BA (Hons) Digital Art and Technology

For this next workshop in the Realtime module we have been working with Max/MSP. This is an environment where you can create visual programs (patches) for audio, video and graphics. These programmes are created using a set of objects.

I had never really used Max previously but to experiment with this I came up with a patch that uses various objects to edit a piece of video. For example, this patch was able to adjust the colour balance of the video along with its brightness, contrast and saturation for example.

Following a recent lecture on branding, it was clear that I needed to shape my idea into a company and have the lunchbox app as our first product. So I will now work towards creating a company who create a new variety of educational apps for primary school children that support learning both inside and outside of school. Just like how the lunchbox app provides children with the opportunity to compete with their friends, the aim of the company is to create apps that provide children with a fun incentive to learn within game-like scenarios.

To kick start the company, I would first need to sell my idea to the primary school. After recieving backing from these schools, the next step would be to sell the idea to parents. This will be done by setting up introduction sessions with each school. These sessions will be used to introduce parents to my company/products and to get them involved with supporting the children when using the apps. From here I would require the schools to use the apps once or twice a week to ensure that the children have an active involvement both inside and outside of school.

The next task for this module was to research 3 different companies that had a similar concept to our own. One of these companies had to be a local company within Plymouth.

THUP Games

THUP Games are a New York game development company that make games for all sorts of people on all sorts of platforms. They have recently created 2 educational games for preschool children. The first (Monkey Math School) allows children to build their fundamental maths skills while they are endlessly entertained. It includes games that teach them about sequencing, patterning, counting, adding and subtracting. The second (Monkey Preschool Lunchbox) is a collection of five educational mini games that teach children about letters, colors, counting, matching, and patterns. Both of these games are sold through the App Store on iTunes and can be automatically downloaded for your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad once purchased for 69p. Although its obviously preschool children who use them, these games are directed and sold to their parents. THUP Games promote these games through their own website and through video trailers on YouTube. Although such applications heavily rely on how good and how popular they are. Games which have good reviews are obviously far more likely to attract buyers. This would consequently push them up the charts and make it easier for people to stubble upon them. As a company, their main costs are the rental price and maintenance of their offices and also their workers wages. The company are likely to cover these costs through the sale of their games and through their client based work. The company appears to be set up as a fairly small team of experienced game designers and interactive professionals.

EpicWin

Created by an independant games studio called Supermono, EpicWin is an iPhone application which transforms your real life to-do list into a game. Rather that just mentally ticking off your chores, completing each one improves and develops your character in an on-going quest to level-up, gain riches and develop skills. The application is available through the App Store on iTunes and can be automatically downloaded for your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad once purchased for £1.99. I would imagine that this application is mainly sold to people who want to become more productive or who simply lack motivation to get things done. For example, a student like myself. Supermono promote this application through their own website and through video trailers on YouTube and Vimeo. Although such applications ultimately rely on their quality and popularity as games that feature in the top 100 on the App Store are more likely to achieve greater sales and consequently beneifit from word of mouth. As a stand alone application, the only significant cost is $99 a year for a iOS developers lisence which ensures that the application is always available to buy from iTunes. The company appears to be setup as a fairly small team of designers and developers who are constantly in the process of creating unique games like EpicWin. This application is very similar to my idea in the way it offers a fun incentive to get things done. My idea will instead offer a fun incentive to eat a healthy packed lunch.

Mutant Labs (Local)

Mutant Labs describe themselves as a tight-knit team who share a passion for games, apps and other digital wizardry. They specialise in unique interactive projects, iPhone development, flash development and web design. Mutant Labs appears are mainly a client based business who sell their services through their website. The website includes examples of previous projects used to showcase their skills and capabilities to any potential clients. Their services are sold to a broad range of public and private sector businesses who lack the expertise to create exactly what the need themselves. One of the most effective ways that they promote the company is by supporting and creating projects for various different events. This helps to enhance their reputation and become more well known within the industry. For example, they developed a crowd controlled game for ‘The Gadget Show Live’ in 2010. As the company are based in the Roland Levinsky Building of the University, I imagine their main expense is the cost of the office space they are provided with. In terms of the setup, the company are a team of five Plymouth University graduates who between them share a wide range of skills, experience and knowledge. Mutant Labs offer good similarities to my idea in the way they distribute some of their projects/products. Their University campus map app for students is a good example of this.