Applying the cube to E-line ventures
by Mark Reed
http://www.elineventures.com E-line ventures.com is a venture dedicated to the creation of digital entertainment that engages and empowers.
According to their website E-Line is currently developing several original games and comics. The focus for these projects is to be fun, relevant and make meaningful impact in the areas of learning, health and youth empowerment.
At this time the strength of this venture is in the personnel the E-Line team features. Described as "seasoned executives who've helped build some of the world's leading game and digital comic franchises as well as social entrepreneurs who are committed to harnessing popular media for impact."
Face 1: Market Focus
- Public schools (K- 12) Although the concept of gaming is not exclusive to young people aged K-12 there seems to be a strong base for interest from this group based on the statistics quoted on the eline website (stated below but not supported by a documented source) and through personal experience of how many young people gravitate to and enjoy computer based gaming environments.
97% of kids in America play computer & video games
86 million gamers visited casual gaming sites in December, 2008
The game industry is a $30+ billion global business that experienced 20% growth in 2008, despite the down economy.
There are approximately 100 million Nintendo DS handheld game machines and 50 million Nintendo Wii consoles which offer great opportunities for family friendly gameplay.Face 2: Types of Offerings – Services/Content
"Talkers and Doers" is one example of a game designed to empower youth who are at risk for dropping out of school and give them tools and motivation to become young entrepreneurs. This game seeks to utilize fun and relevant gameplay with the integration of real- world mentors, opportunities and resources. This company seems to be going through a morph as indicated by the soon to be released sections of their website "view all eline game projects" and "view all eline comic projects". From my review I cannot determine if this project is open to creating games/comics for their customers or if they do market research to inform them of what gaming/comic content development would be the most marketable. I am presuming the later although they may be open to original projects if adequately compensated. Also I am presuming that the games are web based requiring adequate infrastructure and computers to run them.
Face 3: Who is the Buyer? – Learning bought Centrally – Local Guide offers to Learners My interest in gaming environments would be to provide engaging and valuable learning experiences to my students. According to the website for E-line the following list are examples of organizations or groups for whom games with real-world impact can significantly accelerate their mission and outreach:
Corporations (CSR)
E- line does not give an adequate explanation for how these groups would utilize their services. They are marketing a service for building customized content but evaluation of how well a product is accomplishing the goals set out by the customer needs to be addressed.
Face 4 – Global Markets – Wired Anglophone Countries Potentially this product could be used anywhere a computer had adequate memory and processing to run the game program (assuming it is not net based) but if having adequate internet support is a requirement the market would be restricted.
Face 5 – Development of the Market – Market Only Supports Custom work or Indigenous Suppliers The market for this product seems to be extremely competitive and based on the customer's ability to buy the product. A game simulation can be adapted for other countries and culture and may be valuable in terms of a basic model but could easily be ripped apart and rebuilt as a clone of the original product. Therefore, this company needs to work where copyright laws will protect the content of the game/comic.
Face 6 – Learning Technology Competing with Other Forms of Learning A key element for this learning technology is the appeal that games and comics hold for young students. Currently both forms of learning are elements of popular culture. Why Nintendo would not start to develop this type of product should it become lucrative enough seems to be answered in that different potential customers may require unique elements and circumstances to be included in their learning product (game or comic) to maximize it's effectiveness. This could be accomplished but there is not a clear formula as to what the costs would be. Also programs such as comic life allow students to create their own comics, which is a more extensive learning process then taking in a comic that has already been prepared.
1 Greg Lewis { 09.24.09 at 7:51 am }
Very relevant thought on copyright and whether there are laws to protect a company. Gaming is certainly an area where other companies would rip off ideas etc without a second thought. New company for me which was interesting. Thanks,
Also…your thoughts on it being an online experience and speed resonate strongly as many schools struggle with bandwidth issues. The last bit mentions the student making the comic vs. a prepared one – again, like you, see this as an issue if it takes a long time for the creation of a comic.
3 James Richardson { 09.25.09 at 9:00 am }
Personally, I like the principle of educational gaming. It looks like Eline is a pretty new venture as the examples of Comics and Games is not currently populated. Lots of potential but competition and corporate experience would be a concern for me as a EVA. Cheers, Jim