Retro Gamer Magazine

One of my spreads will be based around some sort of video game view. For inspiration and research I've decided to look at some existing games magazines by scanning in double page spreads from issues I own. I picked out the ones I found particularly interesting or relevant to my project.

Retro Gamer is a monthly magazine that looks at classic video games. It has many features such as 'the making of', 'retro inspection' and 'the definitive guide to..'

One thing I noticed about Retro Gamer is they like to use really bold images  on the first page which then lead to the article on the second page. In this spread for 'The Making of Outrun' the designer has set the main image bleeding on to the next page so it appears to be the primary focus of the spread, taking up a larger percentage of the two pages. They've also chosen to crop the screenshot of the game in a way that there is a lot of white cloud in the background which blends nicely into the white space on the second page. Retro Gamer very much use iconography to their advantage, which makes sense as they look at nostalgic products that their audience are very familiar with. The iconic 'Outrun' logo is spread right across the spread taking up about 50% of the space horizontally. I noticed it has been set over the feature title in the top right corner giving it even more presence over the spread. Not only does this really jump out at the reader but together the image and the logo emphasize the nostalgic feeling that the writers want to the reader to feel, because they're so iconic.

The introduction is text wrapped around the Outrun logo but you can see it has been aligned to take up the same width as the columns. The way the 'R' sweeps down towards the introduction helps guide the readers' eye through the spread.

In terms of visual balance I noticed the cars and the road lead off towards the 'O' of the Outrun which is set equally between both pages so that Out is on the left page and Run is on the right page with nothing being lost in the fold. By pull the main image across to the other page the objects in that image, which usually would be looking out of the shot, now appear to be looking into the shot. This eases the tension between the image and the edge of the format.

As the spread continues you can see the designers have used a constant 5 column grid for their layout. They've utilized this grid to allow for the article to be set across 4 columns (in 2 sets of 2) and the 5th column, which is thinner, to be used for extra information like fact files. It also gives them space to set images across both pages. Although this unifies the two pages and makes the layout seem less rigid, I feel that some of the images in the center are too small and much of the shot is lost down the fold.

Apart from that this spread is fairly well balanced. The bulk article sits towards the left of the spread, the array of smaller images sit in the middle and the one large image sits to the right. The effect is two large areas of information being separated by lots of smaller pieces of information, which makes the spread feel more central and less lop sided.

I like the way they use white borders around the smaller images when placing them on-top of another image. This stops the spread from looking too cluttered because the shots are all very similar and makes the images clearer and easier to view by the reader.

Setting the text across two quite wide columns gives the article a more authoritative and informative feel. The paragraph indents stop it from appearing like a large block of text which could look intimidating to the reader.

 

I really like the inventiveness of this spread. The designers have created a background which draws from themes of the indiana jones movies and branding, like the crinkled parchment and the torn brown leather material that associated with explorer films. The designers have also used similar earthy colours for some of the text to further continue the Indiana Jones style. In this way the spread really submerses itself in the well-known franchise it's talking about, which helps unify all the design elements as a whole.

By the using Indiana Jones style branding as well as the iconic Indiana Jones logo and shot of Indy himself the spread is more eye-catching to fans of the series so they're more likely to read on, even though it's talking about a game not the film itself. This could be a useful technique when I come to designing my spread. Familiar characters are often a good way to attract readers' attention because these are usually the most memorable parts of many franchises.

This layout is quite busy but I think this is common for video games magazines. There's a large emphasis on screenshots and extra information probably because the video game industry is a very consumer driven market.

This spread uses a 4 column layout, differing from the 5 column I looked at earlier. This makes for thinner article columns but allows the designer to set images equally across any given page. This is because they can take up the width of one column (and be place next to columns of text) to be set across two columns and have two images meeting at the middle of the page. This makes for a more symmetrical and balanced looking layout. Even on the left page, where the image of Indy's face and the introduction don't strictly follow the column grid, they have tried to keep the design symmetrical by having the two elements meet around the middle of the page.

I personally think the article is easier to read when the columns are this size. I also like the breaks created by the images and the pull-quote that are placed around the text. It makes the type look easier to digest.

I can see that this magazine uses a consistent brand for this feature (and all other features) by using the same logo and having the feature title in the top right corner of the page.

The designers don't use borders or white space in this spread which helps the design elements blend with the Indiana Jones inspired style.

I thought this spread on the Star Wars arcade game was interesting. The whole design plays on the style of the game. Like the previous article I looked at it uses iconic imagery from the film to make the article more appealing and recognizable to fans. Although the design appears initially busy it's layout is actually quite simple and easy to follow. The first page features a simple design with everything aligned in the center. Essentially it consists of the feature title, the article title, an image from the game and the introduction, reading top to bottom in a straight forward way. I think this gives the first page a similar feel to a poster as it is laid out and read in the same way.

The black background which is prominent in all the screen shots means all the imagery and the text blends seamlessly into each other when placed next to each other. So even though in terms of structure the pages differ, the designer uses colour to create continuety across the spread. There is also a white border which goes around the whole spread. This further helps to unify both pages so the reader associates the two pages as being one.

The second page appears to be designed on a 5 column grid allowing space for two article columns and smaller column for extra information. The fact that it's a thinner column and set to the far right tells the reader that it has less importance than the bulk article. The green border and the change in text colour tells the reader that the information is of a different type or subject from the main article.

I noticed that this spread features a limited colour scheme in terms of text. White is used for the main article and headers whilst orange is used for alternative information. I also think it makes the text a bit more visually interesting.

 This article style differs greatly from most of the magazine. The collage of shots from the game takes up about 5/6 of the whole spread giving it a lot of presence. The array of bright colours definitely makes the spread look very bold. It's likely to catch the attention of anyone looking through the magazine. Interestingly I find that even though the article is placed on the far left, it's not the first thing you look at. This spread actually reads right to left I think, simply because the imagery has to much presence that the eye is always drawn to it first.

This spread has the style of a mini-feature. It's a good example making a short article more interesting. All the text is set in one long column. The thin width of the column implies it is a more of a quick read than an in-depth informative article. The article actually functions more like an extended fact file because of the bullet pointed information placed between the header and the bodytype. The position of the column, being close to the edge of the page, and the fact that it's placed inside a white box helps to further emphasize this style.