Influence Of International Culture On The Fashion Industry

Influence of International Culture on the Fashion Industry The author’s curiosity towards the Fashion industry, and all the different sub sectors in and amongst it, was ignited at an adolescent age through the phenomenal approbation they felt for the Walt Disney motion pictures and viewing for the first time all the heroes, protagonists and villains that were featured on the animated screens wearing fabulous, flamboyant costumes and garments, that projected high fashion, couture in the most over embellished manner. Introduction The fashion industry is a multibillion global initiative, circulating around the design, manufacture, supply, marketing and retail of clothing, it is one of the most lucrative industries throughout the biosphere. It exemplifies an imperative fragment towards individuals expressing their identity. (Vidyadharghate 2015) Fashion is a replication of societal, monetary, dogmatic and cultural vicissitudes. It articulates avant-gardism, signifying the essence of the eras. (Zegheau, L 2014) Fashion, accommodates to everyone, men, women, children and infants. It can be differentiated into subdivisions; high fashion, couture, haute, mass apparel, fast fashion and ready to wear. (Steele, V 2015) Clothing allows individuals the opportunity to differentiate themselves, whilst fulfilling a chief part in the societal edifice of distinctiveness. Apparel adoptions allow people the opportunity to construe culture in their own way. Over the generations clothing hasShow MoreRelatedThe Effect of Globalization on Fashion with Special Reference to the Impact of Japanese Designs on the European Scene1527 Words   |  7 Pagesct Analyse the effect of ‘Globalization’ on fashion with special reference to the impact of Japanese designs on the European scene. The definition of globalisation is quite complex and extremely controversial. 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Coined by the urban youth, Hip-hop has forced its way to the pinnacle of mainstream America. Hip-hop’s massive influence on the English language, the fashion industry, and world peace warrantsRead MoreDoes the Caribbean Contribute to the Americanization of Its Media?1322 Words   |  6 Pagesâ⠂¬Å"Do you believe Caribbean Media are victims or causal factors of the Americanization of Caribbean Culture?† There has been an ongoing debate as to whether The Americanization phenomenon, has been perpetuated by the media across the Caribbean. It must be stated, that the Americanization phenomenon, can be synonymous with Globalisation. Hence it very pertinent to the discussion, to first defines the denotative meaning of the term Globalisation. (Dr.Maria Alfaro) defines Globalisation as: â€Å"ARead MoreDoes the Caribbean Contribute to the Americanization of Its Media?1336 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Do you believe Caribbean Media are victims or causal factors of the Americanization of Caribbean Culture?† There has been an ongoing debate as to whether The Americanization phenomenon, has been perpetuated by the media across the Caribbean. It must be stated, that the Americanization phenomenon, can be synonymous with Globalisation. Hence it very pertinent to the discussion, to first defines the denotative meaning of the term Globalisation. (Dr.Maria Alfaro) defines Globalisation as: â€Å"A

Real Business Cycles Hypothesis Sees Cycles - 1839 Words

Introduction Real Business Cycles hypothesis sees cycles as starting in frictionless splendidly focused economies with for the most part finish markets subject to genuine stuns (irregular changes in innovation or efficiency), it makes the contention that cycles are predictable with aggressive general harmony situations in which all operators are levelheaded maximizers (The Economist). In opposition to what Keynesian, Monetarist, and new traditional business analysts trusted, RBC scholars, beginning with Nelson and Plosser in 1982, found that the theory that GDP development takes after an arbitrary walk can t be rejected. They contended that a large portion of the adjustments in GDP were perpetual, and that yield development would not†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Changes in the work supply or livelihood. RBC models were for the most part fruitful in representing diligence and co-movement, yet less effective in offering persuading clarifications for changes in occupation (Real Business Cycle Theory). The Baxter and King paper, Fiscal Policy in General Equilibrium concentrates on four exemplary financial approach tests inside a quantitatively confined neoclassical model. The creators primary discoveries are as per the following: lasting changes in government buys can prompt short-run and long-run yield multipliers that surpass one; perpetual changes in government buys instigate bigger impacts than transitory changes; the financing choice is quantitatively more critical than the asset expense of changes in government buys; and open venture affects private yield and speculation. These discoveries stem from critical element collaborations of capital and work truant in prior harmony investigations of monetary arrangement (Baxter King 1993). In the event that business cycles are brought about for the most part by changes in efficiency, instead of by money related and budgetary unsettling influences, what part do financial and monetary arrangements play? In Satyajit Chatterjee s article he examines the likelihood that countercyclical money related and financial arrangements have assumed a vital part in

Essay on Open Source Software Free Essays

string(275) " cost are essential factors in software development and they can be exploited by using of OSS which reduces the number of programmers employer has to pay himself, provides a ready tested code from other projects and thus reduces the time it takes to build, test and develop\." Introduction: The concept of open source affects many fields of study from computer software and hardware to architecture, health, science, robotics and even politics. Linus Torvalds predicted this proliferation of source openness when he said: â€Å"the future is open source everything†. But another founder of open source movement, Eric Raymond, refused the using of this concept about applications outside software (Wikipedia, 2009). We will write a custom essay sample on Essay on Open Source Software or any similar topic only for you Order Now Free/open source software (F/OSS) is accessible software where end source code is available for the user. It is not limited to software as applicable ones, it exceeds to allow beneficial to read, modify and recreate the source code (V. Hippel, V. Krogh, 2003). So F/OSS is usually provides users with source code and information needed to apply their changes on them. The ability to run the program as the user wishes is one of the essential freedoms which Richard Stallman, the founder of free software and defender of open source, was confirmed in an interview. These freedoms are: the freedom to study how these software works, the freedom to change it according to project’s requirements, the freedom to redistribute it and the freedom to distribute your modified copy to others (Reilly 2008). In Raymond opinion â€Å"good programmers know how to write, great ones know what to rewrite†, and he illustrated that it is almost easier to use an already existing solution to start with than to start from nothing at all. But this involves developer in difficult-to-be-solved problems if choice is not suitable. Linux operating system was not written from scratch where Linus Torvalds started by studying ideas from Minix â€Å"a tiny Unix-like OS† and then reused it according to project’s purposes (Raymond, 1999) Beginnings: It was a big surprise for those who used to pay for software to be told that groups of volunteers create high quality software and produce it to the community for free. The idea of FOSS began in 1960s. In this decade commercial software was not available and researchers were in need to share software code. As a result, they started to share source code in a limited framework. â€Å"Open sharing of software code was a common practice in the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in the early 1960s and in similar laboratories such as Stanford and Carnegie Mellon† (Moon Sproull 2002). After that developers and users gave the idea more attention. Consequently, foundations of free software have been established in 1980s when Stallman called for free software and claimed that software should be common. In an interview, Stallman confirmed that computer users could not use the proprietary software come with most computers in the 1980s. So, such software keeps users â€Å"divided and helpless†. Stallman was dissatisfied with that situation and he started the free software movement in 1993 when he wrote the GNU open source operating system (M. Reilly, 2008). The general public license of GNU operating system allows users receive all their rights in essential freedoms mentioned above. In 2005 the idea achieved its goals in software filed and became more trusted by users and developers (Raymond 1999). Wikipedia is a known example of F/OSS. It is a free encyclopedia started in the beginnings of 2001 by means of highly qualified contributors. It provides 19 free encyclopedias in 19 different languages and its content has been created by user contributions. Many other examples like Apache web server, BIND name server and Linux operating system kernel are free for any user to use, amend and share. Motivations: The motivations of Stallman to produce free software are his strong belief in freedom, particularly â€Å"the freedom for individuals to cooperate† (2003). But what are the incentives other developers have to become contributors in open source projectsIn other words, why do programmers volunteer their time and experience without any financial returns to create free software? Raymond is one of the first GNU contributors, a developer of many net open source software and a significant participant in Linux operating system development. He indicated that Linux project was going from â€Å"strength to strength† and the reason was the â€Å"bazaar† model of the Linux development style in which all contributors worked hard as at individual projects. He added that the democratic atmosphere in bazaar model motivated him and his partners to work hard regardless of financial returns (Raymond 1999). The Linux creator, Linus Trovalds, says: â€Å"I am basically a very lazy person who likes to get credit for things other people actually do† (Raymond 1999). Torvalds , as he stated in his book ‘Just For Fun’, has an early interest in computing, he does not seem to take himself too seriously, he is a lucky guy who can provide a career for himself, and he finds a lot of fun when he writes software code. It is surprising that hackers are also a significant motivating factor; they lead developers to impress their peers, gain a better reputation and raise their ranks in society (Zaleski et al. 2001). Wikipedia showed, in a study made up by Wikipedia administrators, that the reason for their participants to be a part in such free work is the desire to create a benefit thing that helps others and meets their requirements (Wikipedia 2010). While the basic motivations for corporation in learners open source community are learning specific topics, learning how to be future learners and projects creating. Advantages: Software is characterized by many factors: Its cost, where the lower price is more preferred and thus free is the most. Voluntary work, where volunteers are motivated towards the project and they are interested in, which means that they do their best. Continuously tested by all participant and users, hence it is almost free of bugs and errors. These factors refer that open source software is likely to be the best solution for any project if needed features are provided. Besides, developers have created it according to own needs which means that it is in a high level of quality and efficiency. F/OSS has many advantages related to development cost and time, bug correction and independency. Time and cost are essential factors in software development and they can be exploited by using of OSS which reduces the number of programmers employer has to pay himself, provides a ready tested code from other projects and thus reduces the time it takes to build, test and develop. You read "Essay on Open Source Software" in category "Essay examples" Besides that creating software by many developers, each has revised and corrected its errors and each has a different background, leads to less bugs and faster detection and correction. Linus’ law refers to this idea ‘Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow’ (Answers.com, 2009). Openness of source code provides communication paths and interactive communities. F/OSS community in schools consists of researchers, learners and teachers; each listens to others and respects their opinions. It is expected in this style of community to switch roles among its members, where students may be assigned particular roles to take on for the studied project. So they can share their ideas in all project’s aspects. On the other hand, sense of control is uncommon in most classrooms, so one of learner’s community’s advantages is to prepare students for future life by involving them in the experiment of leadership (H. Baytiyeh, J. Pfaffman, 2010). Another advantage for open source software, which Zaleski stated in his article, that open source innovation was the reason for Linux operating system to move quickly from being an ambiguous operating system used by programmers and hackers to an essential operating system in business area (2001). On the other hand, open source technology resolved the problem of knowledge transfer in developing countries. Direct import of software not only costs these countries high amounts of money, but also puts them in complex troubles where they do not know how to develop this software to meet the local needs (Alkhatib 2008). Why do some organizations still buy commercial software instead of using free ones? The voluntary of open source projects and the relative lake of financial support make them far from marketing and advertising. This means that many organizations have not been informed that free solutions relevant to their needs are available freely. This â€Å"knowledge gap† cause many other barriers. Some managers do not know how to implement and use open source applications and they may be unaware of the range of services provided with such applications like support services and consultations. To cover this knowledge gap, an â€Å"up to date† archive of open source applications is available in SourceForge.net website. This website consists of more than 131,000 open source applications with their latest software updates where the accessibility is allowed for any organization to find suitable free software according to its requirements. Further, assistance with the technical issues of open source applications implementation is available by many open source consultants like IBM, Red Hat, and Open Sky Consulting. Forking is another reason for not using F/OSS. The independency between open source software developers groups leads to different versions of same software. Although these versions started with the same source code, they are not able to interoperate because these groups create their own versions without coordination. This phenomenon is called â€Å"forking† and it is the responsible for open source software fragmenting. As a result, the open source BSD-Unix community was divided into three portions in early 1990s, and Emacs text editor and NCSA web server are other examples where both forked into two divisions in 1992 and 2995 respectively. In Nagy’s opinion, forking is dangerous because it causes inherited fragmentation for both of the original software adopters and marketing of relative applications. Many versions of one software leads adopters to choose one to support, consequently, software will not gain the critical mass of adopters it aims to do. On the other hand, venders will be put in a point of choosing to support one of forked versions or all of them in their own applications. In this case, some adopters and vendors decide to wait for a standard version or to stall their adoption and supporting (NAGY et al. 2010). Conclusion: No one can predict the future of software, but developers can expect that open source software will be stronger and gain increased faith from traditional software industry. Historically, one can recognize the discontinuities appeared between IBM System in the 1960s, first PC in the end of 1970s and the open source movement in the 1990s. So it is expected that this technology gap will take place in the next 10-15 years for a new software innovation (Campbell-Kelly 2008) Green IT Introduction: IT has brought many significant solutions for environmental sustainability, but at the same time, it caused a lot of problems especially in data centers where energy is consumed enormously (Murugesan 2010) Hopper, a professor of computer technology at the University of Cambridge and head of its Computer Laboratory, claimed that â€Å"the system we now employ is hugely wasteful† and he proposed to create new systems which are more efficient, less expensive and help in reducing energy consumptions; because he believed that moving data is cheaper than energy (Kurp 2008) Computers impact environment from the first stage of producing to the last stage of disposal. Moreover, increased consumption of energy leads to more greenhouse gas emissions because the main source of energy is coil, oil or gas burning (Murugesan 2010) Since environmental problems come from each stage of computer’s life, green IT must covers all of these areas, from designing to manufacturing and use end with disposal. In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San Murugesan defines green computing as â€Å"the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems -such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems- efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment.† (Murugesan 2008) Suggested solutions: Dell and Hewlett-Packard are two computer manufacturers. They decided to solve the problem by retooling their products. On the other hand, the solution from the standpoint of David Wang, the data center architect for Teradata, is not to replace all old computers by others which are more environments friendly. He confirmed that attention must be drawn to increasing power consumption as well as to heat removal in data centers (Kurp 2008). Murugesan has illustrated areas and activities which are involved in green IT solutions as the following: – Environmental friendly designing; – Energy-efficient computing; – Power management; – Location and architecture of data centers; – Server virtualization which has been explained before; – Responsible disposal and recycling; – Regulatory compliance; – Green metrics, assessment tools and methodology; – Environment-related risk reducing; – Use of renewable energy sources; and – Eco-labeling of IT products (2008). Other solutions have been produced by Hasbrouck and Woodruff. They suggested two strategies for green computing: Reduce computing technology’s contribution to the problem by producing energy-efficient computers, take reusability into account during computers’ designing, use less materials and work toward computers’ and related systems’ recycling. Moreover, they indicated that truing off inactive computers, using energy-efficient devices and reduction of emissions emitted from computers’ manufacturing are significant parts of this strategy. Give computing a role in resolving the issue by creating green applications which enable design green objects and green processes such as design green buildings, invent source of renewable energy and design fuel-efficient aircraft (2008). Most efforts in green IT are directed towards the first strategy to solve environmental problems which have increased along with computers’ using increase. As a result of these problems caused by computers, many associations are turning to green computing to save money and reduce waste. To do so, Dick Sullivan listed five major trends: Virtualization in all forms especially for servers, storage and network environments. In other words, transform entire machines into software-based entities. For instance, a room with five servers can be replaced by an efficient server provided with high performance software. Utilize the cloud computing where no need to have own data centers, own big servers or storage systems. Many organizations need only a small amount of proprietary equipment and functionality. In this case, they can basically purchase what they need from someone else who will be responsible for the security, power and maintenance. Sullivan confirmed that â€Å"a huge amount of data is basically an exact duplicate of other data†, so converting to intelligent compression or single instance storage can eliminate this waste and cut the total data storage needed. Solid-state disk (SSD) has no moving parts and is not magnetic, so it is a stronger, safer and faster way to store and access data. Everyone can make impact and be a part of green computing project when s/he has more awareness of her/his direct and indirect daily computing habits. Employees, for example, can support green computing if they use to turn off computers not in use, banning screen savers and shorten the turn-off times when computers are inactive. On the other hand, printing waste a lot of papers, so managing this daily process by printing only as needed and adopting double sided printing will make a significant impact (Clarke 2009) Many efforts have been made to support the idea of green IT. Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI) is one of these efforts. It seeks to reduce electric power consumption of PCs and it has established a catalogue of green products from organizations involved with, in addition to helpful information about reducing PC energy consumption. This initiative is a group of consumers, businesses and conservation organizations formed in 2007, it has gained brilliant results where 50 percent of energy consumed by computers was economized by 2010, and it was able to reduce global CO2 emissions from the operation of computers by 54 million tons a year (Wikipedia 2010). Motivations: To enforce computer users to subject to green IT solutions and apply them on their daily routines, government can face them with more green taxis and rules. But it is better, in my opinion, to raise people awareness toward the danger that threatens the Earth if they continue using traditional computers in traditional methods, and to teach them the benefits of green IT. Applying green IT issues in all affected areas offers individuals and organizations financial benefits where IT operations achieve better energy efficiency through green initiatives. In a survey made by Sun Microsystem Australia, 1500 responses have been collected from 758 different-size organizations. Almost of these responses illustrated that the main reasons for using green IT practices are reducing energy consumption and get lower costs. As a result, most companies started to prioritize environmental issues. Moreover, institutions and corporate ask their suppliers to take into account how to â€Å"green up† their products and manufacturing processes. Not only companies but also people began to adhere to environmentally friendly issues of IT (Murugesan 2008). Green IT approach: As it has mentioned above that environmental problems caused by computing should be addressed by a holistic approach which include solutions for all areas affected by using computers. This approach, as it has been explained by Murugesan, consists of four concepts: Green use that aims to reduce energy consumption and use computers in an environmentally friendly manner. Green disposal where computers, related system like printers and electronic equipments should be reused, refurbished or recycled. Green design where new computers, servers and cooling devices can be designed to be more energy efficient. Green manufacturing which aims to adopt the process of computers and sub-systems creating that minimize or get rid of its impact on the environment (2008) References: 2003. Richard Stallman: Freedom–His Passion Both For Work And In Life. Electronic Design, 51(23), 112. Answers.com, what are the advantages and disadvantages of open source software and why?, [Internet]. Available from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_ disadvantages_of _open _source_software_and_why, [Accessed 30th November 2010] Campbell-Kelly, M., 2008. Historical Reflecions Will the Future of Software be Open SourceCommunications of the ACM, 51(10), 21-23. Clarke, K., 2009. Green computing trends you should know. Associations Now, 5(8), 19. Hasbrouck, J. Woodruff, A., 2008. Green Homeowners as Lead Adopters: Sustainable Living and Green Computing. Intel Technology Journal, 12(1), 39-48. Kurp, P., 2008. Green Computing. Communications of the ACM, 51(10), 11-13. Michael Bloch, Open source software in your online business -advantages/ disadvantages, 1999-2010 Moon, J.Y. Sproull, L., 2002. Essence of distributed work: The case of the Linux kernel. In P. Hinds S. Kiesler, eds. Distributed work. Cambridge, MA US: MIT Press, pp. 381-404. Murugesan. S., 2008, â€Å"Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices,† IEEE IT Professional, January–February 2008, pp 24-33. Murugesan, S., 2010. Making IT Green. IEEE Computer Society, Vol. 12, No. 2. NAGY, D., YASSIN, A.M. BHATTACHERJEE, A., 2010. Organizational Adoption of Open Source Software: Barriers and Remedies. Communications of the ACM, 53(3), 148-151. Raymond, E., 1999. The Cathedral and the Bazaar. Knowledge, Technology Policy, 12(3), 23. Reilly, M., 2008. Interview: Richard Stallman, one of the founders of â€Å"free software†. Vidyasagar Potdar and Elizabeth Chang (2004) Open source and closed source software development methodologies. Proc.of the 4th Workshop on Open Source Software Engineering, pages 105-109, Edinburgh, Scotland, May 25 2004. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia (2001) Open source [Internet]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source, [Accessed 4th November 2010] Zaleski, J. et al., 2001. JUST FOR FUN (Book Review). Publishers Weekly, 248(17), 60. How to cite Essay on Open Source Software, Essay examples

Mt. Everest case study free essay sample

At the time of the 1996 attempt to summit Mount Everest, Adventure Consultants was a four-year old company that had enjoyed financial success in spite of the death of one of its’ cofounders, Gary Ball. Mountain Madness, founded by Scott Fischer in 1984 was an older, but somewhat less successful, company. In retrospect, the adverse weather conditions, combined with logistical and other issues during the time preceding the ascent, combined to form a very challenging external environment for both teams. Each group possessed strengths and weaknesses and had both opportunities and threats present, but the greatest threat faced by each team member was the possibility of death. Corporate and business level strategies for each company included using strategic spacing of guides during the ascent, the use of technology to aid in the mission, and a defined turnaround time to lessen the chances of being trapped on the mountain after dark. The structure and control systems of each company were focused on their leaders, Hall and Fischer. Due to some poor decisions made during the summit attempt and a lack of delegation by either leader, these systems ultimately failed, leaving the team members in danger. One major recommendation that may have saved lives would be to have adhered to an agreed-upon turnaround time in order to avoid descending from the summit at night. History, Development, and Growth of Companies Over Time At the time of the 1996 attempt to summit Mount Everest, Adventure Consultants was a four-year old company that had enjoyed financial success in spite of the death of one of its’ cofounders, Gary Ball. Mountain Madness, founded by Scott Fischer in 1984 was an older, but somewhat less successful, company. Each of the two groups in the case study had at least some team members who had high-altitude mountain climbing experience and had a good reputation in climbing. However, more and more climbers with little or no experience in climbing began to aspire to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The main reason why people wanted to conquer Mount Everest was that this mountain is very famous because it stands at 8,850 meters above sea level and it is one of the most challenging mountains in the world to climb. Based on this high level of challenge, climbers know that, once they reach the peak, they will have cemented their reputation because not many people have successfully summited Everest. The two companies, Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants, described in the case study, were started because some expert mountaineers decided to become guides to lead people to reach the top of Everest. This provided the founders of these companies with not only a good opportunity to earn money, but also the chance to help people who want to conquer Everest make their dreams come true. Each of these two companies had a professional leader, assistants, and auxiliary personnel. The company leaders were full of experience and they felt comfortable that they were familiar with the extreme and challenging environment on Mount Everest. However, for a number of different reasons and also due to the leadership styles employed by Hall and Fischer, the captains of each of the two groups, the 1996 expeditions resulted in very unfortunate consequences (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Identification of the Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Company Adventure Consultants Adventure Consultants was founded in 1992 by Rob Hall and Gary Ball. After Ball’s death, Hall continued to lead the company, including leading expeditions to climb Everest. One of the main strengths of the Adventure Consultants group was the professional mountaineering experience of Rob Hall. However, one of the primary weaknesses of this team was that Hall’s clients were less experienced or not experienced in climbing high-altitude mountains. Another potential weakness of the Adventure Consultants team was that Hall also charged the highest fee to guide his clients on their summit bid to Everest (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). This may have increased the pressure to succeed on Hall, one weakness that could have led to him ignoring the turnaround time rule that he put into place. On the other hand, some clients might have considered this a strength, as it indicated that Hall had more confidence to lead people who didn’t have any experience to successfully reach the peak of Everest. Another potential weakness of the Adventure Consultants team was the somewhat dictatorial managerial style used by Hall, which led to his inability to successfully delegate tasks, another weakness exposed on the summit attempt. Mountain Madness Scott Fischer founded Mountain Madness in 1984. In terms of experience, Fischer climbed up to the peak in Everest in 1994 without supplemental oxygen. This is the primary reason (and strength) why Fischer had confidence that he could handle the extreme environment on Everest. Scott Fischer was known as an ambitious and charismatic personality; that is to say Fischer was emotional in his leadership. While this is a potential strength, his desire for recognition from his peers, especially in retrospective analysis of the outcome of the 1996 expeditions, was a weakness that may have led to his poor decision making during the summit attempt. Another strength of the Mountain Madness team was that several of the clients and guides had at least some experience in high-altitude mountain climbing . In addition, Fischer also hired eight Sherpas to assist the whole team. Even though Fischer was very confident of his ability and that of his customers, this confidence alone did not guarantee the success of the Mountain Madness team in this challenge. Fischer’s overconfidence in his abilities is another example of a weakness. Nature of the External Environment Surrounding the Company Any analysis of the nature of the external environment surrounding the companies involving in attempting to summit Mount Everest in the spring of 1996 must, of necessity, include the actual environmental, or weather, conditions that confronted these climbers. The climate of the upper reaches of Mount Everest is extreme enough that it prevents sustained human occupation (Ludecke Kuhle, 1991). In other words, members of both the Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants teams, in spite of their previous experiences, were intentionally putting themselves into one of the most severe and challenging weather environments on Earth. As noted by Anatoli Boukreev, one of the guides on the Mountain Madness team, good weather is one of the critical requirements needed for a successful summit of Mount Everest (Boukreev DeWalt, 1999). The two expeditions targeted the early days of May for their summit attempts due to the fact that this time frame seemed to provide the best possibility for mild weather conditions at the higher altitudes of the mountain. Leaders of both teams recognized that there existed only a brief window of opportunity poised between the strong winds that typically occurred each April and the rainy season that would come later in the spring. The decision to select this timing was, in large part, based on the past several years of collective experience on the upper altitudes of the mountain. During the early 1990s, those attempting to ascend Mount Everest had enjoyed relatively calm weather conditions during each climbing season. However, this had not always been the case. As noted by David Breashears, who successfully summited Everest previously, there were times in the more distant past in which harsh weather conditions on the mountain prevented climbing attempts for entire seasons (Coburn, 1997). While there is no single factor that can be blamed for the tragic outcome that occurred in 1996, there is no doubt that adverse weather conditions played a key role. Other environmental factors also played a role in the catastrophic failure of these two climbing teams, as well. These factors include the polluted air and unsanitary conditions in the villages in which members of the teams stayed on their way up the mountain. Exposure to these conditions led to multiple team members becoming ill, which had a negative impact on team performance. Another major issue had to do with the logistics of the supplies for the Fischer team (Mountain Madness). Shipping delays, weather-related issues, and other problems slowed the delivery of critical supplies and diverted Fischer’s energy and attention at the beginning of the expedition, a critical time during which the team leader should have been involved in preparing and acclimating his team. These diversions prevented Fischer from focusing his full attention and energy on the successful preparation of his team, another factor that, in retrospect, proved to have a very deleterious effect on the success of the mission. SWOT analysis Strengths The primary strengths, or distinctive competencies (Griffin, 2011), of each of the two teams were focused in the high-altitude climbing skills and expertise of their leaders and guides, although this was offset somewhat by the lack of experience of some of the clients who were part of each group. Another notable strength of the teams was their attitude regarding the summit attempt and confidence that they would be successful in their efforts. This is demonstrated in both Hall’s offering of a 100% guarantee policy and by Fischer’s response to a journalist prior to his departure: I believe 100 percent that I’m coming back. My wife believes 100 percent that I’m coming back. She isn’t concerned about me at all when I’m guiding because I’m [going to] make all the right choices. When accidents happen, I think it’s always human error. So that’s what I want to eliminate. (Krakauer, 1998) Weaknesses The primary weaknesses of the two teams centered on the overconfidence of the team leaders in their ability to successfully lead groups of inexperienced, physically unfit, ill-prepared climbers to the summit of Mount Everest and safely back again. Another key weakness exposed during this ordeal was that the performance of each team was ultimately only as good as the performance of the â€Å"weakest link† of each team, a critical factor when so many team members lacked experience in high-altitude climbing. Another weakness was the lack of the efficient use of technology during the climb. Having a greater number of phones available for group members might have facilitated communication during the descent and the presence of lighter, more current, phones would have lightened the loads that were being carried. Finally, one critical weakness outlined in the case study was the lack of clarity regarding the turnaround time rule. Given the lack of adherence to this rule exhibited by both teams, perhaps simply being clearer may not have made a difference in the tragic outcome. However, given the nature of the potential dangers, both Hall and Fischer should have drawn a clear line for the turnaround time, ensured that each team member understood the critical importance of this deadline, and then rigidly enforced to this cutoff time for the sake of the safety of each group. Opportunities The primary opportunities present for each group involved the chance for the less-experienced team members to work with and learn from some of the best high-altitude climbers in the world. Another key opportunity was the involvement of the Sherpas, many of whom demonstrated heroic efforts to assist the teams in their attempt to reach the summit and return safely. For example, the case study notes that Lopsang Jangbu personally towed client Pittman for six hours after leaving Camp IV. Other Sherpas, upon learning that both teams were in danger during the descent, left Camp IV in extremely poor weather conditions in attempts to find and rescue members of both teams. Threats The adverse weather conditions, as noted earlier, served as a primary threat to the success of the mission of each team. Another threat present, but perhaps not emphasized, was the pressure that each team leader felt to succeed. In part, this pressure arose from the pride and egos involved. However, it also involved the amount of time and financial resources expended in making a summit attempt, as well as the competition between the two teams and their leaders. Finally, the threat that ultimately claimed the lives of five of the members of the two teams was an existential one: death. Corporate Level Strategy Adventure Consultants Founded in 1992 by Rob Hall and his partner Gary Bell, Adventure Consultants was in the business of guiding individuals to the top of the highest summits in the world. Both men were successful until Bell passed away in 1993, after which Hall continued to run the business by himself. After successfully guiding many to the summit of Everest, he decided to issue a 100% guarantee to Everest peak in 1995 (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Giving out a 100% guarantee by any company relays one of two things: justified confidence in their product or service, or overconfidence by the company in its product or service. In the case of Adventure Consultants, in dealing with one of the most deadly and unpredictable mountains in the world, overconfidence was backing their 100% guarantee. After failing to satisfy that claim in 1995, Hall set out to prove himself again in 1996. Hall recruited eight climbers: three doctors, two climbers who had previously failed to summit Everest, a journalist, and two climbers who had only Everest left to climb to complete climbing the seven summits. The majority of the group lacked any experience with high-altitude climbing (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Adventure Consultants believed that they could get anyone to the top of the mountain despite their background, or lack thereof, in climbing. The final summit climb would be led by one guide in the front, a second in the middle and finally Hall at the back to assist climbers as needed. Each guide would carry a radio. Perhaps the most important practice was turning around by one o’clock or two o’clock no matter how close to the summit the climbers were. Hall knew this to be a very important and needed rule, as noted by the fact that he relayed to his team that they should be, â€Å"abiding by it no matter how close we were to the top† (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Mountain Madness Scott Fischer founded Mountain Madness in 1984. Fischer summited Everest without supplemental oxygen in 1994 after failing three previous times, and organized his first guided expedition to the summit of Everest in 1996 (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Fischer, like Hall, recruited climbers who also lacked the high altitude climbing experience demanded by Everest. A journalist, a sixty-eight year old mountaineer, and his nephew (a downhill skier), a Wall Street trader, a ski patroller, and two others who had previous climbing experience rounded out Fischer’s team of clients. Although Fischer recognized the inexperience of his team, he did not foresee a problem arising from the group’s lack of experience, but instead he focused on the attitude of the group to try to successfully get them to the top of the world and then back down again. Fischer decide to imitate Hall’s climbing plan for the guides to climb spaced out between the clients, as well as specifying a turnaround time at either one or two o’clock (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). Nature of Business Level Strategy Commercializing Everest Despite, or perhaps because of, the vast climbing experience that both leaders had amassed throughout the years, they began to become overconfident in their guiding and climbing abilities. One key fact was that the client base had also changed dramatically. Instead of experienced climbers seeking to finish off the seven summits, these two groups instead included several somewhat narcissistic and entitled customers who wanted to pay for the chance at fame and accomplishment (Elmes Barry, 1999). It became apparent that, for Hall and Fischer, summiting Everest was no longer just about the achievement, but had rather shifted to the acquisition of wealth and increased stature in the mountaineering community. Although this stature could still be achieved through guiding experienced climbers, by offering these services to the public, these companies were more likely to be more profitable as this shift gave them access to a wealthier clientele. Climbing Without Oxygen Climbing at high altitudes without supplemental oxygen puts a huge strain on the already exhausted human body. Two of Fischer’s guides, lead Sherpa Lopsang and guide Boukreev, were climbing without supplemental oxygen, (Elmes Barry, 1999). According to a study done in the Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal: The use of supplemental oxygen was found to be strongly correlated with success in summiting Mt Everest. It has been common practice since the first ascent of Mt Everest to use supplemental oxygen because of the extreme altitude of the mountain. Although using supplemental oxygen involves carrying a heavier weight, its benefits include an increase in physical strength and stamina, as well as mental clarity, better decision-making, and a more positive attitude. (Wiseman, Freer, Hung, 2006) One of the primary responsibilities of a guide for an Everest expedition is to be accountable for making decisions for a group of people. Thus, having the physical and mental capacity to make decisions accurately is crucial. It only makes sense that guides and leaders should always use supplemental oxygen as well as being strongly recommended for use by clients, as well. Adhering to the Turnaround Time Despite both leaders discussing the importance of the turnaround time agreed upon before summit day, neither team leader actually enforced this rule. By one o’clock only three of the climbers had reached the summit and by two o’clock only three more climbers had joined them. Seven other climbers joined the group at two thirty. (Roberto Carioggia, 2003). This rule was in place to prevent climbers from being on the mountain after nightfall, yet because it was not observed, climbers found themselves stuck on the mountain through the night. Adhering to this rule alone could have possibly saved the entire group from the tragedy that ensued. Structure and Control Systems of Each Company and Analysis of Fit to Strategy Structure of Adventure Consultants The Adventure Consultants team consisted of the owner (Rob Hall) along with several managers (or guides) and assistants (Sherpas). As the owner and co-founder, Rob Hall was in charge of almost everything for this group. First of all, he employed Mike Groom and Andy Harris as guides and also employed seven Sherpas as assistants. Secondly, he recruited eight clients for the 1996 summit attempt. Thirdly, he also served as a team guide along with Harris and the Sherpas. Finally, he designed the climbing route and schedule and was in charge of the safety protocols and training for his team. Structure of Mountain Madness The Mountain Madness team had a structure very similar to that of the Adventure Consultants group. Scott Fischer had two guides, eight assistants, and several clients. It is notable that Adventure Consultants seemed to have rear servers (other than Hall), which can inferred by the final contact to base camp by Hall; in the other group, Scott Fischer worked as a rear server for the Mountain Madness team alone. Analysis of Fit to Strategy As noted above, the structure of the two teams described in the case study was very straightforward. Rob Hall and Scott Fischer not only led each respective team but also recruited clients to join each of the teams. Client recruitment occurred regardless of a person’s climbing experience or physical conditioning. In fact, Hall’s death was directly related to his recruitment of ill-prepared clients. If Hansen had not been a part of the group, Hall would probably have not stayed on the summit and perished as a result. As mentioned previously, Fischer was exhausted at the beginning of the summit bid because he had to deal with lots of unexpected problems that would normally not be things that a guide would have to deal with. In other words, Fischer should have made a strategic decision to delegate some responsibilities so that he could focus on his responsibilities as a guide. Along the same lines, neither team had technical support. This left them badly prepared for the change in the weather, limited in their communication, and facing a shortage of bottles of oxygen. Based on the structure of each team, they used the following strategies: First of all, after they arrived at Base Camp, the two teams shared their schedule and the planned route to the summit of Everest. Thus, the leaders of these companies had begun to cooperate with each other. However, this cooperation alone did not guarantee good decisions. For example, on the summit day, when Krakauer and Ang Dorje found that there were 500 meters long ropes that needed to be deployed in order to get to the top of the mountain, they made a wrong decision that led to spend over an extra hour in climbing. Second, Fischer and Hall set up instructions that they required others to strictly obey. The most important rule was that the rule about turnaround time which had been emphasized many times by both Fischer and Hall. Another was the rule that the three guides would be located in the front, at the middle, and in the end of each group, respectively. Even though the time (1 pm or 2 pm) at which the climbers should turn around and begin to descend was specifically emphasized, it turned out that most of them, including Fischer and Hall, did not follow this very rule. Another evidence of not following the agreed-upon rules was that Jangbu, a Sherpa, instead of Boukreev or Beidleman, had the radio. Third, the vital decision that directly impacted the two whole teams’ survival was a result of the vote among Hall, Fischer, Boukreev and Kasischke. Kasischke recalled: It was a roaring storm out there at high camp, and I remember in our tent we were arguing . . . and it was three to one that we ought to be waiting. We were concerned that we really hadn’t had a full day of good weather, and we just . . . thought it would be smart to wait a day. I mean, if it were this way 24 hours later, we were going to have a problem trying to get down. (Roberto Carioggia, 2003, p. 10) It is unclear why the other three guides did not participate in this vote or why Kasischke, as a client, had the right to vote. Overall, some of their strategies did not effectively fit the teams’ structures. For example, the group leaders, Hall and Fischer, were not clear about responsibilities and limits of power for each position and they did not set up highly effective ways of communicating among the leaders, guides and assistants. This lack of communication had a negative impact on the success of each team. Recommendations Our team recommends the following changes that should positively impact the future performance of these two groups: 1. Increase the use of delegation by the leaders of each team 2. Employ a technical support staff to assist with weather notification, logistical details, and the use of the most current technologies 3. Clear communication of the importance of and strict adherence to the turnaround time and other safety protocols 4. Use of a baseline cutoff for client physical conditioning, health, and experience

Heterogeneous Mixture Essay Example

Heterogeneous Mixture Paper A heterogeneous mixture that would be Solid/Liquid would be Skim milk. Although skim milk contains mostly water it also contains casein, which is a small protein. The casein protein is so small it may not be thought to be a heterogeneous mixture, but fifth skim milk curdles the mixture can be separated. A Solid/Liquid solution could be Seawater. The seawater is homogeneous which makes it a solution. The mixture of oil and vinegar to make a vinaigrette salad dressing is a Liquid/Liquid heterogeneous mixture, Due to vinegar containing mostly water, it is not soluble in the oil. Vinegar by itself would be a Liquid/Liquid solution. Foam is an example of a Liquid/ Gas heterogeneous mixture because it is a mixture to gas bubbles in a liquid. Seltzer water is a Liquid/Gag solution because it is a mixture between water and carbon dioxide. Mixtures and Solutions can often become contusing because solutions are mixtures, but not all mixtures are solutions. A mixture can either be homogeneous or heterogeneous. A homogeneous mixture is where the mixtures suture is where the components are not uniform. Mixtures can either be be a heterogeneous mixture. But if the skim milk curdles the mixture can homogeneous which makes it a solution. The mixture of oil and vinegar to make a vinaigrette salad dressing is a Liquid/Liquid heterogeneous mixture. Due to vinegar containing mostly water, it is not soluble in the oil. Vinegar by itself would BEA Liquid/Liquid solution. Foam is an example of a Liquid/Gas heterogeneous mixture because it is a mixture of gas bubbles in a liquid, Seltzer water is a Liquid/Gas solution because it is a mixture between water and carbon dioxide. We will write a custom essay sample on Heterogeneous Mixture specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Heterogeneous Mixture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Heterogeneous Mixture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Mixtures and Solutions can often become confusing because solutions are mixtures, but not all mixtures are solutions. A mixture can either be mixture is oeuvre the components are not uniform. Mixtures can either be Although skim milk contains mostly water it also contains casein, Which be a heterogeneous mixture, but if the skim milk curdles the mixture can carbon dioxide. Mixtures and Solutions can often become confusing because solutions are mixtures, but not all mixtures are solutions.

Abe Lincoln essays

Abe Lincoln essays The book is Abraham Lincoln by Russell Freedman. It was published in in 1987 in Chicago. The author of the book wants you to realize how good of a person president Lincoln was. He says "Lincoln was a mysterious man, but is a great American folk hero." "Abraham Lincolm stood out in a crowd as much for his wit and rollicking humor as for his height." Lincoln was admired by many people and they loved his way of acting towards the common people. He was loved by everyone. Anyone who admired Abraham Lincoln or was wanting to learn more about him would want to read this book. People of all ages could read it and they would get a lot out of it. Not only do you read about Abraham Lincoln but about our country's history and what he did for it. This book covered many aspects of Lincoln's life. He showed pictures of him as a president and showed maps of where he lived and during the war what things he did for certain parts of the country. This book was very easy to read because it went in the same order as his life. From a small boy to a grown man and then finally it talked about his death. It covered everything he did both good and bad, from boy to grown man. I learned many new things about Lincoln and what he did. I always thought of him as a grumpy old man. The only reason he looked so sad and gloomy was becasue of the way he looked. He knew that he wasn't a very good looking person, but he covered that up with his charm and humor. I also learned that Lincoln spent a lot of time studying while he was growing up. One reason he knew how to handle things and deal with people is because of the way he had learned to talk to them. In this book there is an index. Is is very useful if you are wanting to look up a certain event that Lincoln was involved in or anything he did during this time period. It ...

Summary Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary - Research Paper Example Pery and Wein (2008) advocating the full disclosure of terminal diagnosis indicate that "good death" occurs when the subjective (patient) and the objective (society, family) appear to blend seamlessly - before, during, and afterward (p.400). Simultaneously, Chochinov et al (2000) concludes that what patients are told, how they are told t and the manner in which they are able to integrate and cope with such information remains an important issue for clinicians attending to patients facing imminent death (p.505). Finally, Field and Copp (1999) emphasize that full disclosure approach to communication of terminal diagnosis is mandatory and results in positive outcomes for patients, their families and medical personnel. More specifically, Field and Copp (1999) indicate the following outcomes: (1) better information and communication from medical personnel, including nurses, (2) patient's participation in decisions about care, (3) psychological support from family members, (4) palliative c are, (5) self-esteem, (6) autonomy and decreased anxiety, (7) preparation for death and acceptance. Because there is emerging empirical evidence on improvements of patients' quality of life occurring after terminal diagnosis is communicated to them, a need for change in practice is mandatory. According to Rosswurm and Larrabee (1999), improvements in medical care are mad

Cocooning. Consumers are shielding themselves from the harsh, Term Paper

Cocooning. Consumers are shielding themselves from the harsh, unpredictable realities of the outside world and creating safe, - Term Paper Example Tutor Signature: Date: Cocooning: â€Å"Consumers are shielding themselves from the harsh, unpredictable realities of the outside world and creating safe, â€Å"homelike† environments†. Introduction The following research is related to the topic cocooning. The report includes the discussion about the term and its implications in the current consumer behavior. The research also includes the implications of the term and the factors impacting the consumer’s behavior. Finally a conclusion has been drawn in the research. Cocooning Cocooning can be said to be as the condition or trend when people socializing less and retreating themselves in their home more. This trend has become popular after the significant commercialization of the electronic shopping. The consumers are shielding themselves from the unpredictable and harsh realities of the outer world and are retreating themselves into the safe, cozy and home like environments. People are more looking at the home saf e home concept. People and consumers have changed their buying habits because of the high fear of the crimes and no longer like to shop after dark. People are highly frightened by what they see. All the people are looking for developing safer ways to guard themselves against the mad world by burring themselves deeper into the more protective shells and the safe places like cocoons (Moe, 2012). Consumer behavior is changing with a rapid pace. These trends are presenting threat and opportunities to the large variety of organizations. With the changing lifestyle of people the buying behavior of people are changing drastically. People are becoming more career oriented and have very less time for shopping and other activities. There is a high change in the cultural trends of the consumers buying behavior. The cocooning consumer behavior trend is taking high positions in this competitive market place. The behavior of the consumers is changing with a high pace. With the cocooning behavior taking place the organizations need to go online. The cocooning consumer’s behavior is promoting the online shopping trend, and this will take high priority in the coming period (Danziger, 2005). Cultural trends affecting the consumer behavior With the changes in the buying patterns and the promotion of the cocooning behavior of the people there is a high increase in the online shopping behavior of the people. People are all the markets are looking for convenient way of shopping from the comfort of their homes. The organizations are looking for alternatives using which they can easily grab the customers and can entertain the customers buying behavior. People buying behavior has changed drastically in the recent years they have adopted several online buying means like fingertip shopping etc. people are looking for places which acts like cocoon for them. They want everything in the comfort of their homes. The heart of the every cocoon is the bedroom and the bath. People want pl aces where they can easily distress and get recharged. Smart homes are the need of the day which can make the lives of the people easier. People are more attracted towards the ways which can make their shopping experience more pleasant and easy, as compared to the previous visiting system. People look the lives as the homes and gardens are the last places where they want to control their lives. People in the current market period want everything on a click. They do not want to visit the stores and look for buying things. People

Pricing Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Pricing Strategy - Essay Example As economic cycles decline, however, management teams cannot drive volume improvements. Pricing improvements, however, are an important route to increasing profitability. The key to improving profitability through pricing lies in moving from a tactical to a strategic approach to pricing. Pricing strategy involves much more than merely setting price points. In order to achieve profitable pricing, managers must consider both their price structure and their pricing process. Pricing structure is built around target customer segments and culminates in constructing the Product-Service-Price menu. The menu then becomes the basis for constructing and positioning offerings for the customer targets. Pricing processes focus on communicating value delivery to the target customers while minimizing negotiation driven price discounting in the selling process.1 "We begin with the most fundamental of economic constructs, price, because much of the analytic power of economic theory stems from the abstract image of markets that generate prices.On the surface, price adjustment might seem like an odd place to understand a process of social construction. Few economic precepts are more taken for granted than the notion that markets determine prices. Moreover, few economic concepts offer so little social content as price. Neoclassical price theory is a highly stylized theory of market behavior. It presumes that social content is unimportant to market outcomes. It offers no theory of how prices work in a firm; simply a notion that they do work. In neoclassical economic theory, firms readily react to changes in market conditions by adjusting prices. A wide variety of changes may take place: changes in costs, supply, or demand, competitive entry or actions, change in technology, and so on. Firms incorporate those changes and adjust prices upward or downward. Classical economics assumes that because organizations are endowed with this ability to adjust prices, industries, markets and economies can function efficiently. Much of the existing literature in economics takes this ability for granted, assuming this as a kind of innate organizational capability. To a student of organizations, this seems like an unrealistic belief, and indeed, some economists acknowledge this. In economics the literature on the costs of price adjustment argues that price adjustment can be a complex and costly organizational problem. For example, Caplin and Leahy (1991) argue that price adjustment is a "very difficult, costly and time-consuming process," Levy, et al. (1997) suggest that changing prices "is a complex process, requiring dozens of steps and a non-trivial amount of resources," and Ball and Mankiw (1994, p.142) "suspect that the most important costs of price adjustment are the time and attention required of managers to gather the relevant information and to make and implement decisions." According to Blinder, et al. (1998, p. 21) these costs have become "one of the main strands of New Keynesian theorizing." Yet it remains a problem about which, Blinder, et al. (1998: 4) argue, economists know "next to nothing," even though "a small mountain of

Formative Role of Video Games

Formative Role of Video Games Introduction As a long time fan of computer games, Ive always wondered how video games have reached this point in time, I wanted to know how Nintendo became Nintendo, how games went from the arcades to home consoles and how games changed from two dimensions to three dimensions. The following was originally planned to be purely a discussion on the development of the games industry however once this project began I soon realised that video games owe most of its early years and breakthrough development to other entertainment industries, particularly film. After much research on the topic I altered my discussions focus away from purely the games industry to the broader entertainment industry, mainly because it is very difficult to separate the two, both now owe each other so much, in video games early years it took much from the entertainment industry but in the last few years things have changed, revolutionary techniques are being developed by the game industry and now are being adapted by the film industry, in this dissertation I wanted to see video games long term effect on the entertainment industry and whether it has been one of a negative or positive effect and my predictions for the future of both mediums. The Birth of the Computer Game The modern video game has evolved much from its very humble and almost accidental beginning in 1958 when William Higinotham a nuclear physicist while working on a small analogue computer in the purpose of describing various curves on a cathode-ray tube noticed the curved and bouncing effect reminded him of tennis(Brookhaven, 2009). He altered the amplifiers of the balls motion so bounding space on the screen could be controlled by the turning knobs on the machine. Higinotham designed the game from first conception in two hours and it took him only a brief few hours over a few days to alter the existing technology. The budget for first game known only as Tennis For Two was almost zero as it was made for existing parts. Too think of a modern game been designed in two hours or completed in a few days is just incomprehensible, not only would it be almost guaranteed to be a terrible game but making it functional to the player would be a impossible task, and the budget would be another imp assable road block. The current generation of video games if they are to be a success spend months in the design and concept phase and take anywhere from 16 months to over four years to finish and have a budget that matches Hollywood blockbusters. The 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV(Rockstar, 2008) spent 6 years in development and the final expenses rose to over  £100 million. However the developers perceived the risk of financial failure if the product did not sell as a necessary risk in order to live up to the fans expectations, this game was a sequel in a long line of a series known for breaking sales records and having a fan base like none other. This game however is not the exception either, many recent games have had budgets of over  £100 million and spent years in production, these high expenses are expected to rise when every generation of consoles are releases not only because of the technology behind them but the players demand for more, including highly designed graphics, unique art design and realistic effects rendered to a quality of CGI films. Hollywood My research is discovering videos games effect on the entertainment industry but more specifically the film industry and the aspect of them competing against one another but also with the rare and generally unsuccessful case of the merger of film and games. When video games first began to sell successfully in the early 1970s film had already been established as the main attraction for visual entertainment with strings of great releases and new releases that broke viewer and financial records one after another, the 1970s seemed an unlikely time for another visual medium to develop however video game managed to do that, by the late 1970s video games seen the releases of many classic games such as Pong (Atari Inc, 1972), Asteroids (Atari Inc, 1979) and Space Invaders (Taito Corporation, 1978). At the time however these releases were still nothing to be recognised by the critics of the entertainment industry, they seen them as nothing but toys, not to be taking seriously. These classic g ames didnt even make a mark on the film industry in regards to financial success, however this was primarily because the home console didnt exist yet and games could only be played in arcades where the owner of the arcades took all profits with only the initial cost of the machine ever to be the income of the early game designer. In the early 1980s arcades changes, they werent now purely for the gaming youth, the non-gamer began to discover this alternate entertainment medium and it became a regular event for them to occasionally visit an arcade, this is when the time began known as the Golden Years particularly in the United States and Japan when teenagers and adults alike would enter the arcade and discover a game that would just entrap them, video games started to become a area to look into for potential designers as games beforehand where only created for the love of it but now as a designer you could now make a living out of designing games, this is mainly because the fans of t he early games where mostly diehard fans where they would enter quarter after quarter to finish the game. Brian Garside (2009) of RadicalHive Remembers putting quarter after quarter, hour after hours into arcade game, and it was for the same reasons as everyone else was there, a very simple attraction, The games were very loud and very bright, and brought one thing most gamers wanted, instant gratification the more quarters you had the longer you had to play, the difficulty level was extreme, there was no lives* or saves* you just tried to get to the finish before you ran out of quarters, and if you did then you became an elite member of the gaming public because you got to put your name on the screen, where it could be seen every day by every gamer, that was the main goal of the early gamer, to say you finished an arcade game, this was something rare because of the difficulty*. Arcades borrowed much from the film world in its early years including the cinema building layout itself, the general arcade includes, the games, popcorn machines, snack and hotdog bars and generally in the centre area would be pool tables, it represented a meeting place, the arcade became a place to hang out, friends would meet up at the arcade and not even play a game, it was almost a staging place, you would go there before heading to the movies or after a movie you would return there for a few minutes to let yourself lose, aside from the games the arcade became a place to just hang around and let loose. The Home Console It wasnt till the home console when games took a firm place in the entertainment industry, the development of the designed home console brought around games that were developed past the loud noises and ghastly lights, the home console brought around the era of the complex stories in games with gripping narratives, moving performances and of course the Pixelated hero*. Fairchild Channel F(Fairchild Semiconductor, 1976), a unknown games company who today if you mentioned them to a gamer most likely you would get a puzzled response and even in the early years of game development they where an unknown company however their games machine left a mark on the industry because they coined a phrase which is used by every single person in the games industry, Console*. Video games now had a place in the 1970s home but they still hadnt changed much form the arcade, bright lights and ghastly sounds where everywhere, game after game were effectively the same but with a different name. This slur of games eventually lead to the great video games crash*of 1983-84 triggered by a non-ending market of low quality games and by far too many overpriced consoles, another involving factor was that the market was considered to be at full saturation, the critically slammed game of the successful film E.T.(Atari, Inc, 1982) was the breaking point, the rising popularity of the home computer(PC) and the personnel computer also was deemed to be part responsible for the crash particular with their aggressive advertising campaigns such as this scrupulous ad by Microsoft Why buy your child a video game and distract them from school when you can buy them a home computer that will prepare them for college?(Global Oneness, 2009). This crash brought an abrupt end to the current generation of video games and almost crippled the new games industry particularly in north America, many games companies collapsed and with the few that survived none maintained any high level of success after the crash. It wasnt till the end of 1985 that the games industry started to recover and that was with the immediate success of the now legendary Nintendo Entertainment System(1985). The 8-bit* generation had begun with a bang with launch games consisting of ExciteBike (1985) and Super Mario Bros.( 1985), gamers could not resist but buy the NES even with doubts after the many years of terrible releases just preceding this new line up and generation. Aside from the games Nintendo also standardised many console features such as controller ports, gun controllers and the Quality seal of approval*. In the early 90s things started to heat up again in the games industry, Nintendo now had a fierce competitor in the industry, SEGA. SEGA (19 90) released its Mega Drive, which they hailed as the first 16-bit gaming console and it proved that by displaying graphics which were unheard of at this time. But Nintendo hit back by releasing their Record breaking Super Nintendo Entertainment System(1990). This fierce competition between the two drove developers to become better designers and it was proved as much with hugely successful and critically acclaimed hits been released for each console, this home console war ended any chance of the arcades recovering, gamers had finalised there move from the arcades back to their homes, the home console had become the core choice by the games and also by the developer. The 3D Generation Video games where successful in their early years but they were never hugely successful, they never get anywhere near close to the popularity of the film industry nor did the game releases of films get anywhere closer and in fact generally sold much worse. Designers made a profit but it was only a sustaining profit, enough to keep the company going, pay the staff and develop future games but they just didnt have the financial backing of the film industry, games were rarely advertised and certainly didnt have any sort of vast marketing displays and if there even was a marketing team at all it would consist of very few people and have a simple budget as can be seen by the low quality of games advertisement in the 1980s, the advertisement stood close to what the game was, bright lights and loud noises. It wasnt till the 5th generation of gaming consoles or the 3d generation as its also known did games reach a level of popularity that could not quite yet match the film industries figures but certainly put a mark against it, their where many success stories but also many failures in this generation, it saw the fall of Atari, the 3DO, SEGA and the rise of Sony with the Playstation(1994). Nintendo where the only existing company to the enter the 3D generation and continue to be successful. Not much changed with the Nintendo strategy and it didnt need to, they released once again hit after hit until the end of this generation when in 1995 the disc based Sony Playstation overtook the Nintendo 64(1996) in terms of sales and it began to build a strong fan base including taking a good portion of Nintendos key market. The Playstation was the first home console to sell more than 100,000 million units worldwide, this is now the time the games industry started to be compared to the film industry in terms of sales and success. Aside from commercial success, the Playstation also changed the console development plan, the success of the disc was the final nail in the coffin on the old cartridge system previously used by Nintendo. The stability of the disc medium, cheap manufacturing expenses in using disc based games where the main reasons for its success. At the end of this gener ation SEGA fans had lost faith in their beloved console with few games being released on the console mainly because developers jumped ship to the more successful Nintendo and Sony and while there was still yet to be another SEGA console in the form of the SEGA Dreamcast(1999), this was the turning point in SEGAs decline and their eventual retreat from console development. Even with the great success of the Playstation, neither Nintendo or Sony ever seemed to publicly announce or display a challenge for financial success against the rest of the entertainment industry, advertisement still stayed low budget and was purely aimed at making existing gamers aware of future products rather than attracting new potential game players. The Changing Generation The following Generation displayed much of the same as the previous generation, The Sony Playstation 2(2000) was effectively the same as the first one just much more advanced with a few new features, the same can be said for the Nintendo GameCube(2001) except now Nintendo had adopted disc based technology. There was a new entry in the market place now, Microsoft seeing the potential of the games industry entered the market in 2001 with the Xbox. The Xbox didnt design its games or console any differently to Nintendo and Sonys consoles however it did add one thing, it is possible the most important new feature to games design since the 3D era took hold, the Xbox introduced online multiplayer through a service known as Xbox LIVE*. This new feature was the only thing that kept the console from complete failure as the games that accompanied the console where of a lower quality and Microsoft struggled to attract a strong fanbase, however though XBOX LIVE proved so successful that online mu ltiplayer is a standard now for most modern games. While this was going on, in the background Nintendo where busy working with the handheld market, before now everyone considered this market purely for kids and only a gimmick at best, Nintendo wanted to change that and they did with the Game Boy Advance(2001). They did this by developing games of a standard of the home consoles and Marketing the device as a independent handheld console separate to that of the home consoles. Because of the new advanced graphics available to developers, a completely realistic game could be made but this lead to huge criticism of the games with releases of ultra graphic Mortal Kombat(Midway Games, multiple) and the portrayal of criminal behaviour seen in Grand Theft Auto series(Rockstar Games, Multiple). These controversial games aloud non-gaming public to become much more aware of the games industry, although this was potentially dangerous criticism against the games industry, it is seen as exactly wh at the games industry was looking for. Sony particularly began marketing mature games for mature audiences, with advertising campaigns aimed purely for the an age group of 18 and above. The content in these games led to the ESRB and PEGI age rating system to inform parents that there are games available in the market that are unsuitable for their children. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time(Nintendo, 1998), Grand Theft Auto 3(, Rockstar Games, 2001), and Halo: Combat Evolved(Bungie, 2001) were the first game in the industry to be marketed in the way of a summer blockbuster, they all sold hugely successful and these games are seen by many as the turning point where games left the old mentality behind of being just for the arcade gamer and now was at a position to enter the next generation as a strong competitor to Hollywood, by the end of this generation in 2006 total film sales reached an estimated $16.6 billion in North America for the film industry compared to the games industries $13.5 Billion (Breckon, 2007). Entering the late 2000s, the still young games industry is nearly as valuable as over 100 year old film industry. The Next-Generation. The 7th Generation seen many advancements, Blu-Ray disc technology, Massively multiplayer games(MMOs), High Definition technology and motion tracking as seen by the Nintendo Wii(2006). Microsofts Xbox 360 launched first into this generation in 2005 and it proved a success, aside from being first into this new generation it fully launched Xbox LIVE and multiplayer as a standard throughout the industry. The Xbox 360 now stands firmly second place in between Sonys Playstation 3(2006) and Nintendos Wii in the console battle. It has a strong game to console attach rate*, with loyal fans and marketing team any Company would want, these factors will guarantee its success into the next console generation. The Sony Playstation 3 launched a full year after the Xbox 360 and some believe this to be the main reason it had poor launch figures as well as the fact that there were a limited supply of Blu-ray diodes for the consoles main feature. The console to date has still struggled to compete with its competition with many of its games selling poorly, Xboxs leading exclusive game Halo 3(2008) sold over 10 million copies as for Sonys PS3 most successful exclusive game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots(2008) sold only a little over 4 million copies, however it has grounded itself, it is now financially a success and has guaranteed a place in the next generation line up. Nintendo on the other hand are on a completely different level compared to its rivals, it sales have been record breaking since its launch two weeks after the PS3. The Wii has sold almost more than both the Xbox 360 and PS3 combined with current sales figures at 52.29 Million units sold for the Nintendo Wii, 31.30 Million units sold for the Xbox 360 and 23.16 Million units sold for the PS3 (VGchartz, 2009). The key to the success of the Wii is the widening of the demographics, Nintendo completely changed their approach to selling and developing games, in previous generation Nintendo only developed games for the hardcore gamer(strict loyal fan) but now they are developing for a mixture of hardcore games and casual games(general public). Nintendos main aim for the Wii was not to beat its rivals but to get new people playing games, Satoru Iwata stated in(2006) at a Press conference in Tokyo that were not thinking about fighting Sony, but about how many people we can get to play games.. This is reflected in Nintendos Advertisement campaigns throughout the world, Nintendo dramatically changed their method of advertising to new much more successful methods such as featuring celebrities and even the advertisement developed by academy award winning directors. Their audience grew hugely with this advertising strategy including a varied assortment of game players including, children, adults and g randparents, their campaign is aimed at people of all ages. The success of these ads can be seen in the wide audience, a 103 year old pensioner was reported to be regularly playing the Wii, the Queen of England is was even reported to have a Nintendo Wii(Rousewell, 2008). With the games industry going from strength to strength it is hard not to see the games industries eventual overtaking of the film industry as the leading section of the entertainment industry. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillermot (2007) expects the games industry to grow an additional 50% in the next four year, casual gaming and the newly introduced in-game advertisement are expected to be the key factors to gamings take over. The gaming industry is also growing in other parts of the world, The Asian market alone is expected to reach $28.8 billion in sales by 2011 with a total sales for the games industry at $65(Breckon, 2007). By then the film industry is only predicted to grow to a total sales of $25.8 billion in sales, less than half of the predicted games sales. However High definition is now becoming a standard in the film industry as well as the re-introduction 3D films, both advancements could bring a new lease of life to the film industry, it can also be considered that at â‚ ¬60 a game compared to the film industries â‚ ¬10 cinema admission or â‚ ¬25-â‚ ¬40 for DVD/Blu-ray income might make up impressive figures however as for the individual customer using each medium the actual numbers of people still lean greatly towards the film industry. It could be questioned why are they seen as competition and not simply compared as separate mediums in the entertainment industry, many game adaptations of films and vice versa have been released mostly with only slight success but all have been critically slammed, ever year the two industries become closer and closer and with that will be massive financial gain, James Camerons Avatar: The Game(Ubisoft, 2009) and film (Cameron, 2009) is seen as the first step towards bringing these two entertainment industries together. Chapter 2: Literature review What is a game? This is a very common question and it is a very important one, I wish to make it clear that the great success of video games in the last few years have mainly due to the changes behind in the design room and in the studios not just in the way games are now being marketed, the general games design theory is seen as a factor in the success. Defining what a game is or a theory behind it is one that you can spend a great deal of time arguing over and even with a set of results it still is a open question. The definition will in general influence how one decides to design a game, so it is critical when designing a game that you completely understand the purpose for it. There are multiple ways we could define a game, with varying ranges of features. Greg Costikyan (1994) states A game is a form of art in which participants, teamed players, make decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal. This meaning is questionable, it may of defined what a game wa s back in the early years but because of the constant technology advancements if a designer was to define what a game was it would be more like, a game is a form of art in which participants single or multiple make decisions according to the narrative design in order to resolve game world situations and finish the game as the ultimate goal, this would be my definition of defining the modern computer game. The essential problem with defining a game is that depending on the era a definition will make sense in one decade but not the next because of the rapid growth of the gaming medium. This rapid growth is changing the industry, MIT Professor Henry Jenkins(2008) stated that video games have converged different entertainment platforms that allowed producers of these content to exercise new ways of stretching the viability of their intellectual properties. A single general theory only works when one looks at a genre of game type or who the player of the game will be, at the core reasoning for games, they only exist to be played, it is an interactive medium the only kind which is visual, audibly, interactive and within that a multiplayer component which allows many people to play at once and with the internet the numbers are almost infinite depending on the game. As with the genre and medium some are considered entertaining and some are considered a task, challenge is however a general the me with games design. As with every industry, once games design was established as a valuable medium, competition quickly arose as seen at Quakecon(Nok, 2009) and in a new medium players want quickly to become the best at it or be the first to finish it, to design a game to suit this want is a challenge and that is the general reason a games design theory was sought after in early game development. As the basis of games design is that every game or most games have a beginning, middle and an end, the game starts and ends at your own discretion and with a set of rules for you to manipulate or use to at your means. Playing the game is down to the player, but if there is a desire to understand games and game design, we must first clearly establish the purpose of it. We must determine the characteristics of all games, but discovering that outlines and establish a set of attribute for each game genre rather than what characterised games as a whole. Hoffman (2008) believes that outside of computer games, playing a game in general is an important part of life. I wish to discover does game design need a theory? Other medium generally have some sort of theory behind them but they are much more closely related in their genres as game design is very diverse and has a interactive aspect in design and game playing, what people want, and the level of scale and longevity are maybe too diverse for a game design theory to exist. Changes in games design: For the Better or worse? Defining games design is still widely regarded as a difficult task, what a game is though differs constantly and when it enters production depending on the type of game the design methods behind it are much different from a racing game to a action game. That is the first problem, it is complex to place the games design program in any one meaning. The actual study of engine design, physics and application of games design is much more closely connected to mathematics rather than traditional design practices, if this study was literally taken into practice than it would be a great oversight, designing a game using only mathematics and programmers instead of a blend with designers would only lead to failure. Ideally, a games design studio should be as interdisciplined as any other large field, it should consist of, programmers, designers, artists and engineers. Richard Rouse III(2005) states that the game design is what determines the form of the gameplay, however that is not always so a s seen by top-down or bottom-up design*. The features set in game design determines what choices players will be able to make in the game-world and what consequences those choices will have on the rest of the game. Bernd Kreimeier(2002) states that Games design like any other profession requires a means to document, discuss and plan. In the last few years with the advent of the growing online design community, a designer could refer to the growing online library of previously released games for general ideas and quick inspiration. In the early days of games design, designers generally referred to board games for their inspiration as there was no other means to compare work, without some sort of comparison it would of been very risky to release a game without any sort of knowledge of whether a similar product has been successful in the past. Hoffman (2008) believes that the main problem with game design is deciding where to place it, creating a game through a subset of sociology or a dedicated studio and these decisions are what make defining a game so complex. However while knowledge about games has grown rapidly, it could be said even more so than any other media industry, little progress has been made to document individual experiences to interweave into design practices and theories. Kreimeier (2002) states that on the base line of design theory, games design needs a related library to name the modelling assets been created, designing and a set of rules to express how these design techniques fit together, a case for design patterns could exist. Help from Hollywood? Games design is uniquely many thing, but at the basis of design it comes down to a few little things, coming up with the initial idea through thought and discussing, the idea to see it is not only a workable product but is it actually a good idea and from that point heavily expanding on the original idea until any team of designers could implement the design and achieve a expected result. Evidently if that was all designers had to go on it was be extremely difficult for anything to be created. Since the beginning of games design, games designers have worked around these initial problems by relying on design techniques and theories adapted from other media such as film and storytelling. Noah Falstein (1997) writes that part of the problem with encounters of people from Hollywood was their lack of respect. This problem though has been rid away with over the years but it was a huge problem back in the 1970s and 1980s when young game companies searched for aid in development from Hollywo od studios but received little help. Games are not only a interactive medium but they are a visual medium and game designers have been increasingly relying on design techniques developed from film such as motion capture however this is not to be taken as a side of weakness from game designer and should not question that games are the same as film but the film practices are investigated in an effort to identify methods which are suited in favour of games. Nevertheless this was not always enough, games design theories started to develop solely to do with games and without influence from other medium, Kreimeier (2002) also believes that games as an individual medium needs its own practices and if borrowed techniques were enough then there be no need to develop any practices specific to games design theories. These collective theories are individual but there has been much discussion on them and it could be probable that these individual theories could be developed into one universal ga mes design theory although the most likely result would be a flawed design theory. The open use of gaming terms promotes an over perceived meaning of our own belief of what games are, The academic public overly ignore the uniquely and complexity of game design. Junior designers whose own skill are limited generally embark upon designing games with no further research than their own experience as game players, this methodology is sure to fail, the desire to success, what people in reality like to play can be much different than what the designer actually likes, this is unfortunately a common problem in traditional game design, this is a problem Pederson (2003) states as critical for lead game designers. Those who overrate their own understanding will undercut their own potential from learning and further more it will lead to the same result as failure. Ambiguity and ambiguity of play are a important aspect of design brought up by Smith (1997), applying the principle and concepts to gaming have watered down the original medium and meanings, there is no longer a clear focus to the ideology of game design we desire to understand. This watered effect is creating genres, levels of design, innovativeness, expenses and lastly the technology are effecting this medium more than any other, price ranges in not only the technology but the actual developing of the game can be astronomical, the latest version of Grand Theft Auto(Rockstar Games, 2008) a sandbox* style game cost over $100 million to design and develop included over 1,000 members of staff and took of three years to finish(Linde, 2008). If you were to look for game design theory in this game, after much search you would result with a unanswered question, putting aside the budget and expenses to develop this game the sure scale of this project is enough to put a stop to the idea of needing or there ever existing an underlying games design theory. The style of game for the GTA series is not alone, other genre such as first person shooters(FPS), action based and role playing games(RPG) are also pu t in this bracket, it would be hard pressed to find a game theory where each of these genres could fit in, meet there goals and be overall a success. A Common Design Theory? There are a few genres of games where there is potentially a underlying game design theory that could be developed for any new game yet to be developed and this could exist in the racing genre, it is this genre where the same practices of desig Formative Role of Video Games Formative Role of Video Games Introduction As a long time fan of computer games, Ive always wondered how video games have reached this point in time, I wanted to know how Nintendo became Nintendo, how games went from the arcades to home consoles and how games changed from two dimensions to three dimensions. The following was originally planned to be purely a discussion on the development of the games industry however once this project began I soon realised that video games owe most of its early years and breakthrough development to other entertainment industries, particularly film. After much research on the topic I altered my discussions focus away from purely the games industry to the broader entertainment industry, mainly because it is very difficult to separate the two, both now owe each other so much, in video games early years it took much from the entertainment industry but in the last few years things have changed, revolutionary techniques are being developed by the game industry and now are being adapted by the film industry, in this dissertation I wanted to see video games long term effect on the entertainment industry and whether it has been one of a negative or positive effect and my predictions for the future of both mediums. The Birth of the Computer Game The modern video game has evolved much from its very humble and almost accidental beginning in 1958 when William Higinotham a nuclear physicist while working on a small analogue computer in the purpose of describing various curves on a cathode-ray tube noticed the curved and bouncing effect reminded him of tennis(Brookhaven, 2009). He altered the amplifiers of the balls motion so bounding space on the screen could be controlled by the turning knobs on the machine. Higinotham designed the game from first conception in two hours and it took him only a brief few hours over a few days to alter the existing technology. The budget for first game known only as Tennis For Two was almost zero as it was made for existing parts. Too think of a modern game been designed in two hours or completed in a few days is just incomprehensible, not only would it be almost guaranteed to be a terrible game but making it functional to the player would be a impossible task, and the budget would be another imp assable road block. The current generation of video games if they are to be a success spend months in the design and concept phase and take anywhere from 16 months to over four years to finish and have a budget that matches Hollywood blockbusters. The 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV(Rockstar, 2008) spent 6 years in development and the final expenses rose to over  £100 million. However the developers perceived the risk of financial failure if the product did not sell as a necessary risk in order to live up to the fans expectations, this game was a sequel in a long line of a series known for breaking sales records and having a fan base like none other. This game however is not the exception either, many recent games have had budgets of over  £100 million and spent years in production, these high expenses are expected to rise when every generation of consoles are releases not only because of the technology behind them but the players demand for more, including highly designed graphics, unique art design and realistic effects rendered to a quality of CGI films. Hollywood My research is discovering videos games effect on the entertainment industry but more specifically the film industry and the aspect of them competing against one another but also with the rare and generally unsuccessful case of the merger of film and games. When video games first began to sell successfully in the early 1970s film had already been established as the main attraction for visual entertainment with strings of great releases and new releases that broke viewer and financial records one after another, the 1970s seemed an unlikely time for another visual medium to develop however video game managed to do that, by the late 1970s video games seen the releases of many classic games such as Pong (Atari Inc, 1972), Asteroids (Atari Inc, 1979) and Space Invaders (Taito Corporation, 1978). At the time however these releases were still nothing to be recognised by the critics of the entertainment industry, they seen them as nothing but toys, not to be taking seriously. These classic g ames didnt even make a mark on the film industry in regards to financial success, however this was primarily because the home console didnt exist yet and games could only be played in arcades where the owner of the arcades took all profits with only the initial cost of the machine ever to be the income of the early game designer. In the early 1980s arcades changes, they werent now purely for the gaming youth, the non-gamer began to discover this alternate entertainment medium and it became a regular event for them to occasionally visit an arcade, this is when the time began known as the Golden Years particularly in the United States and Japan when teenagers and adults alike would enter the arcade and discover a game that would just entrap them, video games started to become a area to look into for potential designers as games beforehand where only created for the love of it but now as a designer you could now make a living out of designing games, this is mainly because the fans of t he early games where mostly diehard fans where they would enter quarter after quarter to finish the game. Brian Garside (2009) of RadicalHive Remembers putting quarter after quarter, hour after hours into arcade game, and it was for the same reasons as everyone else was there, a very simple attraction, The games were very loud and very bright, and brought one thing most gamers wanted, instant gratification the more quarters you had the longer you had to play, the difficulty level was extreme, there was no lives* or saves* you just tried to get to the finish before you ran out of quarters, and if you did then you became an elite member of the gaming public because you got to put your name on the screen, where it could be seen every day by every gamer, that was the main goal of the early gamer, to say you finished an arcade game, this was something rare because of the difficulty*. Arcades borrowed much from the film world in its early years including the cinema building layout itself, the general arcade includes, the games, popcorn machines, snack and hotdog bars and generally in the centre area would be pool tables, it represented a meeting place, the arcade became a place to hang out, friends would meet up at the arcade and not even play a game, it was almost a staging place, you would go there before heading to the movies or after a movie you would return there for a few minutes to let yourself lose, aside from the games the arcade became a place to just hang around and let loose. The Home Console It wasnt till the home console when games took a firm place in the entertainment industry, the development of the designed home console brought around games that were developed past the loud noises and ghastly lights, the home console brought around the era of the complex stories in games with gripping narratives, moving performances and of course the Pixelated hero*. Fairchild Channel F(Fairchild Semiconductor, 1976), a unknown games company who today if you mentioned them to a gamer most likely you would get a puzzled response and even in the early years of game development they where an unknown company however their games machine left a mark on the industry because they coined a phrase which is used by every single person in the games industry, Console*. Video games now had a place in the 1970s home but they still hadnt changed much form the arcade, bright lights and ghastly sounds where everywhere, game after game were effectively the same but with a different name. This slur of games eventually lead to the great video games crash*of 1983-84 triggered by a non-ending market of low quality games and by far too many overpriced consoles, another involving factor was that the market was considered to be at full saturation, the critically slammed game of the successful film E.T.(Atari, Inc, 1982) was the breaking point, the rising popularity of the home computer(PC) and the personnel computer also was deemed to be part responsible for the crash particular with their aggressive advertising campaigns such as this scrupulous ad by Microsoft Why buy your child a video game and distract them from school when you can buy them a home computer that will prepare them for college?(Global Oneness, 2009). This crash brought an abrupt end to the current generation of video games and almost crippled the new games industry particularly in north America, many games companies collapsed and with the few that survived none maintained any high level of success after the crash. It wasnt till the end of 1985 that the games industry started to recover and that was with the immediate success of the now legendary Nintendo Entertainment System(1985). The 8-bit* generation had begun with a bang with launch games consisting of ExciteBike (1985) and Super Mario Bros.( 1985), gamers could not resist but buy the NES even with doubts after the many years of terrible releases just preceding this new line up and generation. Aside from the games Nintendo also standardised many console features such as controller ports, gun controllers and the Quality seal of approval*. In the early 90s things started to heat up again in the games industry, Nintendo now had a fierce competitor in the industry, SEGA. SEGA (19 90) released its Mega Drive, which they hailed as the first 16-bit gaming console and it proved that by displaying graphics which were unheard of at this time. But Nintendo hit back by releasing their Record breaking Super Nintendo Entertainment System(1990). This fierce competition between the two drove developers to become better designers and it was proved as much with hugely successful and critically acclaimed hits been released for each console, this home console war ended any chance of the arcades recovering, gamers had finalised there move from the arcades back to their homes, the home console had become the core choice by the games and also by the developer. The 3D Generation Video games where successful in their early years but they were never hugely successful, they never get anywhere near close to the popularity of the film industry nor did the game releases of films get anywhere closer and in fact generally sold much worse. Designers made a profit but it was only a sustaining profit, enough to keep the company going, pay the staff and develop future games but they just didnt have the financial backing of the film industry, games were rarely advertised and certainly didnt have any sort of vast marketing displays and if there even was a marketing team at all it would consist of very few people and have a simple budget as can be seen by the low quality of games advertisement in the 1980s, the advertisement stood close to what the game was, bright lights and loud noises. It wasnt till the 5th generation of gaming consoles or the 3d generation as its also known did games reach a level of popularity that could not quite yet match the film industries figures but certainly put a mark against it, their where many success stories but also many failures in this generation, it saw the fall of Atari, the 3DO, SEGA and the rise of Sony with the Playstation(1994). Nintendo where the only existing company to the enter the 3D generation and continue to be successful. Not much changed with the Nintendo strategy and it didnt need to, they released once again hit after hit until the end of this generation when in 1995 the disc based Sony Playstation overtook the Nintendo 64(1996) in terms of sales and it began to build a strong fan base including taking a good portion of Nintendos key market. The Playstation was the first home console to sell more than 100,000 million units worldwide, this is now the time the games industry started to be compared to the film industry in terms of sales and success. Aside from commercial success, the Playstation also changed the console development plan, the success of the disc was the final nail in the coffin on the old cartridge system previously used by Nintendo. The stability of the disc medium, cheap manufacturing expenses in using disc based games where the main reasons for its success. At the end of this gener ation SEGA fans had lost faith in their beloved console with few games being released on the console mainly because developers jumped ship to the more successful Nintendo and Sony and while there was still yet to be another SEGA console in the form of the SEGA Dreamcast(1999), this was the turning point in SEGAs decline and their eventual retreat from console development. Even with the great success of the Playstation, neither Nintendo or Sony ever seemed to publicly announce or display a challenge for financial success against the rest of the entertainment industry, advertisement still stayed low budget and was purely aimed at making existing gamers aware of future products rather than attracting new potential game players. The Changing Generation The following Generation displayed much of the same as the previous generation, The Sony Playstation 2(2000) was effectively the same as the first one just much more advanced with a few new features, the same can be said for the Nintendo GameCube(2001) except now Nintendo had adopted disc based technology. There was a new entry in the market place now, Microsoft seeing the potential of the games industry entered the market in 2001 with the Xbox. The Xbox didnt design its games or console any differently to Nintendo and Sonys consoles however it did add one thing, it is possible the most important new feature to games design since the 3D era took hold, the Xbox introduced online multiplayer through a service known as Xbox LIVE*. This new feature was the only thing that kept the console from complete failure as the games that accompanied the console where of a lower quality and Microsoft struggled to attract a strong fanbase, however though XBOX LIVE proved so successful that online mu ltiplayer is a standard now for most modern games. While this was going on, in the background Nintendo where busy working with the handheld market, before now everyone considered this market purely for kids and only a gimmick at best, Nintendo wanted to change that and they did with the Game Boy Advance(2001). They did this by developing games of a standard of the home consoles and Marketing the device as a independent handheld console separate to that of the home consoles. Because of the new advanced graphics available to developers, a completely realistic game could be made but this lead to huge criticism of the games with releases of ultra graphic Mortal Kombat(Midway Games, multiple) and the portrayal of criminal behaviour seen in Grand Theft Auto series(Rockstar Games, Multiple). These controversial games aloud non-gaming public to become much more aware of the games industry, although this was potentially dangerous criticism against the games industry, it is seen as exactly wh at the games industry was looking for. Sony particularly began marketing mature games for mature audiences, with advertising campaigns aimed purely for the an age group of 18 and above. The content in these games led to the ESRB and PEGI age rating system to inform parents that there are games available in the market that are unsuitable for their children. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time(Nintendo, 1998), Grand Theft Auto 3(, Rockstar Games, 2001), and Halo: Combat Evolved(Bungie, 2001) were the first game in the industry to be marketed in the way of a summer blockbuster, they all sold hugely successful and these games are seen by many as the turning point where games left the old mentality behind of being just for the arcade gamer and now was at a position to enter the next generation as a strong competitor to Hollywood, by the end of this generation in 2006 total film sales reached an estimated $16.6 billion in North America for the film industry compared to the games industries $13.5 Billion (Breckon, 2007). Entering the late 2000s, the still young games industry is nearly as valuable as over 100 year old film industry. The Next-Generation. The 7th Generation seen many advancements, Blu-Ray disc technology, Massively multiplayer games(MMOs), High Definition technology and motion tracking as seen by the Nintendo Wii(2006). Microsofts Xbox 360 launched first into this generation in 2005 and it proved a success, aside from being first into this new generation it fully launched Xbox LIVE and multiplayer as a standard throughout the industry. The Xbox 360 now stands firmly second place in between Sonys Playstation 3(2006) and Nintendos Wii in the console battle. It has a strong game to console attach rate*, with loyal fans and marketing team any Company would want, these factors will guarantee its success into the next console generation. The Sony Playstation 3 launched a full year after the Xbox 360 and some believe this to be the main reason it had poor launch figures as well as the fact that there were a limited supply of Blu-ray diodes for the consoles main feature. The console to date has still struggled to compete with its competition with many of its games selling poorly, Xboxs leading exclusive game Halo 3(2008) sold over 10 million copies as for Sonys PS3 most successful exclusive game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots(2008) sold only a little over 4 million copies, however it has grounded itself, it is now financially a success and has guaranteed a place in the next generation line up. Nintendo on the other hand are on a completely different level compared to its rivals, it sales have been record breaking since its launch two weeks after the PS3. The Wii has sold almost more than both the Xbox 360 and PS3 combined with current sales figures at 52.29 Million units sold for the Nintendo Wii, 31.30 Million units sold for the Xbox 360 and 23.16 Million units sold for the PS3 (VGchartz, 2009). The key to the success of the Wii is the widening of the demographics, Nintendo completely changed their approach to selling and developing games, in previous generation Nintendo only developed games for the hardcore gamer(strict loyal fan) but now they are developing for a mixture of hardcore games and casual games(general public). Nintendos main aim for the Wii was not to beat its rivals but to get new people playing games, Satoru Iwata stated in(2006) at a Press conference in Tokyo that were not thinking about fighting Sony, but about how many people we can get to play games.. This is reflected in Nintendos Advertisement campaigns throughout the world, Nintendo dramatically changed their method of advertising to new much more successful methods such as featuring celebrities and even the advertisement developed by academy award winning directors. Their audience grew hugely with this advertising strategy including a varied assortment of game players including, children, adults and g randparents, their campaign is aimed at people of all ages. The success of these ads can be seen in the wide audience, a 103 year old pensioner was reported to be regularly playing the Wii, the Queen of England is was even reported to have a Nintendo Wii(Rousewell, 2008). With the games industry going from strength to strength it is hard not to see the games industries eventual overtaking of the film industry as the leading section of the entertainment industry. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillermot (2007) expects the games industry to grow an additional 50% in the next four year, casual gaming and the newly introduced in-game advertisement are expected to be the key factors to gamings take over. The gaming industry is also growing in other parts of the world, The Asian market alone is expected to reach $28.8 billion in sales by 2011 with a total sales for the games industry at $65(Breckon, 2007). By then the film industry is only predicted to grow to a total sales of $25.8 billion in sales, less than half of the predicted games sales. However High definition is now becoming a standard in the film industry as well as the re-introduction 3D films, both advancements could bring a new lease of life to the film industry, it can also be considered that at â‚ ¬60 a game compared to the film industries â‚ ¬10 cinema admission or â‚ ¬25-â‚ ¬40 for DVD/Blu-ray income might make up impressive figures however as for the individual customer using each medium the actual numbers of people still lean greatly towards the film industry. It could be questioned why are they seen as competition and not simply compared as separate mediums in the entertainment industry, many game adaptations of films and vice versa have been released mostly with only slight success but all have been critically slammed, ever year the two industries become closer and closer and with that will be massive financial gain, James Camerons Avatar: The Game(Ubisoft, 2009) and film (Cameron, 2009) is seen as the first step towards bringing these two entertainment industries together. Chapter 2: Literature review What is a game? This is a very common question and it is a very important one, I wish to make it clear that the great success of video games in the last few years have mainly due to the changes behind in the design room and in the studios not just in the way games are now being marketed, the general games design theory is seen as a factor in the success. Defining what a game is or a theory behind it is one that you can spend a great deal of time arguing over and even with a set of results it still is a open question. The definition will in general influence how one decides to design a game, so it is critical when designing a game that you completely understand the purpose for it. There are multiple ways we could define a game, with varying ranges of features. Greg Costikyan (1994) states A game is a form of art in which participants, teamed players, make decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal. This meaning is questionable, it may of defined what a game wa s back in the early years but because of the constant technology advancements if a designer was to define what a game was it would be more like, a game is a form of art in which participants single or multiple make decisions according to the narrative design in order to resolve game world situations and finish the game as the ultimate goal, this would be my definition of defining the modern computer game. The essential problem with defining a game is that depending on the era a definition will make sense in one decade but not the next because of the rapid growth of the gaming medium. This rapid growth is changing the industry, MIT Professor Henry Jenkins(2008) stated that video games have converged different entertainment platforms that allowed producers of these content to exercise new ways of stretching the viability of their intellectual properties. A single general theory only works when one looks at a genre of game type or who the player of the game will be, at the core reasoning for games, they only exist to be played, it is an interactive medium the only kind which is visual, audibly, interactive and within that a multiplayer component which allows many people to play at once and with the internet the numbers are almost infinite depending on the game. As with the genre and medium some are considered entertaining and some are considered a task, challenge is however a general the me with games design. As with every industry, once games design was established as a valuable medium, competition quickly arose as seen at Quakecon(Nok, 2009) and in a new medium players want quickly to become the best at it or be the first to finish it, to design a game to suit this want is a challenge and that is the general reason a games design theory was sought after in early game development. As the basis of games design is that every game or most games have a beginning, middle and an end, the game starts and ends at your own discretion and with a set of rules for you to manipulate or use to at your means. Playing the game is down to the player, but if there is a desire to understand games and game design, we must first clearly establish the purpose of it. We must determine the characteristics of all games, but discovering that outlines and establish a set of attribute for each game genre rather than what characterised games as a whole. Hoffman (2008) believes that outside of computer games, playing a game in general is an important part of life. I wish to discover does game design need a theory? Other medium generally have some sort of theory behind them but they are much more closely related in their genres as game design is very diverse and has a interactive aspect in design and game playing, what people want, and the level of scale and longevity are maybe too diverse for a game design theory to exist. Changes in games design: For the Better or worse? Defining games design is still widely regarded as a difficult task, what a game is though differs constantly and when it enters production depending on the type of game the design methods behind it are much different from a racing game to a action game. That is the first problem, it is complex to place the games design program in any one meaning. The actual study of engine design, physics and application of games design is much more closely connected to mathematics rather than traditional design practices, if this study was literally taken into practice than it would be a great oversight, designing a game using only mathematics and programmers instead of a blend with designers would only lead to failure. Ideally, a games design studio should be as interdisciplined as any other large field, it should consist of, programmers, designers, artists and engineers. Richard Rouse III(2005) states that the game design is what determines the form of the gameplay, however that is not always so a s seen by top-down or bottom-up design*. The features set in game design determines what choices players will be able to make in the game-world and what consequences those choices will have on the rest of the game. Bernd Kreimeier(2002) states that Games design like any other profession requires a means to document, discuss and plan. In the last few years with the advent of the growing online design community, a designer could refer to the growing online library of previously released games for general ideas and quick inspiration. In the early days of games design, designers generally referred to board games for their inspiration as there was no other means to compare work, without some sort of comparison it would of been very risky to release a game without any sort of knowledge of whether a similar product has been successful in the past. Hoffman (2008) believes that the main problem with game design is deciding where to place it, creating a game through a subset of sociology or a dedicated studio and these decisions are what make defining a game so complex. However while knowledge about games has grown rapidly, it could be said even more so than any other media industry, little progress has been made to document individual experiences to interweave into design practices and theories. Kreimeier (2002) states that on the base line of design theory, games design needs a related library to name the modelling assets been created, designing and a set of rules to express how these design techniques fit together, a case for design patterns could exist. Help from Hollywood? Games design is uniquely many thing, but at the basis of design it comes down to a few little things, coming up with the initial idea through thought and discussing, the idea to see it is not only a workable product but is it actually a good idea and from that point heavily expanding on the original idea until any team of designers could implement the design and achieve a expected result. Evidently if that was all designers had to go on it was be extremely difficult for anything to be created. Since the beginning of games design, games designers have worked around these initial problems by relying on design techniques and theories adapted from other media such as film and storytelling. Noah Falstein (1997) writes that part of the problem with encounters of people from Hollywood was their lack of respect. This problem though has been rid away with over the years but it was a huge problem back in the 1970s and 1980s when young game companies searched for aid in development from Hollywo od studios but received little help. Games are not only a interactive medium but they are a visual medium and game designers have been increasingly relying on design techniques developed from film such as motion capture however this is not to be taken as a side of weakness from game designer and should not question that games are the same as film but the film practices are investigated in an effort to identify methods which are suited in favour of games. Nevertheless this was not always enough, games design theories started to develop solely to do with games and without influence from other medium, Kreimeier (2002) also believes that games as an individual medium needs its own practices and if borrowed techniques were enough then there be no need to develop any practices specific to games design theories. These collective theories are individual but there has been much discussion on them and it could be probable that these individual theories could be developed into one universal ga mes design theory although the most likely result would be a flawed design theory. The open use of gaming terms promotes an over perceived meaning of our own belief of what games are, The academic public overly ignore the uniquely and complexity of game design. Junior designers whose own skill are limited generally embark upon designing games with no further research than their own experience as game players, this methodology is sure to fail, the desire to success, what people in reality like to play can be much different than what the designer actually likes, this is unfortunately a common problem in traditional game design, this is a problem Pederson (2003) states as critical for lead game designers. Those who overrate their own understanding will undercut their own potential from learning and further more it will lead to the same result as failure. Ambiguity and ambiguity of play are a important aspect of design brought up by Smith (1997), applying the principle and concepts to gaming have watered down the original medium and meanings, there is no longer a clear focus to the ideology of game design we desire to understand. This watered effect is creating genres, levels of design, innovativeness, expenses and lastly the technology are effecting this medium more than any other, price ranges in not only the technology but the actual developing of the game can be astronomical, the latest version of Grand Theft Auto(Rockstar Games, 2008) a sandbox* style game cost over $100 million to design and develop included over 1,000 members of staff and took of three years to finish(Linde, 2008). If you were to look for game design theory in this game, after much search you would result with a unanswered question, putting aside the budget and expenses to develop this game the sure scale of this project is enough to put a stop to the idea of needing or there ever existing an underlying games design theory. The style of game for the GTA series is not alone, other genre such as first person shooters(FPS), action based and role playing games(RPG) are also pu t in this bracket, it would be hard pressed to find a game theory where each of these genres could fit in, meet there goals and be overall a success. A Common Design Theory? There are a few genres of games where there is potentially a underlying game design theory that could be developed for any new game yet to be developed and this could exist in the racing genre, it is this genre where the same practices of desig