T3| Wk 3 | Thursday - Media Ecology - online video games (Fortnight)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-brQavX3IwE

MEDIA ECOLOGY: 

Media ecology speaks to the changing media environments. 

Let's look at video games as an example.

“Fortnite demonstrates the transformation of the traditional media product into an evolving, networked, participatory and convergent media environment.” 

Activity 

- make an exhaustive list of all the media related to or within the Fortnight brand 

eg. 

- online videogame

- live events 

https://iris.ipsos.com/fortnite-shaking-the-media-and-entertainment-industry/

CONCEPT 1 -  Media CONVERGENCE

Consider the idea of media CONVERGENCE with Fortnight as an example. In what ways have the media lines blurred from traditional media to this current version of Fortnight? 

e.g. 

The Travis Scott Astronomical event is a brilliant case study because the event was built inside Fortnite but simultaneously functioned as:

• a music event
• a gaming experience
• a promotional event
• a social experience
• a spectacle
• online video content

https://youtu.be/wYeFAlVC8qU

CONCEPT 2 - PARTICIPATORY CULTURE

Traditional media:

Producer → Text → Audience

Digital media:

Producer ↔ Platform ↔ Creator ↔ Audience

Fortnite audiences aren't simply consumers.

They can:

• play
• create
• stream
• comment
• share
• remix
• discuss
• produce fan content
• create experiences
• influence trends

Key argument

The audience becomes part of the media ecology rather than simply consuming a finished media product.

CONCEPT 3 - PROSUMER 

“When a player uploads a Fortnite video to YouTube, are they an audience member, producer, or both?”

A Fortnite player can simultaneously be:

consumer → player → creator → streamer → commentator → promoter 

CONCEPT 4 - LIVE-SERVICE MEDIA

"Fortnite is an evolving media text rather than a static media product."

Traditional game:

Buy → Play → Finish 

Live-service game:

Launch → Update → New content → Return → Update → Event → Return → Update...

Fortnite therefore becomes an ongoing media environment.

The product isn't necessarily “finished” when it is released.

CONCEPT 5 - SERIALITY 

"Fortnite borrows the serialised structure traditionally associated with television while using digital technology to make the audience interact with the narrative."

Fortnite's:

• seasons
• chapters
• events
• characters
• updates
• mysteries
• reveals

can create a form of serialised storytelling.

CONCEPT 6 - GLOBALISATION

global access

multinational audiences

international celebrities

global franchises

simultaneous events

different national regulations

different cultural responses

localisation

language

platform accessibility