I think the title was made to good standard and would draw initial perceptions to what the magazine could be about and what genre it applied to- this was very good for me as it invited more of the audience to read the magazine. However it could have been improved by making it more professional perhaps and creating a sleeker looking title as featured in most gaming magazines.
My main image had to stand out and also apply to the gaming genre, it was very hard to apply normal looking pictures into this, so when I was taking photos I had to make the models wear elaborate costumes and appear in un-orthodox poses in order to get the best pose and reflect the best idea of the gaming genre, I had got a picture with two characters in elaborate costumes and un- orthodox poses however I wanted to get one specific ‘character’ and person that would stick out and be the ‘poster image’. So I used the ‘crop’ tool to gather the specific person and then used the magnetic lasso tool in order to acquire the characters body only and get rid of the background- this would allow me to make my own grey background. I also wanted my character to look surreal as I said before and to do this I used the ‘filter’ option to give it a ‘paint daubs’ effect and to give it a feel of a video game, it is also a close up shot which shows the soldier (the character) in action; it shows his serious look with the emotions displayed on his face, this will attract the audience because it shows he is the main ‘character’ of the video game, it gives him a gritty look and shows dirt and injuries over the soldier which connotes to the FPS (first person shooter) genre in the gaming industry, which the game is about. It also covers the top half of the title which is done purposely and shows the gaming magazines reputation and that it is recognisable even if the title is covered. The main image takes up most of the magazine and this displays its prominence and importance.
There are many other features that are in the front page of the magazine such as the top ‘headliner’ in order to show what kind of gaming fundamentals the magazine provides to the audience and the gaming market will be familiar to this as it is common in gaming magazines, it is in black to contrast the grey background and make it stand out. Another one is the catchphrase it shows both casualty and in formalness, i.e.: ‘mag’ and also refers to the audience- ‘gamers’, there is the use of the exclamation mark in which gives it a short and distinct sharp tone- also it could be used to symbolise the ‘GAME ON!’ magazine as it is a short phrase and is easily rememberable.
For the other headlines and news (typography), I have again used the font Corbel to format and display these texts; this is to keep consistency throughout the magazines, as with other magazines the other side-lines and news surround the main picture and I have used the colours green and yellow (as part of the colour scheme) to mix up internally in the sentences/phrases, this is used to give the magazine a fresh and modern look and to keep the audience intrigued and captivated. The structure and formation of the phrases and sentences are quite informal and chatty, this is to allow the audience to get friendly and familiar with the magazine and get more detail in-depth when the open the magazine (which gives them an excuse to buy the magazine) it also helps to connect with the audience. To make this element better I could have used different types of fonts and maybe varied the colour scheme as this would give my magazine a more versatile appearance.
I had also added standard features such as barcode, price, issue date I order to make it as authentic as possible.
Contents Page
Again I followed the text font and the colour scheme of the magazine in order to keep consistency with every part of the magazine, I had however used grey in my typography and as a way to present my headlines and news, I used a very dark grey so it would stick out from the light grey background, using this grey gave it quite a distinctive look and made it seem quite professional. I had again made the title big, however it did not have the same amount of prominence as it had on the front page and this was done purposely as the title did not have too much importance to this part of the magazine as the front cover title did, I had also complimented the title with a short catchphrase which was used to draw attention to the magazine and also make it unique as not many magazines have catchphrases for their contents page; as before I had made the title green and the catch phrase right below yellow in order to ‘mix and match’ between the two main colours and also show the fresh approach of the magazine.
My main title was presented in an un-orthodox method with it written both horizontal and vertical giving it a unique and un-avoidable look, it gives my magazine again unique features, as well as that all my other sub-titles help distinguish certain parts of the contents page, the less important titles are underneath the sub-title of ‘in this issue’ while the main ones are under ‘main stories’ which is made bigger and more elaborate (yellow/ green text) while the other is more simple and are listed separately and without pictures.
The chatty headlines are used in order show the friendly, informal atmosphere applied throughout the magazine give a brief preview of what the story is about and what to expect in order to keep the audience anticipating. Again capitals and bold formatting used in order to draw emphasis as well as specialised terms exclusive to the gaming genre.
I think I had made it very clear for the audience to find their stories and what kind of stories they are looking for however I could have improved it by giving them a brief sentence of what kind of story to expect in order to give the audience more detail and information which could make them more keen.
The main image (of the ‘Doc Speaks’ headline) is another edited photo which gives a medium/ long shot of a surreal looking figure who is dressed up as a doctor and has clear injuries and blemishes on his face, I had to again individualise the character using the ‘crop’ tool and using the magnetic tool to only specifically get the character and to exclude him from all the other surroundings. The medium shot is to show his body language as well as his elaborate looking costume which links back to the title of the ‘Doc’, also seeing his facial expressions gives an implied diabolical look. It is used to interest the audience and its prominence is shown as the picture covers most of the page and even overlaps some of the main stories. I had to again filter the ‘doctor’ out and give him a ‘water shed’ effect using the tools in Photoshop- this was again done to make him look as surreal as possible and to make him look like a game character.
I think that my contents page was well done however I could have used more images as a way to attract more attention as well as some more information, I also researched some gaming magazines and they made use of an ‘editors letter’ which I could have also incorporated but this would perhaps ruin my serious yet casual approach towards the magazine.
Double Page Spread
The double page spread is a key element in the production of the magazine and is more about the content of the magazine, as before I had applied the conventions of the magazine that I had used from before in order to keep consistency, I had made the title very bold, sharp and big in order to make it stand out with the ‘mix and match’ colour scheme I had used throughout, it was a very basic and succinct title which was straight to the point and simple so the audience knew what to expect.
Underneath the title I had laid down a quote in order to introduce the audience to the article; it was a very important quote and I showed important to certain words and phrases by making them a different colour and making the capitalized, which would show its one of the highlights of the magazine also.
I had also (as many double page articles do) conventionally introduced the readers to the writer, which establishes a certain bond between the readers and the writer and the readers can get to know the writer better and know about their background etc. I also showed a picture of the writer next to their name and description, it was a standard passport sized photograph which shows the magazines professionalism. This makes the reader more comfortable.
The text for the article however was white and not green and yellow, this is to show professionalism and also contrasts from the grey background displayed, again the same font (Corbel) has been used throughout. The text however is aimed at the serious gamers as it contains a lot of gaming information however it is also very casual in a manner, it contains informal phrases such as ‘nailed it’ in order to interest the reader and keep a colloquial atmosphere while also meeting with the magazine requirements (casual yet serious)
Not too many images were used in the double page spread however the limited amount of images that were used were to good effect, I had used a ‘real’ football character with a ‘virtual’ football character and used the line (to separate the two pages) in the middle as a mirror (one showing the real footballer and one the other) both seemed as if they were mirrored and displayed the games graphics technology, I had also used the images of some balls which I individualised and collaborated together, again I wanted to make them game like so I added a ‘cut out’ effect to them in order to do so; I also complimented them with a caption as magazines conventionally do.
I had also used pull quotes in my double page spread under the paragraphs they were extracted from to draw attention to the reader and towards a specific line of text. I made them distinctive by making them a different colour and formatting them in all capitals.
Like a typical gaming magazine I have included summary points for the readers and also a game rating, this followed the traditional stereotypical conventions of a gaming magazine.
I think my double page spread was done to an excellent level, I had made it more serious looking then all the other pages however also gave it a casual touch, I think my double page spread could have been improved if it had more images maybe to support the review as this is common in most gaming magazines.
