BCM215 Reflection

Throughout this blog I will be critically discussing some feedback I have given on three BCM215 Students’ blogs.

Comment 1: Elitism in Gaming 

Adrian’s DA project focuses in Elitism in the gaming industry, primarily focusing on games like Dark Souls. Find it here.

I had previously commented on Adrian’s blogs for his Pitch, so it gave me the advantage of understanding his project already. Unlike the previous time I commented on Adrian’s blog, I was more thorough in recommending a structural approach to completing his Digital Artefact. It felt as Adrian’s DA plan had derailed and he was lacking direction, thus the reason I recommended ways that he could transform his research and mould it into his Digital Artefact. Dissimilar to last time, I was more thorough whilst recommending projects that could be used to develop his project. Seen below, I found a fantastic Reddit forum that alongside his own research, could be used to create a comparative analysis between the two subjects. Further, i recommended he read this text as he lacked a solid analytical framework to develop his project around.

Comment 2: Loot Boxes.

Saxon’s DA focuses on  Loot Boxes in video games. Firstly, analysing the context of a loot box, and secondly, discussing the economic and social effects of them. Find it here. 

This was the first time I had commented on Saxon’s blog. Saxon already had the first phase of his DA, but was seeking help for the last phase of his project. I directed him in into the avenue of creating an essay discussing the economic effects of loot boxes. These loot-boxes have social and economic parallels pokie machines, which is an idea I suggested he develop for the latter phase of the project. I was able to provide an article that would assist Saxon in this, also aligning Saxon with relevant facts on pokies and scratching, statistics that would help him if he chose to pursue this idea.

I further recommended that Saxon read the text ‘Slots of Fun, Slots of Trouble, An Archaeology of Arcade Gaming, Erkki Huhtamo’. This text gives great insights into arcade video machines and the development of these, whilst similarly, discussing the economic effects of them, if any. Although not directly related to Saxon’s DA, this text could be used as the foundation of he was to analyse the history of gaming ‘Slots’, an idea he briefly mentioned in his DA.

Comment 3: Micro-Transactions in Sports Games. 

Jack’s DA creates discussions on Reddit regarding Micro-Transactions in video games. Find it here. 

Unfortunately I didn’t screen shot the first comment I posted, Although I did try my best to re-write it.

For the feedback I gave Jack, I primarily focused on re-aligning him with the initial goal of the Digital Artefact, to critical analyse a game media text or para text. I firstly began discussing the role that his Reddit discussion could play in a larger medium. For example, how could he use his research to to delve deeper into Micro-transactions in sports games, similarly to Saxon, draw comparisons between pokie machines and micro-transactions. Unfortunately I was unable to offer any technical help to Jack, I was only able to offer a website which could potentially be useful if he was to expand his DA medium and live stream off Reddit directly.

Similar to Adrian’s digital Artefact, I offered advice on how to create, utilise and execute an analytical framework, further, linking him to the article I had used to develop my own, found here.

In reflection, I did a much more thorough job than last round in providing the students with usable news media and case studies that will assist them in the latter half of this project. I was able to provide Academic sources, journals, articles and media to assist in the overall planning, development and execution of their project.