Analysing and Attracting Gamers

I mentioned previously in my Pitch (https://mediapem.tech.blog/2021/08/14/do-video-games-suck/ ) and Beta ( https://mediapem.tech.blog/2021/10/07/the-masterpiece-is-almost-here/ ) that I am making a video essay to go on my YouTube channel. This video is on a larger scale compared to others I have put up on the channel so I defiantly warranted a greater dive into how and why I choose to make something along the lines of this.

Audience

“Gamers are starting to return to their initial and past experiences with games” Wulf, T. 2006

Understanding my audience is the biggest part of this project. To know my target audience for attracting new and existing viewers is crucial to a project like this. YouTube has billions of views per day on their website and having only just above 2000 subscribers on a channel like mine is like being a drop of water in the Pacific Ocean. Having the right thumbnail, title, video retention and tags is the first big thing you need to have a grasp of when producing a project like this one.

Nostalgia

Nostalgia plays somewhat of a decent part in my essay but plays a bigger part in the stats and planning of the video. My target audience for a video like this would be for a more older generation of viewers (around 16yrs to 26yrs age range)so making sure to make references to games and other medias that match that audience is crucial. If I intend on “comparing” older games to this newer generation of games I am bound to attract some older gamers to the video and obviously an end goal of this project to attract new viewers and hopefully create a conversation about this topic.

Gameplay

“Video games provide an innovation that no previous story medium has ever provided: participation and control.” Friedberg, J. 2015

Obviously, a big factor in this whole topic I speak on in the video essay are bout video games and if they’ve gotten better or not. A great way to evaluate this (and what I have personally done) is by just playing the games. Immersing yourself into these stories and into the gameplay to really understand and begin to consume the media that is in front of you. I mention this in the essay, but video games are a whole new medium that is rapidly becoming the new way to tell a story. Being a part of the story and interacting with the environment and characters in the game is a great way to immerse

YouTube Stats: https://biographon.com/youtube-statistics/#:~:text=YouTube%20Statistics&text=Almost%205%20billion%20videos%20are%20watched%20on%20Youtube%20every%20single%20day.&text=In%20an%20average%20month%2C%208,to%20a%20pay-TV%20service.

Friedber, J (2015) : https://biographon.com/youtube-statistics/#:~:text=YouTube%20Statistics&text=Almost%205%20billion%20videos%20are%20watched%20on%20Youtube%20every%20single%20day.&text=In%20an%20average%20month%2C%208,to%20a%20pay-TV%20service.

Wulf. T, Bowman. ND, Rieger. D, Velez. JA and Breuer. J (2018): https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/68743/1/Rieger_Video_Games_as_Time_Machines.pdf