When developing a prototype of literature or media, a creator must be highly receptive to both feedback and honing the craft of whatever they're trying to achieve. In my case, that meant publishing my content, welcoming criticism and taking in valuable advice. After I published the trailer for my planned video on video games and hardware limitations, I first set about collecting plenty of information and critiques of my pitch for Crunchy Bytes. One of the major concerns that were voiced over my proposal was the seeming lack of focus for the video. I tend to agree with that assessment, as I often find myself wanting to discuss something in far too broad terms. So I followed that line of reasoning and settled on something that would allow me to have two different analytical frameworks simultaneously, by discussing only the PlayStation One. It means a lot to me, having always just been there as far back as I can recall and it’s also an excellent system to examine a sort of transitional period where gaming was starting to fully come to grips with the new technologies at their disposal.
As outlined briefly in the prototype+discussion video above, the Structuralist approach is for the specifics of system architecture and development whereas the Post-Structuralist approach gives Crunchy Bytes a more ‘personal touch’, reflecting on the past and what I remember of these games when they were new. Alongside this iteration process of production, I also posted somewhat regularly on social media sites like Twitter of progress I made on the video. While these posts didn’t gain a lot of traction, I still found them nonetheless useful as a documentation tool to track my progress. The video goes over a few more things and also gives an idea of what I’m trying to now accomplish with Crunchy Bytes. And hopefully, I keep my ambitions for the potential series in check, for the time being. One other, more minor criticism I received was the poor mixing of the audio. The prototype has far better audio clarity compared to the the first Crunchy Bytes trailer, the quality (or lack thereof) of which I apologise for.
I've also done a decent amount of research. This included fan resources like the Final Fantasy Wiki, the MobyGames Database alongside some staggeringly detailed stuff - one such case being an unfinished but nonetheless extensive reference document for the Final Fantasy VII game engine (Check under Walker, J & Qhimm Team). There was also some excellent interview material, and the one which caught my eye the most was Crash Bandicoot: An Oral History that was published on the website Polygon where members of Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot team talked about the specifics of the game's developments (which I know will prove immensely valuable when the full video is created). There's also a few scholarly, academic references - although I am planning on beefing the number of these up significantly to bolster and legitimize my work further. Finally, while I'm also utilising the Structuralist/Post-Structuralist frameworks, I'll also be looking at Media Archaeology as a potential framework - being particularly inspired by the works Errki Huhtamo, a prominent academic figure who kickstarted the concept of Media Archaeology as a framework for analysis in the first place.
I think the future looks bright for Crunchy Bytes. Perhaps bright enough for more than one episode somewhere down the line. But I'll have to wait and see if I'm up to the challenge of that or not.
I've also done a decent amount of research. This included fan resources like the Final Fantasy Wiki, the MobyGames Database alongside some staggeringly detailed stuff - one such case being an unfinished but nonetheless extensive reference document for the Final Fantasy VII game engine (Check under Walker, J & Qhimm Team). There was also some excellent interview material, and the one which caught my eye the most was Crash Bandicoot: An Oral History that was published on the website Polygon where members of Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot team talked about the specifics of the game's developments (which I know will prove immensely valuable when the full video is created). There's also a few scholarly, academic references - although I am planning on beefing the number of these up significantly to bolster and legitimize my work further. Finally, while I'm also utilising the Structuralist/Post-Structuralist frameworks, I'll also be looking at Media Archaeology as a potential framework - being particularly inspired by the works Errki Huhtamo, a prominent academic figure who kickstarted the concept of Media Archaeology as a framework for analysis in the first place.
I think the future looks bright for Crunchy Bytes. Perhaps bright enough for more than one episode somewhere down the line. But I'll have to wait and see if I'm up to the challenge of that or not.
(This was made for the university subject, BCM215)
REFERENCES:
Barbarian_Bros 2010, 187081-crash-bandicoot-playstation-front-cover.jpg, MobyGames, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/187081-crash-bandicoot-playstation-front-cover.jpg>.
Beamish, P.W. 1999, ‘Sony's Yoshihide Nakamura on structure and decision making’, Academy of Management Executive, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 12-16.
Charly2.0 2019, 315130-spyro-the-dragon-playstation-front-cover.jpg, MobyGames, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/315130-spyro-the-dragon-playstation-front-cover.jpg>.
Console Database 2019, Sony PlayStation/PSOne Console Information, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.consoledatabase.com/consoleinfo/sonyplaystation/>.
Erbaltan 2009, 135787-resident-evil-playstation-front-cover.jpg, MobyGames, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/135787-resident-evil-playstation-front-cover.jpg>.
Etherwulf 2014, CGI scenes that used blow your mind and now look ugly compared to in-game graphics, NeoGaf, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.neogaf.com/threads/cgi-scenes-that-used-blow-your-mind-and-now-look-ugly-compared-to-in-game-graphics.879017/>.
Final Fantasy Inside 2019, FF7, viewed 20th September 2019, <http://wiki.ffrtt.ru/index.php/FF7>.
Final Fantasy Wiki 2019, Final Fantasy VII Development, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII_development>.
Final Fantasy Wiki 2019, Full motion video, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Full_motion_video>.
Ghosh, C, Fulford, B & Tanzer, A 2000, ‘PlayStation Play’, Forbes, pp. 304-305.
Giant Bomb 2019, Full Motion Video (Concept), viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.giantbomb.com/full-motion-video/3015-604/>.
Grooveraider 2010, Sony PlayStation - E3 1995 Keynote Speech - Los Angeles, CA - Part 1 of 3, online video, 28 May, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Aa9w54Y1hg>.
Hester, B 2017, Crash Bandicoot: An Oral History, Polygon, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.polygon.com/2017/6/22/15820540/crash-bandicoot-an-oral-history>.
IDT, Inc. 1994, IDT R30xx Family Software Reference Manual, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://cgi.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs3231/doc/R3000.pdf>.
Karsa Orlong 2013, 271200-silent-hill-playstation-front-cover.png, MobyGames, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/271200-silent-hill-playstation-front-cover.png>.
Kutaragi, K & Kwong, M 1995, ‘"Graphics Synthesizer" for Video Game Applications’, Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 55-58.
Lai, R 2015, We turned on the Nintendo PlayStation: it’s real and it works, Engadget, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.engadget.com/2015/11/06/nintendo-playstation-is-real-and-it-works/>.
MacKenzie, A 2000, ‘Losing Time At The PlayStation: Realtime Individuation and the Whatever Body’, Cultural Values, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 257-278.
Manafy, M 1999, ‘Nintendo Joins Sony in Adopting DVD for Next Generation of Gaming Devices’, EMedia Professional, p. 20.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975, motion picture, Python (Monty) Pictures, Michael White Productions & National Film Trustee Company, United Kingdom, directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.
PlayStation 2011, Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware (until March 2007), viewed 20th September 2019, <https://web.archive.org/web/20110524023857/http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps_e.html>.
PlayStation 2019, PlayStation 2 | PS2 | PlayStation, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/explore/ps2/>.
Smina12 2012, The Guts of Old Video Game Systems: A Photo Essay, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://smina12.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/my-photo-essay-on-the-inside-of-old-video-game-systems-2/>.
‘Sony outlines roadmap for PlayStation’ 1999, Solid State Technology, p. 28.
Walker, J & Qhimm Team N/A, Gears: A Look Inside The Final Fantasy VII Game Engine, viewed 20th September 2019, <http://q-gears.sourceforge.net/gears.pdf>.
Walker, J 2014, PlayStation Architecture, Hardware & Coding, Intel Assembler, viewed 20th September 2019, <http://www.intel-assembler.it/portale/5/playstation/hardware_tables_and_programming_ps1.asp>.
WatchUsPlayGames 2013, final-fantasy-vii-cover-cloud-box-artwork-ps1.jpg, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://watchusplaygames.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/final-fantasy-vii-cover-cloud-box-artwork-ps1.jpg>.
Wikipedia 2019, 1024px-PlayStation_logo.svg, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation#/media/File:PlayStation_logo.svg>.
Wikipedia 2019, PSX-Console-wController.jpg, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/PSX-Console-wController.jpg>.
Wikipedia 2019, Sony-Internal-PC-DVD-Drive-Opened.jpg, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_disc_drive#/media/File:Sony-Internal-PC-DVD-Drive-Opened.jpg>.
ZBrushCentral 2008, T-rex, viewed 20th September 2019, <archive.zbrushcentral.com/printthread.php?t=58190&pp=15&page=2>.
By the way, you can read the re-blogged version on the Game Cultures blog here. It's essentially the same post, just slightly reformatted.
Barbarian_Bros 2010, 187081-crash-bandicoot-playstation-front-cover.jpg, MobyGames, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/187081-crash-bandicoot-playstation-front-cover.jpg>.
Beamish, P.W. 1999, ‘Sony's Yoshihide Nakamura on structure and decision making’, Academy of Management Executive, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 12-16.
Charly2.0 2019, 315130-spyro-the-dragon-playstation-front-cover.jpg, MobyGames, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/315130-spyro-the-dragon-playstation-front-cover.jpg>.
Console Database 2019, Sony PlayStation/PSOne Console Information, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.consoledatabase.com/consoleinfo/sonyplaystation/>.
Erbaltan 2009, 135787-resident-evil-playstation-front-cover.jpg, MobyGames, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/135787-resident-evil-playstation-front-cover.jpg>.
Etherwulf 2014, CGI scenes that used blow your mind and now look ugly compared to in-game graphics, NeoGaf, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.neogaf.com/threads/cgi-scenes-that-used-blow-your-mind-and-now-look-ugly-compared-to-in-game-graphics.879017/>.
Final Fantasy Inside 2019, FF7, viewed 20th September 2019, <http://wiki.ffrtt.ru/index.php/FF7>.
Final Fantasy Wiki 2019, Final Fantasy VII Development, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII_development>.
Final Fantasy Wiki 2019, Full motion video, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Full_motion_video>.
Ghosh, C, Fulford, B & Tanzer, A 2000, ‘PlayStation Play’, Forbes, pp. 304-305.
Giant Bomb 2019, Full Motion Video (Concept), viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.giantbomb.com/full-motion-video/3015-604/>.
Grooveraider 2010, Sony PlayStation - E3 1995 Keynote Speech - Los Angeles, CA - Part 1 of 3, online video, 28 May, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Aa9w54Y1hg>.
Hester, B 2017, Crash Bandicoot: An Oral History, Polygon, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.polygon.com/2017/6/22/15820540/crash-bandicoot-an-oral-history>.
IDT, Inc. 1994, IDT R30xx Family Software Reference Manual, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://cgi.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs3231/doc/R3000.pdf>.
Karsa Orlong 2013, 271200-silent-hill-playstation-front-cover.png, MobyGames, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/271200-silent-hill-playstation-front-cover.png>.
Kutaragi, K & Kwong, M 1995, ‘"Graphics Synthesizer" for Video Game Applications’, Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 55-58.
Lai, R 2015, We turned on the Nintendo PlayStation: it’s real and it works, Engadget, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.engadget.com/2015/11/06/nintendo-playstation-is-real-and-it-works/>.
MacKenzie, A 2000, ‘Losing Time At The PlayStation: Realtime Individuation and the Whatever Body’, Cultural Values, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 257-278.
Manafy, M 1999, ‘Nintendo Joins Sony in Adopting DVD for Next Generation of Gaming Devices’, EMedia Professional, p. 20.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975, motion picture, Python (Monty) Pictures, Michael White Productions & National Film Trustee Company, United Kingdom, directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.
PlayStation 2011, Cumulative Production Shipments of Hardware (until March 2007), viewed 20th September 2019, <https://web.archive.org/web/20110524023857/http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps_e.html>.
PlayStation 2019, PlayStation 2 | PS2 | PlayStation, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/explore/ps2/>.
Smina12 2012, The Guts of Old Video Game Systems: A Photo Essay, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://smina12.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/my-photo-essay-on-the-inside-of-old-video-game-systems-2/>.
‘Sony outlines roadmap for PlayStation’ 1999, Solid State Technology, p. 28.
Walker, J & Qhimm Team N/A, Gears: A Look Inside The Final Fantasy VII Game Engine, viewed 20th September 2019, <http://q-gears.sourceforge.net/gears.pdf>.
Walker, J 2014, PlayStation Architecture, Hardware & Coding, Intel Assembler, viewed 20th September 2019, <http://www.intel-assembler.it/portale/5/playstation/hardware_tables_and_programming_ps1.asp>.
WatchUsPlayGames 2013, final-fantasy-vii-cover-cloud-box-artwork-ps1.jpg, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://watchusplaygames.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/final-fantasy-vii-cover-cloud-box-artwork-ps1.jpg>.
Wikipedia 2019, 1024px-PlayStation_logo.svg, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation#/media/File:PlayStation_logo.svg>.
Wikipedia 2019, PSX-Console-wController.jpg, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/PSX-Console-wController.jpg>.
Wikipedia 2019, Sony-Internal-PC-DVD-Drive-Opened.jpg, viewed 20th September 2019, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_disc_drive#/media/File:Sony-Internal-PC-DVD-Drive-Opened.jpg>.
ZBrushCentral 2008, T-rex, viewed 20th September 2019, <archive.zbrushcentral.com/printthread.php?t=58190&pp=15&page=2>.
By the way, you can read the re-blogged version on the Game Cultures blog here. It's essentially the same post, just slightly reformatted.
Let me start out by saying that as a big fan of the Crash Bandicoot games, I love the use of actual in-game footage as your video background and I really like the way you use extra video clips and plenty of pictures throughout your video to keep the viewers interested. The video itself is well made and produced, but I have a couple nitpicks. I think it's a good idea to focus on a specific platform in the PlayStation, but I feel you may have used too much time in the video providing context to the PlayStation as a platform. For example, I don't think it was entirely necessary to explain the relationship between Nintendo and Sony, especially if you are talking about how developers got around hardware limits. Saying this, however, I like how you link these contextual elements to the points you are trying to make.
ReplyDeleteAlso you got a little bit technical at points throughout, so remember to explain the more technical terms and concepts. Also, it might just be me, but I thought the jokes thrown around the 2:30 mark, came out as a little unnatural, which took me out of the video for a little bit.
I like how you talk about the feedback you received, and how it has played into your analytical framework, and you reference a bunch of sources, but I wish you specified some of the academic sources you have looked at or found useful, I guess to help show the projects development.
You might already have this on your radar, but I think you should check out the Crash Bandicoot Boundary Break video, as it's one of the games you are analysing, it should hopefully be useful to you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFtuEQQ2mjk
Good Luck!
Hey Tim, the progress you have made for your digital artifact has been wonderful. Overall, it seems like you have a really solid grasp of what you are doing and you are putting out good content to accompany that. Firstly starting out with what I really liked about your beta video. Just like your pitch, it is produced really well and I enjoyed the little bits of comedy you added in.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the amount of research that you put into your topic, I think you nail it. You have always got good facts and research to back up what you are saying and it seems you are really interested and invested in this topic. I think it is a good idea to focus specifically on the PlayStation instead of trying to research all the different types of other consoles, there is plenty of content that you can make out just that.
Using user feedback to play into the analytical framework is something I think you have done very well as well.
You may have come across it already but if you want to check out this article, it looks into games that pushed the hardware limitations of the PlayStation 1. Specifically it talks about Crash Bandicoot which I believe is one of the games that you are specifically looking into.
forgot to link the article, whoops :D http://www.racketboy.com/retro/games-that-pushed-the-limits-of-the-sony-playstation-ps1
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