magazine

Cross platform gaming

Cross platform gaming is when you are able to play a game with people on a different console or device. For example, if I were to play Minecraft from my Xbox, I could play with a friend who is using a PC and another friend who may be using an android phone / tablet. 

The “better together” update is very exciting because it brings people from all over the gaming world together. All the features and updates will be the same across every device so rather then being limited to playing with only x box users (which all your friends might not have) you can play using the cross platform feature.

SONY decided to stay out of the better together feature and one of their reasons was to protect children online. This is important because if a child is playing on Xbox and he has only his friends on Xbox it limits who he is communicating and playing with. Whereas if he is able to play random people from their phones, PC’s and more it may become dangerous if there are paedophiles or child predators online. 

In my opinion, I think that the future of cross platform gaming seems very bright. Pros to this feature is that you can join in games without feeling left out if you can’t afford or just don’t have a particular device, it also allows you to connect with a lot more of your friends and you can also play from different devices if you were on the go. However like I mentioned before, concerns are that the safety of the children is more at risk and also it may lead to an increase in online bullying. 

Black Panther

Black Panther

Marvel studios produced Black Panther.


Black panther cast:

• Chadwick boseman as T'challa / black panther
• Michael B. Jordan as Erik "Killmonger" stevens
• Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia
• Danai Guira as OKoye
• Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross
• Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi
• Letitia Wright as Shuri
• Winston Duke as M'Baku
• Angela Bassett as Ramonda
• Forest Whitaker as zuri
• Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue

The whole film had a budget of $200 million, which is more than 2008's iron man which had a budget of $186 million but less then 2016's captain America civil war which had a budget of $225 million.
The $200 million budget would have been spent on the Story rights. The right to produce a film based on a play, novel, musical or video game, or as a remake or sequel can cost anything from a couple of thousand to over $10 million). It is also spent on Screenplay.  An A-list screenwriter may be paid between $100,000 to $2 million to write a script, including $400,000 a week for each rewrite of a film in trouble. script doctors may be called upon to revise the final draft at $100,000 to $200,000 a week. Another aspect is Producers. Film producers and executive producers are often well-paid, with a top producer earning a seven-figure salary upfront as well as bonuses and a share of the profits. They also need to spend on the Director. The DGA minimum is about $19,143 per week, for a minimum of ten weeks' work. An A-list film director can command $5 to $10 million per film. Another is Cast. While the bulk of the cast usually gets paid by the Actors Guild standard rate of about 2,300 US$ per week, famous and bankable film stars can demand fees up to $30 million per film, plus perks (trailer, entourage, etc.) and possible gross participation. Sometimes an actor will accept a minimal fee in exchange for a more lucrative share of the profits. Union extras are paid around $130 per day (plus extra for overtime or if they provide their own wardrobe), but on a low-budget film non-union extras are paid less, sometimes nothing at all. Other aspects of a film the budget will be spent on are music, visual effects and music rights.

Cultivation Theory: 

Gerbner built on the work done by bandura. he suggested that the media doesn't simply inject us, but cultivates particular beliefs / attitudes overtime. High frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media  messages and the belief that they are real and valid.

Effects Theory:

in the effects theory, the media are powerful, negative forces who control the masses. The media is seen as a hypodermic syringe, injecting our helpless minds with messages which we take on fully.
The effects model is still in evidence today, particularly in tabloid newspapers who construct moral panics around the latest buzz in the media- rap music videos, horror movies, social media and so on.

Moral Panics:

Stanley cohen in 1972 published a book 'folk devils and moral panics'. Moral panics happen when members of a society and culture become outraged, fearful and upset by the challenges and menaces posed to 'their' accepted values and ways of life, by the activities of groups defined as deviant. These could be violent extremists, teenagers or an organisation / internet, violent games or social media.

game case study

fordism, vertical interrogation and anti trust laws

Fordism - was a term named after Henry Ford, it was a very efficient way of producing goods (like cars) based on standardising the product and  the assembly of the production. the film industry made films from the same genre over and over again




vertical interrogation- this refers to companies controlling all the means of production , distribution and consumption.




anti trust laws were made in the late 1950's , the US government bought an end to the vertical interrogation system and forced the studios to sell off their cinemas


A production company or a production house provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.


distribution companies-Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user that needs it. This can be done directly by the producer or service provider, or using indirect channels with distributors or intermediaries.


Blockbusters target a large mass audience.


first blockbuster film was jaws
1997- first star wars film