Games in Context - Project 3: FIFA 21 Report on Development

This report provides an in-depth analysis of FIFA 21, examining its development, promotion, and the influence of culture, technology, and society. The report starts with an introduction followed by an analysis of the impact of culture, technology, and society in designing FIFA 21 and how it relates to video game promotion within its social and cultural context. The report then presents research findings and conclusions on contemporary game development theories and practices. The report highlights the role of digital marketing, socio-cultural impact, and the use of advanced technology. It also touches upon game theory and its application in developing a balanced and engaging game. The report concludes by summarizing the key factors influencing FIFA 21's development and its impact on society, referencing relevant books and journal articles.

Games in Context –
Project 3
1

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................3
P5 Impact of culture, technology and society in designing a specific game...............................3
P6 Relationship between video game promotion and social and cultural context......................3
Task 4...............................................................................................................................................4
P7 Presentation of research, analysis and conclusion.................................................................4
P8 Theories and practices of contemporary games development...............................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5
2

Introduction
This report aims to present a research that reflects the theories and practices related to
contemporary games development. Game chosen for the research is FIFA 21 which had been
developed and published by Electronic Arts, an American Video game company.
Task 3
P5 Impact of culture, technology and society in designing a specific game
FIFA 21 is a simulation video game and is part of the FIFA series. It was developed by
American company and banks upon the popularity of the football in UK to got promoted as one
of the most loved video-game in the world. Digital world aided by technology is increasingly
becoming global (Sherrick and Schmierbach, 2016). Sports is one such factor that brings people
together above their individual culture and societal thinking and FIFA is one such event that
truly represents global culture. This was the thinking that lead to development of FIFA series.
Company used advanced technology to convert football tournament to digitalised version. People
are able to play their favourite footballer which arouse their interest to try game. Its user friendly
interface, easy navigation and multi modality feature has all necessary features to be popular
among the users.
P6 Relationship between video game promotion and social and cultural context
FIFA 21 is part of FIFA legacy and all its promotional strategies are designed around
soccer lovers. Kylian Mbappe is the face of FIFA 21 in all its promotional campaigns and
advertisement and also, appears on the front cover of the series. Football is popular all over the
UK and has been become part of the society. Therefore, company promotes the game using
socio-cultural impact FIFA has on mind of the people. It is promoted as an opportunity for
everyone to play in FIFA and to be part of the legacy. Team sports interest people, helping it to
become one of the fastest selling video-game in UK since, its release in October 2020. It uses
digital marketing and organises international competitions of its own to integrate different
cultures into an online football culture, to boost its popularity (Osmanovic and Pecchioni, 2016).
3

Task 4
P7 Presentation of research, analysis and conclusion
Video games are played using electronic media and is referred to as medium that makes
use of visual interaction and experience (Brunt, King and King, 2020). Games are popular form
of art and media is the medium through which interactions happen between various users of that
medium. It was analysed that FIFA is an appropriate medium that is capable of collecting,
distributing and driving social reactions of any culture. It presents fantasy, narration and slice-of
life in an artistic manner that are narrative and easy to experience and understand by the user.
Therefore, they are capable of proving an effective manner to create inter-cultural awareness and
these issues create opportunities for industry to connect better with society and attract more and
more customers.
P8 Theories and practices of contemporary games development
Video game industry is whole business set up that includes developing, marketing and
monetising video games. Theories attached to it are collectively known as video game theory and
includes film and television theory, game studies, computer science, media theory, performance
theory and various other theories (Muriel and Crawford, 2018). For example - Game theory – it
is mathematical exploration of human behaviour. It studies conflict and cooperation between
users to break down every possible decision by each user and their outcome. Rewards and losses
are then calculated for each combination which is known as distilled decision/reward matrix. It is
used by video game developers to develop a balanced game which will have the probability of
developing most perfect game which provides balanced opportunity to everyone of winning.
This helps make even possibility to create FIFA event that is capable of creating a game where
any team can win championship.
Conclusion
From above report, it can be understood that during development of a video game, a style
is identified, a gameplay is decided and then product is developed to take further decisions about
it promotional materials. It was observed that technology, society and culture impact the video-
game development at all the stages and have both positive and negative impact over the society.
4

References
Books and Journal
Brunt, C.S., King, A.S. and King, J.T., 2020. The influence of user-generated content on video
game demand. Journal of Cultural Economics. 44(1). pp.35-56.
Muriel, D. and Crawford, G., 2018. Video games as culture: considering the role and importance
of video games in contemporary society. Routledge.
Osmanovic, S. and Pecchioni, L., 2016. Beyond entertainment: Motivations and outcomes of
video game playing by older adults and their younger family members. Games and
Culture. 11(1-2). pp.130-149.
Sherrick, B. and Schmierbach, M., 2016. The effects of evaluative reviews on market success in
the video game industry. The Computer Games Journal. 5(3). pp.185-194.
5