Video Games

 Explore how audience responses to the Assassin's Creed franchise demonstrate social circumstances:

Audience responses to the Assassin’s Creed franchise are greatly influenced by their social circumstances:

Plan:

Reception theory - Stuart Hall encoding by producers and decoding by audiences

David Hesmondhalgh - It is essential for industries to minimise risk and maximise profit.

Ubisoft

Conglomerate

Distribution

Genre

Action

AAA

Target audience

Unity (2014)

Fandom

End of audience theory

Media saturation

High production values

Graphics

Dynamic lighted/Realtime lighting

Digital technologies

High render distance

Audience positioning

Assassin/murderer

Media effects model

Violent videogame cause violent reactions

Cultivation

Ideology

Decode

Preffered 

Oppositional

Negotiated.

Introduction: DAC, Definition, Argument, Context

Audiences respond to media products in different ways depending on certain factors such as age, social class, gender, sexuality. In this essay I shall argue that audiences responses to the Assassins creed franchise are greatly influenced by social circumstances. Throughout this essay I shall refer to the Assassin's creed franchise, produced by the multinational conglomerate Ubisoft. 

First Paragraph: Point, evidence, argument. 

Realistic depictions of violence are made possible through advanced digital technologies. Potentially older, conservative audiences with young families may take an oppositional reading to the depiction of violence, and may find this representation of a real world issue to be insensitive and even damaging 

The entire franchise takes a strong cultural bias, and presents highly ethnocentric representations to it’s target audience . For example in AC Unity, the progtonist speaks in a stereotypically middle class English accent, that positions the target audience as English. This highly leading representation is included for the purpose of profit and power, as it is believed that certain accents and representations are more profitable. However French audiences may be frustrated or offended with this dubbing options, as it provides a stereotypical and misleading representation of France.

The AC franchise will particularly appeal to audience who are already familiar with the franchise. Producers rely increasing on 'pre-sold' audiences, as this minimises risk to maximise profits. To this presold audience the highly complicated narrative that combines may different genres will be familiar, appealing and exciting. However, to new audiences, the game simply may be interpreted as confusing, strange and off-putting.

AC Unity and other games in the series offer audiences an open world experience. This is constructed through the vast historically accurate locations that present a high production values such as a high render distance. The high quality of elements of MES and high quality sound design, along with characters with sophisticated AI presents an immersive experience for the dedicated target audience. In this way, AC appeals to a ‘core’ audience of videogame fans.

However, AC can also appeal to diverse and so called casual gamers through it’s historically accurate setting. The MES of surprisingly well researched and accurate French architecture, combined with the historically accurate and well rendered costumes provides the audience with the pleasure of escapism and the pleasure of leading a completing different life.

Saturation of AC games leads to stagnation of experience and of profits, as even hardcore fans feel distanced through the repetition of themes

While many audience members are content to simply play the game, a repsece hall would refer to as the preferred reading, other, more involved audiences will l take a negotiated reading of this product and produce fan works that demonstrate their love for the franchise. An excellent example of this is the free to access YouTube fan film Assassin’s Kittens which reimagines the violent AC wold as played out by cute kittens. Fans, as opposed to audience members will often go to great lengths to express their interest and love for franchises, and this is an excellent example of this. 

Even multinational conglomerates such as Ubisoft will tolerate or even promote such content, as it serves to advertise the brand

The French  Left party took exception to the representation of the French revolution, which indicates that audience members may be upset by revisionist aspects of the historical accuracy of the game s

Certain vulnerable audiences are more likely to be affected by the graphic representations of violence in this game. By cultivating violence and aggressive scenario’s the producers are guilty of using violence to manipulate vulnerable audience

Assassins creed fact file:

• Assassins creed was publsihed by Ubisoft. 
• It was created by Patrice Desilets, Jade Raymond and Corey May. 
• The first Assassin's creed was released in 2007 
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