LEGO MOVIE VIDEO GAME
Watch the
Lego Movie Video Game walk through for example here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiJ76xKOAbs
The aim of
the prep is to make connections in your mind between what you experience as a
Lego movie video game player and the 'uses and gratifications' framework.
Firstly, The Lego Movie Video Game is a good source of
entertainment. It is very child-friendly and kids can pretend they are part of
the beloved movies. It is a fun, light-hearted game which many people enjoy (including
my brother) as it is a game about Lego and superheroes.
Secondly, The Lego Movie Video Game is a good source of surveillance
as people can play the game right after watching the movie. Also, they can play
as the characters they were just watching on the big screen. This is a good way
for Warner Bros to make money as lots of people will watch the movie and want
to play the game straight after.
Thirdly, The Lego Movie Video Game can form relationships
with the characters as, not only do you relate to them in the movie, but you
can also play as them in the videogame. Also, it can affect real-life relationships
as people can see friends and talk about their experiences on the game and they
could play it with each other.
Finally, The Lego Movie Video Game has good values as it is
about how ‘a nobody saved everybody’. This means kids will learn that nothing
is impossible and that if Emmet can do anything, then they can too.
9/10 You tackle this thoughtfully. The second point is a bit off target as I don't think that it is possible to find this particular audience 'pleasure' in the Lego movie video game.
ReplyDeleteENTERTAINMENT: games offer escape into action, excitement, problem-solving, humour and spectacle.
IDENTIFICATION / RELATIONSHIPS: players may identify with the pleasure of transgression (going to forbidden worlds)
VALUES: simple pleasure of good defeating evil; sense of personal success as players rise through levels
The Lego Movie Video Game is a cross-media promotional product as it advertises a range of Lego characters and icons, like the superheroes and ‘Benny the Spaceman’. Both the movie and the video game are part of a larger Lego video game franchise that existed before The Lego Movie resulting in intertextuality for the audience and a deeper relationship with the Lego brand. The superheroes featured (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman) are also part of the larger Warner Bros./DC superhero franchise so the video game also acts as an introduction point to those characters and helps to cross-promote this superhero franchise in terms of other Lego video game products (e.g. Lego Batman) and films (e.g. Justice League).
Purchasing the game provided childhood nostalgia for parents (a brand they might have played with when young themselves) and allowed them to
play with their children. This also illustrates how
the audience for video games might interpret the same product differently, e.g. young and old getting different pleasures from the product.