Production Reflection

Aaron Acaster

ProcessTo start I looked for inspiration by looking at other game magazines. I realised that most magazines have a clear clean background either white or black. They are covered in information and pictures, so to start out I found a blue background with a paten on it on google. I used the smudge and the blur tool to give it a wavy effect. I think that effect looks better than just a plain white background however it isn’t too eye catching that it takes away from the images featured on the cover.

ProcessI decided I wanted to have the GTA V characters on the front, but I didn’t want them to be the main story. So I got individual images of the main characters, rote scoped them and placed the three of them at the bottom of the page.

I like the “hitman” font so I decided to use it for my title. I think that the red stroke looks good and suits the style of the text.

ProcessOn my practice covers I decided that I liked the idea of the new “hitman” game being the main focus so I found an image that I liked and that suited the style I was going for. I used the magic wand tool to remove the background. Then I decided that it looked a bit strange by its self, so I thought it would be a good idea to use the hitman logo so fans would instantly recognize it and it fills up space too. I wanted to have the red outline on it because it makes it fit In with the text better.

I also wanted to feature a story abut GTA V some ware, so I came up with a mini headline that I think will interest people to read more.

ProcessI decided that the GTA characters looked a bit out of place by themselves. So I put the games logo behind them. Doing this not only fills up the space but it also attracts fans of the franchise to buy the magazine. I moved the “trophy guide” headline down so its more in line with the logo, so people know its part of the same thing.

I then wanted a bigger main story, so I thought it would be a good idea to advertise the fact that all the best video game cheats will be inside. I put this right up at the top so people see it first. I made the word “cheats” bold so it catches peoples eye. I think that this is a good headline to put at the top because even if you don’t plan on using the cheats it’s a good way to get people to buy it because they might want to see if some of their favorite childhood cheats have been featured. The list wont satisfy everyone, so it leaves room for discussion witch is what the magazine is about.

I decided to overlay the “crime pays” headline over the gta logo because it looks more in place.

I wanted a massive incentive to buy the magazine. So I gave readers a chance to win a limited edition GTA V ps4. I have the word “win” in massive letters almost as big as the title. With white text placed over a black background. I put a black stroke on the word however because I think it looks more professional that way. I found an image of a ps4 and put a green circle around it with a black stroke on it too. I decided green because that color is the same color as the GTA logo. I decided that having a black stroke on the text also makes it stand out and makes it more professional.

I then decided that since hitman is the main feature on the magazine, that I should have the games title and a pull quote featured so new fans of the franchise know what it is. I found the stars online and planned to change the color of them, but last minute decided that I looks good how it is because it contrasts well.

The “Hitman” text was a bit too wavy, so I used the rubber tool to simply rub out part of the dot of the “I”

I had a hard time spacing each article. I couldn’t quite get it right, so eventually made some of the text smaller but to make the “crime pays” headline blue with a black stroke to make stand out.

After that I just had little details to put on that makes it look more professional. Things such as a barcode, the issue number and the price.

Before I even started making the inside, I looked on the internet at other gaming magazines for inspiration. I looked at how they laid out the text and how they incorporated images to make the text mean something.

I then started production on the big image I wanted to create. Originally I found a picture of a cartoon looking city skyline. I rote scoped an image of hitman and image of Diana.

I wanted to feature a pull quote some ware, but at this point I wasn’t sure where.

Firstly I deicide against the previous background on the main big picture. So I found another picture, this is less cartoony and more digital art, I think it fits so much better that the one used before.

I also added the games logo, just because I think it looks good placed over the moon, and the image looks plain without it.

Secondly I created a logo for the “news station” The logo is simple and to the point. I did this because in my research I concluded that a lot of game magazines have similar things featured in their magazines.

I placed a black bar on the top because it looks more professional and gives the page a better look.

I put a little white box with key pieces of information in it because when looking at other magazines they do similar things. And I think it’s a good idea for readers that don’t want to read the full thing and just want the specific pieces of information.

I have also put in extra little details, such as the name of the magazine on the bottom of each page and the article logo and name in the black bar.

This is the finished product. I added a lot of text at the top of the right hand side page is the article intro so I put it in bold letters. I also made the first letter of the first sentence bigger than the rest. I added things such as the game developers logo, a twitter logo and the game developers twitter name. This really brings the whole top section together, without even reading it, it just looks like its full of information, and with the addition of the developers name and logo at the very top, it gets rid of blank space that would look weird.

I decided that a stroke around the pull quote in the middle looked a little off, so I decided that instead I would put red boxes around it, this gave it a good unique look. I also added a white stroke that in my opinion brings more colour out if the page and attracts peoples eye to the quote.

At the bottom of the page I have placed the main piece. Just below the pull quote are screenshots of the actual game, featuring screenshots gives readers a chance to see how the game will look and gives fans an idea of some of the locations the game takes place in. I decide to put them in the place I did because readers might want to just look at pictures and not read, so having the pictures close to the middle makes it easy for everyone to see right away.

The big piece of text below the two screenshots

Before I started making my contents page, I looked up some real world examples on the internet.

I then found an image of a wave effect and I made it black and white by using the colour replacement tool.

I wanted to make the whole thing black and white because at the time I thought it looked good.

I then started to create a title. I looked at examples online for inspiration.

I then thought to add a bit more interesting I would add squares around the words. I did this and it looked a bit stupid, so I made the first letter from each word bigger. Doing this made the title look more interesting and professional.

I then realised that it looked a little bit bland, so I added other details such as a Facebook page, a twitter page and a website. This makes it look more realistic and makes it look much more professional.

I decided against the black and white thing, so I made the wave a blue/ green colour. Doing this makes the whole page pop out and immediately looks much more interesting. I then thought that the title could use something extra. I then realised that the examples I was looking at online have some kind of mascot near the title. So I decided to add recognisable video game characters to the title. This I didn’t just put them around the title however, I made them fit in, for example I have Crash Bandicoot leaning on the “C”, I also have a sack boy sat on a companion cube. Doing this would make audience relate their favourite characters with my magazine.

I then realised that I should include in game screen shots. So I thought a good place to feature them would be at the top of the page. I thought this because it would draw peoples eyes to the top near the text, so they would be drawn to the text and they should start reading the it.

Then I made the “discuss” title in the same style at the main title. This keeps the design consistent and makes it easier to look at. Another thing I did to keep the design consistent is having the page numbers the same colour as the wave in the background. I made the actual text clear and easy to read. The topic is in italics and is a bit more bold and the description is just normal text.

To add the final touches I put all of the text in the correct places. I was left with a black space on the bottom right hand side, so I thought it would be a good idea to feature fan art, so I found images of video game fans art on the internet then I filled up the space with them. This not only fills up the space however, it also fits in with my magazine idea of fan interaction. So it works both ways.