USC IMD: 2009-01-26T17:35:14Ztag:,2009::USC Interactive Media Division<![CDATA[Jesse and Psychic Bunny featured in article in SHOOT magazine]]>2009-01-26T17:35:14Z2009-01-26T17:09:25Ztag:,2009-01-26:interactive.usc.edu/members/jvigil/:842009-01-26T17:09:25Zjvigilhttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/jvigil/, Start-Ups
SHOOT magazine, then you saw me in it. I also posted this over on the Psychic Bunny blog, but as the article has everything to do with lessons learned by young creators who own a start-up who don't have a lot of business school under their belts, I felt very strongly about also pointing it out to my compatriots in Interactive (Start-Up-Starting) Media. Here's the link to the full post, with a little IMD-specific reflection from me after the jump. ]]>
<![CDATA[Sequelitis - 2 be or not 2 be]]>2006-11-09T20:55:17Z2006-11-09T20:47:37Ztag:,2006-11-09:interactive.usc.edu/members/ekennerly/:1422006-11-09T20:47:37Zekennerlyhttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/ekennerly/
Study finds that movies sequels named have longer shelf life than numbered sequels. The article goes on to suggest that named sequels ought to fair better than numbered sequels in the future, too. I wonder how much of this is intrinsic to the number's psychological effect (It's like Terminator +1), and how much of this has to do with the historical effect that historically, most sequels have sucked.
There is a good psychological case for a unique experience. A moviegoer doesn't want to see the same movie twice (if they did, the sequel would be redundant with the original).
Furthermore, I wonder how this study's methodology would apply to videogames. Videogame sequels are, in my anecdotal experience, more of a mixed bag than movies. Some are excellent, surpassing the original (such as Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Spider-man 2), while others are a disappoinment (such as Devil May Cry 2 and Ultima IX).
For narrative videogames, the player does not want to play the same game again, which would have a similar psychological influence as movie sequels. For non-narratives, the jury is still out. Sports franchises, such as Madden NFL, release games so often they are titled with the year. These sports videogames may have closer analogies to cars, which are released every year, than with movies. For these games, next year's model comes with improved attention to detailed features, such as passing in football, while it is conventionally agreed that the traditional sport itself will remain the same.
Even with narrative videogames, in which content is consumed, several numbered sequels have been highly acclaimed in their sequels (such as Diablo II and Final Fantasy VII). ]]>
<![CDATA[Human Estimation Secrets from Business of Interactive Media class]]>2009-09-09T18:20:35Z2006-10-17T10:36:44Ztag:,2006-10-17:interactive.usc.edu/members/jhall/:602006-10-17T10:36:44Zjhallhttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/jhall/
Chris Swain, Bing Gordon lead the Business of Interactive Media class, offering a "peek inside the kimono" of business at Electronic Arts. Students learned about pitching projects and focus testing.
This year, Jordan Weisman has teamed up with Mark Bolas for Business of Interactive Media. They are each serial entrepreneurs and accordingly the class has focused thus far largely on starting a small business.
Today Jordan mentioned a technique he uses. There's an extremely smart person he's worked with; if the person says something will be done in 1, then it will actually be done in 3.5. Whatever the units are - months, years, etc. Jordan learned this by keeping track of what this person estimated for completion times, and how the times actually worked out.
Mark confirmed this, saying that he had a co-worker who said, "I have a foot of paperwork on my desk." True to Mark style, he asked this person, "Do me a favor - take out a ruler and measure the stack." The stack was 7 inches tall - this person tended to double things in their estimate.
Asking people small estimation questions and then tracking the results over months or years - a huge insight into casual task-oriented people watching. Wow!]]>
<![CDATA[EDOC Laundry - Watch CSI Tonight]]>2006-10-11T21:27:51Z2006-10-11T21:23:25Ztag:,2006-10-11:interactive.usc.edu/members/mark:202006-10-11T21:23:25Zmbolashttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/mark
edoc laundry fashions will be featured on tonight's CSI.
``Fashion meets entertainment.'' That's the tagline for edoc laundry, a small company that meshes the interactive storytelling of video games with the cult appeal of alternative clothing.
In an unusual approach, the firm is using clothes as an entertainment medium and creating a line of rock music-themed clothes embedded with hidden messages that unlock episodes of a video story on the Web.
Next week, edoc laundry's clothes will be the centerpiece of a ``CSI: NY'' episode about homicide victims who share the fact that they're wearing similar T-shirts -- created by edoc -- with hidden messages." ]]>
<![CDATA[Busymess]]>2006-09-06T09:25:16Z2006-09-06T08:42:48Ztag:,2006-09-06:interactive.usc.edu/members/mark:202006-09-06T08:42:48Zmbolashttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/mark http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14687677/site/newsweek/]]>
<![CDATA[Scholarship for Women to Serious Games Summit]]>2006-08-28T16:03:04Z2006-08-28T15:59:27Ztag:,2006-08-28:interactive.usc.edu/members/kellee/:212006-08-28T15:59:27Zkelleehttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/kellee/
Microsoft Research Offering Serious Game Summit Scholarship
Note: I have not confirmed, but previously these Microsoft Research Scholarships have been open to Interactive Media MFA students as well. If you are intersted, follow the link to find out who to email regarding further information.
Microsoft Research is seeking 10 female computer science students currently involved in serious game development and research to send to this October's Serious Game Summit in Washington DC.
The selected team of "Microsoft Female Academic All-Stars" will be rewarded with a sponsored trip to the Summit (run by the CMP Game Group, as is Gamasutra.com) to attend its sessions, lectures, and roundtable discussions.
They will also have a chance to convene for an exclusive lunch to meet a yet unannounced industry executive to "discuss the issues surrounding female game developers and to learn about career opportunities in the field."
Information on how to apply can be found here. ]]>
<![CDATA[558: Pitch Marathon]]>2005-11-29T11:09:09Z2005-11-28T23:05:04Ztag:,2005-11-28:interactive.usc.edu/members/edinehart:262005-11-28T23:05:04Zedineharthttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/edinehart
Mon 11/28/2005 15:41
]]>
<![CDATA[Networked Publics' Chris Anderson Lecture]]>2005-11-06T17:17:15Z2005-11-06T13:09:02Ztag:,2005-11-06:interactive.usc.edu/members/mtuters/:932005-11-06T13:09:02Zmtutershttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/mtuters/The Longer Tail, a talk by: Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Wired Magazine
DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 9 TIME: 2:30 – 4:00pm PLACE: Annenberg Center for Communication 734 W. Adams Blvd. (between Hoover and Figueroa)
"The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers. In an era without the constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly-target goods and services can be as economically attractive as mainstream fare."
Notes on the Long Tail from http://www.thelongtail.com/about.html
Any questions, please email: jhanley AT annenberg DOT edu]]>
<![CDATA[Who Makes Games?]]>2005-10-20T10:41:47Z2005-10-20T10:34:25Ztag:,2005-10-20:interactive.usc.edu/members/kellee/:212005-10-20T10:34:25Zkelleehttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/kellee/
IGDA Game Developer Demographics Report are in. The first report of its kind, IGDA gathered responses from nearly 6500 game developers to attempt to get a clear picture on the makeup of the industry.
Key results of the demographic survey include:
Male = 88.5%, Female = 11.5% White = 83.3%, Black = 2.0%, Hispanic/Latino = 2.5%, Asian = 7.5%, Other = 4.7% Heterosexual = 92%, Lesbian/Gay = 2.7%, Bisexual = 2.7% Average age = 31 years Average years in the industry = 5.4 years Percentage of people with disabilities = 13% (e.g., cognitive, mobility, sight, etc) More than 80% have a university level education or greater More than 60% of studios claim that obtaining diverse applicants is challenging
The Complete PDF Report ]]>
<![CDATA[Spielberg to Develop Three Original IPs at EA]]>2005-10-14T11:16:00Z2005-10-14T11:13:19Ztag:,2005-10-14:interactive.usc.edu/members/kellee/:212005-10-14T11:13:19Zkelleehttp://interactive.usc.edu/members/kellee/ The deal involves much more than the Hollywood director merely putting his stamp on a game or popping in for quick consultations, said Neil Young, vice president and studio head of EA's Los Angeles studio.
Instead, Spielberg will have an office in EA's studio. He plans to work side-by-side with game developers to create original gaming content beginning with the concept — not a game based on a movie, or vice versa, both of which are common practices nowadays.
