Akashdeep+Singh+Sekhon


 * WEEK 2 **
 * Can Video Games be considered another new mass media? What makes Video Games a different medium from conventional movies and music? Why are video games catching on? **
 * Answer: **
 * Video games can be considered another new mass media. In this era, technology is continuing to develop faster and efficiently. Nintendo was a popular fad in the 1990’s but a lot has changed. Game counsels like Playstation, X-box, Nintendo have come out with better products that enhance the video game experience. Video games allow individuals to have an interactive experience at the same time have fun playing. Almost every teenager wants to have an up to date video game counsel because of the various types of options associated within. Playstation3 and Xbox have an online feature that allows gamers to connect to the internet and play amongst each other. Live feedback, news, upgrades to software are being delivered to gamers as they play on the counsel. **
 * Video Games is a different sort of medium from movies and music because it allows gamers to actually be interactive as they play. Video games like Grand Theft Auto, Need for Speed, WWE, NHL, NBA, NFL, MBA, etc puts the gamer into real life experiences and makes them feel like as if they are actually playing. Music and Movies are a conventional form of media but video games allow the gamer to really be involved in what goes on. **
 * Video games are catching on because technology is always changing and people’s taste always changes. There is a major difference between just a hand held Nintendo and a Playstation 3. The graphics are more realistic, the surround is more attractive, the plots are more complex, and gaming is just so much more fun. The price is costly but the gaming experience is so much different. **

WEEK 3 To first start off this question we need to ask ourselves what is a genre? A genre is a form of categorizing similar characteristics and interests into groups. The reason why new genres are being created is because communities in society and the advancement of technology are always changing. Popular genre that was in last year may not be the same as next year because new demands and wants of target markets are always changing. Technology also plays a major role as it sought out to enhance genres. Genres are created to please everyone and most importantly to give everyone a sense of grouping. New genre tends to not leave people out. Through new genre people are able to form new groups to meet up to interact and share information amongst them.

The definition of genre is controversial and not so applicable to the formation of digital genres because of the difference of opinions. Digital genres exchange information far more rapidly back and forth, and examples of digital genres such as home pages display content that combines many different (and originally traditional) media into one space - photography, video, text, etc. Furthermore, homepages are entirely dependent on the user that creates it, making this digital genre highly individualistic and stylized to the point where there is a very limited, systematical method of categorizing the information displayed; and therefore, it is difficult to define digital genre by using the definition of genre itself.

WEEK 4

I agree with Marshall McLuhan when he states that comics are an extension of photographic media. I agree with Marshall McLuhan when he states that comics are an extension of photographic media. What comics’ intent to do is to avoid using words and use images to portray a story. The same goes towards a photograph, the motivation is to tell a story. They say that a picture says more then a 1000 words and comics are just an extension of that. A photograph and a comic book leave a viewer with very minimal content so they can use their interpretation as a main source to fill in the blanks. The difference between comics and photographs is that comics are given a minimal amount of text and pictures don’t. Both way comics and photographs have intent of telling a story.

McLuhan defines "hot" media as that which enhances one single sense. An example of a film: the view does not need to apply much thinking to fill in the details of the movie.

McLuhan describes "cool" media as demanding more effort from the user to unfold its meaning. Taking the example of a graphic novel, the author is given the task of creating a story by using a limited number of sketches. The reader has to complete many stages of thought so the novel makes sense. That is why comics require a lot of participation from the readers.

WEEK 5 I believe that conventional means of mass media advertising can be translated into Second Life. When you purchase an item in Second Life- the transaction occurs using real money in exchange for virtual products. When an individual enters Second Life, a considerate number of advertising is aimed towards the person. Through advertisements and products that are sold by Second Life, businesses can make substanital profit. This can only happen when the product and advertisement work together to target its desired audience. The company should also consider the customer's hierarchy of needs and wants are being satisfied. One should also not that there should be a distinguishable amount of difference between that of the real world and that of fantasy. WEEK 6 =__**Using At Least Three Concepts From The Supplement On Web Comics From McCloud, Explain How The Comic You Choose Makes Use Of The Technique. **__=

Group: Neeta Ramsaroop, Jiten Mistry, Akashdeep Sekhon

The comic we chose is Cyanide and Happiness, a daily web comic which can be found at: []. The web site has a “few buttons for readers to move through [the] archives” (McCloud, 5) allowing the audience to enjoy past comics, through an easy user-friendly interface.

The comic strip is short, simply drawn and uses simple web safe colours for clothing. Essentially the characters are stick figures, wearing different coloured clothing to differentiate them from one-another. The cartoon imagery moves away from realistic resemblance by taking away the details, abstraction, making them more relatable to the reader, the image “still manages to convey that basic meaning”.

The comic sometimes exaggerates the characters features to emphasize the point of the comic, and, for the ease in understanding. The demographic for Cyanide and Happiness is older teen and young adults (ages 18-35) for its content. It uses adult innuendos and wit in order to show situations in a humorous light, lessening the seriousness of situations. It occasionally can be taken offensively, because of the sadistic satire. The material is sometimes controversial; being on the web allows for the material to be embraced by those who will enjoy it without a fear of being shunned by publishers. Taking out the middle man and using the web allows for “unlimited shelf space” (McCloud, 10), even though this sounds fantastic it has its downfalls, the reader can jump to another page in a click and is not as indulged in the comic as print versions. The distraction of all the sites on the web does not allow for commitment to the web comic.

Web comics, like print, utilize the two most regularly used formats: pages and strips. Many web comics use newer interfaces called “infinite canvas webcomics” (McCloud, 8) Cyanide and Happiness’s webpage uses the basic two formats, page and strip, which allows for the comic to fill the viewers screen with little or no scrolling, this allows the “readers [to] navigate [the] story from beginning to end without ever having to take their eyes off the page” (McCloud, 7).

The comic uses very basic drawing, almost childlike, skills- many of times it doesn’t use backgrounds because it takes away from the fast paced joke or idea. Cyanide and Happiness use backgrounds when they have significance to the situation presented in the comic. Word bubbles are not used rather short slashes directing the words to who is saying them.

Even though it is a mature humored comic, it uses very simple childish skills to get the ideas across. The short format allows for viewers to be engaged and quickly understand the point without the distraction of the World Wide Web. This is why Cyanide and Happiness has been and always will be a successful web comic.

__//Citation:// __
McCloud, Scott. "Making Comics – Chapter 5 1/2." Scott McCloud | Journal. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. <[]>.

WEEK 7:
 * [[image:mistryji:WEEK7.jpg width="421" height="297" caption="In this culture jamming image we see that fast food is dangerous and deadly to the human body such as smoking."]] ||
 * In this culture jamming image we see that fast food is dangerous and deadly to the human body such as smoking. ||

Group Memebers: Jiten Mistry, Neeta Ramsaroop, Akashdeep Sekhon

COMIC CREATION:



WEEK 9: Wikipedia is an efficient website that relies on the input of users for the creation of its web pages and articles. The site lives off of user collaborating with one another. People offer their knowledge to a specific article of their liking and through this collaborating of knowledge, there comes to be an article of any subject matter available to anyone and everyone. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia for artist, athletes, events, and more. There are constant update cycles for the site as users can just literally edit an article at any time. You would think that a site that relies very much on its users will possess a myriad of site problems, but for Wikipedia that is cimply not the case. It is much more different. Anyone and everyone can edit an article in Wikipedia, the site relies on a very sort of editing hierarchy where a user is ranked. The person is ranked in terms of how good they are in handing out information. This determines whether or not he can edit popular pages on the site. This system put in place helps Wikipedia avoid in one instance a rude person who is trying to say and things about celebrities or spread fake information.

WEEK 11: web 3.0 is the predicted third generation of the World Wide Web, usually conjectured to incllude semantic tagging of content. Twine takes this concept of Web 3.0 to the next level by trying to learn about the world from consumers (generated by media), and the process of how you link concepts and ideas together. By sharing information with different twine users, who have specific sets of interest, you, in effect, "Teach" the computer the connection between the information. Twine exhausts Web 2.0 technologies while doing so. It doesn't just make recommendations based on your past interests, it recommends information based on your future interests.