OCR A Level Animal Crossing Bundle

A complete OCR A-Level Media Studies Animal Crossing: New Horizons bundle covering video games, Nintendo, audience experience, marketing, active audiences and industry contexts.

This bundle contains 5 fully editable PowerPoint (.pptx) lessons for the OCR A-Level Media Studies Animal Crossing: New Horizons set text. It is designed for Paper 2: Evolving Media, Section A – Media Industries and Audiences, helping students understand the video game set product through industry, audience, social context, marketing, convergence, Nintendo, audience participation and active audience theory.

The lessons are sequenced to build knowledge logically, beginning with an introduction to the game and its key terminology, before moving into audience experience, Nintendo’s industry context, marketing strategies and active audience influence on production.

The bundle includes editable PowerPoint lessons, supporting article/resource documents, retrieval practice, key terminology, discussion tasks, research prompts, model answers, article annotation activities, exam-style questions and peer assessment tasks.

This resource is ideal for Year 12 or Year 13 OCR A-Level Media Studies students studying Animal Crossing: New Horizons, video games, media industries and media audiences.

Suggested teaching order
Lesson 1: Animal Crossing Introduction

Introduces Animal Crossing: New Horizons as the OCR A-Level video game set text. Students explore video game genres, the simulation genre, Nintendo Switch exclusivity, DLC, digital convergence, production, distribution, consumption, franchise and independent research into the game’s design, audience, community, UGC, mobile gaming and activism.

Lesson 2: Animal Crossing Industry – Nintendo

Builds the industry context by focusing on Nintendo, franchise success, console history, sales, social interaction and the success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students explore Nintendo’s brand identity and how Uses and Gratifications can link to Nintendo’s console designs and family-friendly approach.

Lesson 3: Animal Crossing Audience Experiences

Moves into audience experience, accessibility and representation. Students explore how the game provides entertainment, creativity, crafting, trading, chat, identity expression, inclusivity, virtual events, belonging, control and community. This lesson also includes an accompanying article resource document.

Lesson 4: Animal Crossing Industry – Marketing

Develops students’ understanding of marketing and industry by exploring conventional and unconventional marketing, virtual marketing, social media, brand partnerships, synergy, cross-promotion, vertical integration and COVID-19 context. This lesson includes an accompanying article resource document.

Lesson 5: Animal Crossing Active Audiences

Finishes the sequence by focusing on how Animal Crossing audiences are active rather than passive. Students explore DLC, patches, updates, hacking, modding, forums, YouTube content, reviews, wiki communities, Happy Home Paradise, Nookazon, player feedback and Shirky’s End of Audience theory. This lesson also includes an accompanying article resource document.

What is included?
5 fully editable PowerPoint (.pptx) lessons
Supporting article/resource documents
Animal Crossing introduction lesson
Nintendo industry lesson
Audience experience lesson
Marketing and synergy lesson
Active audiences lesson
Do Now retrieval tasks
Key terminology slides
Teacher feedback/model answer slides
Research tasks
Article annotation tasks
Discussion activities
Exam-style questions
Sentence starters
Peer assessment criteria
Model responses
Plenary tasks
Key topics covered
OCR A-Level Media Studies
Paper 2: Evolving Media
Section A: Media Industries and Audiences
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Nintendo
Nintendo Switch
Video games
Simulation genre
Sandbox games
Production
Distribution
Consumption
Franchise
Digital convergence
Vertical integration
Synergy
Cross-promotion
Marketing
Conventional marketing
Unconventional marketing
Social media marketing
Brand partnerships
User-generated content
Audience experience
Audience engagement
Active audiences
Shirky’s End of Audience theory
Uses and Gratifications
Customisation
Representation
Inclusivity
Virtual events
Online communities
DLC
Patches
Updates
Hacking
Modding
COVID-19 context
Happy Home Paradise
Nookazon
This bundle can be used as:
A complete OCR A-Level Animal Crossing unit
A Paper 2: Evolving Media teaching sequence
A video games industries and audiences unit
A Year 12 or Year 13 set text teaching pack
A revision bundle for Animal Crossing: New Horizons
A media industries and audiences intervention pack
A cover lesson sequence supported by article resources
An exam preparation unit for OCR A-Level Media Studies

This bundle includes fully editable PowerPoint (.pptx) lessons and supporting article/resource documents.

This resource is independently created and is not endorsed by OCR.