This is a link to my Contextual Report about my Digital Artefact ‘Ruby Reviews’.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/149uPHccM1DR_x6UrgDNeDS00wncpPCoAVylWXsbsLlI/edit?usp=sharing
[proper layout + images are in the google doc: this is the wording]
Analytical Framework
For my Digital Artefact I watched and reviewed game shows by creating blog posts about them. Using the streaming service Netflix to watch the shows. I discussed the rules and spoke about the contestants’ gameplay and my recommendations when it came to the game show. The game shows I reviewed include; Awake, Floor is Lava and Glow Up. While contributing to the Digital Artefact I didn’t use any secondary research as I wanted the reviews to come from me and not about articles on the shows. I think this gave my DA a more personal feel to it and allows people to read a review and not another article on the show. I find that my DA is useful to users as it helps users gain an understanding of the game before they watch it and are able to read up whether they will enjoy the game or not.
Iteration Cycle and Feedback Loop
For my DA my idea continued to stay the same throughout the entirety of the semester. From the feedback I received from my original pitch, my audience appeared to like the idea of me uploading my reviews in a blog post format. I think this idea made the most sense when it came to writing reviews.
However, in my Beta I mentioned that I was thinking about expanding my DA to other platforms. The platforms mentioned were Tik Tok and Instagram. I thought of this as these platforms are a great way to gain an audience and to ensure you are engaging with them to know what to produce and keep them interested. The feedback on my Beta seemed on board with me expanding my DA to other platforms but as seen, I haven’t done that. The reason I chose not to expand platforms on my DA was I really struggled with coming up with an aesthetic for myself. I also felt that expanding to other platforms would take away the initial meaning of Ruby Reviews. I just wanted it to be a place where people can go for reviews about game shows, not a whole fancy online space that you will get lost down a rabbit hole in.
Although making the decision to now follow through with the expansion to other platforms, it truly showed that I didn’t take on board the feedback of my audience as I have not had any audience engagement with my blog. A blog is just one of those things that media users don’t look for, but reviews are. The trajectory of my DA appears to be at a standstill however the future could hold a website or even something like ‘rotten tomatoes’ where my audience would also review the shows.
Methodology
My blog posts were set out quite simply. Just one chosen image relating to the game show and the post itself. The last 2 blog posts I wrote however have a recommendation section at the bottom which I feel gives my posts more flow and more of a ‘review’ feel to it rather than just discussing the game itself. I wanted the posts to stay simple so they were easy to read and follow and I am happy with how they turned out.
Background Research
Although my DA did not really require me to have any secondary sources, the artefact itself was based around the second lecture of this subject. This being, ‘game analysis and the prehistory of games’.
After listening to this lecture I knew I wanted to produce something that was reviewing game shows as it is something that interests me, because I am a lover of game shows. In this lecture, Christopher Moore says “when analysing a text, we have to take into account the way we make meaning of a text and the way others might make meaning of a text.” That is exactly what I wanted my DA to be about. Me, making sense of a game and seeing how my audience also made sense of that game.
Something that is common knowledge is how shows bring people together. Individuals having the same likes and dislikes about a show or characters in the show, is something that ensures people communicate with each other and this is exactly what game shows also do. Game shows spark a conversation when watching TV. This could be as a family or with friends. The question and answer aspect to certain game shows are a conversation starter as views start to discuss the answers to the questions. Game shows where contestants compete against each other, however, you will find the room’s conversation to be about who they like and don’t like, who they want to win or even whether they think they could compete the challenge better.
I wanted this DA to be somewhere people could go and to spark a conversation with strangers about a common interest or a common disinterest. Game shows represent this for an audience and I hope in the future, that the path my DA leads me on is one where this is a possibility.
Stay True, R.
immerse into media 