Initial Idea No. 3 - Gaming Magazine [Analysis of Existing Products]

This idea features a cover and a double page spread of a gaming magazine, which covers a broad range of video game topics. This is congruent with magazines such as Game Informer, and quite different to others such as PC Gamer and Nintendo Power, which catered to specific focus groups, and as a result are no longer in print with the advent of the Internet. The cover will show screenshots of video games that will be featured in the magazine. These will include reviews, contests, sneak peeks and news about upcoming games. I believe that there will be a large and healthy market for a magazine of this variety. However since most modern gamers are online, the magazine may do better as an online rag.

The research that will go into this product is extensive and thorough. I will be investigating a range of existing products and conducting textual analyses on each and every aspect about them. I will be investigating why they work, why they are popular and what they do to cater to their target audience. Such gaming magazines that are similar to my final product include GameInformer, Nintendo Power and PC Gamer.

Audience research will need to be very extensive. It will include conducting personal and online surveys towards a focus group about what particular kinds of video games they would like to see in a product like this. I myself have a deep knowledge and understanding of the main aspects of gaming, and would be able to accommodate any result of the audience research. The language I will use will need to be specially catered to the target audience, using colloquialisms and informal terms specifically for the current generation, much like Nintendo Power did in the 80s and 90s with terms like ‘rad’ and ‘way cool’.

Other magazines, such as PC Gamer and GameInformer communicate with their older, teenage to adult target audience with more formal and technical language to describe the games they are featuring, rather than Nintendo Power, which was mostly geared towards children, and didn't go as deep into the technical aspects of the game as they did with selling the game as something they would want, as well as providing a hotspot for acquiring information such as reviews, cheats and secrets.

CASUAL GAME INSIDER

This is a cover of an issue of the gaming magazine Casual Game Insider. The cover features a very large screenshot of a graphic of a character from the game Flash Point: Fire Rescue. The cover is very ambiguous and unclear about what the game is about. We are unsure even what genre the game is, based on the title. Those who are familiar with the game will be able to identify with it instantly, as the text on the left side of the cover mentions an expansion pack in time for the holidays, meaning that this game has likely already been established and likely popular enough to be on the front cover of a magazine. However, for those who have never heard of it, this could cause them to feel alienated.

Upon further research, I have discovered that this magazine is in fact for board games, rather than video games, which would arguably be much less popular than video game magazines, as they are not as universally enjoyed. So, obviously the magazine caters to a much smaller and more specific target audience than a video game magazine.The cover art is taken straight from the game box itself, with little editing and innovation. The white colored text stands out from the background so it is easy to read, but it is not as eye-catching or distracting as the image on the right.

Something I have seen on very few other magazines is that the titles of the magazine sections tell the reader the specific page that this section is on, which makes it very helpful for the audience to pick up and read.

Casual Game Insider is a little known magazine that most people haven’t heard of, as it is relatively new, making it difficult to for readers to predict the language and reputation of such a small magazine, however, this gives the readers an opportunity to judge a new magazine from a fresh perspective, without their opinions being distorted by its reputation.

GAMEINFORMER

Front Cover Analysis

This is the cover of the March 2008 issue of Game Informer. The cover advertises the video game based on the 1986 sci-fi horror film Aliens. The font is easily recognizable as it is the same that was used for the film, as well as the Alien, as it was exactly the same design as in the film and merchandise since. The colors on the cover are all very dark and stylized; so that readers of the magazine unfamiliar with the franchise know what kind of genre the game may fall under. The dark colors and harsh lighting signify that the game is a sci-fi thriller/horror game based on the Alien franchise. The presence of the small sticker to the bottom right of the page lets the reader know some of the other features of the magazine beyond the focus on the Alien game.

Article Analysis

This is an analysis of a page from an issue of the American monthly gaming magazine “Game Informer”, which is a magazine that reviews video games and provides information for upcoming games and conventions such as E3. This particular page is a review of the video game “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II”. Immediately, in bold green, appears a large number – 7.75. Anyone unfamiliar with the format of the magazine would assume this to be some sort of rating, though it is unclear what it actually means. The writing in the article is incredibly critical of the game features. Underneath the large banner picture showing graphics from the game itself is a small summary of the review, making readers want to read on to discover exactly why critics felt the way they did. The description is very detailed, scattered with technical jargon in order to relate the to readers of the magazine, who likely have a good understanding of it. Though there is also a large amount of description of the story and other elements, followed by an explanation of why they succeeded or failed. The background of the page is very calm and neutral so as not to distract the reader from the very large amount of text in front. The occasional screenshot is added as a visual aid, but they are not common, and only used to illustrate the appearance of the game.