Evaluation C (some images missing during copying process)

Evaluation C

“How does the work you have produced for unit 5 relate to past and current professional work from the same medium genre (or form) as your work.”

The Northern Echo, other than being my client, is a regional newspaper that produces content everyday for a mature audience. The Northern Echo and my other comparative magazines gain the content they do through a team of personnel.  These companies have whole teams of specially trained journalists and other teams of staff. This instantly acts as a key difference as I produced every product single-handedly.  I had no professional staff to take photos, write articles or find sources. This adds a much more hand-made style and effect to the product which to some may be attractive but to others but not necessarily to my target audience who may find it cheap and unprofessional.  It also has an impact on the scope of my product as they have journalists able to get to many places and gather information from many places around the North East and further.  I was limited to locations within walking distance mainly.  Lastly as much as I may approve of my own writing style and ability, I am not a specialist at the art nor am I in any way a specialist at other aspects of magazine creation. The Northern Echo has teams of specialist editors, journalists etc. I think this lack of specialist knowledge could be negative as it may make my product look amateurish but considering the blogs my target audience read on the internet this may not be as bigger problem as first thought.

The Northern Echo also has a network of contacts that will provide the paper with news stories and much more exclusive information than that which is available in the public domain. This provides access to exclusive stories and content no other papers/magazines can access. Lastly the Northern Echo has many online services it can call on to generate publicity and gather news stories from. These include a personal website and full access to social networking websites and facilities. Since I do not have the same amount of access to social networking nor the website, my product could not gain as much information or the publicity of the Northern Echo. Despite the ownership of accounts on both Facebook and Twitter, I did not have the time or ability to analyse and find reliable and interesting stories through the barrage of statuses and tweets. This will mean my stories may be a bit more commonplace and much less exclusive which may have a negative impact on the products. This could reduce the interest and appeal to my target audience, as the word exclusive is not painted all over each story. The product is more designed as a criticism of the industry and doesn’t rely on exclusives but would need some to maintain interest.  I do not consider the Northern Echo a real competitor though as they will not be creating exclusive games articles as it not appropriate for their target audience who are highly unlikely to have any interest in video games and the industry creating them.

Due to the closeness of its target region and long publishing time the Northern Echo has built a close, faithful audience of readers that will buy the paper near enough everyday. This audience will be continuously providing feedback to improve and build on the paper and keep it appealing to the target audience. I have no such audience and am currently basing it more off my own designs. Since feedback stages I have received improvements but not on the scale of the Northern Echo. I do however include audience members in my articles however as their opinions are clear and should the product continue I would include a your opinions section to be more inclusive.  For the first issue this was not necessary as it was more of a taster than an inclusive piece. It was designed to tantalize audience members and show how cutting the magazine can be at the industry.  I have chosen stories that would appeal to local gamers as they are common issues present in today’s industry. They affect local companies, game developers and the gamers themselves.

For the secondary audience I have attempted to create stories that would be less intimidating and interesting for causal gamers. The stories although heavy in content have been partially written in a way they should be understandable by any form of gamer no matter their dedication.  This is important as it should improve sales figures, as my secondary audience will be interested in the stories available and perhaps purchase further issues as released. To appeal to the client I have designed the magazine to be completely appropriate, tasteful and friendly to any possible older readers. This means no offensive material, no nudity and no swearing. This means the content is punchy in a clever way without being blatantly abusive or offensive. This is the case in sarcastic gaming articles and some of the subtle hinting present in negative gaming reviews.

Audience is key to the Northern Echo and this is reflected in its attitudes. The Northern Echo has always been a community-focused product and therefore has always been caring and thoughtful in nature.  My product has the same attitude but acts in a much more abrasive manner. The attitude is protecting gamer’s rights and campaigning for change in the industry.  The Echo produces similar stories to me as they focus on key issues and how they affect the community just in a news context instead of gaming.  It differs from national papers as national papers will be a lot less caring and will focus heavily on getting a story out in the most interesting way. This could mean revealing names and details that the Echo may not necessarily do. My magazine is not as likely to produce stories based on one individual unless it was a direct violation of their rights and I do not feel I would need to keep their details secret under the circumstances.

My magazine is roughly 35-40 pages long , despite the bible only being 16, with most of the main content present in the first few pages with the back half designed for editorials and reviews. There are several adverts littered throughout to provide revenue. The magazine is not necessarily designed for flickability but the GTA article would feature a picture on the right hand page alongside the review score which could pique interests through the odd image and positive score.  I have not necessarily used a importance structure and instead resorted to using sections based on story content and particular article types e.g. reviews and editorials. This is a similar case with the products I have chosen as games magazines are based on sections though in generic fashion the cover story would be the middle article.

Adverts are featured in the front covers, back covers and peppered throughout in multiple sizes and colour styles. The flexability will entice possible advertisers and maintain interest throughout commercial release. There are many spaces available within the first sixteen pages and would carry on throughout the publication.

Choosing comparative products

As well as looking at the Northern Echo as a competitive product, I have chosen 3 gaming magazines that would be considered competitors to my product. These are: Edge magazine; a monthly magazine published by future and printed in the UK. Games TM; another monthly games magazine published by Imagine Publishing and printed/distributed in the UK. Lastly 360 Gamer, a three weekly games magazine that is smaller scale than the other two published by uncooked media and printed/distributed in the UK. As shown all three are large magazines two aimed at my intellectual audience and one aimed at more casual selective 360 gamers.

Edge was selected, as it is a high quality and intellectual games magazine that I took inspiration from during genre research.  The magazine features a relatively simple layout in its cover and DPS’.  This is comparative to my front cover as it features one central image against a white faded cityscape background with bright green header and main sell line with smaller black sell lines around it. My first cover attempts to use a central image but utilize a full, outdoor background which I feel didn’t work quite as well. This made my product look much less professional and so I created a second using a plain background instead.  In this second attempt I also attempted to recreate the header style of this cover through the re-arrangement of text and the editing of the image to appear as if it were a video game character instead of a real-life model. This was relatively effective and with some slight editing would look professional and visually appealing. 

This is similar with Games Tm the other cover I have analyzed over the course of production.  This again utilizes a bold, plain header, a single image and sells lines that are located around the image. The main difference between Edge and Games TM is the location of the main sell line. On Edge it is across the main image whereas with Games TM it is below it. This style would be effective but experiments made me stick with the central image as this position best suited the image of the cover. I have used the banner sell line along the top that both magazines utilize. Games TM feature a highlights section that looks cool but again would not suit the style of image I have used. The gold background also looks too bright and cheerful for my main story about war games.  The use of a smaller image increases sell line space on the cover but the scale would not be effective to use with any images I have taken.

In terms of masthead I paid close attention to the length and style of mastheads. They are usually a maximum of 2 words long for example 360-gamer. This meant to keep mine professional I would have to mimic the same. I decided to take a slightly more horror based title with game stalker. This kept within the two-word limit and is more memorable than a generic gaming title. This is also reflecting in the font chosen, BURNING WRATH, which is perfect as a horror font that can be easily used as a masthead being big and bold, fitting normal title conventions and in blood red fuels the darker design of the magazine and the revolutionary theme in the content. (Images could not be inserted)

In terms of content my magazine differs from 360 gamer in the sense that they write articles about general games and are focused on previews and reviews of current and future games. My magazine is much wider focused with multi-console focuses and features on issues within the industry as well as review current games. This makes my product much more specialized than the generic content of 360 gamer.  However my product does link with broader focuses of my other two selections that feature much more intellectual pieces alongside the more generic content.  This is where I developed my content ratio of two intellectual articles to one generic review.  This concentration on heavy content is appropriate for my target audience and their maturity level.  I have tried to create a product that can be flicked through and focused on when necessary.  My article examples vary between company tours and interviews (Edge, Fullbright Company) to a review for resident evil that unfortunately couldn’t be found to show.  These differed in tone and formality with the review being targeted at a less formal audience.

The main source of inspiration for my contents page was that of Games TM. I have used a double page spread for my contents to produce a spacious and detailed contents section. There is a much more equal image to text ratio and punchier sell lines. There is a small sentence of detail per editorial sell line and a listed review section.  There are two review sections an AAA section for new big budget release games and a steam section for Steam games and new releases on the store.  There are also editorial and retro sections focusing on all aspects of the gaming genre and celebrating classics. There is a small note from the editor that isn’t common in gaming magazines but is present in most magazine types.   This is present as a welcome to my readers and to prove their writer/editor is unafraid to be featured. This layout other than the editor’s note is similar in Games TM with similar story sections and a second page dedicated to an image for one of the main stories.  There are several images selected to illustrate the more important stories in the magazine as would be done professionally by other magazines

With Edge there were distracting background objects that would disrupt the page in my opinion and look slightly unprofessional. This is more subjective than fact but I am technically a member of my target audience and therefore should have an idea of what my audience would not like. The contents page looked cluttered and featured small text and few images

For my first DPS I have adopted a similar layout to an editorial from Edge magazine. It was an article about a company and was relatively simplistic yet looked highly professional and easily adaptable.  I used a page for the main header, sub header and main image with caption and the second page for the text and a smaller image at the end of the article. Out of my three articles this is the most professional and required no editing after feedback.  There is no unfilled white space and there are logos to fill the space and further brand the product. The text, although extensive in quantity, is partially broken up by a quote insert and approximately one line to break up paragraphs. The only unprofessional part of the article would be the photography. It misses the point slightly despite illustrating the message. With this fault the product isn’t quite as professional as other products especially the products I have chosen but is still considered more informative and highly formal in comparison than 360 gamer. This article is designed for my

mature readers and is reflected in the intimidating style and high text load.

This DPS is similar to the editorials present in Games TM as they too have intellectual content that touches on the critical issues of the industry. Again my target audience is partially taken from the audience of Games TM so this content will appeal to them and their reading tastes. Stylistically it is different as there will be video game screenshots used instead of live imagery and more small images used and just generally a much higher image ratio than that used in my products. 

The second article is much friendlier to casual gamers as it is a lot less intimidating and features a much lower text count. There is no real inspiration for this article and no product that I have seen like it.  This makes it unique to my magazine alone and could be made into a selling point.  This could be perceived as unprofessional but I prefer to see it as alternative. In a world of lookalikes and copies it should be original content that sells and this drove me to create this DPS.  It was surprisingly well received by my audience and would be made into a regular feature.  If it is perceived as unprofessional then it would appeal to all gaming audiences as the layout is accessible to all. The central image is designed to lure readers in and briefly show the emotions of the article alongside the text and header. This would persuade readers to read the story for an explanation of the image. This method has been adopted by competitors but the actual layout hasn’t.  The adoption of the method adds some professional appeal and could boost my products appeal in future sales. It is partially professional looking and with a better taken image it would be fully professional just a little alternate.

The third article is much easier to compare, as it is an adaption of a 360 gamer review. This means it is a fairly standard layout to match generic content. This again improves the professional practice levels in my product and will be familiar to both mature and casual audiences. The article uses breakout boxes, quote inserts and images to break up an excessive 6 columns of text. The level of text is the only content feature that differs in my review to every average review out there. Most reviews are short and only deliver the main points whereas mine utilizes all aspects of the game and delivers an account of the whole game.

Aesthetically there are several differences between my product and the three comparative products as they have higher image to text ratios and in-game screenshots where I have a small image to text ratio with real life models depicting the key moments of the game. This is where the name spawns from, the whole low budget look. This is mainly used as the gimmick for the article and possibly the whole magazine. This does impact the seriousness of the product and could possible reduce its professional appeal but at the same time stops the product becoming dry and boring which is always a risk with magazines. The addition of humour can create a mix of serious and silly content that will aim to appeal to both serious and casual gamers again making it more commercial.  Most gaming magazines wouldn’t rely on gimmicks and are based on digital content so are instantly different to my product. This alternative view could be considered as alternative and again a form of branding.

Lastly, in all products the use of technology is vastly different to mine as competitors rely on screenshots taken within games and the use of recording software to gain the imagery they use. I have used a camera, studios and models for my products which have turned out an alternative look generic products. The only real times that my competitors would use cameras would be for specialist articles such as company profiles/tours and conventions that would require showing important people, costumes or consoles/technology. This could mean that my magazine is much more specialized and in some ways much more hardcore as the audience would be drawn in by content and not flashy technology usage or imagery. The use of human models adds a sense of power as again its suggests that my product doesn’t rely on the usage of excessive technology and stands tall on its own as something unique. This is a more traditional magazine that has some almost newspaper-like elements to it.

Codes and conventions

Gaming conventions

The main conventions of the gaming genre, found through research, would be that the magazine features large stories with high image to text ratios.  These are basic conventions and apply to most examples of products except 360 Gamer which uses much smaller stories specialized to the Xbox 360.  Both Edge and Games TM adopt this method, especially for previews and reviews whereas the more serious stories use one large image or one/two smaller images illustrating the points in the story.  The main convention that must be followed and without a doubt the most obvious is that it must feature gaming related content. Each story featured must be related to some aspect of gaming. 

I decided to adopt the large stories conventions and only in certain times adopted image ratios to suit how I see the articles should be. This means the one photo policy on front covers and serious articles and the higher image to text ratio in reviews.  I should have stuck to this throughout production as it would have kept the magazine looking professional and conventional. I easily met the gaming convention as it is a passion of mine and I know a lot on the subject. This allowed me to create three accurate and different topics based on my own beliefs on the subject and facts. These articles were all different and in many aspects educational to both gaming companies through improvements to genres and warnings on pre-ordering, along with the generic review information. The length of my articles could also be considered sticking to more intellectual magazine conventions as I have produced long, complex articles for mature audiences to enjoy.

I should have taken more images throughout the course of production as it would have benefitted my product. I would have been able to stick to the convention of high image to text ratios if I had. This is one of the only conventions I have chosen to ignore as I only had limited models to rely on and did not have the time to find more.  If I tried to utilize this convention then it would have been too repetitive and would feature underwhelming photography.  The other convention I could have stuck to better would have been the shorter length of articles. This would have made the articles I created look less intimidating and much more readable and therefore lure in more casual gamers. I tried to create this through my pre-order nightmares article, which although successful was the only one to undergo this style.

Print objectives

Story- My articles as previously mentioned link in with the usual content of games magazines as they utilize reviews, editorials and overviews of issues in the industry. This shows professional practice as I have stuck to the expected content type of my target genre. I have slightly bridged off in an advice style article through sections of pre-order nightmares and been slightly cynical in parts of Is War the Answer? These deviate from standard formula and would provide interesting reads to those tired of the same content regurgitated.  Had I needed more content ideas I could have used a possible interview article, as these are common or a top 10-list style article for necessary content. These however could difficult to arrange or gain original photography for, as a top 10 would rely on game boxes and screenshots.  Article length has already been addressed and varying lengths were applied throughout the product to create articles for different tastes and reading times.  This would be done by professional product too, to ensure that the maximum number of readers could be reached.

Images- the key imagery problem has been addressed several times in that I used real photography instead of digital screenshots and low image to text ratios for certain articles. This is unprofessional but all my imagery is either symbolic, as common in games magazines, or conveys a story (main example is war the answer?) These although unusual give them meaning to them and are much more than meaningless screenshots. This means that many images required props and I ensured these were correct. I had an example of a bad game set up in Pre-order Nightmares and the “weaponry” required for the other two photoshoots conducted.  Costume wasn’t considered important as my models were meant to look like ordinary gamers and that’s what they looked like in casual attire. Extra hats were added for the GTA shoot for extra humour but other than that no other costumes were required. I could have picked backdrops better though as my outdoor shoot looked unusual in this genre as most images are taken in studios. I utilized broad lighting and natural lighting in my products along with desaturation editing to illuminate my photos.  I haven’t really paid attention to the rule of three nor the eye line principle and instead intended to have impactful imagery that conveyed stories directly without subtle techniques. I have maintained images of game boxes and logos in certain sections to stick to my intended genre and build familiarity with my audience.

Language control- For all articles I have kept a mixed narrative voice as I use different voices to address personal issues or thoughts and more direct 2^nd person to address the reader when I feel something needs addressing or I’m giving advice. Most articles in games magazines are depersonalized which I feel reduces the value of certain articles. However I have had to be personalized as I give opinions that if not shown as opinions would be considered slanderous to corporations or games. This is the case in all articles especially the reviews.  I have gone for a relatively slow and sarcastic tone, as my articles are critical of the industry. In the review I have been much more upbeat and faster read speeds are used as it is a positive article. I use relatively emotive language and am highly critical tis level of critique may not be present in most magazines but in specialist articles in Edge there is put-downs on the industry and criticisms made. For sell lines I have mimicked the style of gaming magazine sell lines by using the name of a game and a slight addition of possible content. There is also references to companies as every gamer has peeves with the industry.

Colour- Most games magazines are bright and colourful when attracting casual audiences and on covers, however my main inspiration Edge usually has a bold green header and then is mainly black and white throughout it’s article. This is the same with my articles with colours chosen to improve branding. There is use of red to connote revolution and fearlessness and with the added horror fonts selected throughout show my product is new and unafraid to criticize the industry.  My colours and fonts are designed for connotations and appeal.