The target demographic of my magazine would be teenage boys between 14 – 17 who play video games regularly, therefore middle class: they can afford it. The purpose of this magazine is to inform the target audience of what gaming used to be like which would provide entertainment as well as escapism. I want to base this off of the research I have done on the general layout of a games magazine cover and what sort of games are popular and how they are presented to persuade the public to buy it. This relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as it would fit into the ‘esteem’ level given that video games allow teenagers to achieve something when they may be lacking in everyday life, such as school, therefore, giving them a sense of confidence. 

For the cover, I imagine a person, real or animated, in the centre of the page to catch the audience’s eye. A male or female in the centre would be a reactionary sign due to the commonality of male protagonists in video games and a female being a ‘damsel in distress’ which relates to Todorov‘s narrative theory as he said that there are set, stock characters within texts that are recognisable to audiences. This visual impact should flatter the text surrounding it as well as the colours which I picture to be green and purple as they are associated with the concept of gaming. I want the title to be in a big, bold black font to stand out on the white and purple background. A purple concept is a symbolic sign which has connotations of power: protagonists usually pursue or destroy people in power. In addition, the colour red can be associated with anger and passion, assets which can be helpful in gaming, this can be shown on a sticker. This relates to audience theory as the shade could cement the fact that emotion is a useful tool in the gaming world. What’s more, strong emotions often aid in winning a game, therefore, colors allow the audience to believe that if they pick this magazine, they are more likely to succeed. I would like the contents page to feature similar photographs to the cover to link each in theme. If I use simple black and white text, it will flatter the image as it would juxtapose the bright colors. The addition of a white circle with curved text in it which flows with the shape in conjunction with use of arrows could bring attention to a word such as ‘WIN’ which would imply to the reader that if they buy this magazine they will win each video game they play, the ultimate goal. This relates to the idea of escapism as it virtually persuades the audience to play a game as if they have more of a chance at winning as opposed to people who have not read this magazine. The double page spread should have many visual aspects, like the same colors as the previous pages to evoke a motif which is clear to readers.