Underline the key terms
Explore how audience responses to the Assassin’s Creed franchise demonstrate social circumstances [10]
Knee jerk reaction
Audience responses to the Assassin’s Creed franchise are greatly influenced by their social circumstances
Plan
Reception theory
Stuart Hall
Conglomerate
Target audience
Unity (2014)
Fandom
Genre
Action
AAA
End of audience theory
Media saturation
High production
Graphics
Dynamic lighting/Realtime lighting
Digital technologies
High render distance
Audience positioning
Assassin/murderer
Media effects model
Violent video games cause violent reactions
Cultivation
Ideology
Decode
Preferred
Oppositional
Negotiated
Introduction
DAC - definition, argument, context
Audiences can respond to media products in many different ways, based on their culture, upbringing, social status and class. In this essay I shall argue that social circumstances are highly influential when it comes to audience responses. In order to explore this idea I shall be looking at the Assassin’s Creed franchise, a series of violent action/adventure videogames produced and published by French multinational conglomerate Ubisoft
Paragraphs
PEA - Point, evidence, argument
- Realistic depictions of violence are made possible through advanced digital technologies. Potentially older, conservative audiences with young families may take an oppositional reading to the depiction of violence, and may find this representation of a real world issue to be insensitive and even damaging
- The entire franchise takes a strong cultural bias, and presents highly ethnocentric representations to its target audience. For example in AC Unity, the protagonist speaks ina stereotypical middle class English accent, that positions the target audience as English. This highly leading representation is included for the purpose of profit and power, as it is believed that certain accents and representations are more profitable. However French audiences may be frustrated or offended with this dubbing options, as it provides a stereotypical and misleading representation of France.
- The AC franchise will particularly appeal to audiences who are already familiar with the franchise. Producers rely increasingly on ‘pre-sold’ audiences, as this minimises risk to maximise profit. To this presold audience, the highly complicated narrative that combines many different genres will be familiar, appealing and exciting. However, to new audiences, the game simply may be interpreted as confusing, strange and off putting.
- AC Unity and other games in the series offer audiences an open world experience. This is constructed through the vast historically accurate locations that present high production values such as a high render distance. The high quality of elements of MES and high quality sound design, along with characters with sophisticated AI presents an immersive experience for the dedicated target audience. In this way, AC appeals to a ‘core’ audience of video game fans.
- However, AC can also appeal to diverse and so-called casual gamers through its historically accurate setting. The MES of surprisingly well researched and accurate French architecture, combined with the historically accurate and well rendered costumes provides that audience with the pleasure of escapism, and the pleasure of leading a completely different life.
- Saturation of AC games leads to stagnation of experience and of profits, as even hardcore fans feel distanced through the repetition of themes
- While many audience members are content to simply play the game, a reece hall would refer to as the preferred reading, other, more involved audiences will take a negotiated reading of this product and produce fan works that demonstrate their love for the franchise. An excellent example of this is the free to access YouTube fan film Assassin’s Kittens which reimagines the violent AC world as played out by cute kittens. Fans, as opposed to audience members, will often go to great lengths to express their interest and love for franchises, and this is an excellent example of this. Even multinational conglomerates such as Ubisoft will tolerate or even promote such content, as it serves to advertise the brand
- The French Left party took exception to the representation of the French revolution, which indicates that audience members may be upset by revisionist aspects of the historical accuracy of the game
- Certain vulnerable audiences are more likely to be affected by the graphic representations of violence in this game. By cultivating violent and aggressive scenarios the producers are guilty of using violence to manipulate vulnerable audience