Online Gaming

What is it and who plays it?

o The definition of online gaming is ‘the action or practice of playing video games or role-
playing games on the Internet’

o ¾ of the world play anime games – 68% of these players use PC

o The most popular game played is League of Legend which has 27 million players each
day
o 14,000,000 million Americans play online gaming – 47% are women
o The Industry makes £60billion a year
o There is constant pressure to improve the games, streaming, Wi-Fi and graphics of a game
History of Online Games

• Maze Wars 1973 Fps was available but people got bored and an danger element was
added
• Multi Access Dungeon was made din 1984 and was the first massiv;y multiplayer games
which ran on Bitnet. It was the first game to go online wide
• Doom was the second game to be a big hit of a multiplayer game
• Mulitplayer games have gone from two people in the same area playing together to 14
million people worldwide playing together on games such as Call of Duty.
Minecraft

• 2009 was when the first version was released as a alpha – where gamers test he game
and then tell the producers what problems need fixing
• It s a world building game and interact with other peoples games- no particular ending
• 4 modes –
1. Survival Mode: where there is a life bar and tools. People need to look out for enemies
such as Zombies who can lower gamers life bars.
2. Creative Mode: where people just build for fun
3. Adventure mode : interact with other peoples map and can create dangerous maps
4. Spectator Mode: Can interact other peoples map but they don’t know you are there –
for people who just want to see other peoples map
Was Minecraft Successful?

• By January 2011 there was 1 million games sold and there was no advertising only by
word of mouth.
• Microsoft bought the company Mojang from Knotch (the inventor) in 2014 for
$2.5billion
• 2014 there was 100million users and 60million copies sold. It was one of the biggest
selling games of all time.
• Microsoft began to license it out to other companies and tale tale made a story
mode in minecraft.
• Sandbox environment
Terminology

In the gaming world there are words and slang that people outside of it wouldn’t know.
The ESRB rating guide evaluates the content of a game and who can watch it. For e.g.
Minecraft is E 10+ which means to play the game you have to be 10 years old.
 Terminology continued:
3PS/TPS/OTS

There is also key words for the genre of a game too.

• 3PS/TPS/OTS- Third person shooter/ over the shoulder such as Gears of War
• 4X- Explore, Expand ,Exploit and Exterminate are very popular subgenre of strategy games – Civilisation Series
• CCG- Collectable Card game such as Fifa Cards
• FPS- First Person Shooter such as Battlefield, Call of Duty or Halo – where you play a soldier and are able to shoot
• MMO- Massively Multiplayer Online is more of a general term regarding to online games intended for large player
base which is a variety of genres such as FPS and RPG. World of Warcraft is well known.
• MOBA- Multiplayer Online Battle Area- controlling a singular hero/champion in a team based game such as League
OF legends
• RPG- Role-Playing Game is an adventure game and you have tasks with a story. Such as Fallout 4 or Last of Us
• RTS- Real Time Strategy is a game that plays without pausing – usually building structures and armies. Minecraft is a
good example
• SI- Simulation includes everything from farm simulator, Fight simulator and Job simulator in VR

RPG MMO SI
Importance of Social Media for Online
Gaming

Most gaming is spread through chatter but now in modern days the internet is a big help.
One example is gamers will share videos online for people to watch and then they will
review the game. Game Companies can give the most famous you tubers their game for
free so they can play their game and share it with the audience. This was the game
company cans see the reaction of not only the YouTuber but also their audience- it is a
quick way to see what needs improving and what people like.

Another example is advertising on Instagram or twitter about the game so people who
scroll on their feed will see the game and it may entice them to see what it is. Therefore, this
leads to more people exploring the game.
 Gaming Industry

• The worldwide video game industry is forecast to reach $111 billion in sales in 2015, up from $101 billion in
2014, according to Gartner. The marketplace includes video game console hardware and software, as
well as online, mobile and PC games. IN 2017 the market grew to $116billion to an estimate of $143.5
billion.

• August 2017 there were 2,175 active games companies in the UK

• Grand theft auto was the fastest selling entertainment of all time, grossing $1billion in 3 days. By
November 2016, it sold 85 million units worldwide and is the top selling game in the UK and US. They
generated £240million from more than 6 million hard copies sold
• UK is the 5th largest video game market in the world. The largest being china. In UK 32.5 million play video
games which is almost half of the UK population
Software: Hard Ware:
1. Digital and online = £1.22bn 1. Consule hardware= £507.5m ( gone down by 26.7%)
2. Boxed software= £766.7m 2. PC Game= £258m
3. Mobile games= £955.1m 3. Peripherals and accessories= £300.1m ( gone down
4. Pre owned £199m by 16%
4. VR = 16.3M
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is the blending of virtual reality and real life, as developers can create images within
applications that blend in with contents in the real world where as, Virtual reality is all about the creation of
a virtual world that users can interact with. It is artificial but people engage with it.

Examples Virtual Reality

• Scenecaster = students may not want to renovate a room but software like Scenecaster can help teach
students about measurement, area and perimeter in a room
• Wii = The Wii allows for activity and can engage students in literal activity while learning about healthy
habits.
• Virtual headset= the display of headset works with the movement of the head and eyes. If a person looks
left the headset will display what is on the left
• Science & Mathematics = Science and math programs allow students to manipulate objects to perform
scientific and mathematical functions that they may not have they opportunity to utilize in the classroom
 Continued Example of Augmented and
Companies working with them

• One of the most popular augmented reality is snapchat filters. Snapchat is a mobile app that
allows people to socialise with friends. The filters cause peoples faces to change using facial
recognition and creates characters which can be shown in real life.
• In 2015, Disney Research developed technology that makes colouring book characters 3D as
they are being coloured. This shows that even though this is a simple application, the potential
for AR to become a staple in everyday life.
• The most well known augmented game is Pokémon go where there are 21 million active daily
users.

Disney Pokémon Snapchat

colour book go filters
 US Army and Augmented Reality

Examples of Augmented Reality and Institutions working with them

• The United States Army is The United States Army is giving soldiers improved situational circumstances
with the use of AR technology. The tech, called “Tactical Augmented Reality” (TAR), is essentially an
eyepiece that helps soldiers precisely locate their positions as well as the locations of other. Both friend
and Eneimies.TAR will one day replace night-vision goggles, as it enables soldiers to see in the dark. It
will also replace the handheld GPS system that soldiers carry today to approximate their positions. The
eyepiece is connected wirelessly to a tablet that soldiers wear on their waists, plus it’s wirelessly
connected to a thermal site mounted on their rifles or carbines. Here’s the cool part: If a soldier is
pointing his or her weapon, the image of the target, plus other details ,such as the distance to target,
can be seen through the eyepiece.

The glasses
showing
enemies
Medical and Virtual Reality

Doctors and even patients are aware of the fact that when it comes to surgery,
precision is of prime importance. Now, AR can help surgeons become more efficient at
surgeries. Whether they are conducting a minimally invasive procedure or locating a
tumour in liver, AR healthcare apps can help save lives and treat patients seamlessly.
Medsights tech developed a software to test the feasibility of using augmented reality
to create accurate 3-dimensional reconstructions of tumours. The complex image
reconstructing technology basically empowers surgeons with x-ray views – without any
radiation exposure, in real time.
Microsoft HoloLens

• HoloLens is essentially a holographic computer built into a headset that lets you see, hear,
and interact with holograms within an environment such as a living room or an office
space. Microsoft has built the headset without the need to be wirelessly connected to a
PC, and has used high-definition lenses and spatial sound technology to create that
immersive, interactive holographic experience
• It cost o$3,000 (about £2,160) per headset as, the HoloLens
development edition allows developers to start making games and
apps for the forthcoming headset. There’s still no word on exactly when
a consumer edition will launch however.
Uses and Gratifications

Why do we use the media and what effects it has on use. 2 people that have come
up with ideas is Katz and Blumler their theory is shown below:

• VR is cognitive as it acquires information – for

example the medical VR shows doctors what the
problems are and could be
• It is Affective as it causes people enjoyment and
can cause feelings such as being scared
• It is personal integrative needs as when people win
games it gives them credibility
• It can be social if the VR allows people to call
friends and family whilst using the headset
• It is tension as it allows people to escape reality
which can relieve stress