Rockstar Games Social Club

I came across Rockstar Games Social Club during the course of my classwork today. I decided to just briefly look over it and assess its importance in social media.

Social Club logo | igrandtheftauto.com

Rockstar Games, makers of the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead series, have announced that they are releasing Max Payne 3 later this year for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. In addition to releasing the game later this year, Rockstar will be utilizing social media and will attempt to create a community around Max Payne 3 with their revamped Social Club. The full article on this announcement can be found here. From what I understand, it seems that the Social Club is a forum for gamers to utilize when they play any Rockstar Games title. Users will be able to login with their Facebook or Twitter accounts, get up-to-date news as it is announced, and will be able to interact with other players, via the “add friend” feature, and even put together a “crew” for online multiplayer purposes. Additionally, users will have access to game guides, to help them through any tricky parts, and access to exclusive content, which will help enhance the consumer’s gaming experience. I think this is a great and innovative way to take the solidarity out of the gaming experience and encourage communication about a shared interest amongst consumers.  And for consumers that are not keen on multiplayer games, they can still interact with others while reaping the benefits of exclusive content and guides for themselves. Below is a screenshot of what the Social Club webpage looks like.

socialclub.rockstar.com

 By utilizing the Social Club, and essentially creating a very niched social media platform, Rockstar has effectively created a Facebook for gamers. By getting consumers signed up with this service, they can not only reach them directly about their current titles, but also provide a platform to market future projects to them. Moreover, Rockstar will be able to engage in conversations with their market directly, should they so choose, via this platform, which will help consumers feel more engaged and give them a greater sense of belonging in the community. This sense of belonging will encourage more frequent visits, which causes the cycle to begin again as more and more games are released.

Rockstar Games logo | giantbomb.com

While the Social Club is very heavily integrated into social media outlets, I feel Rockstar’s main website doesn’t really have any references to social media (no “Like” page for Facebook, no “follow us on Twitter” button). This is one area Rockstar could improve upon. By having a section dedicated to social media on their homepage (aside from their Social Club, which is their version of social media), they would be able to cultivate a connection with fans over social media giants like Facebook and Twitter. Rockstar does a great job delivering what fans have come to except and (in some cases) a few great surprises they haven’t expected, but the idea that Rockstar really wants to have a conversation with their fans, be it to ensure they’re still doing right by the consumer or just to check in and build the relationship with their customer, is not readily apparent on their main webpage.

What do you think about social media and gaming? What do you think of Rockstar's integration of social media into their services? What's your favorite Rockstar game?

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[Re-Play] Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

When not playing Mass Effect 3 (due to lack of an HDTV), I have been once again exploring the world of San Andreas on my MacBook. Admittedly, I am not a big computer gamer, so if it exists on a console, I’ll probably play it there first. What better way to become familiar with an unfamiliar medium than to play a game I already completed on console years ago. After a few minutes of configuring controls and learning how things worked with a keyboard and mouse, I quickly got my groove back and was able to start progressing through the pseudo-Golden State.

Just another day in the neighborhood | www.teamxbox.com

A shake of a spray can and the RockStar Games “R” logo appeared. This is the peak of open-world gaming in the GTA3 era. In control of Carl Johnson (CJ), the player is taken through a whole mess of events that keep the player on their toes and even managed to surprise me the second time around (like reading a good novel, I’ve forgotten some of the details). In fact, the sheer amount of “stuff” to do seems to be so overwhelming this time around. Aside from the main story (which includes everything from car jacking to shoot outs with rival gangs and a whole plethora of other less-than-legal activities), you can moonlight as a police officer, save some lives in the Ambulance, volunteer as a firefighter, or become a professional pimp. Aside from these odd jobs, you might even be interested in spending time shopping in downtown Los Santos, sightseeing in San Fierro, or gambling your savings away in Las Venturas. Whatever your interest, there is a lot to see and do in this huge, huge game.

gta.wikia.com

The Idea: Create three massive open-world sandbox urban environments based on Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas and throw them all together. Fill in the in-between areas with rural country settings that help mix up game play and scenery. Add in the humor and delinquency that Grand Theft Auto titles are known for and you’ve got yourself a game. Sweeten the pot with the ability to swim (finally) and gang wars (which are really as fun as they sound).

Running after a car where the passenger is shooting at you? Good idea. | fileforum.betanews.com

The Look: The graphics don’t really redefine the word “amazing” but they are very good, especially given the time the game was released and the size of the world the player was exposed to. The level of customization in CJ was also extremely impressive given the size of the game (roughly 4 times larger than Vice City). While my CJ is pretty buff and likes to rock shades at all times of day, your CJ could be extremely overweight, wear only sweatshirts, and have a giant afro. Customization comes through the ability to change clothing, hair, tattoos, weight/muscle, and more, which gives players a ton of possibilities to play with.

The Sound: The soundtrack is awesome. Cruising around, watching the scenery while jamming to Ice Cube’s Today Was A Good Day is nothing short of amazing. Featuring over 11 radio stations with 20 DJs, there is certainly a lot to be heard. All of the voice acting was very convincing, as well. Gimme them duckets!

www.gtasanandreas.net

The Play: Controls are fairly smooth and represent the GTA universe well in this iteration. For some reason, a car turned completely on its side can be hit on the underbelly and completely turn right-side-up again (which let me complete the mission, so I’m not complaining), and of course running red lights and hitting pedestrians (note: not killing) don’t cause any police attention, but hey, that’s why we love GTA. As I noted previously, there is a crazy amount of things to see and do, and most of them work smoothly and without error. Only the lowrider mission (on the computer version) gave me any issue, as I didn’t know how to use the hydraulics at first.

The Entertainment: As I mentioned before, cruising… in a Banshee… listening to Ice Cube… Oh, but aside from that, the gang wars are still incredibly awesome. Once the missions become more complex and the “introductory” part of the game is over (for me, it felt like around the time AmmuNation’s started to become available), it becomes very, very fun. Having access to supplies and not depending on Emmett for a weapon (seriously, 16 shots in a pistol does not go far at all in Los Santos) makes for a much more enjoyable ride. And if you don’t like missions (or need a break) try the “spawn Rhino” cheat or the infinite bike jump cheat. Out running the military on 6 stars is also always a fun challenge.

Oh, ya know... just chillin' with my tank | lparchive.org

The Challenge: The game is fairly similar to what I remember. I don’t remember a lot of the details, though, so it makes the mission-to-mission story interesting and (seemingly) new. It’s hard doing some missions, though, knowing how things eventually play out… But as far as actual issues… Well, the obvious issue I have is that auto-targeting is somewhat different than I remember (if not altogether gone). Besides that, I don’t remember dying nearly as frequently in the PS2 version as I do in this one. And keep in mind; I suck less now than I did back in the day at video games, so… what’s the isssh-ya? These are minor complaints, all in all, though. I really think the game is going to get more and more challenging as I get out of Los Santos, but I’m up for it.

The Legacy: Introducing players to the first GTA game of this size was a major achievement for RockStar back in 2004.  This game is also extremely famous for causing some issues in the legal system regarding proper labeling – apparently there was an issue with some virtual nakedness and coffee!  This is also the first time we get to see San Andreas. For those of you who really enjoyed this game, get excited for a new interpretation of San Andreas later this year when Grand Theft Auto V is released!

static.guim.co.uk 

That about wraps it up. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got territory to watch and a reputation to uphold in my community. Off to Los Santos! While I’m gone, what’s your favorite part of GTA: San Andreas? What do you think about the whole hot coffee scandal that happened back during the game’s initial release?

http://gtawallpaperswidescreen.blogspot.com

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Violence and Brand Identity: Legal Issues in Gaming

Happy St. Patrick’s Day readers! A few weeks ago, I discussed the legal side of video games and how it affects us as game loving consumers. Today, I’d like to revisit the legal issues with the gaming industry and entertainment in general. A series of podcasts from a series called Entertainment Law Update by Gordon P. Firemark, Esq. will provide the topics of discussion today.

Obscene v. Violent

The first podcast, titled “Episode 22: Violent Games, (anti) Slapps and other painless fun”, featured issues regarding a variety of topics including the Mike Tyson tattoo controversy that spawned from the Hangover II and everyone’s favorite song dedicated to a day of the week!

www.bittenandbound.com

While these issues don’t directly relate to gaming, there are still lessons to be learned from the cases. The Hangover II case, for example, reminds us to be extra diligent when using any type of graphic or visual representation that is associated with a particular person or company. Keep in mind, for you aspiring video game programmers out there, that you should probably gain clearance if you are to depict anything in a video game that is a reference to a real person or company, as right of likeness cases pop up all over the place, even when they may not be intentionally infringing. (Note: This is just my opinion. I’m not a lawyer, so please consult someone who gets paid to give that kind of advice!)

The real topic of interest is the video game law that got turned down in California. Basically, the State of California proposed a law that would make it illegal to sell video games with certain themes (such as violence) to minors. Retailers that did sell these restricted games to minors would suffer a fine of $1000. The Supreme Court ultimately turned down the law, stating that it was too broad and conflicted with the First Amendment. Firemark and his associate, Tamara Bennett, offer their opinions. Bennett agreed with the Supreme Court’s decision, stating that the restrictions the Supreme Court currently has in place deals with obscenity in media, not violence. She suggests that the State of California’s new video game law is trying to apply the restrictions that deal with obscenity to violence, which is a big leap to make. Furthermore, the State of California is asking that the law only apply to video games. My opinion on this matter can be found in a prior post.

This is an important decision for those of us in the video game industry, as a law such as the one proposed could greatly decrease our customer base as well as create higher barriers when selling products. Moreover, from an artistic point of view, it could cause game developers to censor their work, making the stories that they want to tell less realistic. Realism in games is part of what makes playing them so appealing. The question, however, is how far can we take realism before it becomes harmful in the real world?

Realism v. Brand Damage

The second podcast, titled “Episode 28: Political campaigns, combat helicopters and Batmobiles,” covers a variety of topics, the most interesting of which is EA’s use of the First Amendment in it’s game Battlefield 3.

www.wikipedia.org

Basically, Textron, a helicopter manufacturer, threatened legal action against EA if the company included Textron’s trademarked helicopters, the AH-1Z, UH-1Y, and V-22. In a preemptive response, EA filed suit against Textron, citing the First Amendment and the freedom of artistic expression. Part of EA’s defense rests in the fact that it provides a disclaimer stating it does not endorse any particular brand of vehicle or weapon in the game, and, likewise, EA is not featuring any brand of vehicle or weapon more prominently than another. The case was resolved in EA’s favor, stating that the freedom of artistic expression trumps trademark protection. You can read more details of the case here.

Battlefield 3 helicopter | joystiq.com

This outcome is a double-edged sword for us in the gaming industry. On the plus side, EA is allowed to create a realistic video game that features real-world brands and puts them in front of the player, which can be good for the company as well. The problems, however, quickly accumulate. What if, in Battlefield 3, there is a segment where a helicopter malfunctions and causes the squad to crash in enemy territory? What if that helicopter was a V-22 Bell, one of Textron’s trademarked models? Does this say that this model is unreliable? While many are likely to view the crash as a result of war, it is nonetheless a possible question to consider.

How can we resolve this conflict? We want the games to be realistic, which means using real world brands. Likewise, realism dictates that sometimes real-world products malfunction, break, or otherwise cease to be useful. Companies argue, however, that they don’t want to be associated negatively and scenarios like the one above could be damaging to their brand. As a business owner, I’d had to see my brand being exploited and portrayed in a negative light, especially without my consent, but I can definitely see the argument of creative expression and realism from the game developers side.

How do we strike the balance, then? One of the legal system’s favorite video games to target, the Grand Theft Auto series, has one solution: mock existing brands.

Notice Sprunk, a clear imitation of Sprite | www.newpcgamesite.com

What do you think? How can we strike a balance between realism and fantasy in our video games so that we, as consumers, can distinguish between the two?

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