Sunday 7th March Extended Project Work

Today I started a rough brief of my article for the magazine. I started it on internet and 'flash' games, and how the seemingly dying solo video game makers are actually making a come-back through use of the internet. I researched some game websites and used Wikipedia to find out how they are made, I then made a very rough draft/pitch for my article:

Games websites have become very popular in the last few years, especially when kids get bored in ICT classes. With new technology and advancing media people are now able to single-handedly create their own video games and upload them to these websites. Other users can then access these and use them. Whilst these games may be simple, they are still more advanced than the first video games that started being produced by companies. This would not have been possible five, six years ago. The video games industry started out with people making games themselves, and it seems with this new uprising of 'Flash' entertainment this revolution may be going around in a circle. A game may be produced by a company, but once released it is very difficult to patch. However a browser 'Flash' games creator can install a simple Ajax onto his/her game and is able to view any feedback left on it almost instantaneously. He/she can then modify the game then and there and re-upload it to get instant approval for his newly improved game. This ability to swap and change the games as fast as the maker can code is rather remarkable. It is the equivalent of a games designer recalling every single one of the games sold, modifying each one and then re-distributing it.

There is also a certain glamour to these internet flash games. Whether that glamour be nostalgia from when top of the range games were like that or simply the concept that you can be searching the internet one minute and within thirty seconds playing a video game. You don't have to interrupt your surfing, you just have to click on a page and wait five seconds for it to load. This gives the games great 'pick-up and play' value, with any kind of console, even the best it takes at least three minutes to load up a game you want to play, and that's at the best of times. However with these quickly accessible (and free) game websites it seems often to be the perfect getaway for people whether they are at work or simply want something different to do.

I also wrote down all of the article ideas ready to be reviewed by the class on monday. Once we have reviewed the articles (and seen what other people have to add) I can then send an email to Jenny Grahame asking her opinion on which articles are good/bad.