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Samenvatting van het vak interactive media and entertainment, geschreven in jaar . 15/20
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Interactive media andentertainment
Introduction to interactive media and entertainment
The course will focus on the use of interactive platforms for entertainment purposes.
Entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience, that gives pleasure and
delight.
There are a couple of big categories of entertainment:
- Exhibition entertainment
- Live entertainment
- Media entertainment
Important to know is that the experience of being entertained is associated with fun and amusement. But
many forms of entertainment can also have serious purposes. Entertainment can also be in mean of insight and
intellectual growth. Related to this, it can also be used in service of other more pragmatic goals.
Interactive media
We are primarily interested in media entertainment, and especially the kind of entertainment that is made
possible by interactive media. These are media that allow for interactivity with the audience.
The first part of the word ‘interactive’: inter, is implying to a two-way exchange. The second part: active, refers
to being involved/engaged in the activity. The word in its hole indicates an active relationship between the
audience and the medium content. These kinds of media are mostly digital media.
Generally speaking, interactivity is one of two possible ways of relating to medium content. The other way is to
relate to it passively (traditional media). With interactive content, you actually become a participant. These two
ways lead to different experiences for the audience.
We can also go a step further in our categorization of the different types of interactivity in media. Salen &
Zimmerman proposed 4 categories of interactivity:
- Cognitive interactivity: the interpretative participation possible with media content. This kind of
interactivity merely happens in your mind.
- Functional interactivity: the utilitarian use of media. This is related to actually using the media, it’s not
related to the content.
- Explicit interactivity: the type of interactivity where you are actually exerting influence on media
content. You are shaping it and controlling it. This is the type where we will focus on the most.
- Beyond-the-object interactivity: when we’re interacting with media outside the content itself.
Interactive media & entertainment
This type is very young, it only came in the mid-twentieth century with the development of computer
technology. It is the interaction with a computer that makes interaction actively possible within media content.
,Something this young is still growing and evolving. Digital interactive media and entertainment is a very vast
field. People can interact with digital entertainment in a variety of ways and different types of media mend
themselves with different types of interactivity.
Internet & social media
These channels are particularly useful for creating little games or other interactive and evolving content. Users
can give information to other users etc.
The example that you see is a social game made for Instagram. With this little game, people could go on an
easter hunt to get to know the show: Rick and Morty.
On top of just established media creators using the internet and social media to provide more ways for their
audience to interact with their content, the internet and social media can also be used by amateur creators.
Content creators can also ask their audience what to do in the next video etc. Followers can interact with the
media creators in real time.
Mobile devices & apps
There’s also a variety of ways to interact on mobile devices. For instance, in the form of mobile apps.
Interactive TV
This comes in the form of you being able to make certain choices. An example is Bandersnatch from Black
Mirror on Netflix.
Smart toys & robots
These kinds of media are good for one-on-one media experiences. This is mostly for children.
Digital games
They are the perfect medium for interactivity, they have everything it takes for interactivity.
Augmented & virtual reality
This creates more intense experiences of interactivity.
Interactive entertainment: choice and control
Very interesting about all of this is that these forms of interactive entertainment give members two gifts:
- Control
- Choice
The audience is to some degree in charge of the media content and gets to choose what to see and what to do
within an interactive work. This ability to control and choose is called agency. This agency gives people the
ability to make choices and to enjoy the results of those choices.
Because the way people experience interactive entertainment is so different from the way that passive
entertainment is experienced, it’s good to know that we barely use the word ‘audience’ when we’re talking
about interactive ET. More often than not, we talk about people in the singular because each user is in control
of their own path and each path through the interactive environment is unique to that specific person. Because
each user has this control and choice, this also means that their experiences will be unique. Everyone responds
to the stimuli differently; interactivity can never truly be a mass audience experience. All of this is very different
from a traditional movie for instance.
, Interactive media and entertainment: fields of study
Communication sciences
Our topic of interest can be situated within the broad domain of communication sciences. Within this field,
there has been an increasing interest in interactive media and entertainment. The most important reasons for
this interest are:
- Digital communication takes over most areas of traditional communication (bv. Smartphones, digital
TV etc.)
- Rise of new forms of interactive media
A lot of subdivisions within communication sciences also take into account this digital interactive media and
their potential for ET.
The ICA (International Communication Association) is the largest international association that is dedicated to
the study and the practice of communication.
There are some divisions that focus specifically on interactive media in combination with ET or not. These
subdivisions are:
- Communication and technology
- Game studies
- Information systems
See an explanation for every division on the pwp.
Research areas
This course sits on a multidisciplinary research field. For our course, two major research areas will be
important:
- Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
- Media and Entertainment Studies
Human-Computer Interaction
This area studies the design and use of computer technology. It focuses a lot on the interfaces between users
and computers. See on the pwp the subjects they do research on.
Media and Entertainment Studies
This field focuses on the content, history and effects of media. See on pwp what research fields they focus on.
Contents of the course: theory and practice
See pwp.
History, characteristics and effects of IME, pt. 1
Interactive ET
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