Fish In A Bottle

http://www.fishinabottle.com/

Fish in a bottle are an independant digital agency that concentrate on viral marketing, websites and games, their pieces are made more fun and engaging to make the internet a better place.

Along with the interactive piece done for hereos they have also made edcuational games for the BBC to help make learning more fun.


With links to all of the work they have done, the site is really useful and encourages people to get in touch with them and add comments.

The Business And Culture Of Digital Games By Aphra Kerr

A comparison of Herz and Poole's game genres.

Yoshi Ishii - Hoshi Saga

http://www.nekogames.jp/mt/2007/05/post_16.html



- Really good game by a japanese designer Yoshi Ishii. The object is to find the hidden star in each stage. Completeing stages will unlock other stages until you finish. There are different levels of difficulty which is represented by the highlighted stars underneath each stage square. Some take 10 seconds and others 10 minutes.




- There is also a Hoshi Saga 2. Both mix different types of interaction with simple graphics that keeps you entertained for hours.

Philadelphia Eagles

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/fanzone/Arcade.html

- The locker room is an interactive environment where the user can click on different parts to play different games. They are all football related including how to be a manager where the player is in charge of funds and a fan challenge where the player takes a test to see how much of an Eagles fan they are.


- There is also a childrens part where kids can play easier games like jigsaws. Putting games on the Eagles site is a great way to get the fans involved, no matter what age. Simple things such as a game on the site will help the team gain fans.

Mr. Scruff

http://www.mrscruff.com/


- Mr. Scruff is a site to promote a dj and his music. The site includes all the important information such as gig listings and an online shop but it also has a range of games that are designed using his unique graphics.



- Using the games in this way helps to generate interest. The player is spending time on the site and will probably pass on the URL.

Mihaly Csikszentmihaly

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi designed a diagram for understanding how a player is pulled in and out of a flow state whilst playing games. The diagram shows what happens when an activity is too difficult or too easy. What happens when the activity doesnt meet the abilities of the player? The diagonal strip represents a potential flow state; this is when the player’s skills are equally meeting the challenges of the activity. If the challenges are too difficult the player experiences anxiety but if the player finds the activities easy then the player experiences boredom.


Rules Of Play
Game Design Fundamentals
By Katie Salen And Eric Zimmerman 2004

Heroes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/heroes/games/
Created by Fish In A Bottle.


The BBC have put an interactive version of the tv series heroes on their website. The game helps fans keep up to date with whats happening on the show and learn new things about characters and what they are able to do.


The audience learns more and more about a character each week and after that episode the website is updated so the user can go on and see whats been added. Each character has their own space on the map where the user can play their game and learn about that certain character.

Claire's game was really good, the user has to use the arrow keys to make claire run and jump over the obstacles. If she gets hurt the user has to guide the mouse over her arm or leg to heal her. Its really hard to get a decent score at the end and i failed to get a medal because of the injuries i caused!


I liked Peter's game aswell although it was exactly the same as Isaac's. The user has to paint following the guide lines but also avoiding the bugs on the canvas that try slow you down. You get a score when the times up but i failed to get a medal again because the painting was unfinished!

I think the website is a really good idea. The user doesnt have to play the games to learn new things about the show. The main room has hidden items which you have to find and use in a different area. It's a great way to advertise the programme, create interest and get the audiece involved more.