Horizon Forbidden West: Audience and Industry

Audience

Look at this YouGov blog on the console gaming audience and answer the following questions:

1) What statistics can you find for the number of male / female players for the major consoles?

From a demographic perspective, every platform’s audience skews towards men. PlayStation 5 (68% male; 29% female) and Xbox Series X|S (68% vs. 32%) have the highest proportion of male compared to female gamers.

2) What is the difference between 'hardcore' and 'casual' gamers - and which do you think would play Horizon Forbidden West?

The “hardcore” – those who say they take video games seriously, or play competitively – are a minority, and one with the highest representation on the PS5 (19%) and Xbox Series X|S (20%).

Casual gamers are most common on the Nintendo Switch (45%), and the PC, where half of players identify as casual (51%). 

I think hardcore gamers because they play it on PS4/PS5 or PC but I think they will be more focused and take it seriously rather than casually trying to win the mission and kill the enemy. 

3) What are the different reasons YouGov researched for why players play games? Which of these would apply to Horizon Forbidden West?

When asked, most gamers across every system say relaxing and winding down is a key motivation for playing video games – but especially for PC (77%) and Switch (78%) gamers compared to Xbox (56%) and PS5 (63%). This group are also more likely to say they play games “to pass the time” or “to escape from reality for a while”. 

For their part, PS5 and Xbox gamers are more likely to say they play video games for social purposes: around a quarter of the former (24%) and nearly three in ten of the latter (28%) say they play video games “to interact with gamers from around the world”, next to just 16% of both Switch gamers and PC gamers. The greater multiplayer emphases of these consoles next to the Switch may partially account for this.

I think the HFW gamers applies to social purposes and also for relaxing and motivating them to play videogames. 

Look at the PlayStation website page for Horizon Forbidden West. Complete the following tasks: 

1) How is the game promoted to an audience?

An animated clear moving image of the game with lots of colours the protagonist(Alloy) and its enemies around it. There is many trailers on YouTube to watch so you are introduced to the game and hear the story behind it and there is a Game over overview, why you should play the game and key features sections , as well as meeting each character and different editions you can buy of the game. 

2) What are the key features for the game listed on the site?

Brave an expansive open world, A majestic frontier, Confront new dangers and Unravel startling mysteries.

3) What information does the website offer players about the game world and characters? Give a few examples.

It talks about game characters and their background such as Aloy, Sylens, Erend, Regella, Alva, Tilda and a few more. There are also machines of Horizon Forbidden West and their abilities in game.

4) What spin-offs and additional content are available as part of the Horizon franchise?  

The spin off was Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores where players go beyond Aloy's adventures and main quest towards the Burning shores. Additional content shows papercraft guides of machines, there are multiple cosplay guides as well as an official soundtrack.

5) Applying Henry Jenkins's work on fandom, what aspects of the website (you may need to scroll down) encourage fan activity and engagement with online Horizon communities?  

There are things like wallpapers for fans to download and papercraft guides, exploring the universe, tips and tricks sections for gamers and so people are able to explore, engage and further obsess other the game. 

Read this Wired feature on Horizon Forbidden West's open world design. Answer the following questions: 

1) Why did the writer enjoy Horizon Forbidden West?

They found an open world video game exciting where your either exploring the abyss or getting lost/bored.

2) How is Horizon Forbidden West structured for players when they first start the game?

Its structured to follow the main storyline where it pulls you into the narrative before releasing you to explore. There is structure to the game even though you have freedom to roam around and explore.

3) Why does the writer feel HFW created a more successful open world game than The Witcher 3?

The Witcher 3 is described as overwhelming when it comes to travelling and progressing, talking to NPCs in order to finish the quests.

Industries

Industry research

1) Research Sony PlayStation Studios. 

2) What studios are part of Sony PlayStation Studios?

Team Asobi, Bend studio, Bluepoint, Firespite, Housemarque, Guerrilla, Haven, Insomniac games, Mm, Naughty Dog,Nixxes, Polyphony digital, San Diego studio, Santa Monica, Sucker Punch, Valkyria entertainment and Xdev.

3) What notable games have they produced? 

Spiderman games, The Last Of Us, God of War, Horizon.

4) Now research Guerrilla Games. Look at the 'Explore' page in particular. Who owns Guerrilla Games and how does it reflect the modern videogames industry? 

Its a owned subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. This reflects modern videogame industries as Sony operates the PlayStation brand and the world's largest company in the video game industry showing its mainstream approach.

5) Choose one of the 'Guerrilla Spotlight' features and write three things you learn about the videogames industry and/or Guerrilla Games from the interview.

• Insights into the collaborative culture at Guerrilla.
• The importance of diverse skill sets in game development.
• The significant investment of time and resources in producing AAA games.

Read this USA Today feature on Guerrilla Games. Answer the following questions: 

1) Which three companies merged to become Guerrilla Games?

Orange Games, Digital Infinity, and Formula Game Development.

2) What other games and franchises were created by Guerrilla Games?

Big Brother: The Game, Studios Hermen Hulst, Lost Boys Games, Killzone and Shellshock: Nam ‘67. 

3) How did Guerrilla maximise the Killzone franchise? 

It was earmarked as a Sony-published title.

4) What did Sony sign with Guerrilla in 2004? 

Song drew a first party contract for Guerrilla, ensuring that from 2004 onwards all the titles it developed would appear only on PlayStation consoles. 

5) How is Horizon Forbidden West described in the article and what is the next stage for the franchise?  

It is described as a totally different games that  bearing the scars of a mysterious lost civilization, a far future that looks like a distant past.  Its next announced project, a VR title co-developed with Firesprite called Horizon: Call of the Mountain, as it makes use of  a Sony hardware platform.

Regulation and PEGI

1) What is HFW's PEGI rating and what age rating do you feel would be appropriate? Why?

Its rated pg. 16 I feel like this age rating is appropriate to the game as it does include some heavy violence and killing that might be dangerous for younger kids.

2) Why is regulating videogames difficult in the digital age?

Video Games are extremely subjective, and regulations require objective standards. 

3) Are attitudes towards media content and regulation changing as a result of the internet? Explain your answer.

Attitudes towards media content and regulations are changing as a lot as lots of games are being normalised and played by different ages and many kids are playing games that they are not supposed to play so regulating videogames has becoming really difficult as you don't know what people like and what they don't and many have different opinions.