Brian Alves Reality TV Final Paper

1) 1-Up 2) The concept of the show is to find the best multiplayer video game players in the country in order to create a super clan (or group) of elite gamers. 3) Put up or get owned! Would be the log line. 4) One of the key themes would be friendship. In any reality show there are bonds created between housemates. This show would be no different. Another theme would be overcoming adversity and the odds, as well as striving to become better. 5) Like the concept said, this is a show about video games and finding the best players, much like American Idol finds the best singers. Since some people are better at certain games than others, the team would have to consist of balanced players with a specialty in each genre of games.

6) Treatment: The show would be hosted by a B-List celebrity much like other shows. There will also be a panel of judges who critique players based on not only their performances, but their actions as well. These judges will be selected from some of the industrys top names in game development. The contestants will live underneath the same household and at the end of every episode there will be two eliminations.

As previously stated, the contestants will be judged based on their skills and their actions. However, being effective on a team requires certain skill sets. The contestant could be the best player on the show but if he cannot function in a team and cooperate with his/her fellow members, than they will not make it through the challenge. The show will capture a lot of intense moments not only during games but in the household as well. Egos and emotions often get involved when it comes to gaming, and as you can imagine, there will be many altercations and tempers flaring. The contestants will be of a wide variety of different races and backgrounds, mostly males but a few females will be participating as well. The participants that make it into the clan will receive fifty thousand dollars each, as well as win themselves a spot as an official team in Major League Gaming, which is an actual professional organization for video games. 7) 7 Episodes

Episode #1: In the first episode we meet all of the contestants. We understand that they all had to undergo a series of preliminary challenges in order to be granted access onto the show. Not only did they have to pass these challenges, but their statistics and records had to be above average and fit a certain standard to even be invited on the show. The contestants are shown their rooms and exchange pleasantries and they are also shown the game room where they will be playing, with many high definition TVs, consoles, and high-end PCs. Episode #2: The second episode starts off with a bang. The host calls the contestants to the briefing room, which is the room where the contestants will be told their challenges and duties, and he explains to them that there will be two eliminations to start off. The game is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and the players are randomly selected to teams. They all play 5 rounds of

mission with different objectives, then, they are split and it is every man for himself for another 5 rounds. After the 10 rounds are finished, the scores for each player are added up and calculated. Keep in mind that the judges are also watching the games take place. After the challenge ends, the judges gather in the Hall of Legends and discuss what they saw. While the judges are going over the results of the game, the contestants are having their own discussion about how they think they did and many of them express feelings of nervousness and anxiety. After the judges finish conferring, they call the contestants to the Hall of Legends and announce the two eliminations. Episode #3: Episode 3 starts off slower than the previous episode. The contestants are rewarded with a visit to one of the top developers in the world, Rockstar Games, known for making the Grand Theft Auto series, Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, and many others. After seeing first hand what its like to work on a video game, the contestants report back to the house and relax a bit before the next challenge. This time, the game is Battlefield 3. Once again, they are split into teams and thrown into 5 rounds of an objective based game where one team has to plant a bomb and the other team has to defuse it before it goes off. After the game, the judges confer and announce two more eliminations. Episode #4: The next episode starts off with the host summoning the contestants to the lounge, where a major announcement is unveiled. The players will be assigned to specific teams for the next few games, encouraging them to create friendships among people who they would normally avoid, as well as encourage them to begin implementing specific strategies against the other teams. In other words, they would have to gameplan. The next game is Halo 3, where 5 rounds were played consisting of different objectives. After 2 more eliminations, there is much debate between the contestants. Some worked very well

together, while others had opposite results and began to point the finger. It is obvious that people are beginning to become frustrated. Episode #5: Episode 5 begins on a somber note. One of the contestants reveals that he had a death in the family and must leave in order to attend the ceremonies. He is made aware that if he does leave it means that he is out of the competition. He agrees to the terms and says his goodbyes. Due to the circumstances, there will not be an elimination this episode. The contestants have some time to themselves and discuss their own personal lives, while other players spend time practicing in the gameroom. Episode #6: The host calls the contestants to the lounge, where he explains that the most successful team in the last challenge gets to have some control this time around. Not only do they get to choose what game to play, but they can also choose whether or not they want to play team versus team or one versus one, two versus two, and so on so forth. The contestants have a few hours before they have to announce their decision, so the winning team weighs out their options and decides to pick a game that they feel confident about. When the time comes, they announce that the game will be Madden 12 and they select one of the strongest players from a rival team because they think that Madden is one of his weaker games. They also happen to select their own player who is very skilled at the game. However, their plan backfires and their teammate loses in a very closely-contested game. This sparks anger amongst the two teams and they have to be separated by the other two groups. The contestant who lost is eliminated by the judges, who also warn that next time both players will be eliminated if another altercation occurs.

Episode #7: In this episode, the elimination process changes. With four groups left due to the unforeseen events of episode 5, one team has to be completely eliminated. The game for this episode is once again Halo 3, with 5 rounds of team deathmatch. The team with the lowest overall score in 5 rounds will face elimination. After several great battles the game finally ends, and the weakest team is removed from the show. However, there is more. The host tells everyone that the judges have demanded for a one on one challenge between the two players on the remaining teams with the two lowest scores. The two contestants happen to be on the same team and are also very good friends, making this challenge more interesting and even harder than they imagined. The game is Mortal Kombat, and after an intense 5 fights, both players embrace one another, the loser in tears. He is sent home. Final Episode: The teams are disbanded and it is back to every man for himself. The host announces that with 10 players left, only 6 can remain after today and those 6 will be the winners. Therefore, a sort of triathalon of games is created. The games selected by the judges are Uncharted 3, Modern Warfare 3, and Gears of War 3. 5 rounds each, with different objectives, all to be assessed by the judges. After they confer for the final time, a decision is made. The final four are sent home, and they crown the 6 remaining contestants with plaques shaped like video game controllers, as well as their checks for fifty thousand dollars and their own team jerseys with their specific nicknames.

9) I think my show would be successful because it blends two things that people like, one being video games and the other being reality television. Some researchers have found that

shows involving some sort of competition tend to be the most popular among viewers. In that same study, suspenseful programming was also at the top of the list, but since competitive shows can be just as suspenseful they may also be included in the results. Unkindess was another choice in the survey that was conducted and it was placed towards the middle of the pack. Since competitive programs can often cause tempers to flare and people to be wary of each other, usually anything can happen (Nabi, 2007). The program would also have a strong presence online, as the video game community is very technology savvy. It also is known that viewers who watch reality programming look towards other media in order to learn more about shows, as well as catch up on episodes they may have missed, etc (Krakowiak, 2007). 10) Think of the show as The Tester, which was a competition for video game testers that is only available through Sonys Playstation Network, meets The Ultimate Fighter. The Ultimate Fighter on average had an audience of 1.3 million viewers per week, and the season finale drew in 3.4 million. 11) Citations

Nabi, Robin L. "Determining Dimensions Of Reality: A Concept Mapping Of The Reality TV Landscape." Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 51.2 (2007): 371-390. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 17 Dec. 2011 Krakowiak, K. Maja, Christine Kleck, and Mina Tsay. "Redefining Reality TV: Exploring Viewers' Perceptions Of Nine Subgenres." Conference Papers -- International Communication Association (2006): 1-26. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.