Posts Tagged ‘New Media’

A design for a virtual world which combined elements of cinema, video game and art installation, created through a collaboration between a group of disabled artists and Onteca, involving an extensive training element.

Occuring between 2002 and 2004, this project originated as a training programme and period of development meetings involving a group of Disabled artists and Onteca. One element was the provision of training in new media production techniques for some of the disabled artists involved. This training was in basic skills such as image manipulation and video editing, more advanced skills such as 3D modelling and video compositing.

The eventual project, as conceived by the group, was a virtual game world where insects that incarnated certain personality types (such as aggression, or calmly hardworking, or carefree) would clash in a virtual environment. This environment would be projected on the wall of a space and the game would be controlled by the audience positioning themselves within that space. Advice would be delivered by three ‘Fates’, pieces of video designed to sync with the action of the game and projected on the ceiling.

Games are about having fun. They are about history, maths, art and IT, as well.

This Key Stage 4 engagement project is being delivered by Onteca, a professional Video Games Design and New Media Company, so it will be about skills that are useful in industry. This is not an academic course, it is very much practical. Written skills aren’t important. Student reports can be given in the form of Video Diary.

Stage One of the course involves playing a lot of video games. Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Games, that teach all sorts of interpersonal communication skills and good IT basics. Supervised and facilitated by Onteca.

Stage Two is to get the young people thinking about what makes a good video game. To learn some design skills used by industry professionals, in a fun and easy way, with lots of in-game examples. By the end of this stage a Bronze Arts Award will be achieved by all those participating.

Stage Three involves the young people actually making a game environment. Putting their own designs, idea and artwork inside a computer game. This will be accredited at NVQ Level 1 or with a Silver Arts Award.

This project would consist two days a week – Mondays and Tuesdays, at Discovery Community Learning Center. Onteca has experience of working with young people from challenging backgrounds.

Register interested young people with Lynn Struve on 0151 346 6734. Contact Max Zadow from Onteca on 0151 709 0028 or see www.onteca.com for details.

An exciting new course is being launched in the Wirral that provides training in the very latest techniques in website and New Media production.

During 2004 media commentators started talking about something called ‘Web 2.0′: a new, different Internet that is already here, already evolving in front of our eyes. Taking advantage of the fact that Broadband Internet connections allow video, images and built in games as standard for websites, a whole new generation of exciting web-sites have conquered the online world. This course gives Wirral residents the skills to take advantage of this new wave of Internet expansion.

Onteca, a professional New Media Company based in Liverpool, has been given some European Social Fund support to deliver top-of-the-range training for people in areas of the Wirral. This training is for the Pathways Areas of Wirral, which includes a large proportion of the Wirral’s residents. Check with Onteca to confirm you are eligible. Onteca are interested in all sorts of people for the course. Obviously this would suit people with an interest in computers, New Media and games, but those with an ability in art, photography or writing will also be provided with a practical outlet for their talent.

The course is free, doesn’t effect benefits and there will be a solid qualification at the end. Even those who have to leave early (for instance, for work reasons) will get credits for elements of the course taken. Some financial support for travel and childcare is also available. It will be two days a week at venues across the area and Discovery Community Learning Centre, a state-of-the-art facility on the Wirral.

As well as teaching people how to make their own websites, this course will give a condensed guide to the new ‘Rich Media’ sites, and how to achieve the same results. Elements of the course will outfit people on how to make basic video games, animations and films for the Internet, with room for further specialisation later. Onteca has a breadth of knowledge of the local media and New Media scene and can guide people towards appropriate career choices based on what they have most enjoyed in the Web Learning 2.0 course.

At time of writing (June 2007), the first intake are just approaching the end of their course. It seems likely all will get a level 3 NVQ, and some already have been offered paid work in a relevant area. We are proud of what they have achieved, and look forward to following their careers as they go from strength to stength. We are recruiting now for the next run, to be delivered both in Noctorum and Birkenhead. Contact max@onteca.com for more details.

Onteca has been blogging for some months now, with lots of insight into games and new media production. With two games in production, and a constant process of research and development backing up our future activity, it might be worth a look. Only solid ‘news’ will make it onto the front page from now on, still the ephemera of creativty and ongoing business may amuse.