Category: Creative Practice & Strategy

From the Convergence Newsletter, vol. IV, no. 8. (March 7, 2007):

This research uncovers evidence that religion and religious imagery used in advertising over the past few years are commanding the kind of surprise and shock value that once was reserved for sex. […]

If sex no longer shocks, and advertisers need to shock to break through clutter, they are certainly finding it in religion. Over the last decade, TV advertising in particular has increasingly turned to religious imagery to cut through the clutter and command an audience. Through a media search, literature review, and qualitative analysis, the study finds that the use of religious imagery is on the rise, and that the way religious symbols are used is becoming more dramatic and controversial.

Karen Mallia presented this research at USC’s Convergence and Society: Ethics, Religion and New Media held October 19- 21, 2006. Contact Karen for a copy of the complete paper:  kmallia@gwm.sc.edu

As I’ve spoken about before, online virtual worlds are increasingly being used as extensions to entertainment properties. For those in Sydney, Australia, there will be a talk on this topic this Thursday with none other that Tony Walsh!

MIXED REALITY BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT

Where Social Networks meet Games meet TV

Which side of the wall are you on?

TV and Film OR Games and Virtual Worlds?

That wall is about to crumble. This is a wake up call to all entertainment producers and consumers to prepare for an almighty collision.

Audiences are already spending up to four times as much of their entertainment time in virtual spaces than they are watching TV. EA Games have just partnered with Endemol to produce TV shows inside virtual worlds, MTV Networks have virtual versions of their popular TV program Laguna Beach and there is a growing tide of shows from virtual worlds which mirror our experiences in the physical world.

This exciting afternoon seminar will examine a wide range of cross-over services that work between games, virtual worlds and linear TV. This seminar is intended for games creators, social network managers and film and TV producers looking to merge their entertainment worlds. It will also be of interest to designers of games that work across media in the physical world using mobiles, print, viral techniques, TV and the web.

Join Tony Walsh (Canadian Games Developer), Guy Gadney (General Manager PBL Digital Services) and Gary Hayes (Director of LAMP and Head of MUVE at The Project Factory)

Free Seminar:

Thursday 17 May 2007, 1pm-4pm, Museum of Sydney, Cnr Phillip and Bridge Streets, Sydney

Register to attend: http://myregistration.aftrs.edu.au/sr.cfm?v=e558w2

The next PerGames conference will be held in Salzburg, Austria, on the 11-12th June.  

The PerGames series of international symposia addresses the design and technical issues of bringing computer entertainment back to the real world with pervasive games.

At the conference, IperG, the pervasive gaming design research group, are also running a series of tutorials:

PIMP – A SENSOR-ACTUATOR PLATFORM FOR PERVASIVE GAMES – Karl-Petter Ã…kesson, Olov StÃ¥hl
BUSINESS OF PERVASIVE GAMES – Mattias Svahn
GAMEPLAY DESIGN PATTERNS IN PERVASIVE GAMES РStaffan Bj̦rk, Jussi Holopainen
AUGMENTED REALITY IN PERVASIVE GAMES – Irma Lindt
HANDHELD AUGMENTED REALITY – Daniel Wagner
HYBRID USER INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT – Carsten Magerkurth
ETHICS OF PERVASIVE GAMING – Markus Montola, Jaakko Stenros, Annika Waern

Wish I could go! 

Check out: www.pergames.de