Weekly monitoring log - Jan 27th-31st

According to my schedule this week I should have finished writing the rest of my articles which were the girl gamer and top 5 games 2014 articles and also I should have started making amendments to my double page spread that I did earlier in the year. This week I have written one of the articles which is the girl gamer article I only wrote this article because it was the easier one to write out of the two and I have not been able to give the top 5 games of 2013 article the thought it needs, as it will take research so I know what my audience will want to see in the countdown.

This week in class I have focused on improving my double page spread from the beginning of the year I have struggled with this as I didn't really know how to improve so I had to refer to the focus group feedback I got on the double page spread towards the beginning of the year. This week I have had to use contingency planning as I was meant to do my photo shoot on wednesday but my model was ill so she was not able to do it as she was off for the whole week, I had to refer to my contingency plan here as I had to find a back up model which I did and I have booked a new photo shoot for next week with a new model.

This week I have not learnt anything new but I have been getting used to photoshop and Indesign again as I forget how to use it and forget about some of the tools in the programmes if I have not used them for a while, I think this week my client would be happy with my progress this week as I have near enough finished one of my double page spreads which was the one I was improving this week and I think they would like the fact that I have finished one of dps's.

I am not worried about my work progress I mean I do have a lot of work to do but I feel like I am able to do it if I put my head down and get it done.

Top 5 Greatest Games of 2013 article

5 – FIFA 14 – Release date – 27^th September, 2013

-         Distributor – EA Canada

-         Publisher – Electronic Arts

-         Genre - Sport

FIFA 14 allows you to experience the emotion of scoring great goals in contested matches. Innovations to the gameplay allow fans of the beautiful game to build play through midfield, which helps to dictate the tempo of the match.

The game allows experiencing the thrill of hitting the back of the net, which is as close to the real experience as you will get.  New features this year include the addition of features such as pure shot and also brand new ball physics system which will transform shooting making every shot attempt as realistic as possible.

4 – Call of Duty Ghosts – Release date – 29^th November 2013

-         Distributor – Infinity Ward

-         Publisher – Activision, Square Enix

-         Genre – First Person Shooter

Ghosts bring an all new exciting gameplay experience that we do not expect to see with the Call of Duty series. The new story, setting and cast of characters is all powered by the all new next generation Call of Duty engine that has successfully redefined the series for future generations.

For the first time ever in Call of Duty the gamers play as the underdog fighting as part of a single squad against an enemy that has much larger numbers and firepower. Ghosts genre defining multiplayer delivers gameplay innovations throughout including map events and character customization.

3- Bioshock Infinite – Release Date – 26^th March 2013

-         Distributor – Irrational Games

-         Publisher – 2K Games

-         Genre – First Person Shooter

The third game in the ever-popular Bioshock series, Infinite breaks away from the beautiful underwater setting of the first two games bring gamers to the floating city of Columbia held aloft by dirigibles. The game is set in 1912, you play as Booker DeWitt who is a rough former private detective who’s picked up a new case which is to find a young girl called Elizabeth who has gone missing and your goal is to return her unharmed, and the only problem standing in your way is the fact that she is on this floating city.

The setting of Columbia was once a symbol of America’s success as a nation floating around the world as a travelling fair. But strange things have happened to the marvel of Columbia since its unveiling in 1900 and now the city has disappeared into the clouds although DeWitt knows how to find it, but over the years stories have been told about Columbia having unlawful heavy armament and deranged citizenry, do not expect this great game to be a pleasure cruise. 

2 – Tomb Raider – Release date – 3^rd March 2013

-         Distributor – Crystal Dynamics

-         Publisher - Square Enix

-         Genre – Action/ Adventure

This time round Tomb Raider brings with it an intense and gritty storyline of the origins of the infamous Lara Croft and her ascent from a frightened young woman to a hardened survivor. You are armed with only pure raw instincts and the physical ability to push beyond the limits of human endurance.

The best game physics that this franchise has ever seen is paired with a heart pounding narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seats until the very end. This is well and truly Lara’s most personal, character-defining adventure to date.

In addition to the top notch campaign there is also an enjoyable but yet unremarkable competitive multiplayer component in the game, which contains unlockable weapon upgrades that is now par for the course of this franchise.

1-    Grand Theft Auto V – Release Date – 17^th September 2013  

_ Distributor – Rockstar North/ Take- Two Interactive

-         Publisher – Rockstar Games

-         Genre – Third Person Action

Trouble comes tapping on your window again with the next chapter in the infamous Grand Theft Auto universe; we are back in the city of Los Santos that we saw back in the San Andreas days. This game brings with it a bold new direction into open world freedom, storytelling, mission-based gameplay and all new designed online multiplayer.

Amidst the turmoil that comes with the sun soaked city of Los Santos are three very different criminals who are plotting their own chances of survival and success, We have Franklin, a street hustler looking for real opportunities and serious money; Michael, a professional ex-con who’s retirement is not going as planned; and Trevor, a violent maniac driven by the chance of a cheap high and a next big score. This crew risks everything in a series of daring and dangerous heists which could see them set for life.

Girl Gamer article

Girl Gamer article

There have been so many myths floating around about Girl Games in the last couple of years such as the way that male audiences think girls are there because they are there and I am here to tell you why this is not the case…

There are a lot of myths floating around this topic because males believe that gaming should solely for them and it acts as an escapism for them from the real world… the female world, the reason males make these stereotypes is because they want to keep the gaming world strictly male only as they believe that it should stay that way, but recently girls have had a different idea.

Examples of myths that have done the rounds the last couple of years could be, that girls are utterly incapable of understanding the rules of games – this is stupid because I believe that girls play games for the same reason boys play games which is because they find them fun to play which is hard to do when you do not understand the rules. Another myth that floats around this audience is that the only reason they are playing games is because they want to control the world and the male audience with it – this is also fake as I believe that there is utterly no reason for girls playing video games other than the fact that they just find them fun and interesting.

I have talked to some male games to gather their opinions on girl games they said “If you share a common interest with a guy then that’s a good thing” “Girl gamers are great, I’d imagine for most guys it would make them want to be in a relationship more” some people were not as positive as this “There are no such things as girl gamers, they just do it to get attention from guys, when really we find it pathetic, again I don’t think the latter is anywhere near close to the real reason girls play games, I agree with the first two boys who said that if anything they would like the girl more if they had a shared interest or common ground with the girl in the relationship.

The point I am trying to get across with this article is the fact that girl games are no different to male gamers what so ever, so why do people treat them different and expect them to be different in such ways as not showering or being as glamorous as other girls. Even when playing a game they are getting bothered over being a girl “WAIT! That’s not a boy!.... that’s a girl” is what is usually shouted over the headset when they get found out, again that is because they are simply different to what you expect to see when joining a game of Call of Duty.

So really when you think about it girl gamers are really not that different to us at all they like the same features in video games as we like and they also hate little noobs in video games, and don’t think for one second they focus on little games like the Sims and then have occasional games on Call of Duty when they kind be bothered with the Sims, these chicks are hard-core gamers on Gears of War and Assassins creed.

Gaming Lifestyle article

Gaming Lifestyle

What people usually think is that keeping a healthy lifestyle and gaming is one or the other, but I am going show you that it is not a choice and you don’t have to choose between them and I am going to show you how to balance the two...

There have been a lot of health problems related to gaming such as ‘trigger finger’ which is dysfunction and pain usually of the index finger, another health problem related to video games is obesity which is due to video games replacing physical activities that people should usually take place in, but if you are not a huge sports fan then all it takes is a few trips to the gym each week and you will not have to put up with these problems at any point in your life, is that not worth it?

I talked to a young man from Darlington who also makes it a necessity to balance gaming and keeping a healthy lifestyle, do you enjoy your gaming? Yes I do enjoy it put I don’t play video games very much, I only really play them when a new game comes out so I can play with my mates, which means keeping socially active while having fun at the same time, how often do you go to the gym? I go to the gym about 4-5 days a week, this like gaming keeps me socially active with my mates while staying physically active, do you have a gym programme? I kind of do have a programme, but its not wrote down its just in my head as I know what I am going to do and what days I am going to do for example when I go on Monday and Thursday I do Chest, Back and Legs this helps me to get work done on every body part so I don’t end up looking like a human chicken wing.

There are also a lot of athletes that play video games, which they can play for pleasure, and even sometimes it can help them with their job, for example football players play the video games FIFA for pleasure and even sometimes it can help them with their jobs as it can give them a sense of awareness of the pitch, and can also help them get to know the style of formations in case they have to play it in real life it would help them to adapt quicker.

Programme

1 warm up set – on the lowest weight

3 pyramid sets – each set has to 3 mini sets involved and you build up by kg each time until you reach the highest you can lift.

Day 1 & 3

Chest – Bench press, Incline press, Decline press and flies

Back – Wide gap lateral pull down, Narrow gap lateral pull down, Dumbbell row and seated or flat row

Legs – Leg press, Leg curl, Leg extension and calf raises

Day 2 & 4

Biceps – dumbbell curl, preacher curl, isolated curl and big bar curl

Triceps – Dips, pull down narrow, pull down rope and dumbbell extension

Shoulders – shoulder press, front lateral raise, side lateral raise and shrugs         

Monitoring log 24th Jan

Monitoring log 19^th- 24^th Jan

This week my schedule had on it for me to complete all of my blog/ planning work so I am able to start my production next week, I have completed all of it this week and I was able to start improving my old double page spread that I did at the beginning of the year. This week I completed the remainder of blog work that I had to do which was article plans at the beginning of the week and then contingency plans and a call sheet, I completed all this by Thursday and was able to start production later on in the Thursday. This week everything went smoothly as I completed everything early rather than having to rush everything that I was meant to do on my schedule. This week I have not had to use any contingency planning as nothing went wrong in my planning.

This is an example of one of the article plans that I have done this week, It is literally making the article easier for me to write as I can plan what is going to be involved in it, such as the narrative voice it allows me to think how I am going to talk to or address the audience that is reading my magazine, and also it allows me to plan how I want to structure this article for example in the ‘Top 5 Games of 2013’ article I have said that each game in the countdown is going to have its own profile on the page where I talk about why it got to its position in the countdown.

This is an example of the contingency plan that I had done this week, this will help me when I get into the production stage, because if I have a problem that is on my contingency plan it will easily tell me how I can overcome or make sure that the problem does not occur during the production stage.

So far I have not learnt anything new in my production stage, I believe that this is because I am not that far into the production stage as I am only improving the double page spread that I did at the beginning of the year. I think my client would not be impressed nor disappointed in my progress this week as I have not got into the production stage yet but I believe I will still be able to create an effective product. I am not worried in the progress of my work as I am now able to start production which gives me enough time to create an effective product.