The early days of video games featured Pong: a square ball bouncing back & forth between to rectangles. It was a very simple concept that anyone could literally figure out within seconds.With Pong, there was no characters to root for, no villains to cheer against and no plot or story to conclude either. While Pong was a nice recreational distraction and diversion from the boredom of everyday life – and back then, Pong was a big deal – there was no real vested interest in the game once the video game system was shut off. That is to say, Pong was just a game. Nothing more, nothing less.

Fast forward to today, and video games are much more than simply something to play. Video games today are events, stories and lives to take interest in and be a part of too. Like the games themselves, the characters which inhabit these games have grown over the years. While the erstwhile plumber was cute, he wasn’t really endearing. He didn’t talk or speak much, he wasn’t very expressive and he was actually quite boring as a person. Heck, in his original solo adventure, he couldn’t even go too far backwards! He was simply the vehicle for which the video game player used to traverse the game.

Now, video game characters, like the ones featured in the Sony PSP are people, with expressions and emotions. They have a history and a purpose. They have a back story, and they are vengeful. They have ****** expressions that video game players can relate to. They aren’t just video game characters: they’re tragic heroes and misunderstood villains. They live and work in worlds that are at once foreign to us but recognizable too. Today’s video game characters speak to us, and for us. We want to hear what they say, and see how they act and react. They aren’t just computer generated characters by designers, they are actors, with a script to follow and a mystery to unravel.

Since video game systems and technology have evolved, it makes sense that the characters grow and develop too. Older video games took place in simple worlds with a defined beginning, a defined end and a defined purpose. Because of that simplicity, it was easy to figure out what the character should do and be. Today’s video games, like the ones featured on the Microsoft Xbox 360 or the Playstation Portable, take place in immense worlds where a lot of random possibilities can occur. That makes the character more random in his or her actions and reactions.

Also, today’s modern video game characters can be so likeable and interesting as well.They can have interest, emotions and depth that we can relate too and sympathize with. You can also bet that if a popular video game is released with a powerful and dynamic character, that that character will find himself on the big screen shortly thereafter.While it helps a company’s bottom line, it can really give the video game character more meaning and definition too. Because even though video games and their worlds are impressive, they are still limited by their programming & design scope. But a movie or a TV program can really give new emotions to a character whom in some ways, already seems to be more than human.

By: Freddy Mason

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Video games are evolving continuously. From the days of simple two-dimensional video games, they are now being created as action packed 3-D worlds. In a number of games, designs are complex and targets can be reached after following strategies. It is a common practice to create shortcuts or cheat codes to attain high scores in video games.

Just about every video game system that has been created permits the use of a cheat code at one stage or another. Progress and development have allowed video games to move from one generation to another. Video games are now available with endless possibilities. However, over the years cheats, codes, and Easter eggs have been a staple in video games.

A video game cheat code is mostly a key combination or password that causes an event or chain effect within a video game. These codes can be used to add ammunition to a gun, change surroundings, make the central character more powerful or change it to a new character. Cheats are used commonly to enhance game functions. These are designed as escape routes when players face a difficult situation in the game.

Cheats are also available in the form of cheat devices. These are mostly specific hardware or software, which are designed to help players enter cheat codes. These codes consequently modify the game’s contents and in most cases, act in favor of the player.

Cheats and codes are used by a number of players all over the world. They function because the game design permits it. Entering a cheat code during a game enables a specified built in code that allows a player to attain a predetermined effect. Using a video game cheat is considered to be safe. However, if the game is downloaded from the Internet, cheat codes might not function.

By: Steve Valentino

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Marketing Strategies

It’s getting to that time in your life when you have to start considering exactly what you’ll be doing with your career and video games look like a solid field. You’re good with numbers, you know a little programming code, or you’re a fairly decent artist.

Any of these are good reasons to consider the industry, so where do you go for video game design career information? You’ll need to be proactive, getting out there and putting forth the effort to make the most of your interest. Here’s how to start.

First off is schooling.

For any video game design career, you’ll need to get a two to four year degree in the field you’re interested in first. Devry, ITT Technical Institute, and many of the Art Institutes all offer programs that will prepare you for the video game design field as well as offering you tons of video game design career information through their programs.

There are other more traditional schools, such as The Digital Media Arts College in Florida, which offers extensive Bachelors Degree programs in video game design, as well as Collins College in Arizona. Almost anywhere in the nation though you’ll find a program that will help you get the video game design career information you need.

Know The Industry

But, just getting a degree is not necessarily enough. Many careers require some level of experience or knowledge of the industry, possibly even just a few contacts from within. Regardless, you should be familiar with the various game design companies.

Not only should you know which companies you’d like to work with when it comes time to apply for jobs, you should know what they produce, familiarizing yourself with their output.

You should know that EA has multiple studios that produce Sports games, action games, and movie license among many others. You should know that if you want to work for a Japanese publisher, you might need to know a little Japanese.

Get Out There and Network

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the industry and are on your way to having a degree, you should look for video game design career information in the most information packed places of all, the trade shows and publications.

You can find endless amounts of information at these shows, with every major publisher out in full force. Though E3 has changed its format this year to a smaller invite only summit, other major shows such as the Tokyo Game Show (once again, Japanese helps), or the Game Developers Conference offer plenty of chances to step in and grab information or meet and greet with designers.

And if you can get invites to any industry events, either through school or press credentials or through networking with industry insiders, you can find yourself in a position to land a great job designing video games.

The real key to finding good video game design career information is to step out of the box and take real initiative. You had better have a keen eye and a willingness to get your foot in the door and meet lots of people. There are hundreds of opportunities out there if you’re willing to make the effort in exploiting them.

By: Hitoshi Jones

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Marketing Strategies

Video games are immensely popular nowadays. Popularity and demand have made video game producers manufacture age-specific video games and video games are now being designed to cater to all age groups. However, studies reveal that the most vulnerable to video game addiction are the teenagers. To satiate the addiction, gamers may go in for purchasing a gaming unit or may rent one. Since this is a cheaper option, youngsters tend to go for this option.

Video game rental services are offered at many stores and are also available online. Most services function in a simple manner. The player has to be a member of the rental service, which may require a subscription. Other charges could also include annual membership renewals. Most video rental services allow a member to rent a predetermined number of video games with exchange options.

An attractive and successful online video game rental strategy is to offer a free trial period. This is mostly done with the intention of acquiring a prospective customer. Once the online service is tested for free, players are often open to enrolling. Depending upon the video game rental plan that is selected, options will vary. Some plans allow a player to hire only one video game at a time whereas others may allow members to take home multiple games together.

Most online video game rentals offer credit card payment options. Since children mostly opt for these memberships, parental guidance is an absolute must. This is important, as there have been incidents of children running up enormous credit card bills while paying for video game rentals.

Rentals should be gotten from retail establishments or else players may be dealing in pirated video games. While selecting a video game rental store, it is vital to check the history of the lending service. Discussing with friends and existing members is an effective way of determining the reputation of the service provider.

By: Steve Valentino

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Marketing Strategies

Video game demographics generally involves studying the video gaming habits of various kinds of people from different age groups. There are several primary and secondary researching techniques which are used like phone and personal interviews as well as the analysis of market surveys, company literature and trade journals.

The demographics of those video game players and related studies usually reveal that video games and playing them are adult-oriented forms of entertainment. Based on the studies conducted, video games are extensively played by men and women alike and nearly 60% of Americans are playing them.

Studying the demographics of video game players also include the various demographic variables like how many people in the population are actually playing them, what the average age of players is, the gender of video game players, what video games they play and what the effects these video games have on the population. Recent studies have shown that many people consider video games to be a very important entertainment medium.

Based on video game demographics, women make up a significant 39% of those who play video games in the population. Also, a surprising 40% of online gamers are women. 35% are below eighteen years old. And based on studies, the people who regularly play video games are in the 18 to 34 year old age group.

Overall, the video game industries and developers are the ones who make the most out of video game demographics. It is through these that they are able to identify the characteristics and preferences of customers and potential clients. They also use video game demographics so that they can enhance the games they develop and release.

By: Bill Pratt

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Most game lovers have debated about subscribing to an online video game rental website. There are many, many benefits to online video game renting.

–There are no due dates. You can play each game title as long as you want without having a set time you have to return it.

–There are no late fees. You can keep your game titles for as long as you like without having to worry about late charges to your account.

–You won’t have to return your games to the store. It can be somewhat of a hassle having to make a trip to your local store to return your gaming titles. Returning your games with online video game renting is as simple as going to the mailbox.

–You don’t have to buy a game before you know if you’ll like it. Don’t you **** purchasing a brand new release before you’ve played it just to find that it wasn’t as great as you suspected? By using online rentals, you can play games first before you commit to buying them.

–You don’t have to sit around waiting for available titles. With local renal stores, there is a limited supply in stock. You often find yourself waiting for interesting games to become available. With online video game renting, there is always a game in stock, so you won’t be waiting on the game you want forever.

–Discounted used games are awesome with online video game renting. Gamefly and RentZero both offer discounts if you try something out and would like to keep it. This way, if you play a game before buying to make sure you’ll like it, you won’t have to make a separate trip to the store to purchase the video game. You can simply choose to keep the game and it will be charged to your account at a very low cost.

–You can set ESRB parental controls on games if you wish. The ESRB is a non-profit program that rates video games as to what age group should be playing them. Their ratings are placed on the outside front and back of every video game so you will know if it is appropriate for your child. ESRB ratings are: Early Childhood–for ages 3 and up, Everyone–for ages 6 and up, Everyone 10+–for ages 10 and up, Teen–for ages 13 and up, Mature–for ages 17 and up, and Adults Only–for ages 18 and up.

Gamefly is the most well-known online video gaming rental company. They offer a free 10-day trial or $8.95 for the first month. There are over 7,000 game titles to choose from, which is the most of any online video gaming rental company. Gamefly has many shipping locations all over the United States, so the turnaround time to receive your games is 1-2 days. Games are available on 9 of the major gaming platforms and new releases are available immediately. Gamefly also provides gaming information and walk-throughs.

Gamemine is another online video game rental company. Gamemine offers all the perks listed above and more. They also rent movies for PSP. They have game titles for new and older Generation systems. Gamemine also provides game information and walk-throughs. Another plus to renting from Gamemine is they offer a “speed-boost” after 90 days of renting with them. On your 91st day, you can click a button online, telling them you are sending your current video game back, and they will automatically send you a new game without waiting for your current game to be mailed back to them.

Another good online video game renting company is RentZero. RentZero offers a free 14-day trial for signing up. They only have around 4,000 game titles available on 6 different platforms, but they also have plans starting at just $9.95. RentZero is the cheapest online video game renting company there is.

By: R Morris

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business marketing plan

This is the second video game release that the Ultimate Fighting Championship has released, this new video game that is being sold on the 360 and the PS3 is a very fun and interesting video game, it allows you to play and use the moves that the Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters have in the cage, with hundreds of matches and tons of action this is one of the most exciting video games that I have ever played.

One of the things that I like is that every player has unique moves and the game is very realistic. Now some people have complaint a bit about the graphics but I actually like the way the game looks a lot,

http://www.darkeden.org/2010/07/purchasing-a-video-game-system/ http://www.darkeden.org/2010/07/purchasing-a-video-game-system/#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:29:48 +0000 admin http://www.darkeden.org/2010/07/purchasing-a-video-game-system/

Consumers have realized since the first video game system was released onto the market that with the introduction of each new system comes improvements. Prior to purchasing your own video game system consumers need to compare each video game system with each other to ensure they get the best deal for their money.

Consumers need to consider the quality of the hardware that is included within the video game system as well as its capacity for on-line game play. While one system may have impressive hardware functions they be lacking when it comes to on-line game play. Then again, another system may have excellent on-line game play while their processing power is lacking. Each manufacturer of video game systems does its best to offer the consumers the best it can in video game performance and enhancement, but some systems really seem to out do other systems.

Manufacturers even tempt consumers with additional accessories that they offer to go along with their video game systems such as controllers. The manufacturers even try to keep the designs of items like their controllers and their functions secret from their competition until they are released onto the market. With the advancement of technology today, there is no wonder why consumers are not able to get the very most out any video gaming system.

These astonishing video game systems offer consumers the option of a variety of multi-player video games. With the video game systems that offer the on-line play, gamers are capable of playing gamers from around the world. Since there are only three major video gaming systems currently being manufactured and sold on the market today, consumers need to weigh the pros and cons of each system prior to making that final purchasing decision.

While one system may be priced lower than the other two, the visual effects may not hold the same high quality as the others either. Another thing that consumers need to check into is the variety of games being offered and how their graphics outperform each other. Consumers need to be aware of the amount of memory each video game system offers as well as any options in memory given with each system. Some of these video game systems also offer the option of being able to purchase a variety of downloads that will help the consumer to utilize their fantastic technology being offered within their system. Consumers need to figure out what each video game system has in regards to their disk space, technology, and on-line plans as well.

These video gaming systems have to latest and most updated features that are available to date and they seem to continue to give your video gaming lasting experience. Once a consumer has decided on the video game system of their choice, then they will want to find the lowest price for that system. There is a whirlpool of action surrounding the pricing of these video game systems on every market all over the world, so consumers should take the time to search for the best price available.

By: Victor Epand

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business and marketing

Believe it or not, testing video games is a legitimate position and one that thousands of people hold all over the US.

There is a slue of game tester positions available at game companies all over the United States at any given time. Each type of position has certain requirements & job duties. There are also different names for the very same position. Some examples are:

Game Tester

Video Game Tester

QA Tester

Quality Assurance Tester

Becoming a game tester is a great stepping-stone to starting your career in the gaming field. It allows you to work your way up all the while building solid relationships that will be of great benefit to you in your career. So what is it that is required to become a tester? Below I have listed out the very basics of the requirements you would need in order to be considered for a game tester position:

General video gaming knowledge

Good communication skills

Basic computer skills

Ability to work well within a team environment

Problem solving skills

The typical job duties for this particular type of position include:

Documenting and reporting issues within the game

Play a game for the “fun factor”

Identify and isolate technical issues

This type of position is best suited for an avid gamer who can easily locate “kinks” in games. But, you must also know how to report the issues you come across which is where the technical side comes into play.

Starting out as a game tester allows you to create business relationships with your co-workers. This can in turn open up new doors for you in the business. There are supervisory positions available in the game-testing field as well. They include lead & manager positions. This further allows you to move up the corporate video game ladder.

Game testing is not for the faint of heart. It is something that a person interested in this field, needs to take very seriously. It does take dedication and hard work. There are times when you will have to play the very same scene of a game again and again in order to properly report what is required of you. One of the main goals of a game tester is to test unreleased games & find all issues so that the company does not release a game with technical bugs.

Being a game tester makes you a very important part of the video game release process.

If you are a gamer who has always wondered how to break into the game business, wonder no more. Get started doing something you love.

By: Lou Garrett

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marketing a business

If you’re a gamer and wish to become a paid game tester, then you’re in luck, as the video game tester requirements are quite lax these days; hence, nearly anyone can get a job testing video games for pay.

Here are the most basic video game tester requirements….

Must be at least 18 years old. This requirement can be bent depending on the gaming company hiring you. Although they are typically few and far between, there are in fact companies out there hiring gamers whom are below the age of 18.

Must be an avid gamer with plenty of experience. In this day and age, who isn’t a gamer? A couple of weeks with Halo, Final Fantasy, Oblivion, and/or any other highly popular games and any person can call themselves an “avid” gamer.

Must be upgraded to next-gen. If you’re not playing next-gen video games nor own a next-gen system (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii), then you’re WAY behind when it comes to video game testing jobs. Since many developers have “at-home” testing opportunities, it is vital that you get up to speed and into the next-gen race. (If you don’t have a next-gen system, you need a high-end computer)

Must have high-end computer. If you’re more of PC gamer, then having a powerful computer is of crucial importance. A powerful PC means you will be able to put any of the developer’s games to the test without worrying about your own hardware problems. (If you don’t have a high-end computer, you need a next-gen system)

Must have a video game tester resume. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been testing (or trying to test) games, you simply must have a professional looking resume. Professional game testing is a job, so you can’t expect to get by with just a smile and a “can I test games for you?” mentality. Remember, your resume doesn’t have to be breath taking — it just has to be professional and well put together.

The above video game tester requirements are really all you need to get started. In fact, some of those requirements might be null & void when it comes to certain developers. That being said, don’t be afraid to submit your application/resume just because you don’t meet a certain requirement — you never know what exceptions a gaming company is willing to make!

By: Sean Saunders

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Marketing Strategies