free choice media text: Overwatch 2/10/2016

Name of the text: Overwatch

Released: May 24th 2016


Discovered it online and purchased a copy in august

Primary purpose: entertainment
(it is also a rather competitive game therefore it could be argued that it fulfils a need for status)

Institution: Blizzard entertainment

Target audience: It's target audience is generally people aged 14 - 34 because it is a first person shooter, a genre not as popular in older groups, in addition to it having a 12+/teen age rating. I Don't believe it is targeted towards men as there is a wide diversity between the characters; therefore almost everyone can find a character they can identify with.

My reaction to the text: My reaction to the text is very positive because I enjoy the well-polished gameplay and emphasis on teamwork. The characters are well designed, visually and mechanically, and there is enough diversity in play styles that there is something for everyone (even if you have poor shooting skills/reflexes).

I do have several gripes with the game: for one I am not a fan of the micro-transaction model because it relies on randomness and duplicates in order to make cosmetic items more scarce, and therefore encouraging people to buy more loot boxes. The majority of "free to play" games use Micro-transactions to generate revenue, and considering you get to play those games for free I generally have no problem with it; but in Overwatch you have to pay upfront for the game and it provides a lack of rewards for progression/good play. Instead of providing these cosmetic items (that were in the game from launch) as unlocks for player accomplishments, you can only unlock them by opening the singular loot box you get per level up (if you don't want to buy more loot boxes that is). this gets frustrating at higher levels as it takes longer and longer to level up, So the frequencies at which you get rewarded for play decreases overtime.

Why would people consume the text: Some may argue that people may consume the text for escapism as the world and lore of Overwatch centres around acts of heroism and determination. For the vast majority of characters their is no moral grey ground, simply good guys and bad guys. Some may consume it in order to fit in because it is currently a very popular game with an active and prominent community; I picked up the game because several of my friends were playing it, but now that I have played it I find the product enjoyable in it's own right.

Different reactions to the text: Some people may believe that the game is simply flaunting it's diverse cast of characters as a selling point and trying to hop on the competitive gaming bandwagon.

Others may just be interested in the lore/characters of Overwatch while having very little interest in the gameplay, possibly due to them disliking first person shooters or highly competitive games.