Product Placement in Homefront Is About Verisimilitude

[AvsJoe]

I find the fake ads much better, as it shows developer creativity & humor in many cases.

I'm with Onyx. Humourous companies and ads may pull away from the game a bit, but the laughs make up for it.

Besides, who doesn't love McBurger Kong?

That is better than Kentucky Fried Panda! Which game is it from?

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 and it's Yuri's Revenge expansion. I don't know if it makes an appearance in other C&C games.

 

[Murmillos]

I can't tell if Rex Dickson is stupid, trolling us or perhaps just a bit tired from game development; but he says in one breath, "Almost everbody rejects us" but then attempts to call out MW2 in the next.. "they had to use a fake brand - they sucked."

Umm. perhaps did it escape your mind that being invaded by Russia is perhaps no different then being invaded by Korea.

IW for MW2
BK & McD: What is your game is about?
IW: Russia invading the US.
BK & McD: Not interested!
IW: Darn.. Burger Town it is.

Kaos for Homefront
Unnamed-brands: What is your game is about?
Kaos: Korea invading the US.
Unnamed-brands: Not interested
Kaos: HARR HARR - you hear that MW2? Your immersion sucks!

 

[Hungry Donner]

If there were a lot of real brands I think it would be momentarily jarring (it's hardly something common in games) but I think it would work well in the long run - but if there are only a few I'm skeptical that it would have much impact.

I like fictional brands, as do many other people in this thread. I do tend to play games that aren't contemporary so the fictional brands add to an already obviously fictional setting *shrug*

When it comes to in-game brands and advertising I think what really matters is making sure they fit the setting. I can no longer remember the game but there was some FPS that was infamous for having Sprite adds in North Korean military bases - stuff like that hurts the game and it's counter-productive for advertising.

 

[notyouraveragejoe]

The Burger Town thing did break immersion for me a little bit. But if a game is good enough gameplay wise product placement shouldn't matter that much. Lets see how this plays out...could be a great idea.

 

[Murmillos]

uh... that was odd. My post when to the wrong thread..

 

[Numb1lp]

I think this is an interesting concept, and would love to see some real brands in my game.

 

[Woodsey]

Yeah, having McDonald's or Burger King in the game would actually break my immersion more than seeing "Burger Town" in the game.

Agreed.

Also: this is a game where North Korea manages to invade and occupy the US. I don't think believability really matters at this point.

 

[King_Serpent]

I guess it could be helpful for immersion.

[small]You know, if the plot wasn't already masturbatory neo-con bullshit.[/small]

great job judging a game before its out.

I'm not judging the gameplay or the overall experience of the game. I have no idea what those elements will be like (they could be fantastic), but I do know the plot. And it's ridiculous.

It seems so pointless to put so much work into making the game immersive and realistic when they're still going to have North Korea conquer Asia and invade the US. And it's written by the author of Red Dawn.

No you don't no the story elements and the guy also wrote apocalypse now which is a great movie. premises do not make the message of a movie remember that. Have you even seen "apocalypse now" one of the greaest movies of all time. At least thats my opinion. Oh and I think it is neo conservative to think that America is impossible to take down. If China did join North Korea (i do believe China would be the leader in that situation). Never judge something you haven't seen.

 

[NLS]

Doesn't really matter to me if there are in-game advertisements for real-life products, as long as they don't shove it right up in your face.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

Don't talk to me about verisimilitude when you have North Korea invading the US.

Maybe they should've stuck with China, but no, don't want to ruffle any feathers.

I'm really tired of people of saying that they should've stuck with China, because it doesn't matter, people would still be complaining about the story and saying "China can't take over, the U.S is their biggest customer!".

 

[Murmillos]

Don't talk to me about verisimilitude when you have North Korea invading the US.

Maybe they should've stuck with China, but no, don't want to ruffle any feathers.

I'm really tired of people of saying that they should've stuck with China, because it doesn't matter, people would still be complaining about the story and saying "China can't take over, the U.S is their biggest customer!".

Not unless we are broke (the whole premises of Homefront) and can no longer buy their stuff, then I'm sure they would be angry.

 

[KOPRULU]

What weirds me out is that they went around asking for permission. You don't need the trademark holder's permission if the trademark is appearing in the background of a game, movie, etc. It's like if singers rhyme a brandname in a song, they doesn't need to pay the brand's owner royalties!

Here's a statement by Phillip Morris demonstrating that the trademark owner has no rights over the mere dispaly of a their brand name, logo or products... in fact Phillip Morris is basically *pleading* with the entertainment industry:

Unfortunately, the fact that we do not engage in product placement does not mean that our brands are never shown. Some producers and directors choose to depict our brands in their work without our permission. But we are limited in our ability to stop all displays of our brands because federal and state trademark laws, as well as the U.S. Constitution, protect freedom of expression and the "fair use" of trademarks in works such as movies and television shows. Our position is clear ? we do not want our brands or brand imagery depicted in movies and television shows. The unauthorized use of our brands and brand imagery perpetuates the misunderstanding among some that we pay or are otherwise responsible for these depictions, which is simply not the case. We strongly encourage the movie studios to eliminate references to or depictions of our brands.

(link: http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/cms/Products/Cigarettes/Marketing_Sales/Product_Placement/default.aspx)

What's prohibited is trying pass off your goods as those of the trademark holders... display has never been an issue, since no one will think that if a computer game has a McDonalds in its levels that the game was made by McDonalds!

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Fake ads are good, real ads are bad, they do not add to immersion. Good gameplay is the only vehicle necessary for immersion, everything else is fluff. The original Duke Nukem 3d was more immersive than Doom 3 because Duke was actually fun. Doom 3 was a contrived tech demo.

Let your writers out of their pen, they probably have hundreds of fake brand and ad ideas that will help the game. Product placement is teh suck.

 

[RelexCryo]

A quick survey of the The Escapist offices agrees with Dickson that having one or two real brands pop up in Homefront might do more to crush immersion than if all the brands were fictional. I commend Dickson for trying, but I'm not sure that mixing between the fictional and real will create the desired effect. On the other hand, Homefront's somewhat unfamiliar 2027 setting might help in selling the mix a little better.

Wait, are you saying real brands mixed in with fake ones would do more to crush immersion, or that having all real(or fake) brands do more to crush immersion.

As for me, real brands would help. I always find fake brand stuff to be rather silly, and disconnecting. It wouldn't feel like the US without a McDonalds on every corner of the street.

The town I currently live in, San Bernardino, is where McDonalds originated. Despite this fact, there is only one within walking distance. They have heavy competition from Carls Jr., El Pollo Loco, Burger King, KFC, Jack in the Box, Quiznos, Togos, Weinerschitzel, an IHOP, two Independent Mexican Resturaunts that servers burgers/fries, some independent french sandwhich place, and a Subway. And that is only counting burger/sandwhich places. There is also a Coldstone, many Pizza places, A donut place, and some vegetarian thing.

Keep in mind, this is just walking distance. It's like McDonald's home town is being invaded by a coalition of other fast food establishments, or something.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

Don't talk to me about verisimilitude when you have North Korea invading the US.

Maybe they should've stuck with China, but no, don't want to ruffle any feathers.

I'm really tired of people of saying that they should've stuck with China, because it doesn't matter, people would still be complaining about the story and saying "China can't take over, the U.S is their biggest customer!".

Not unless we are broke (the whole premises of Homefront) and can no longer buy their stuff, then I'm sure they would be angry.

You're saying that they would invade us if we stopped buying from them? They are much more likely to find other buyers than invade us.

Besides, both China and America would be badly hurt if we stopped being each others customers.

 

[bob1052]

I guess it could be helpful for immersion.

[small]You know, if the plot wasn't already masturbatory neo-con bullshit.[/small]

great job judging a game before its out.

I'm not judging the gameplay or the overall experience of the game. I have no idea what those elements will be like (they could be fantastic), but I do know the plot. And it's ridiculous.

It seems so pointless to put so much work into making the game immersive and realistic when they're still going to have North Korea conquer Asia and invade the US. And it's written by the author of Red Dawn.

'

You clearly do not know the plot. You know a one sentence summation that skips every important aspect of the plot.

On topic: when I say Burger Town, I laughed. Fake ads are retarded and people who cannot tell the difference between advertising and using real brands in a story set in a real world are equally as stupid.

 

[Murmillos]

Don't talk to me about verisimilitude when you have North Korea invading the US.

Maybe they should've stuck with China, but no, don't want to ruffle any feathers.

I'm really tired of people of saying that they should've stuck with China, because it doesn't matter, people would still be complaining about the story and saying "China can't take over, the U.S is their biggest customer!".

Not unless we are broke (the whole premises of Homefront) and can no longer buy their stuff, then I'm sure they would be angry.

You're saying that they would invade us if we stopped buying from them? They are much more likely to find other buyers than invade us.

Besides, both China and America would be badly hurt if we stopped being each others customers.

You missed the humor. its k tho.

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

"We are not actually getting paid to put these brands into the game. This is us going to [brands]. They ask us what our game is about, and we say, 'Korea invading the US.' They say, 'Not interested,'" Dickson said with a laugh. "We've been rejected by so many companies that we've almost abandoned the idea due to the lack of interest."

I feel even better knowing that the likes of Ronald McDonald, The Colonel, Wendy, Jared, or the Stalker King also rejected the premise of Korea invading the United States. *giggles*



I don't believe that made-up brands alone ruin immersion, especially if used properly as a backdrop to convey a sense of location rather than be the sense of location. Culture is defined by more than just franchises; getting a more "local" feel that makes the player feel like before the conflict people were hanging out at their favorite New York pizza place on the corner passed down through generations in one family. Or perhaps going through a town one notices the small nuances that actually distinguish towns like a small park and memorial, some niche shops, variations in homes of different income levels, and regional architecture.

Subdivisions alone would prove a problem for myself because most games depict the same tired facsimile that I personally can never relate to because it does not reflect the shifts in architectural style of the present age. The fact that this game takes place in the "near future" or whatever further creates a need to show some ingenuity just for the average home to not appear like a copy and paste from so many other games.

Although now this as me wondering why "Burger Town" would be worse than "Burger King for Homefront when the developers (or someone related to the game) stated that the topic is not just another "America vs. Country X" game, but something all walks of people could relate to? Or is Homefront going to be so otherwise generic in its depiction of America that only a Micky D's could salvage the pretense held by urban or suburban monotony of being in the US?

 

[Mysnomer]

-snip-

I can't speak for everyone else, but my issue with the game is not that it has an "out there" premise. It's that they are combining this ludicrous premise with a desperate attempt at presenting it as reality. I think the global perspective and justifications should have been abandoned in pursuit of a more personal look at the invasion.

As to Modern Warfare 2, I will also state, for anyone who hasn't considered it yet, that MW2 is a parody. Like the best of satire (A Modest Proposal), too few people get the joke. And finally, those who say Burgertown broke their immersion did not hole up in the freezer or on the roof with a buddy and a stockpile of weapons. I didn't need someone fabricate immersion for me, I built it myself, and Burgertown will live on in my memories.

PS: That insight into the political motivations of Milius is interesting. It doesn't salvage the terrible marketing for Homefront, but it gives me hope that the actual narrative will outgrow the idiocy we're seeing now.

 

[XT inc]

The only things that kind of crush immersion for me are the god mode labeled products. I might as well wear Coca Cola body armor because god knows it can't be destroyed or defaced in anyway or void be the money contract.

Free publicity is free publicity, just let them interact with your product in the same manner of anything else in the game world, its only weird seeing gleaming clean product placement of our time in the post apoc future.