Video Game To Movie Cross Media Film Studies Essay

Video Game To Movie Cross Media Film Studies Essay Following the Teaser Show the benefits, its about selling your service. If the service allows them to win money this should be clear, if its of a narrative experience then the teaser, should have that inherent embedded into it. Reeling Them In- You need to constantly appeal to your audience and give a sense that your service is worth spending more time in. This is where meticulous planning of phased releases of story fragments across the media channels comes into its own. To some extent this is no different from a series editor/writer who has to arc each episodes narrative to keep them coming back for more. 2.2.4 Breaking the Fourth Wall Usually seen as an ad or end credit sequence where the voice over tells you why it is worth your while to carry on somewhere else with them. Breaks the fourth wall but is a clear directive. 2.2.5 Parallel Dimension There is something on another platform running synchronous to the one you are watching. Such as watching football on TV, while listening to Radio 5, because I prefer a more in-depth commentary. Now of course there are many other parallel channels. Web, mobile and TV all running along with each other. I am more and more involved with parallels between real and virtual worlds. The techniques to draw audiences into these experiences are often inherent in the service such that if you are on one you can actually see the other one taking place. 2.2.6 On Their Own The expectation from the audience that there will be other media elsewhere drives their journey through the story. The technique here is the hardest to identify but it follows the same technique of designing a physical hunt. You hide things, dont give easy clues and then set the ground rules. They expect something on all platforms and this is where the term cross-media will eventually become redundant. All properties will have something on all platforms, the same way DVDs now all have extras. If they have enjoyed cross-media experiences from you before they will come back. It is about trust, being consistent and giving them a media world to play in. 2.3 Franchise A franchise is a property which involves characters, settings and trademarks of original media. This can be a film, a piece of literature a TV program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, and multiple sequels are often planned well in advance. The most famous franchise to use Cross-Media Narrative is the Star Wars Saga, since its creation in 1977 it still expands its universe to the present day (2010). It consists of 6 feature films, and has since been extended, to more films, radio films, books, comic books, Animated TV series and also Video Games. Star Wars is an epic science fiction franchise conceived by George Lucas. It is best known for its 6 feature films, this consisted of two trilogies, the original trilogy and then the prequel trilogy. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, by 20th Century Fox, and it became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, the film spawned two immediate sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the first trilogys final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released, again released at three-year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2005. Other Media, in which the Star Wars film series has spawned, includes books, a TV series, video games, and comic books. All of this supplements to the film trilogies and comprises the Star Wars Expanded Universe, which is an umbrella term for officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the six feature films and keeps the franchise going in the interim between the film trilogies. In 2008, a 7th film was released to theaters, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and it was the first ever worldwide theatrical Star Wars film outside of the main trilogies. It was the franchises first animated film, and was created as an introduction to the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a CGI animated series. Since the creation Star Wars in 1977, the franchise keeps on expanding and each type of media created still stays within the Star Wars timeline of events taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before Episode 1: The Phantom Menace to 140 years after Episode 6: Return of the Jedi. George Lucas retains artistic control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes efforts to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across companies. George Lucas has played a large role in the production of various television projects, usually serving as storywriter or executive producer, as mentioned in Pablo Hidalgos article From EU to Episode II: Aayla Secura. Star Wars has had a number of radio adaptations, such as A New Hope which was first broadcast on National public radio in 1981(StarWars.com 2010) Since the creation Star Wars in 1977, so many different types of media have been created, even now there is currently the idea of a Blu-ray release and 3D release of the trilogies, all of this keeps the Star Wars franchise alive. As you can see the Star Wars franchise is so huge and successful it is a prime example of how cross-media narrative is used and been effective. Other successful franchises are Indiana Jones, Batman, Superman, X-Men and others. Now is this purely for the viewers benefit or is it for financial profit for the studio. This is what I hope to find out. 3 Types of Cross-Media Currently the main types of cross-media are TV shows that have been made into films and also TV shows that have created webisodes. Also I will show films that have spawned video games and video game that have spawned films. I will cover all these topics in this section, giving examples of franchises that have expanded there universe, a quick example being how Batman has gone on to make films, video games, cartoons, TV series, comics etc. 3.1 TV Shows made into Films Now and then certain TV Shows, are that successful that Films are made from the series, a good example of this is Sex and the City, and also the series Police Squad which went on to make the Naked Gun Trilogy. Sex and the City Sex and the City is an American Television series. The original run of the show was broadcast on HBO from 1998 until 2004, for a total of ninety-four episodes. The show was set in New York City, and it focused on four American women, three of them in their mid-thirties and one in her forties. The series had multiple continuing story lines throughout episodes and seasons and it tackled socially relevant issues such as sexually transmitted diseases, safe sex, and promiscuity. It specifically examined the lives of big-city professional women in the late 1990s/early 2000s and how changing roles and expectations for women affected the characters. A feature film based on Sex and the City has been produced. The film originally was slated for production near the end of the broadcast series run in 2004, but the movie deal fell through at that time. The film was later released in 2008 and Michael Patrick King wrote and directed. The four lead actresses returned to reprise their roles, and Chris Noth signed to reprise his role as Mr. Big. The plot of the film revolves around the lives of the four main characters, four years after the time frame of the finale of the series. The films world premiere was in Londons Leicester Square in early May 2008. The film was released on May 28, 2008 in the UK and was released May 30, 2008 in the US with an unprecedented $55.7 million three-day gross. The debut made Sex and the City the top-opening R-rated romantic comedy of all time. Police Squad Police Squad! Was a comedy TV series which was first broadcast in 1982. The show was a spoof of police dramas, packed with visual gags and non sequiturs. Despite critical acclaim, the show was cancelled after just six episodes. However these 6 episodes were enough to gain a strong cult following through repeat broadcasts, and this led to the 1988 film version The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! And two further sequels. Many gags from the show were recycled for the films (Roger Ebert 1988). The film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Performing well at the box office, grossing around $78,756,177 (Box Office Mojo (n, d)).It became a hit comedy, it became so popular that two sequels were created The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear in 1991 and Naked Gun 33à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬Å": The Final Insult in 1994. The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear was considered the most successful of the three, grossing around $86,930,411(Box Office Mojo (n, d)), while Naked Gun 33à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬Å": The Final Insult grossed $51,132,598 (Box Office Mojo (n, d)). Roger Ebert rated the first movie 3 1/2 out of four stars, and gave 3 stars to the two following films. The second film won a Golden Screen award for Best Picture. The creators stated this in a featurette for The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear. 3.2 Films made into Video Games Most films when being created also make video games to accommodate the film. The story is usually similar to the film, we see this in James Camerons Avatar, but this is not always the case as film such as the Indiana Jones franchise, the video games tend to have their own story, just set in the same fictional universe. Avatar James Camerons Avatar is an epic science fiction film. The film is set in the year 2154, when humans are mining a precious mineral called unobtanium on Pandora, a lush moon of gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Navi, a sentient humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The films title refers to the genetically engineered Navi-human hybrid bodies used by a team of researchers to interact with the natives of Pandora. Ubisoft Montreal was chosen by James Cameron to create an Avatar game for the film in 2007. The filmmakers and game developers collaborated heavily, and James Cameron decided to include some of Ubisofts vehicle and creature designs into the film. James Camerons Avatar: The Game was released on December 1, 2009, for most home video game consoles. James Camerons Avatar: The Game is 2009 is a 3rd person action video game. Speaking in an interview with MCV, It was announced by Ubisoft that it will be using the same technology as the film to be displayed in stereoscopic 3D (PSU 2009) Indiana Jones Indiana Jones is a fictional character in the Indiana Jones franchise. The characters full name is Dr. Henry Walton Indiana Jones, Jr and first appeared in Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, is the first of four films, and pits Indiana Jones against the Nazis, who search for the Ark of the Covenant, in an attempt to make their army invincible. The film was to be followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008. Other than the films the Indiana Jones franchise has a TV series, novels, comics, video games, and other media. The character has appeared in many licensed video games the latest being Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, which was released on June 9, 2009 Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings is the third in the series of original 3D Indiana Jones games, preceded by Indiana Jones and the Emperors Tomb, and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. 3.3 Video Games made into Films When certain video games become increasingly popular there has always been speculation about making that game into a film. This is has happened with many games, such as Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Hitman, Prince of Persia, and many others. The films may not always be true to the game but are usually a commercial success. One of the latest films that are under speculation to be made into a film is the PlayStation 3 game Uncharted. Tomb Raider Tomb Raider is a video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. Tomb Raider follows the exploits of Lara Croft, an English female archaeologist in search of ancient treasures kind of like Indiana Jones. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn followed shortly thereafter for MS-DOS and PlayStation versions. Since the release of the original in 1996, the series developed into a lucrative franchise of related media, and Lara went on to become a major icon of the video game industry. The game was commercially and critically successful, and is considered widely influential according to Gamespots article 15 most influential games of all time Gamespot (n. d.). It spawned a number of sequels and a franchise of related media. Six games in the series were developed by Core Design, and the latest three by Crystal Dynamics. To date two movies, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, have been produced starring American actress Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 adventure film which was an adaptation from the Tomb Raider video game series, as it didnt follow the same story as in the game but instead had an entirely new story. A sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life was released in 2003. Hitman Hitman is a stealth game developed by Danish company IO Interactive, now a division of Square Enix. The game series has since expanded into a novel, Hitman: Enemy Within and in 2007 a film was released loosely based on the storyline of the games. IESB has confirmed that 20th Century Fox has hired writer Kyle Ward to pen the script for the sequel to Hitman (IESB 2009) . Adrian Askarieh, Daniel Alter and Chuck Gordon will return as producers. Introducing British actor David Hess and Timothy Olyphant will return as 47 in June of 2010. 3.4 Films made into TV shows When a film has become really popular, it is often made into a TV show, to keep the story and the films universe alive. Star Wars has done this, with creating the animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Also Terminator has done this, by creating Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Star Wars Star Wars is an epic space opera franchise, best known for its 6 feature films; this consisted of two trilogies, the original trilogy and then the prequel trilogy. In 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released, and it was the first ever worldwide theatrical Star Wars film outside of the main trilogies. It was the franchises first animated film, and was intended as an introduction to the series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a 3D CGI animated series based on a previous 2D animated series of a similar name made in 2003. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 3D CGI animated television series. It is set in the fictional Star Wars Galaxy, during the same time period as the previous 2003 series. The show itself takes place from 22 BBY (Before the battle of Yavin) to 20 BBY. Each episode has a running time of 22 minutes, to fill a half-hour time slot. Season 2 premiered on October 2, 2009 and now Star Wars: The Clone Wars has been granted a third season, beginning in October 2010. Terminator The Terminator series is a science fiction franchise encompassing a series of films and ancillary media concerning battles between Skynets artificial intelligent machine network, and John Connors Resistance forces and the rest of the human race. The Terminator is the original film which was released in 1984. The film has been followed by three sequels. The franchise has evolved to one of the most successful franchises of all time (IGN 2006), which includes video games and a TV series. From the success of the franchise, a spin-off was created titled Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles with Lena Headey as Sarah Connor and Thomas Dekker as John Connor. The series, created by Josh Friedman, centers on Sarah and John after Terminator 2 as they try to live under the radar after the explosion at Cyberdyne. Summer Glau plays a female Terminator protecting the Connors. The series premiered on Sunday, January 13, 2008. Production for the series was provided by Terminator 2 and Terminator 3 producers and it consisted of 2 seasons. Season one with nine, 40 minute episodes, and Season two with twenty two, 40 minute episodes. The Terminator Franchise has had a measurable impact on popular culture, most notably James Camerons original films, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The film franchise placed it at 17 on the top 25 greatest film franchises of all time by IGN and is also in the top 25 grossing franchises of all time. 3.5 TV Shows that have created Webisodes Many TV shows have made webisodes lately, these shows include, Heroes, Chuck, and The Office: An America Workplace. Heroes Heroes, is a science fiction TV drama series by Tim Kring that tells the stories of ordinary people who discover extraordinary abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the characters lives. The series emulates the aesthetic style and storytelling of Comic Books, using short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. Since its beginning there have now been 4 seasons and a number of webseries. The first Heroes webseries was released on July 14, 2008 between seasons 2 and 3, called Going Postal. It was a trilogy of online-only videos introducing Echo DeMille, a seemingly ordinary mailman with an extraordinary ability. On November 10, 2008 during Season 3, the second Heroes webseries, Destiny, was released. This webseries is a quadrilogy. A Month after the third Heroes webseries, The Recruit, was released on December 15, 2008. The Recruit introduces Rachel Mills, a marine who survives the explosion at Pinehearst. This follows the finale of volume three. Also in that month the fourth Heroes webseries, Hard Knox, was released. Hard Knox flashes back to 18 months ago, to a time when Matt Parkman knew the villain, Knox, before his abilities began to manifest. Following Hard Knox, Nowhere Man was released in April 2009, and it picked up where the third season leaves off, focusing on the life of Eric Doyle. Then on September 28, 2009, Slow Burn began airing alongside Season 4. It showed behind-the-scenes goings-on of the Sullivan Bros. Carnival as it follows the character of Lydia, revealing she has a pyrokinetic daughter named Amanda who she discovers is in trouble and tries to help. Chuck Chuck is an action-comedy television series created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The show centers around the main character Chuck Bartowski an average computer-whiz-next-door, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working in the CIA; the message embeds the only remaining copy of the worlds greatest spy secrets into Chucks brain. It currently has 3 seasons, and 3 webseries. It has Chuck Versus the Webisodes, which consists of 5 Buy More training videos. Meet the Nerd Herders, which also contains 5 webisodes, each video contains staff from the Buy More, giving their thoughts on specific topics. The third webseries is Morgans Vlog, which is a video blog, it has 4 parts, but the first 3 parts, are Morgan and Chuck on making a movie end a lot quicker, and the fourth episodes is Morgans view on movie villains. The Office: An American Workplace The Office: An American Workplace is an adaptation of the BBC series, The Office a Mockumentary created by Ricky Gervais and Stephan Merchant, the series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. To simulate the look of an actual documentary, it is filmed in a single-camera setup, without a studio audience or any canned laughter. There has currently been 6 webseries, the first being The Accountants which aired between the second and third seasons. The webisodes follow the accountants Angela, Oscar, and Kevin as they try to find out who stole $3,000 from the books. Between the fourth and fifth seasons, the summer webisode series Kevins Loan was released in four weekly episodes, the first premiering on July 10, 2008. Then during the airing of the fifth season, the winter webisode series The Outburst was released in weekly episodes, the first premiering on November 20, 2008. At the conclusion of the fifth season, the summer webisode series Blackmail was released similarly to the previous two, in weekly episodes. During the sixth season, the webisode series Subtle Sexuality aired in its entirety on October 29, 2009. The series focuses on Kelly and Erin forming their own girl group, called Subtle Sexuality. The first two webisodes document the behind-the-scenes aspects and troubles of shooting the music video for their first single Male Prima Donna, while the third and final webisode is the music video itself, which features Ryan as a guest rapper and Andy singing the bridge. Also during the sixth season, the webisode series The Mentor aired in its entirety on March 4, 2010. Erin wants to be an accountant so Angela decides to train her. But, Erins relationship with Kelly turns bad when she spends too much time with Angela. Kelly and Ryan then interfere in Angela and Erins relationship. 4 Financial Successes After seeing how many games are made into films and films are made into games, I wanted to see if financially it is a success. Is it worth expanding the franchise if the financial profit is not there? 4.1 Game to Film Tomb Raider Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Budget $115,000,000 Gross Revenue $274,703,340 (Box Office Guru 2001) Tomb Raider debuted at number one with $48.2 million, giving Paramount its second-best debut and the fourth-highest debut of 2001. It beat the opening record for a film featuring a female protagonist, and it is currently the most successful video game adaptation to date, grossing $300,000,000 worldwide. Cradle of Life Budget $120,000,000 Gross Revenue $156,505,388 Despite its better review, Cradle of Life suffered a disappointing opening weekend, as it debuted in fourth place with a take of $21.7 million (Box Office Mojo 2003) a 55% drop from the originals opening gross of $47.7 million (Box Office Mojo 2001). The film finished with a domestic gross of only $65 million; therefore it had to rely on the foreign box office to make a profit. Its total earnings amounted to $156.5 million, which represented a loss of $118 million when compared to the success of the original; the loss nearly equals the cost of Cradle of Lifes budget alone. Figures for the Tomb Raider movies come from the weekend box office websites, box office mojo and box office guru. Hitman Hitman Budget $23,000,000 Gross Revenue $99,965,792 Hitman opened in 2,458 theaters in the United States and Canada, grossing $13,180,769 in its opening weekend, ranking fourth at the box office. As of July 2, 2008, the film has grossed $39,687,694 (Box Office Mojo (n, d) in the United States and Canada and $60,245,563 in other territories for a worldwide total of $99,933,257. The films DVD sales equal $27,858,148 in the US alone, putting the total profits for Hitman at around $128 million. The figures established from the box office data, on the website the-numbers.com 4.2 Film to Game Avatar James Camerons Avatar videogame has not been as successful as the film; Ubisoft has sold over 1.3 million copies of the game worldwide across all platforms (GamerLive.TV 2010). According to Michael Pachter, video game analyst for webush securities, Ubisoft shipped 2.5 million copies of the game at launch. He also believes that with Blu-ray and DVD releases of the movie there could be another push for the game at retail. But for the most part, the game has sold what its going to sell. He said the poor reviews that Ubisofts game received hurt hardcore gamer sales. 5 Receptions The reception of films and video games has always been vital, as reviews can determine whether a film or game can be successful. I looked at reviews and I also did some user tests, to see if they get involved or not with cross-media so they can try to feel every part of that universe. 5.1 Reviews I shall look at reviews of the two Tomb Raider Films, Hitman film and Avatar: The Game. Tomb Raider (Films) Lara Croft: Tomb Raider The film received generally negative reviews, with rotten tomatoes giving it an approval rating of 19%, with 27 out of 140 critics giving it a positive review all with an average rating of 3.9/10 (Rotten Tomatoes (n, d)). The general consensus is Angelina Jolie is perfect for the role of Lara Croft, but even she cant save the movie from a senseless plot and action sequences with no emotional impact. An unlikely positive review came from Roger Ebert who awarded the film three out of four stars and said, Lara Croft Tomb Raider elevates goofiness to an art form. Here is a movie so monumentally silly, yet so wondrous to look at, that only a churl could find fault. It was controversial for its many objectionable plots like an evil thing in a Hindu temple and breaking statues of a World heritage site. Cradle of Life Cradle of Life received slightly higher reviews than the original, with a 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 151 reviews (Rotten Tomatoes (n, d)) and a 43/100 rating on Metacritic (Metacritic (n, d)). It was described by Salon as a highly enjoyable summer thrill ride (Salon 2003). Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of four stars, stating that the film was better than the first one, more assured, more entertaining..it uses imagination and exciting locations to give the movie the same kind of pulp adventure feeling we get from the Indiana Jones movies (Roger Ebert 2003). Cradle of Life was as heavily panned as its predecessor. Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe wrote, Its a bullet-riddled National Geographic special that produces a series of dumb, dismal shootouts that are so woefully choreographed theres reason to believe Debbie Allen may be behind them (boston.com (n, d)). Hitman (Film) The Hitman film has been almost universally panned by critics. The most common complaints are a lacking, often confusing plot, dry acting and extreme violence. On the film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Hitman has received a rating of 14% based on 98 reviews (Rotten Tomatoes (n, d)). However, film critic Roger Ebert gave it three stars out of four, saying Hitman stands right on the threshold between video games and art. On the wrong side of the threshold, but still, give it credit. On the Metacritic website, the film has received a Metascore of 35 out of 100 based on 22 reviews (Metacritic (n, d)). In 2009, Time listed the film on their list of top ten worst video games movies (Time (n, d)). Avatar (Video Game) Avatar: The Game has received mixed reception. It has been criticized for the games linear gameplay and said its controls are unintuitive and camera sloppy. The Wii version received mediocre scores mostly, having poor camera angling, frame rate and storytelling, but visuals and controls were spoken well of. The PC version garnered a Metascore of 65 on Metacritic (Metacritic (n, d)). On IGN, the game received a score of 5.9 for Wii, and 6.8 for the other consoles (IGN (n, d)). It got a 5.5 on Gamespot for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, while it got a 4.0 for the PSP edition (Gamespot (n, d)). In contrast, according to Meant to be Seen (MTBS), the PC version fared much better with a rating of 8.2 out of 10. Its rationale is PC stereoscopic 3D displays are readily available. The reviewer of MTBS said In a year or two when S-3D gaming is much more common, I really think Avatar: The Game will be a regularly cited example that demonstrates how things should be done and what the artistic potential is behind good 3D gaming (MTBS 2009). Also, Gamesradar.com gave the Wii version a score of 7 out of 10, saying, Youll love that the forest world is lush and nicely realized, fun stealth-focused combat, and an overall a surprisingly decent movie tie-in. However, the site also said that, Youll hate heaps of ugly clipping; control frustrations hamper its stealthy nature, and its repetitive goals (Gamesradar 2009) Indiana Jones (Video Game) Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings has received average reviews from the critics, Metacritic gave it an average of 55% (Metacritic (n, d)) The most universal criticism of the Wii version is the poorly implemented and only partially responsive motion controls. IGN gave it a 5.0/10 praising its interface, graphic effects, amount of extras, interactive levels, and varied gameplay, but criticizing its stupidly implemented motion controls(IGN 2009). The Origin (A.V. Club) gave it an F, a 0 on the Metacritic scale, calling the motion controls inexcusable and stating the games best aspect was the inclusion of the point-and-click adventure Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, further adding it surpasses Staff of Kings in everything, but the Gamecube-like graphics. Gamespot gave it a 3.5/10, criticizing its terribly laid-out checkpoints, out-of-date visuals and atrocious, annoying motion controls (AV Club 2009). 5.2 User Test Next is my User test, I will first outline the test, then analyse the questionnaire. 5.2.1 Outline of test The test consists of a list of questions which will be about which films, games, TV shows, and webisodes, people have seen and if they have seen or played them, because they have seen or played the original game, film, TV show and webisodes, example if you have seen the Avatar film have you played the game. I will try to get 20 people to fill out the questionnaire, and I will then analyse the results. Appendix: 5.2.2 Analysis of Questionnaire After completing my testing, this was the list of my results from the questionnaire that were filled out. I list them in a table with a 1 representing you had seen or played the media, and a 0 representing that you havent. I made the table more visual by highlighting the majority people who had watched or played both types of media from the same franchise. I highlighted the people who had watched the most (more or equal to 7), in terms of 2 of the same franchise, and I also highlighted the franchises which had been seen or played the most (more or equal to 7) this gave me a cross section of which is cross-media works best and which age group it appeals to more. After completing the testing and analyses you can see that majority of the results point at TV shows who expand their franchise, and that it is mainly 22-24 year olds who who follow the franchise. The trend in the age range seems to be if they like a show, they will follow it in different media. I will compare this to reviews to see if it is coincidence or if the reviews are generally responsible for this kind of response. 5.3 Compare Reviews and User Test Comparing the reviews from section 5.1 I looked at with table of results I created I have come to the conclusion, that if the review is bad then more often than not the audience wont go to watch or play that medium. The only exception I came across was Tomb Raider, in which both film reviews were poor, an average of 3.1/10, it still did increasingly well at the box office. There is even talk o

The Impact of International Interest in Afghanistan’s Access to Oil :: Essays Papers

The Impact of International Interest in Afghanistan’s Access to Oil Newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the web: everywhere one turns, the media confronts our society with news concerning Afghanistan. Although September 11th was the peak of Afghanistan’s spotlight in the international media, this event was not the first time that Afghanistan has gained international attention. Beginning with its political relationship with Russia, Afghanistan slowly gained recognition, acknowledgment and even popularity among world powers. Moving towards the present, in which the United States, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, and China are competing for Afghanistan. Why all this commotion over a politically-torn, landlocked, Middle Eastern country? Although each country has several potential interests invested in Afghanistan, all of these nations share the common interest of Afghanistan’s access to oil. Many political conventions have resulted form the global interest in creating oil pipelines through Afghanistan. Although Afg hanistan is not a world power, the fact that this country can provide access to rich oil and gas reserves has allowed Afghanistan to have influence over and even affect international diplomacy. To begin, it is important to understand the political history of Afghanistan in order to comprehend the current political tension and issues concerning this country. Afghanistan’s history is complete with numerous wars and invasions throughout various historical periods. Majority of these conflicts occurred because of a political Afghan leader’s desire to continue holding the state of power in the country or because of foreign invasion. Desire to maintain power becomes an issue in Afghanistan due to the multi-ethnic nature of the population1. To begin, â€Å"the location of Afghanistan astride the land routes between the Indian subcontinent, Iran, and central Asia has enticed conquerors throughout history†2. First, the Muslim-Arab conquests left Afghanistan a Muslim country in the late 7th century. In the following centuries Afghanistan was invaded from the north by Genghis Khan and later by the Moguls. The conquests up to the 17th century lef t devastated Afghanistan. However, authorities invested the majority of their interests in attempting to control the political power against rebellious activities preventing swaying them from focusing on social and economical forms as well as the development of the country. The first unified Afghanistan State was not established until 1747 by Ahammad Khan Durani.

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 27~28

Chapter Twenty-seven Well, That Was Fucked Up â€Å"Then, Lucifer Two attains the blood sword and takes Jared the White as his consort, and they hold dominion over all of the Kindred for ever and ever,† said Jared White Wolf, concluding the hour-long plot synopsis of his unwritten epic vampire adventure novel. â€Å"So what do you think?† â€Å"I really liked it, but I think you may need to work on the characters more,† Tommy said, flexing his writer muscles a little. It helped him to not think about the thirst that was rising in him. Jared looked to Jody, and raised a drawn-on eyebrow. â€Å"I think we must get out of this basement right now,† Jody said, â€Å"and if that means murdering your parents and little sisters, well, you don't make an omelet – â€Å" â€Å"But what did you think of my novel?† Jared said. â€Å"I think it's not a novel, it's a sexual fantasy about you and your rat.† â€Å"It is not. That's just the characters' names.† â€Å"Try Abby's cell again, Jared.† Jody was gritting her teeth. â€Å"Tell her to get back here,† Tommy said. He was starting to get cramps from the blood thirst. â€Å"Hold on, I get shit reception down here.† Jared took his cell and his rat and headed out the door and up the steps. When he was gone, Tommy turned to Jody. â€Å"I'm really feeling the hunger.† â€Å"Me, too.† â€Å"Should we maybe just, you know, sample Jared?† â€Å"I don't think that's a good idea.† â€Å"Well,† Tommy said. â€Å"William is in the hospital, and we don't know where Abby is, and I don't see as we have that many options.† â€Å"Tommy, let's just walk out of here. What's the worst that can happen? We shock Jared's parents? I get the feeling they may be desensitized.† â€Å"That's fine, but then where do we go tomorrow? A hotel? I guess, if we get the money, we can have Abby guard the door to keep the maid from coming in and frying us.† Tommy brightened. â€Å"Hey, maybe Abby grabbed some money from the loft?† â€Å"Abby might not even be alive,† Jody said, more than just irritation in her voice now. â€Å"You know how Elijah was going to kill you to fuck with me? If he's been watching us, he has to know about Abby. She'll be next. We should have left here right away. I feel horrible for leaving her out there alone.† â€Å"She went right to him.† Tommy cradled his head in hands. â€Å"I hate this, Jody. Why did you do this to me? It could have worked. I could have looked out for you and had a real life. Now I just live from feeding to feeding, putting people in danger. Everyone wants to kill us or take something from us. I'm from Indiana, they don't prepare us for this kind of thing in the Midwest.† Jody slid off the bed to the floor and sat next to him, put her arm around his shoulders. â€Å"It's not like that, Tommy. We're like gods. Sure, we have to hunt, but if you let go to the predator part of you, you'll lose that anxious feeling. You have to feel the power of it.† â€Å"Power? What power? I was ready to have the rat as a snack.† â€Å"Well, you can have the rat if you need him, because that little fucker is creepy.† Tommy pulled away from her. â€Å"Don't.† Jared came through the door then, pumping his inhaler. â€Å"Oh my God! Oh my God! She met the hottest guy who is a ninja, and they're like totally into each other. And those guys you told us about, that kidnapped you, a bunch of them are vampires now. And there's a tall woman vampire, too, who tried to bite Abs. And Abby totally took them all on and burned them up with some kind of portable sunlight. Oh my God, she's so awesome. I wish I had balls like her.† â€Å"Where is she now?† Jody asked. â€Å"She's having a Mochaccino at Tulley's on Market. I loaned her like twenty dollars. Which she's going to pay me back out of her Christmas bonus you're giving her. Hey, do I get a Christmas bonus, because – â€Å" â€Å"Call her and tell her to stay right where she is,† Jody said. â€Å"We're on our way.† â€Å"We are?† Tommy said. They could get out of here, find a – a donor! â€Å"No, not you,† Jody said. â€Å"We are.† She patted Jared on the shoulder, careful not to get her hand near the rat. â€Å"We are?† Jared said. â€Å"Yes, Jared, you have to come out to your parents. You have to confess that you've had a girl in your room all day. We'll walk up and you can just introduce me as your girlfriend.† â€Å"Okay. I guess. You might want to borrow some eyeliner and touch up your lipstick a little first, okay?† â€Å"I will slap the gloom off of you, rat shagger,† Jody said with a smile that was just a few degrees below being warm. Over his very long life, Elijah Ben Sapir had been hunted, beaten, tortured, drowned, impaled, imprisoned, and even burned on two occasions – tolerance for those who live off the lifeblood of others being what it is – but in eight centuries, this was the first time he had been flash-fried by a tricked-out Honda. Despite the novelty of it, when novelty had just become his new joy, he figured that if he went another eight hundred years before it happened again, he'd be okay. Creeping down a SOMA alley, snatching rats from behind Dumpsters and draining them to dust just so he could heal himself enough to hunt a real victim, was serving as an abject lesson as to why he and his kind were sworn to remain concealed. It was bound to happen: the application of new technology for the detection and destruction of vampires. Hadn't he adopted technology to protect himself? His self-piloting yacht with its sensors and sealed vault had served him as well as any guarded castle. But he'd forgotten the rule – not forgotten, really, but ignored it – deciding to indulge in hope, to the point of faith, that he would always prevail. So some clever cow had figured out how to package sunlight and unleash it upon his arrogant carcass. The cow would never have found the solution had the vampire not shown him the problem. Humbled was Elijah, and angry, and hungry, and a little sad, because he had loved his yellow tracksuit, and now it was but beads of blackened pol yester burned into his skin. He picked at them as he listened for prey, tucked between a Dumpster and a white step-van full of bread racks. Here came one now – fat enough to complete the healing, Elijah could tell by the weight of his step. The back door of the bakery opened and the rotund baker stepped out and shook a cigarette out of his pack. His life aura was pink and healthy, his heart thumped strong, and would for a long time if Elijah did not suck it dry. Normally he only took the sick and the weak, those who were short for the grave anyway, but this was a desperate time. He leapt on the big man's back and rode him to the ground, catching his scream in one hand, using the other to hit pressure points in his neck that had the baker unconscious in two seconds. Elijah drank, listening to his blackened skin crackle, slough, and heal, even as the baker still breathed. There would be no neck snap, no body to find this time. He dumped the dust from the baker's clothes and slipped into them. His white Nikes were the only survivors of his previous outfit, so he threw the baker's clogs into the Dumpster along with his wallet, pocketed the cash, and took off, dressed in white from head to foot. The vampire smiled to himself, not with joy, but with the grim irony of the situation. People often speak of things coming to them in a flash of inspiration, but the clich held new meaning for Elijah. The flash meant that the game was over, that his foray into human desire, even for revenge, had gone far enough, and now it was time for damage control. They all had to die. He wouldn't enjoy killing her. Not her. After being burned up for the second time in two days, Blue was ready for a healing massacre – a bloodbath – but the Animals had stopped her, citing sissy ethical reasons like murder was, you know, wrong. â€Å"You're burned up!† Blue said. â€Å"This is no time to develop a conscience. Where was your conscience when you were making me do you a dozen times a day, huh?† â€Å"That's different,† said Drew. â€Å"You were in on it.† â€Å"Yeah,† added Jeff. â€Å"And we paid you.† â€Å"No one was hurt, amiga,† Gustavo added. Blue broke off some charred crust coming over the seat of the Mercedes at Gustavo, who was in the passenger seat. Drew dragged her back into her seat by her hips. She crossed her arms and pouted, huffing out little flakes of ash in exasperation. They were supposed to be doing her bidding. They were supposed to be her seven – well, three – dwarves. â€Å"You shut the fuck up, bean town. I was hurt. I am hurt. Look at me.† They didn't look at her. They were all burnt black from the waist up, in the front at least. Their shirts hung on them in charred shreds. The linen dress that Blue had been wearing had incinerated almost completely. She was wearing only her panties and a severely singed bra. Her face was still a bit lopsided from where Elijah had banged it on the car hood. â€Å"We didn't do this, Blue,† Drew said. Blue smacked him repeatedly in the head a half-dozen times, knocking off most of one of his charred ears and all of the carbon strands that were what was left of his hair. The tip of her little finger broke off in the process, at which point she sat back and growled like a beaten dog. â€Å"We need blood to heal,† Blue said. â€Å"Lots of it.† â€Å"I know,† Jeff said. The charred power forward was driving. â€Å"I'm takin' care of it.† â€Å"You just passed five perfectly good teenagers,† Blue said. â€Å"Where the fuck are you going?† â€Å"Somewhere where the donors can handle our action,† Jeff said. â€Å"Well, we're broke until you get my money back, so your donors better have some fucking cash.† â€Å"We can't exactly go into a bar in the financial district,† Drew said. â€Å"Not looking like this.† â€Å"Oh, like they'd let you dirtbags in at your best.† Blue found that being burnt up put her on edge more than normal. She'd tried taking a Valium left by the Mercedes guy, just like Drew and the other had downed handfuls of his painkillers, only to find their vampire systems rejected them with extreme violence. â€Å"We're here,† Jeff said, pulling the Mercedes into a wide public parking lot. â€Å"You're fucking kidding me,† Blue said. â€Å"The zoo?† Tommy waited half an hour before he called Jody's cell, only to get a dropped signal, then voice mail. He called three more times in the next half hour, played two rounds of Gunning for Nuns Xtreme on Jared's Xbox, called Abby's cell only to get voice mail, then made his first sincere attempt at turning to mist. Jody had said it was a mental thing, you just had to see yourself as mist, force yourself to mist, â€Å"like flexing a muscle,† she had said. â€Å"Once you've done it once, you just know how it feels and you can do it again. Like getting up on water skis.† It wasn't that he could get out of the basement undetected, it was what Jody had said about being in the mist state – that time sort of just glided, like you were in a dream. It was the only reason, she said, that she hadn't beaten him senseless for having her bronzed. When you were mist, it just wasn't all that bad. Maybe if he could turn to mist, he could pass the time without driving himself nuts with worry. For all his mental flexing, all he got was a flatulent toot that sent him diving for the door and fanning the room out with it. He was truly a foul dead thing – fouler than he'd even guessed. He looked for paint peeling off the walls. That was it. He was not a kid hiding in his friend's basement, he was a – what did Abby call it? – he was one of the anointed, a prince of the night. He was going to walk out of here, right past the family, and if he had to take them out, well, so be it. That would teach Jody for leaving him behind and turning her phone off. How do you feel now, Red? Huh? Massacred, dismembered family? Huh? Glad you saved your anytime minutes now?! He tramped up the steps and into Jared's parents' family room. â€Å"Hi,† Jared's father said. Tommy had expected a bit of a monster based on Jared's description of his father. Instead what he saw was a bit of an accountant. He was about forty-five, in pretty good shape, holding a little girl on his lap who was coloring a picture of a pony. Another little girl, who looked about the same age, was coloring on the floor at his feet. â€Å"Hi,† Tommy said. â€Å"You must be the vampire Flood,† Jared's dad said, with a bit of a knowing smile. â€Å"Uh. Well. Kinda.† It showed. He could no longer hide among the humans. It must be because it had been so long since he had fed. â€Å"Sort of a weak ensemble, don't you think?† Jared's dad said. â€Å"Weak,† repeated the little girl without looking up from her pony. â€Å"Huh?† Tommy inquired. â€Å"For a vampire. Jeans, sneakers, and flannel?† Tommy looked at his clothes. â€Å"Black jeans,† he pointed out. Shouldn't this guy be cowering in fear, maybe begging Tommy not to put his little daughter in a sack for his vampire brides? â€Å"Okay, I suppose times change. You know that Jared and his girlfriend went up to Tulley's on Market to meet Abby, right?† â€Å"His girlfriend, Jody?† â€Å"Right,† said Dad. â€Å"Cute girl. Not as many piercings as I expected, but we're just happy she's a girl.† An attractive blond woman in her late twenties came into the room carrying a tray with carrot and celery sticks on it. â€Å"Oh, hi,† she said, dazzling a smile at Tommy. â€Å"You must be the vampire Flood. Hi, I'm Emily. Would you like some crudites? You're welcome to stay for dinner. We're having mac and cheese, it was the girls' night to pick.† I should drink her blood and put her kids in a sack, Tommy thought. But his vicious predator nature was overcome by his Midwestern upbringing, so instead he said, â€Å"Thank you very much, Emily, but I really should be going if I'm going to catch up to Jared and Jody.† â€Å"Well, okay then,† said the woman. â€Å"Girls, say good-bye to the vampire Flood.† â€Å"Good-bye, the vampire Flood,† the girls sang in chorus. â€Å"Uh, bye.† Tommy bolted out of the room, then back in again. â€Å"Where's the door?† Everyone pointed through the kitchen, whence Jared's stepmonster had just come. He ran through the kitchen and out the door, then stood with his back against the minivan in the drive, trying to catch his breath. â€Å"That was fucked up,† he gasped, then realized that he wasn't out of breath from exertion at all. He was having an anxiety attack. â€Å"That was really, really fucked up.† Chapter Twenty-eight Wallflowers of the Night It was a lot like trying to get your courage up to ask a girl to dance, except that in this case it wasn't so much the fear of rejection, or that you'd be awkward and embarrass yourself, although that was a consideration, but that whoever you picked was going to be reduced to dust, which was somewhat more significant than trampling her toes. Tommy stood on Castro Street looking for his next victim. His first victim, really. He was tired of being the apprentice. If Jody was going to just leave him in the basement because he wasn't vampire enough for her, then maybe he'd have to become like her. Maybe he'd learn about this predator nature she talked about. Maybe, like that guy in the basement in The Phantom of the Opera, he would have to hear â€Å"The Music of the Night.† He wasn't sure what had happened to the basement guy. He'd gone to see the movie with a girl from his high school, but had to leave halfway through to keep from taking his own life. It hadn't been a good date. There were plenty of people out on the street, even at this hour, but none of them screamed victim. There were no women in low-cut dresses who had just turned an ankle. There were no girls in negligees running down the street, glancing back over their shoulders. There were, in fact, not many girls at all. Lots of guys. Lots. He reckoned that it wasn't really necessary that he pick a woman. After all, he'd fed off of William and Chet, both of whom were male, but this was different. This was really becoming the hunter, and despite his hunger, there was no little bit of revenge in his decision to bite someone. So it had to be a girl. He had to get back at Jody for ditching him at Jared's. He had to show her that she wasn't the only vein in the circulatory system. Or whatever. The few women he saw were so healthy, with big bright pink life auras around them, and weren't alone either. He had to get someone alone. Frustrated, he backed down the alley and started pacing back and forth. After a short time he took a run at the wall, ran up ten feet or so, then turned and ran back across the alley and up the other wall about ten feet, then back, and up the wall fifteen feet – like a skateboarder working a half-pipe, he ran back and forth, feeling the strength and speed of what he was – feeling his confidence rise. I am a superior being, he thought. I am a friggin' god! Then his foot went through a window and he sank up to his crotch into the building, then dangled over the alley upside down, three stories up, flailing. Stupid place for a window, he thought. Then he saw her. She was sort of tall, but dressed in a red evening gown, with athletic curves, and long red hair that had been lacquered into ringlets. She was perfect, and she was coming down the alley. It was like he'd ordered her from an old Hammer film to be the hapless victim. Sweet! So he was hanging upside down by one leg. That could be a tactic. He felt his fangs extending and he drooled a little, which hit her on the shoulder. She started a little, and that's when he made his move. He'd always loved the scene in Dracula where Jonathan Harker sees the Count climbing, facedown, down the castle walls and thinks, Hey, something is up here. Tommy had pleaded with Jody to try it, but she never would, so this was his chance. He pulled himself out of the window, hooked his fingers between the bricks, and began his climb. And dropped thirty feet to the alley, landing flat on his back. â€Å"Ouch.† Upon Tommy's impact, his intended victim had let out a very masculine scream, jumped three feet straight up, and came down sideways on her high heels. She knelt over him rubbing her ankle. â€Å"Cheesy Christ on a cracker, darlin'. Where did you come from?† Southern, and deep. â€Å"Slipped,† Tommy said. â€Å"You're a man, huh?† â€Å"Well, let's say that is a street which I have walked, to which I do not wish to return.† â€Å"You're very pretty,† Tommy said. â€Å"Sweet of you to say.† He tossed his hair a bit. â€Å"You want I should call an ambulance?† â€Å"No, no. Thanks. I'll be okay.† â€Å"What were you doing up there, anyway?† Conveniently, Tommy was still staring straight up at the sky, framed by the buildings, and he could see that she thought he'd fallen from the roof. â€Å"Listening for ‘the music of the night. â€Å" â€Å"Were you watching the DVD? I heard people tried to kill themselves rather than sit through it.† â€Å"Something like that.† â€Å"Honey, just push pause. Just push pause.† â€Å"I'll remember that. Thanks.† â€Å"You sure you don't want me to call someone?† â€Å"No, no. I'll call someone as soon as I catch my breath.† Tommy reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handful of broken plastic and wires that had once been his cell phone. â€Å"Okay then, y'all take care.† She stood, turned, and walked slowly out of the alley, trying not to limp. â€Å"Hey, miss,† Tommy called after him. â€Å"I'm not gay.† † ‘Course you aren't, darlin'.† â€Å"I rule the night!† She waved without looking as she rounded the corner. â€Å"Redheads,† he growled. He could feel his broken ribs knitting together. It wasn't pleasant. As soon as they were healed enough, it was back to Jared's house to eat the rat. Move up the food chain slowly, maybe. An hour later the torn and tattered vampire Flood limped up the driveway to Jared's house. Abby and Jared were smoking in the driveway. â€Å"Lord Flood,† Abby said. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"You look like someone opened a whole six-pack of whup-ass on you,† Jared said. â€Å"You shut up. How did your family know I was a vampire?† â€Å"Well, certainly not from your wardrobe.† â€Å"Jared, I am all busted up, and I'm feeling hungry, and a little fragile. Now answer my question or I will go inside and murder your family, feed on their blood, step on your rat, and break your Xbox.† â€Å"Whoa, drama queen much?† â€Å"Fine,† Tommy said. He shrugged, which hurt, and headed for the kitchen door. â€Å"Find me a sack big enough for your two little sisters.† Jared jumped in front of him. â€Å"I told them we were playing Vampire the Masquerade and that your part was the Vampire Flood.† Abby nodded. â€Å"We used to play all the time before we actually became minions.† â€Å"It's like Dungeons and Dragons but way cooler,† Jared said. â€Å"Okay.† Tommy nodded. Which hurt. There they were, two perfectly healthy donors from whom he could feed, who would be willing. And he was hurt, and he needed to feed in order to heal. Still, he couldn't ask. He was staring at Abby's neck, then looked away when she appeared to notice. â€Å"Where's Jody?† â€Å"She'll be here soon,† Abby said. â€Å"She sent us back to find you. We called but your cell wasn't on.† â€Å"Where is she?† â€Å"She went to the new loft. She said she'd bring some money and what was left of William's blood back for you. You can stay in a hotel. Jared and I can guard you.† â€Å"She went to the loft? Where Elijah is?† â€Å"Oh, that's not a problem,† Abby said. â€Å"My Samurai prince burned him up while rescuing me from the blond vampire ho and her grocery-store vamplets.† Tommy looked at Jared. † ‘Splain please.† â€Å"Just knock,† Drew said. â€Å"They'll unlock it for you. You're almost naked.† They stood by the front door of the Marina Safeway. Drew had healed a little from his burns, but was still bald and covered with a dusting of soot. Blue was completely healed, but wore only her charred underwear and the beige high heels that had looked so lovely with her linen dress. Since the first time she took the stage in high heels and a bikini back in her first Fond du Lac beauty pageant, right through her career stripping and then bonking for dollars, she thought the whole idea of high heels and underwear patently absurd. Yet here she was, rich, powerful, and immortal – yet still standing around wearing high heels and underwear. This time, however, there was some rationale for the outfit beyond that it floated some horndog's hormonal boat. At the zoo, while the Animals had pursued their prey among animals, she had found two night watchmen, each isolated on his rounds, and took them down. Unfortunately, she hadn't taken their clothing because she didn't want to have to explain to the Animals why she was dressed like a night watchman, since they had suddenly decided to take the moral high ground on slaughter. The Animals had not fared so well. Drew was the only one in better shape than when they'd first been burned. He'd gone for a llama, because he'd always thought they were cute. He was able to feed only a little, however, before he was bitten and spat upon, and decided to call it a night. Gustavo had gone for a zebra, under the mistaken assumption that his experience with horses as a boy in Mexico would somehow give him an edge in handling the African equine. Consequently, he had been summarily stomped, and now had several broken bones, including a nasty compound fracture of one leg, in addition to being burned up. Jeff, the basketball failure, was still embarrassed about having been taken down by a girl, and so picked a jungle cat as his victim, thinking that he would take on the strength and speed of his donor. His right arm was attached only by a few muscles and much of that shoulder was gone altogether. His skin was still crusty black from the waist up. â€Å"Fuck knocking,† said Blue. The big front window had only that day been replaced, but she was going to lead her charge right through it. â€Å"Get in, find them, and take them.† She found she was falling back on her dominatrix experience a lot lately, which was not a skill in which she had complete confidence, having only recently been killed while performing it. She took three quick steps up, snatched up the steel-reinforced trash can that Jody had used on the window only days ago, and flung it underhanded with all her strength. The can rocketed through the air, bounced off the new, double-impact-resistant Plexiglas window, and knocked Blue on her ass. Blue climbed to her feet without making any eye contact with her undead posse, dusted off her bottom, then snapped her newly broken nose back into place. â€Å"Well, knock then, fuckstick,† she said to Drew. â€Å"Knock, knock, knock. We don't have all night.†

Eastern Deciduous Forests

Deciduous forests once stretched from New England south to Florida and from the Atlantic Coast west to the Mississippi River. When European settlers arrived and in the New World, they began clearing timber for use as fuel and building materials. Timber was also used in ship making, fence building, and railroad construction. As the decades passed, forests were cleared on an ever-expanding scale to make way for agricultural land use and the development of cities and towns. Today, only fragments of the former forests remain with strongholds along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains and within national parks. The Eastern deciduous forests of North America can be divided into four regions. Northern Hardwoods Forests Northern hardwoods forests include species such as white ash, bigtooth aspen, quaking aspen, American Basswood, American beech, yellow birch, northern white cedar, black cherry, American elm, eastern hemlock, red maple, sugar maple, northern red oak, jack pine, red pine, white pine, red spruce. Central Broad-Leaved Forests Central broad-leaved forests include species such as white ash, American basswood, white basswood, American beech, yellow birch, yellow buckeye, flowering dogwood, American elm, eastern hemlock, bitternut hickory, mockernut hickory, shagbark hickory, black locust, cucumber magnolia, red maple, sugar maple, black oack, blackjack oak, bur oak, chestnut oak, northern red oak, post oak, white oak, common persimmon, white pine, tulip poplar, sweetgum, black tupelo, black walnut. Southern Oak-Pine Forests Southern oak-pine forests include species such as eastern red cedar, flowering dogwood, bitternut hickory, mockernut hickory, shagbark hickory, red maple, black oak, blackjack oak, northern red oak, scarlet oak, southern red oak, water oak, white oak, willow oak, loblolly pine, longleaf pine, sand pine, shortleaf pine, slash pine, Virginia pine, tulip poplar, sweetgum, and black tupelo. Bottomland Hardwood Forests Bottomland hardwood forests include species such as green ash, river birch, yellow buckeye, eastern cottonwood, swamp cottonwood, bald cypress, box elder, bitternut hickory, honey locust, southern magnolia, red maple, silver maple, cherry bark oak, live oak, northern pin oak, overcup oak, swamp chestnut oak, pecan, pond pine, sugarberry, sweetgum, American sycamore, swamp tupelo, water tupelo. The Forests Provides a Habitat for a Variety of Animals The eastern deciduous forests of North America provide habitat for a variety of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. Some of the mammals found in this region include mice, shrews, woodrats, squirrels, cottontails, bats, martens, armadillos, opossums, beavers, weasels, skunks, foxes, raccoons, black bear, bobcats, and deer. Some of the birds that occur in the eastern deciduous forests include owls, hawks, waterfowl, crows, doves, woodpeckers, warblers, vireos, grosbeaks, tanagers, cardinals, jays, and robins. Ecozones: TerrestrialEcosystem: ForestsRegion: NearcticPrimary Habitat: Temperate ForestsSecondary Habitat: Eastern Deciduous Forests of North AmericaAppalachian National Scenic TrailGreat Smoky MountainsShenandoah