Character Driven Game Design

Check out this website I found at taik.fi

'How do game characters contribute to shaping the playing experience? What kinds of design tools are available for character-based games that utilize methods from dramatic writing and game research?

Writer Petri Lankoski has a theory for this. There is a need to tether character design to game design more tightly than has been the case in the past, as well as to pay attention to social networks of characters by the means of finding useful design patterns.

“The use of Lajos Egri’s bone structure for a three dimensional-character and of Murray Smith’s three levels of imaginative engagement with characters allows the candidate to expose the full complexity of the imaginary persons represented and controlled in a single-player game. What makes his design-center approach even more interesting is that game play is an integral part of it.” Comments Bernard Perron, Associate Professor of Université de Montréal on Lankoski´s work.'

Hat tip, Emma Westecott!

YouTube to allow 'private' videos - Telegraph

By Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor
Published: 11:48AM BST 13 May 2010

Comments 0 | Comment on this article

 

YouTube is now allowing users to share "private" videos with an unlimited number of people. So-called "unlisted videos" will be posted to the YouTube site but will not appear in public search results.

Until now, users have been able to publish videos on the site and set them to "private", so that only people they send the video web address to can view that clip. But the number of people the private video could be shared with was capped at 25, and viewers needed to have a YouTube account to watch the video.

The new "unlisted videos" setting removes that cap, and allows the video to be shared with anyone, even if they don't have a YouTube account.

"Only people who have the link to the video will be able to watch it," wrote Jen Chen, a Google software engineer, on the YouTube blog. "It won't appear in any of YouTube's public pages, in search results, or your personal channel or on the browse page. It's a private video, except you don't need a YouTube account to watch it, and there is no limit to the number of people who can view it.

"You'll get a link when you upload the video and then it's up to you to decide who to share it with. Unlisted is the perfect option for that class project, video from last summer's family reunion, or your secret Broadway audition tape."

 

 

Ikea orders third season of 'Assemble' - Illeana Douglas' expanding transmedia empire

Ikea orders third season of 'Assemble'

Web series has generated over 9 million views

By MARC GRASER

 

 

'Easy to Assemble'

Illeana Douglas, left, in Ikea-centered Web series 'Easy to Assemble.'

Illeana Douglas is putting together a third season of "Easy to Assemble" after the Web series has grown into a hit for Swedish furniture retailer Ikea.

Show, created by Douglas, has generated more than 9 million views since it bowed in 2008, becoming one of the few branded entertainment projects to take off and strike a chord with audiences.

Success of the series signals how producing branded entertainment can pay off for marketers. Brands have spent the past decade devoting more of their ad dollars to developing nontraditional forms of programming -- especially Web series -- as a way to attract consumers that's cheaper than spending tens of millions to tie-in with a major tentpole film.

Others have attempted to make the jump to television programming with mixed results. But Ikea appears happy for now with keeping its series on the Web, where it says it has experienced good results in building its brand image.

The first season was produced like an independent film, with the project shot in full over 15 days and then broken into 10-minute segments. Plot revolved around Douglas' character and her colorful co-workers -- who've included Jeff Goldblum, Craig Bierko, Tom Arnold, Kevin Pollak, Cheri Oteri, Tim Meadows, Ricki Lake, Jane Lynch, Sung Kang and Ed Begley Jr. -- at an Ikea store.

"I just tried to make a good movie with good actors," Douglas told Daily Variety. "The YouTube model of the cat chasing the laser is going to run out of steam. I knew there was a huge fanbase out there that wasn't watching television. Once I started doing this, I had confirmation that there's a huge segment of the population that listens to NPR, reads, is a little cultish and has a tendency to watch things online."

Second installment focused on Douglas competing against a character played by Justine Bateman for co-worker of the year; upcoming season will feature her traveling to Ikea's corporate HQ in Sweden to accept the prize.

"I have not been to Sweden yet, but fictionally I will finally be going to meet the head of the company," Douglas said.

New season starts lensing in July and unspool online from October through December.

While Ikea has been supporting the show's production, it hasn't been aggressive in promoting the series. The retailer allowed it to find an audience on sites like IkeaFans.com, or its primary home, My Damn Channel, or virally via word of mouth rather than prominently featured on Ikea.com.

Getting the show onto as many platforms as possible proved key in generating an aud for the series. Social media agency CJP Digital Media handles the syndication of the series, and the show has found its way onto more outlets like YouTube, Hulu, Rocku and Hotel Networks' DoNotDisturb network since its launch.

But Ikea, which spends around $300 million a year on traditional ads worldwide, may give the series a bigger push this fall. It was encouraged to proceed with more episodes after "Assemble" won a Streamy Award for best brand/production integration and best ensemble, as well as a Webby Award for branded content.

Show also has enabled Ikea to become a little more hip and relevant, something it had hoped its recent ad campaigns could help it accomplish.

"I am very happy for the success and recognition 'Easy to Assemble' has received," said Magnus Gustafsson, Ikea's marketing chief, who also exec produces the show. "Of course, we're very grateful to all of the loyal Ikea fans and audiences who tune in to the show, and it's for them that we will have some special surprises in mind."

That could include spinning off more characters into their own shows; a Swedish rock band named Sparhusen was given its own series, which featured Keanu Reeves. It could also involve more stunt casting.

An appearance by the Disney Channel's David Henrie upped viewership from 300,000 per episode to 600,000.

But "Easy to Assemble's" quirky plot has appealed not only to fans of Ikea but to a demo looking for original online programming. "The fact that it's sponsored by a brand isn't a turnoff because Ikea's a character in the show," Douglas said. "It's not about making sure you push the new orange rug," she added of Ikea's mostly hands-off involvement with the creative elements of the series. "What's important to them is the positive message of the brand."

Still it's been tough to figure out just what will attract auds online -- especially if they're projects backed by brands.

While the BMW films were a major hit for the German automaker a decade ago, other forms of branded entertainment have recently struggled, especially for shows looking to make the leap to TV.

"In the Motherhood," backed by Suave and Sprint, is now the most cited example of a Web series that found it hard to turn its online following on MSN into a bigger aud on ABC. The network canceled its run after only half a season aired.

Moving forward, Douglas and Ikea are hoping to generate an even larger following this fall when episodes are subtitled for European and Asian audiences. They have no plans to adapt the show for the TV or bigscreen just yet.

"I see this as a different way to make entertainment," Douglas said. "The first season was an experiment. It worked and took off. Now I'm at the stage where I don't want to screw it up. We worked really hard, we know it works and really want to continue doing this."

marc.graser@variety.com.

************************************************************

Illeana Douglas' transmedia empire is expanding & cross-pollinating - Douglas has been guesting on other web series episodes: Episode 2 of "The Webventures of Justin & Alden" & the The Temp Life season 4 finale.

40 & Bitter blogger & co-star Justine Batemen's recent blog on net neutrality is getting lots of buzz

http://www.40andbitter.tv/post/200285553/the-age-of-bitterness

http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/09/11/23/net-neutrality-put-your-foot-down 

And Keanu Reeves seems to be a member of 'found' 70s Swedish band Sparhusen, also fronted by Illeana Douglas

http://mydamnchannel.com/Sparhusen/Spärhusen/SpärhusenEpisode1_2977.aspx

This is one seriously playful transmedia storyworld - love it.

4 Out Of 5 Professors Use Social Media, Study Finds

About 80 percent of professors use social media and more than half incorporate it into classroom activity, a new survey from Pearson reveals.

The survey polled 1,000 professors on their media diet. The most common new media activity for faculty is watching video, both in and out of class.

The study found that social media use is highest for humanities and social sciences teachers, and that long-tenured professors don't shy away from social media any more than their younger colleagues.

But the Chronicle of Higher Education highlights an important nuance in social media consumption:


Don't picture a nation of professors asking students to tweet in class. Only about 10 percent or 12 percent of survey responses represent "active" uses of social-media tools, meaning professors expecting students to post or comment on or create something, said Jeff Seaman, co-director of the Babson Survey Research Group, which conducted the study with Pearson and New Marketing Labs. He contrasted that with "passive" activities like reading or watching a video.

What do you think? Do you professors use social media?

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hmmm... I have not yet used twitter & hash tags in class... I may well....