• Positive and negative stereotypes = Positive stereotypes give a good representation of a thing or person, where negative stereotypes give a bad representation

• Counter-types = challenges the dominant ideology

• Misrepresentation = this is the act of giving something a false or misleading representation of something. It puts an idea into the audiences head which is wrong.

• Selective representation = this is when one group of people or things are represented more than others in order to get a message across and put an idea into peoples heads

• Dominant ideology = this is the main most common idea of what is good

• Constructed reality = this is the idea that we present ourselves to others in certain ways because of the media and what we are exposed to from that

• Hegemony = this is the leadership or dominance by one group over others. The group who come up with the ideas and create the final product.

• Audience positioning = this is the way in which a camera or view is placed so that the audience will feel a certain way. for example if a camera is looking down at people, it makes the audience feel superior

• Fluidity of identity = there is not a fixed conception of an identity so there is fluidity for how it is presented.

• Constructed identity = when an identity is built in a way to persuade or influence the consumer to see things their way.

• Negotiated identity = when the way identity is represented, is negotiated into an agreement which is everyone’s ideal.

• Collective identity = the identity of a whole group, rather than an individual / the way a group or ‘collective’ is seen or perceived .

• Radical text – challenges the dominant ideology.

• In society, the dominant ideology is that men are generally stronger than women and are more likely to assert their dominance and can be more confident to do so.

• In tomb raider, the main character is a woman which challenges the dominant ideology that men are superior. Lara was sexualised to attract a male market. 

• Breaks stereotypes and shows strength and could inspire other women.

• Lara Croft – iconic sign

• Woman being strong is an indexical sign to breaking stereotypes (For example the image is an NVC because she is in a strong pose which makes her look confident. There are also images on the back of her abseiling and shooting monsters).

• One of the first protagonists in the gaming industry (breaks stereotypes as she knows how to use more weapons than most military people)

• Female empowerment – fending for herself

• ‘Adventurous babe’ – juxtaposing radical statement that challenges the dominant ideology of what a ‘babe’ is seen as.

Representation

• Sexualising female game characters is common for game designers as its target audience (male) have the biggest influence on the gaming industry as gaming is stereo typically for males (reactionary)

• In general characters of both genders are represented in an ideal way that would appeal to the target audience

• Not all women are really thin and not all men are really strong and muscly

• Games and magazines put ideas into people’s heads of what is seen to be ‘normal’ which makes them feel insecure about their real appearance

To begin creating my magazine cover, I first researched a selection of different styles of magazine covers until I found one that I liked the look of and based the layout of mine on that. I liked the layout with the boxes with plugs at the bottom so chose to add this to mine.

To start with, I decided on my target audience. I decided on 8-10 year olds because I wanted to try and take a different approach at gaming magazines. A lot of magazines I’ve seen are mainly directed at adults/teenagers, therefore I wanted to make one for younger people. I added things like the small stars and a round, more cursive font, to make the cover more appealing to my target audience. I chose the colour orange because it is eye catching and bright.

To get my main image, I took photos of a friend. She has very curly hair so we decided that it would be beneficial to make this the main feature of the photo. Once I had got a good image, I put it into photo shop and edited it to give it a more cartoony, mosaic effect. I took a still life image of a hat and used that as a promotional image to interest readers. I have also included plugs at the bottom of the cover to add more images and interest.

For the title I decided to use a larger size to make it clear that it is the dominant signifier on the cover. I also used a different font to the rest of the text, as I wanted to clearly differentiate between the two. My original title of the magazine was going to be ‘Little Gamer’ but after considering the age range more, I decided it would be more appropriate to change the name to ‘Budding Gamer’, as the target market is people who are new to gaming.

On the front, I included a small list of things that would appear in the magazine to make the audience interested. In one of the plug boxes, I created a character on Adobe Fuse and included that. I chose to make a scary, witchy character and wanted it to be cartoon to tie in with the brief of video games.

Overall I am very happy with my gaming magazine cover, as I think I’ve managed to fulfill the brief and I have been able to develop my skills throughout.

(unfinished)

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