FMP report 9 (Holiday report)

Over the Easter holiday I've expanded the writing in my FMP, I've written 9 out of 10 reviews for my hall of fame pages (12 was too much).

Furthermore I've written reviews for each game i wanted to review in the magazine and I've added a first impressions page for games i haven't finished yet. I filled this section with a review for dark souls 3, a game I've been playing over the holidays though i still haven't finished it. I also used this experience to construct a discussion around difficulty in games since dark souls is famous for it's challenging difficulty.

In addition i started an article on the history of a game genre called SMUPS (shooting games that were popular in arcades) but i didn't feel i had played enough of these games to give a review from my own perspective. So i scrapped this article and started writing an examination of the metroidvania genre instead because I've played many more games from this area.

FMP report 8

Today i started writing reviews for my magazine, i did this after making a rough paper plan of what my magazine will look like.

Furthermore i decided to start on the reviews now because i think that the writing will be the hardest part of my magazine, in addition the writing must come first so that the design can be stretched around it properly.

I did a rough draft for my hyper light drifter review which i am quite happy about, however i still need to add to it in significant ways e.g. i need to describe the combat more thoroughly.

I also made a list of 12 games for my hall of fame section (which I've renamed the hall of game), this section will be a subjective list of my favourite games.

FMP report 7

Finishing the research section of my project took longer than i expected but now I've finished what i intended and assignment 2 is almost finished. Today i proofread my general analysis of magazines, posted all my research into one google drive document and linked it on the brief, furthermore i also finished my research reflection, proofread it and posted it on the brief. Now all i need to do is update my Vlog and my assignment is pretty much finished.

Research reflection

What did you hope to find out using the research sources you identified?
I wanted to find out how other magazines do their work, how professional teams structure their work, how they sold their magazine to an audience, how they write, design and structure their pages and the overall tone they present. Put simply i wanted to see how they made game magazines so that i might learn from their work and implement it in my own.

   

Did you produce both primary and secondary research?
Yes though much more primary research than secondary research,

  

Which did you find more useful to your idea development?
Primary research because it i was looking at actual game magazines and this allowed me to see what writing style would be ideal. furthermore it made me think about what i might want to include in the sections of my magazine and how to structure the pages, what colour scheme would be appropriate, best order of content, what to include on the front page etc. Secondary research was less useful because i couldn't find any books in the library about making magazines, and though there were magazine articles on the Internet which i found useful.

Did you find out anything new about your proposed idea - e.g. an artist, director, shooting style or colour scheme?

I found out how to best structure the pages, and what to include in them, furthermore i was shown a variety of different colour schemes.

Do you feel more confident about producing your media product after completing your research?

Yes i do feel more confident, i feel as though i could start designing the pages and writing, in fact I've already started some of the articles already.

Can you identify the three most important findings you discovered in your research?

Narrative and visual techniques to keep my reader interested, for example spiking the camera or breaking the forth wall.

What has changed about your idea after you have completed your research?

I now know what my idea will look like, what the words will sound like, how i will structure the pages, and I'm considering other things too now like what colours i should use, what pictures to use etc. An example of this might be that i have decided to make my magazine 8-12 pages long

FMP progress report 6

Today i posted a survey about magazines to my facebook group as a piece of primary research and i'm finally starting to log up some secondary research - i was able to find the circulation of the magazines i'm analysing.

Furthermore i also finished my analysis of both the playstation and PC gamer magazines and I've posted them in my brief along with my Vlog.

Next i need to do some more secondary research and then write the blog post around research.

Proposed research techniques

My final major project involves two main topics for research, video games and magazines. However I've been a gamer for a long time and i already have a lot of information i can use for my FMP from this topic (for example I've got 162 games on my PC, about 7 consoles etc). Therefore i feel its appropriate that i research the second topic more thoroughly this being the magazines.

Primary research

To research this topic i will study gaming magazines and analyse what makes them effective.

I have already looked at the PC gamer magazine and i have begun analysis of this. I also plan on looking at the Nintendo magazine and analysing it in the same way. I thought it would be better to analyse Nintendo specifically because it is polar opposite of the PC gamer magazine. For example the PC gamer magazine caters to an older audience and their content is centred on a market Nintendo isn't engaged in at all Nintendo being a console only company, completely separated from the PC market. I want to see how these magazines differ their approaches in regards to writing and design because of these parallel goals.

I am also going to be researching games and i have a number of titles i finished recently that i want to review and talk about including:

Touhou Project games 1-5, 7, 7.5 and 10.5

Hyper Light Drifter

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War Dark Crusade

Undertale

Bastion

One Finger Death Punch

Momodora

Mark of the Ninja

ICEY

Downwell

Cave story +

Axiom Verge

The Basement Collection

I plan on examining the mechanics of these games in my reviews and going into detail about what makes them good and in some cases bad.

This will be primary research because i will be "watching or reading similar products and taking notes."

Furthermore i will release a survey onto my college facebook group to cultivate ideas and acquire feedback.

Secondary research

I will look into the circulation of the magazines i will be examining and i will write about what this means.

I will also read articles about magazines that might give me advice on how to structure my FMP.

FMP progress report 5

Today i did my assignment 1 Vlog and most of my assignment 2 Vlog which will need an update shortly.