decided on focusing on not a single game or era of them but rather a single aspect that is a part of the majority. The goal here was to critically analyse the chosen media text or paratext.  

The inspiration for this project stemmed from a love of nostalgic Video Game soundtracks such as Nintendo, which is a primary example used throughout this DA. Shared within the Pitch is Youtube Ambience Nintendo inspired videos, which was the starting point. The importance of sound was briefly mentioned, but later became a larger aspect.

Before the publication of the Beta, I produced written content going through the history of sound design in correlation to video games, along with a post dedicated to favourite sounds and ambient inspired playlists, highlighting the different aspects they are used outside of game media space. Written content was the original product to be produced by this DA, and developed to sharing game music stuff on the content based Instagram via stories. 

To be fair, this project did not go as planned. I found that researching this topic was interesting, which led to the brief history post, however it was difficult to create engaging content with. There were many draft pieces, ideas and concepts relating to methodology and research floating around, with little actually being produced. This was largely due to the fact I had no idea to break apart information into separate blog posts outside of things like “a history” etc. Along with being able to find a personal voice that didn’t feel as if I was quoting a textbook. Ultimately, while I did small efforts like Instagram stories, I had no idea what to do with this project, with my information, which created an unmotivated environment. I found myself focusing on other DA’s over this one. 

While I, the creator, grew bored with the project with no path on how to improve, it was also lacking in any kind of engagement. A lesson would be that people are not that interested in reading about Game Media, and as am I. 

Some Research:

This source was a great introduction to “Sound and Music in Film and Visual Media” as it is a critical overview and not directly Video Game related. This was helpful because it conveyed a connective idea and the way different forms of media, like films and games, utilises aspects of design like sound. 

“The Evolution Of Video Game Music” aided in creating understanding. As someone who isn’t intensely invested in history, especially not of games, this was able to convey points of it to me. “History Of Video Games” – “Whereas in the early years the music was often created by the programmers themselves, today’s video game scores are created by film music composers…”

Because of my slight focus on Nintendo, I went a little deeper in trying to uncover some of the history for their Sound Design, especially with how known in Pop Culture it is. “Kondo, however, felt differently: ‘I wanted to create something that had never been heard before, where you’d think, “this isn’t like game music at all…”’, he said in a 2007 interview with Wired.”

Some other notable sources that were helpful and interesting in this project were:

• THE EFFECTS OF BACKGROUND MUSIC ON VIDEO GAME PLAY PERFORMANCE, BEHAVIOR AND EXPERIENCE IN EXTRAVERTS AND INTROVERTS
• Effects of soundtrack music on the video game experience
• Fear of the Unknown: Music and Sound Design in Psychological Horror Games
• What is nostalgia good for? Quite a bit, research shows

Methodology:

From that last point of nostalgia, I explored the frameworks of Nostalgia, Aesthetics and Genre. I explore this largely in these two blog posts. “Nostalgia is powerful here because over time simple aspects such as Sound Design become ingrained within your mind…sound is there to enhance the visual experience by adding to it and so by nature the overall aesthetic of the game is needed in context. Imagine playing Animal Crossing without their classic soundtrack but instead one of a horror game. It changes the interpretation, connectivity and experience…Horror soundtracks are so emotive, they create a connection with the audience. Thye make you feel something…” (Myself, ‘Yes More Game Sound Design’). 

Feedback & Final:

Over the course of this project, mainly through both the Pitch and Beta as those had the most engagement, I received mainly positive feedback. This was mainly from peers, who were helpful in creating more understanding of my own content, who provided positive words like how interesting the initial concept was. 

I believe this project had good intentions, had the right idea and in theory would have worked. However, it is abundantly clear that even when something looks good on paper, in action it can fail. This whole process has been a learning curve for myself, and while I am disappointed in the turn out, am grateful for the experience. 

References:

Bridgett, R. (2013). Contextualizing game audio aesthetics (J. Richardson, C. Gorbman, & C. Vernallis, Eds.). Oxford University Press.

Dazed (2020) Going deep on the blissful brilliance of Animal Crossing’s soundtrack, Dazeddigital.com. Available at: https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/48988/1/going-deep-on-the-blissful-brilliance-animal-crossings-soundtrack-new-horizons 

Extraverts, E. I. N. (no date) A thesis presented to, Gatech.edu. Available at: https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/handle/1853/54462/LEVY-THESIS-2015.pdf 

Friedman, L. (2016) “Why nostalgia marketing works so well with millennials, and how your brand can benefit,” Forbes Magazine, 2 August. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenfriedman/2016/08/02/why-nostalgia-marketing-works-so-well-with-millennials-and-how-your-brand-can-benefit/ 

Fritsch, M. (2013). History of video game music. In Music and Game (pp. 11–40). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.

geargods (2018) The importance of sound design in video gaming, Geargods.net. Available at: https://geargods.net/editorials/the-importance-of-sound-design-in-video-gaming/ 

How Nintendo changed the course of music history (no date) Frieze.com. Available at: https://www.frieze.com/article/nintendo-music-super-mario-bros-metroid-game-soundtrack 

Jack Wall – IMDb (no date) Imdb.com. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908410/ 

Klimmt, C., Possler, D., May, N., Auge, H., Wanjek, L., & Wolf, A.-L. (2019). Effects of soundtrack music on the video game experience. Media Psychology, 22(5), 689–713.

kotakuinternational (2019) Why nostalgia for video games is uniquely powerful, Com.au. Available at: https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/02/why-nostalgia-for-video-games-is-uniquely-powerful/ 

Lane, N., & Prestopnik, N. R. (2017). Diegetic connectivity: Blending work and play with storytelling in serious games. Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play.

Leamcharaskul, J. (2017) What is Horror Game Music and its Effect on the Player?, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@JDWasabi/what-is-horror-game-music-and-its-effect-on-the-player-c3bfff3bc51d 

NPR (2008) “The evolution of video game music,” NPR, 13 April. Available at: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89565567 

Roberts, R. (2014). Fear of the unknown: Music and sound design in psychological horror games. In Music In Video Games (pp. 152–164). Routledge.

Tierney, J. (2013) “What is nostalgia good for? Quite a bit, research shows,” The New York times, 8 July. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/science/what-is-nostalgia-good-for-quite-a-bit-research-shows.html 

Wood, S. (2009) “Video game music: High scores: Making sense of music and video games,” Sound and Music in Film and Visual Media. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. doi: 10.5040/9781628928969.ch-007. 

(No date) 134.178:9000. Available at: http://45.114.134.178:9000/digi/MP03/B1L3-0048.pdf#page=172 

Hey, hey!

Previously I have spoken about the Network Society Padigam and something I mentioned within that is the way we as a society developed from the telegraph. A core aspect I mentioned was the way we have now developed in the future to be more demanding of attention, the “need a response right now” type, branching from this constant online connectivity. 

Now, I don’t want to restate myself, however in this next module we looked at other concepts like The Internet of Things, and Meme Warfare. You might be thinking how do any of these things connect or even link back to this connectivity issue? 

Well, some background.

THE INTERNET OF THINGS – 

Communication derived from the Telegraph, and thus so did the Internet. The Internet was never as large as it is currently, and it is always growing and changing. With that growing possibilities and challenges. The Internet of Things (IoT), as defined by “where devices (things) are connected to the Internet and each other. These things comprise a multitude of heterogeneous devices ranging from consumer devices, such as mobile phones and wearables, to industrial sensors and actuators.” 

This is very much a current aspect of society, as mentioned with the different waves of the Internet, and that is why this is relevant. 

MEME WARFARE – 

Information warfare, propaganda, has existed for as long as communication. There has always been a need or reason to enforce a different meaning, one that might not be mostly accurate, when communication has been there. Now, when applying this to how much attention is desired, scares and important in relation to now – the future – and The Internet of Things, the mass of information warfare has certainly grown. 

“Memes are a ubiquitous part of the internet, particularly social media. Internet memes spread virally, being shared and distributed across the internet rapidly and widely…more than just funny internet pictures – they are behaviours, concepts, norms and ideas…They are closely linked to the moral forces, exerting influence on them the same way that other pressures do.”

Memes carry power, and because of this they hold influence over us. Anyone can make a meme, anyone can go viral on the internet, and with any kind of information. This twitter thread here, goes over the way Tumblr misread information all the time and raised a generation of it. 

The Internet of Things has, in a broad idea of it, taken over the world. We have seen the internet, its forms of communication like memes, develop over years to get where we are presently. However, with the speed of which all of these things are growing we can only expect it to do so more. 

So, what is or what will be the future of the internet?

This constant, needy connectivity we have as a society is something out of Dystopia, constantly watched and turned on. Some prime examples of IoT are automated cars, wearable health monitors such as Fitbits, Apple watches, smart home systems like connected lighting, alarms, and even all your connected devices. Most people these days own more than one device, iPads, laptops, smart tvs which are even more connected to everything. All of these share data, are basically one, just extension of the larger system. 

In theory all of this is going to continue expanding. This might not be a bad thing, I’m not opposing it, but there is this question of is The Internet of Things making us as a society more valuable?

Ideas of Hacktivism, Meme Warfare propaganda all link back to this question. With the rise of online connectivity, the rise of Hacking, Cyberwar and botnets. 

BOTNETS – 

“Botnets are the workhorses of the Internet. They’re connected computers performing a number of repetitive tasks to keep websites going.” Botnets are a cluster of networks with malware and hackers are able to gain control through them. This is where we have the term botnet attacks. “Cyber criminals are then able to use these botnets to unleash a string of attacks, Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS attacks are the most common of these…used for credential leaks, data thefts and unauthorized access.” An example of an attack is email spamming and network blockages. 

We as a society are prescribed to view and engage with Memes and Internet culture, which has already aided in being vulnerable online. The advancement of communication has always held information warfare as a variable, and with the immense growth of IoT we can expect to see more of it. This growth has also created a way for one’s home to be included as a device, which makes the question on the future of the Internet, and how much more vulnerable things will get from here in relation to things like Hacktivism, and Cyberwar. I mentioned before how Dystopian this can be perceived, which only makes the question of how will the Internet continue to grow from here? 

The thing is we can’t really say how it will continue to change, aspects like money/investments don’t have to be tangible physicality with the rise of Cryptocurrency which is still largely considered new. We can’t say if it will create more vulnerability, for communication has always allowed for the spread and creation of propaganda to exist, nor can we say that it wont with these very online types of attacks. 

REFERENCES

au.norton.com. (n.d.). What Is A Botnet? [online] Available at: https://au.norton.com/internetsecurity-malware-what-is-a-botnet.html.

Lynn, T. (2020). The Cloud-to-Thing Continuum: Opportunities and Challenges in Cloud, Fog and Edge Computing. [online] Google Books. Springer Nature. Available at: https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=efLvDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=info:bu6HIy7lhhEJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=WnsQ0Z_XNG&sig=qDYozoM7ScKMM938y7eZeB74gdw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false 

‌Milan, S. (2015). Hacktivism as a Radical Media Practice. [online] papers.ssrn.com. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2901929  

Nižetić, S, Šolić, P, López-de-Ipiña González-de-Artaza, D & Patrono, L 2020, ‘Internet of Things (IoT): Opportunities, issues and challenges towards a smart and sustainable future’, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 274, p. 122877.

‌Rowett, G. (2018). The strategic need to understand online memes and modern information warfare theory. [online] IEEE Xplore. Available at: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8622051?casa_token=o88jHhTcZF8AAAAA:0s_OHjnuuaDLCXpjBw4fKZRJDpHVgvD5gzUzrRjbjdDg84fUixC0RCoFeP5dqaH97fG4td0M 

‌Uberoi, A. (n.d.). What is a Botnet Attack? [online] http://www.cm-alliance.com. Available at: https://www.cm-alliance.com/cybersecurity-blog/what-is-a-botnet-attack 

Hey, hey! 

Once again I have been given the opportunity to share some feedback to my fellow peers in University. This is an important process because the act of giving and receiving feedback “clarifies expectations, helps people learn from their mistakes and builds confidence.”

• Charlie Taylor 

Charlie has chosen the niche of design, and it is incredibly displayed throughout their work. The blog post is stunning, pretty and delicate, and the same goes for the video. This explains visually how much depth and understanding of the context they mention. They align it back to lecture content, and other research, all the while having a professional feel. 

Charlie has created a very lovely piece of work not just in facts, detail and experience. This, and the touch of professionalism, is something I want to carry through my own projects and works and can learn from them. 

• Andrea 

Andrea is exploring the world of gaming in relation to being a female gamer, and this stuck out to me and was incredibly catching. There is a personal attachment, experience and understanding at play here that helps further persona. Their work is explorative, touches on points from the lectures and class content and drawing connections really well. It flowed nicely and was very clear. 

Something Andrea does well is the way they are still very personal in the process of their project but is able to make that translate with lecture drawbacks. This is something I know I can be better at, and want to be, and will learn from them. 

• Hannah Kadi 

I remember Hannah’s project DA earlier in the semester, and having the opportunity to peer review the Pitch for it. It was amazing to see how it has progressed, and even how much everything has grown. It was detailed in explaining the process, goals, and feedback to an audience. Everything fit together, including the layout and in depth research and lecture content. Especially framework. 

Framework is something I struggle to bring up in my work, whether that’s from having too much content and not leaving room for much or not connecting it well enough. This is something I can take away and learn from Hannah in the future. 

As always, it is an immense pleasure to be able to review my peers’ work and I take away so much from doing so. I know from myself how helpful peer reviews can be in perspective and growth and I aim to be just as helpful in the comments I share. 

REFERENCE 

HR Central. (2018, May 4). HR central. Com.Au. https://hrcentral.com.au/blog/feedback/

Hey, hey! 

Once again I have been given the opportunity to share some feedback to my fellow peers in University. This is an important process because the act of giving and receiving feedback “clarifies expectations, helps people learn from their mistakes and builds confidence.” 

• Julia 

Julia here is focusing on nostalgia in regards to Wii games from childhood. They have been taking the time to review and, as detailed in their blog and video, learn from the process of a Digital Artefact. They mention feedback, their changes, things that did and didn’t work coherently and explored the feelings evoked through games. 

Something Julia does well here is tell a story when speaking over the process of their project in a way that doesn’t just feel like some facts. This is something I can learn from them, along with how clear and clean cut everything was to follow where my own can be quite messy. 

• Cait

Cait has a very descriptive and analytical execution in their blog and video when recapping the process of their DA. Everything was connected, fit right in place together, and was the exact information needed. There was feedback, a clear line of trial and error, communication, and it all was pulled back to lectures and outsourced research. To me there was not really anything missing. 

This is something Cait does well in executing and reacting to an audience. It’s factual, easy to understand, and has everything you would want to know. I could learn to be more like this, as I tend to waffle on in blog posts too much which leaves little room for being so detailed and precise. 

• Lily 

Lily’s DA shocked me, for it is something I haven’t seen, nor even thought about how important it can be. They’re focusing on fitness in relation and connection to games, and thus fitness games and reviewing them. Something that is always within the conversation of game culture is fitness and health and Lily’s video and blog described an even flow on how these two things work together. Producing feedback, being expressive and clear over what has been happening in this project. 

Lily knows their stuff, everything made sense, was clear and a very pretty execution. Something I will be taking away from reviewing Lily’s DA is the out of the box thinking, the personal feelings and experiences that correlate and add depth to the analytical stuff. 

Reviewing your peers is something that I view is important. I know from personal experiences how helpful others perspectives can be in making quality work and I try my best to be helpful myself. 

REFERENCE  

HR Central. (2018, May 4). HR central. Com.Au. https://hrcentral.com.au/blog/feedback/

Hey, hey!

Here’s the thing, I have spoken a lot about the way the framework of Nostalgia corresponds to Video Game Sound Design but I haven’t really touched on anything else. In this post I will be going deeper in my exploration of frameworks, those being Nostalgia, Aesthetics, and Genre.  

NOSTALGIA

Nostalgia is tightly connected to Pop Culture, in the way that makes it important to extrude that nostalgic tightness within your chest. This is increasingly important to Video Games, and thus Sound Design, in how relevant they are in contemporary Pop Culture. 

“Fenty argues that “video games are places—they are states of being; and because they are stored, unchanging data, they tease with the hope for a possibility of return, if only we can gain access to them.”

A lot of people turn to gaming as escapism from reality, to take a break from their lives and jump into another. Nostalgia is powerful here because over time simple aspects such as Sound Design become ingrained within your mind. You interpret and relate this aspect of game play to those things and when paired with other factors – marketing a new game, merch, other extending parties like perhaps a movie – you pull in an audience. 

AESTHETICS

Hand in hand with Nostalgia, Aesthetics take such an important play in game sound design. Now, how exactly is music aesthetic? Well, sound is there to enhance the visual experience by adding to it and so by nature the overall aesthetic of the game is needed in context. Imagine playing Animal Crossing without their classic soundtrack but instead one of a horror game. It changes the interpretation, connectivity and experience. 

“Sound design now can use musical software to enhance sound effects in films and music composers to incorporate sound effect recordings. Soundtrack elements now appear to have an “aesthetic” character. Technology has engendered a spatial sonic arena wherein sonic elements have mixed into a sensual and psychological field.” While this is in more relation to films, it applies just as much to Video Games. 

GENRE

I touched briefly on how changing the soundtrack of a relaxing game to one of horror changes the interpretations, the meaning and the context of the game. This is why genre is important to Sound Design. Much like aesthetics, you can’t just throw some sounds over the top of a visual, it needs to belong. 

Horror soundtracks are so emotive, they create a connection with the audience. Thye make you feel something, much like nostalgic games, but different. Brainstem Reflex (Flight of Fight Response), Lacking ‘ear lids’, and Biological Responses both internal and external are all part of the way horror game Sound Design can make you feel. On edge, sweaty, anxious. 

This is polar opposite to games I have mentioned before, the connection and the effects are different but the relevance and importance of developed Sound is there. Sound Design is much more than three framework principles of Nostalgia, Aesthetics, and Genre. Sound Design is partly what makes these things integral to a game. 

References

Bridgett, R. (2013). Contextualizing game audio aesthetics (J. Richardson, C. Gorbman, & C. Vernallis, Eds.). Oxford University Press.

Friedman, L. (2016, August 2). Why nostalgia marketing works so well with millennials, and how your brand can benefit. Forbes Magazine. https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenfriedman/2016/08/02/why-nostalgia-marketing-works-so-well-with-millennials-and-how-your-brand-can-benefit/

kotakuinternational. (2019, February 8). Why nostalgia for video games is uniquely powerful. Com.Au. https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/02/why-nostalgia-for-video-games-is-uniquely-powerful/

Leamcharaskul, J. (2017, November 20). What is Horror Game Music and its Effect on the Player? Medium. https://medium.com/@JDWasabi/what-is-horror-game-music-and-its-effect-on-the-player-c3bfff3bc51d

(N.d.). 134.178:9000. Retrieved October 14, 2021, from http://45.114.134.178:9000/digi/MP03/B1L3-0048.pdf#page=172

Hey, hey!

As I have mentioned, this semester at University one of my projects is to research and analyse Video Game Sound Design. In This blog post I plan to further examine aspects of this through framework and more understanding. 

The history around Game Sound Design is interesting, and something I have taken the time to explore through the course of the project here. However, something that really struck out to me was when relating it back to my biggest example of Nintendo, and the shift towards making things emotive. 

In relation to techniques of participation (multimediality, virtuality, interactivity, and connectivity), Sound Design has been developing through the years. Diegetic Connectivity as used in this example, broadcasts the mindset of a more serious sound design, by connecting the aspects that build by definition a good game: Story, Task, and Mechanics. “aesthetics, the visuals and sound of a game, are especially noticeable to players, and we view this presentational layer as especially important for forging diegetic connections.” 

Part of the reason why Sound Design is important is the way it enhances the experience, motivation and engagement. “Even basic sounds like footsteps, reloading a weapon or breathing can add tension, excitement and realism to the gaming experience.” Sound creates a connection to the game, and it is the hope that these sound aspects stick with players beyond a screen. 

Nostalgia plays a big part of Game Sound Design, especially in regards to sequels and later installments. “Video game jingles have even made it into the music charts…The chances are that game players will always remember the music and sounds associated with their favourite games. The music brings back memories and can trigger a nostalgic reaction.” 

In the grand idea, Sound Design is interactive as well. Based on your own game play you will experience different sets of sounds, in relation to different things, which brings in this engagement and connection to the world being built. 

Types of participation (interpretation, reconfiguration, construction) can be different from wanting to achieve connectivity in game production. So I’m sure you’re wondering how it relates. Interpretation is important when creating sound aspects, for you want to convey your point and have it translate – no matter what that may be. 

A lot of people participate in games such as Animal Crossing simply because of the Sound Design and their interpretation of relaxation, enjoyment and peace. This right here is a great example of the importance and how genre fits into Sound Design. “The music isn’t there to stand out, but rather enhance the inconsequential beat of the everyday…a simple piano melody loops graciously, a crisp refrain that – put to the brisk percussion of a single maraca – conjures perfectly the early stillness of the crack of dawn…There’s sprinklings of  cowbell and glockenspiel – inconsequential stuff, but then again, that’s the entire point.”

All of these things come together to make a larger picture, they’re all rolled up in a ball of mechanics, story, ambience in order to provide a captivating game play that you intercept and continue to love long enough to have “Nostalgic Ambience Game Sounds” on youtube with millions of views.   

References

Dazed. (2020, April 24). Going deep on the blissful brilliance of Animal Crossing’s soundtrack. Dazeddigital.Com. https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/48988/1/going-deep-on-the-blissful-brilliance-animal-crossings-soundtrack-new-horizons

geargods. (2018, April 30). The importance of sound design in video gaming. Geargods.Net. https://geargods.net/editorials/the-importance-of-sound-design-in-video-gaming/

Lane, N., & Prestopnik, N. R. (2017). Diegetic connectivity: Blending work and play with storytelling in serious games. Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play.