Last week I headed out to Eurogamer 2012 at Earl’s Court to get some hands on time with the new titles coming out at the end of this year and 2013. Which games will I definitely be getting my hands on after watching/playing them? Tomb Raider, Gears of War: Judgement, Halo 4, Assassins Creed III, Resident Evil 6, Borderlands 2 and DMC: Devil May Cry. Tomb Raider in particular had a great little demo giving you a real feel for the new style and gameplay of the latest title, with some very realistic voice acting that pulled you right into the game – decent headphones are a necessity!
I took plenty of photos, which you can check out after the jump!
It’s been a while since I’ve had chance to post on here – so I thought I’d drop in a summary from the conclusion of my final year dissertation on the topic – ‘How has the role of a PR practitioner in the video games industry chance since the advent of social media?’
The role of a PR communicator has had to adapt to embrace the challenges social media presents; it could be argued that the role of a PR practitioner is very different to how it was perceived two years ago, as audiences, communications channels and the individuals that require influencing have evolved dramatically. This dissertation’s research proved that nowhere is this truer than in the video games industry. Continue reading →
So here’s a list of some of the video games campaigns of the year that I really enjoyed. They all encorporate an element of social media and online activity – which is why I’ve picked them! They are by no means a definitive list, just some of the campaigns that really caught me eye. Let me know if you agree or know of some I’ve missed out that you’d like to recommend!
5. Gears of War 3
Anyone who’s played the GOW series will know just how special this final game was; sending off our Delta squad heroes – whom have been with us through gore, bro-mance and some pretty emotion scenes – into the distopian sunset. The GOW is a particularly interesting series, a trilogy that started with little social activity leading to the final episode that made the most of online tools to ensure it’s success.
Gears of War 3 gave its online fans much to keep themselves occupied and engaged in the run up to the COG last stand, from an online led campaign to decide the fate of our final recruit from the Carmine family, to fans getting a say in which maps made the final cut in the multiplayer maps and beta codes being released online to those lucky enough to gets their hands on them (like me!). The final game was hyped and promoted well online and the final product didn’t disappoint – I’m sure there weren’t many dry eyes from hardcore fans by the end of this game!
Turning games into live action mini-movies seems to be all the rage at the moment, from the incredible fan-made Operation Kingfish to PlayStation’s “Michael“. Now Bethesda Software have released their own for the upcoming RPG epic, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
I’ve played a few RPGs before, but never the ‘The Elder Scrolls’ series, mainly because RPGs have the tendency of sucking away too many hours of one’s life. However, a certain HBO title may have changed that for me, and perhaps many others too.
November’s Edge issue made a very valid point in their Skyrim feature; HBO’s Game of Thrones has opened up the mythical world of fantasy to a much larger audience. ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ may have once been the ‘geek bible’, but now that the action packed, sexy HBO adaptation has burst onto our screens, the book series has been catapulted on to the best selling charts. As a result, fantasy has become more socially acceptable, from the violent, horrible White Walkers, to birth of fire-breathing dragons and the brave Sers that fight them.
So a game like Skyrim gives players the chance to experience a whole new level of these fantasy worlds usually confined to books and TV shows, allowing them to living their very own fantasy story. The Bethesda stands at both Gamescom and Paris Games Show seemed full of gamers doing just that, but how about the more casual gamers, not shelling out to attend games shows?
I suppose only the sales figures will tell, but they certainly have one customer right here, eagarly awaiting the release thanks to the hunger for adventure that the talented George R. R Martin has created.
