Creating the ideal gaming magazine
Video game magazines were a huge part of gaming culture.
They don't have to go extinct due to the Internet.
Some gaming magazine push on, bless them, but let's try to create our own.
I have read a lot of gaming magazines.
Some good, some bad, but I'm keen on making my ideal gaming magazine (my tastes).
This little project of mine will analyse past and present gaming magazines.
We will combine the best parts of each.
This is just a fictional magazine mind, but if someone were to legit make one that'll be awesome.
== Purpose ==
Before we do anything we must consider who the magazine is for.
In this case, gamers. However, we must tailor content towards them.
We must give the reader something they can't get for free online.
Interviews, comics, fan artwork, exclusive content...
To gain a readership we must fill the niche the websites and videos cannot provide.
It's certainly not something you can do with zero budget.
== Starting out ==
To begin, we need lots of starting capital to pay for everything.
Gather a team of talented employees and starry-eyed freelancers.
Team
How many staff you need depend on the scope of the magazine.
We'll be a pretty big magazine, pumping out various content consistently.
Let's not worry about the size of the team; let's just say 'big enough' for simplicity sake.
Names
A catchy name will have eyes on us immediately.
For this magazine example we'll try GameZine Magazine, or GZM.
It's not a good name but this is an example.
Here's a protip: don't change the name of your magazine.
Official UK PlayStation Magazine just changed their name to PLAY.
Yes, the same name as their competitor back in the days. How confusing.
Format
How will the magazine be presented?
Paper form? Digital?
For this magazine example, we will go with digital.
Type
Will our gaming magazine be focused on a specific platform?
Consoles? PC? Mobile? Multiple?
For this magazine example we'll make it a multiformat magazine.
Time
Is our magazine monthly? Bi-monthly? Seasonally?
Monthly is good. Plus we can do an annual issue that's the year-in-review.
Pages
How big will our magazine be?
We should offer a balance of quantity for price and a reasonable limit for the monthly deadline.
I say let's go for 100 pages on average.
Ages
What is our age range? Who is our target demographic?
Since this magazine requires online purchases, let's say 18+.
That gives us a reason to swear and use lewd language... but don't overdo it.
Pricing
The ultimate decision. Who is willing to pay for info they could get for free?
There has to be a balance between affordable price and what will cover costs.
For this magazine example let's go with $5 USD per issue.
Protip: the launch issue should be free to give the people a preview.
Subscription model
How will people be getting a subscription to our magazine?
We should offer a discount when getting magazines in bulk.
Examples:
6 month subscription: $20
12 month subscription: $45
Summation
Name: GameZine Magazine
Format: Digital
Type: Multiformat
Time: Monthly
Pages: 100 average
Ages: 18+
Price: $5 per issue
Subs: $20 for 6 mo., $45 for 12 mo.
You can see why we need lots of starting capital.
To afford the staff and buy games and only charge $5? We might be running at a loss for a while.
So let's just say we're not in it for profit but fun. Hell we should do it for free, Moneybags.
== Mascot ==
Gaming magazines in the past sometimes had a mascot.
This would be the 'face' of the magazine, to be used in fanart and promo artwork.
I think in this case our magazine won't have a mascot (unless I can think one up).
Mascots in gaming magazines:
* Nester - relatable gaming kid -- Nintendo Power
* Max - dog that does toilet humour -- PlayStation Max
* Sakura - badass anime girl -- GBX
* Banzai Chibi-Chan - red-headed otaku kid -- PSM
== Advertisers ==
The life blood to a magazine. Best we don't piss them off with profane content.
Try to aim for advertisements that fit within what our demographic wants.
Don't be taking ads for frickin' political/religious causes. Go gaming or go home.
== Cover ==
Each issue should have a bold cover that captures attention.
It can't be too busy or it will seem childish and push away viewers.
It can't be too simple or it will seem low effort and not attract viewers.
Magazines with bad covers:
* Edge - too simplistic
* 110% Gaming - too messy
* Hyper - also too messy
Magazines with good covers:
* Retro Gamer - big, bold, and beautiful
* Cube - good use of columns and rows
* PSM - hand drawn covers make them memorable
* GameFan - ditto with the hand drawn covers
Part of what makes a magazine stand out is a recognisable logo.
Our magazine name, GameZine Magazine, should have a flashy logo.
Magazines with good logos:
* Play (UK)
* Nintendo Power
* Edge
* Computer Gaming World
A good way of determining what goes where:
Main space: big features, big name previews and reviews
Banners: lesser previews and reviews, interviews, competitions.
As for the back cover, we might as well leave it for an advertisement.
In the old days of physical format, this could have been a secondary contents page.
In this digital format it could very well be anything, so let there be an ad there.
== Staff page ==
We must be personable and show our readers the staff who created the mag.
Each staff member should have a bio or give an opinion; shape it up every issue!
Also make sure that the Editor's intro is short and sweet.
Magazines with staff profiles:
* Official UK PlayStation Magazine
* Power
* PC Zone
* PC Gamer
* Total Advance
You may feel tempted to give the staff members weird identities a la GamePro.
I've never liked that. Save the mysterious character for the angry ranter.
== Contents page ==
The feature where we showcase that lies within that issue.
The contents page must be bold and colourful, not boring like a medical book.
Magazines with great contents pages:
* Retro Gamer
* #21-#40 Official Australian PlayStation Magazine
* 1999-2000 Play (UK)
* 2002-2005 Official UK Xbox Magazine
Official Australian PlayStation Magazine issue 27 (October 1999)
A good contents page. Categorized, colour coded, clean and neat.
Official Australian PlayStation Magazine issue 41 (January/February 2001)
A bad contents page. Sloppy, messy, shows no love or flair.
Here are some tips to keep in mind:
* have pictures (preferably small)
* keep things in columns
* clump items in categories (e.g. news, previews, reviews)
* colour coding (you use this in conjunction with categories, such as coloured boxes)
== Content ==
The meat and potatoes of the magazine: news, preview, reviews, interviews, competitions, and more.
Strong writing is advised: a combination of humour, wit, and seriousness.
We are trying to differ from stuffy gaming journalists who only talk in dry sarcasm.
Humour
Anyone can read gaming news and whatnot, so we need to offer the readers choice content.
If we offer content in a humourous way, we'll gather attention and hopefully a readership.
Magazines with good humour:
* Play (UK)
* PlayStation Plus
* PC Zone
* Ultra Game Players
* Total Saturn
Tips on more humourous writing:
* funny image captions
* the editor reacting to weird sentences
* light-hearted jabs at other magazines/websites
Thy key is to show a sense of fun and funniness.
Don't be like Edge magazine, who is so snooty they haven't laughed since 1993.
Style
It's not just what is written, it is how it is presented.
Designers should arrange the artwork and text to create eye-catching pages with flair.
Magazines with too much text:
* Edge
* pre-1998 PlayStation Plus
* Play (US)
Magazines with too much whitespace:
* Edge
* modern Official UK PlayStation Magazine
* PC Gamer
* Play (US)
Magazines with not enough whitespace:
* GamePro
* Ultimate Future Games
* GameFan
Artwork
One way we can differentiate ourselves from other magazines and website is artwork.
Hand-drawn or digitally made, let's add some flair to our pages.
We should also do comics. They're like webcomics but not on the web.
Artwork tips:
* paste little art clipouts to spruce up a page
* pages should haven't a plain white background all the time
* big features need to let artists go wild with design
Comics will be a good way to get readers hooked.
Comics in gaming magazines:
* various games - Nintendo Power (comics based on various Nintendo games)
* The Joypad - Official Australian PlayStation Magazine (3 roommates and gaming culture)
* Dumped - Computer & Video Games (figurines comic with Big Brother voting)
* Osmondle the Frog - Total Advance (comic that lampoons video game tropes)
* Max the Dog - PlayStation Max (childish comic where every strip has a fart joke)
* various comics - PSM (these are often small little comics)
* The Adventures of Monitaur - GameFan (a dramatic comic featuring the staff members)
* Hsu and Chan - Electronic Gaming Monthly (two Asian guys lampoon gaming culture)
* Mode 7 - Play (US) (I've forgotten what this one is)
* Living Online - Computer Gaming World (Scott McCloud's series about the gaming industry)
Drawn artwork is sure to set us apart from the competition.
Drawn artwork:
* drawn Covers - PSM magazine
* staff anime style - GBX magazine
* staff Gorillaz style - Computer & Video Games (2002 era)
* Staff crazy style - GamePro
* Staff cartoony style - Total GameBoy
* drawn Covers + Staff cartoon style - GameFan
Our magazine should allow the community to contribute with their own artwork.
Magazines that show user-submitted artwork:
* Game Informer
* Nintendo Power
* Nintendo Magazine System
* Complete PlayStation Solutions
* GameFan
* Computer and Video Games
* GamePro
== Rumour section ==
This section of the magazine is dedicated to collecting whispers from the gaming industry.
These are the rumours that may one day become previews and reviews.
You can either have this section as a column or a page or half a page.
Magazines with a rumour section mascot:
* Quartermann - Electronic Gaming Monthly
* The Man Who Knows - PC Zone
* The Spy - PC Gamer
* The Mole - Official UK Xbox Magazine
== Essays / Opinion Pieces ==
No one cares about your opinions.
Unless you're a big name like Shigeru Miyamoto, no one will read your opinionated drivel.
If you MUST stand on a soapbox, contain your rant to a column, not a whole page.
Magazines with essays/opinion pieces:
* Edge
* Official UK PlayStation Magazine / PLAY
* PC PowerPlay
* GameOn
* Wireframe
basically all the modern magazines
One thing we can do (maybe) is a page of our staff's thoughts and opinions.
A sentence per thought, a few thoughts each, all bite sized and digestible.
Some magazines have an anonymous angry ranter to voice opinions.
You can have too for your more controversial opinions.
== Politics ==
One of the worst things you can add to a gaming magazine is politics.
These can be in the aforementioned opinion pieces but also in previews and reviews.
PROTIP: be apolitical as possible.
Magazines that got political:
* Edge - gushes about left-wing politics such as feminism and LGBT
* Hyper - was staunchly anti-Gamergate
* PC Zone - whinged about right-wing material
* Official UK PlayStation Magazine / PLAY - had the occasional leftie fit
== Letters ==
Messages sent to the magazine and answered by the editor.
This sort of thing has died out thanks to social media.
No one will write us any letters, or any emails for that matter.
We could use Twitter but we'll get bombarded with trolls.
Maybe it's best we don't have this segment.
== Previews ==
A look at games to come.
Images are a must for this section.
Do more than just 100 words and a single image per game.
Magazines with good preview pages:
* Official UK PlayStation Magazine - has pros, cons, and things to approve
* Games Domain Offline - has a Q+A section for important/silly questions
* PC Zone - lots of images with funny captions at times
For the love of God please separate the Previews and Reviews section.
Don't just jump straight from one to the other.
No, the contents page for the Reviews section doesn't count. Have ads in this gap.
Magazines that don't divide previews and reviews:
* GameOn
* Games Domain Offline
* GamePro
* PSM
* GameFan
* 3DO Magazine
* Next Level
== Reviews ==
One of the big reasons people are reading your magazine.
Writing should be a mixture of informative and humour.
Please don't be verbose: we're informing the reader, not boring them with walls of text.
Magazines with good review pages:
* Play (UK) 1999-2000 -- good use of images and humour and trivia boxes
* Total magazines e.g. Total Advance -- very fun to look at and read
* PlayStation Plus post-1998 -- short and to the point, with funny captions
* GameOn -- good balance of images and text for tablet screens
* PlayStation Pro -- has a graph that shows the reviewer's thoughts over time
* Computer and Video Games -- lots of images, not too much text
Play (UK) issue 50 (July 1999)
A good review. Busy pages of images and humourous text with eye-catching flair. Soul.
Edge issue 357 (May 2021)
A bad review. Boring pages of walls of text, no fun or flair went into it. Soulless.
Magazines with bad review pages:
* Official Australia PlayStation Magazine - walls of text here, jagged screenshots there
* PlayStation Plus pre-1998 - walls of text with dark blurry screenshots with no/bad humour
* Edge - walls of text, no life or soul to the text, barely any images
If your writers can pen punchy quips and silky smooth sentences, readers may actually read them.
Otherwise they'll leap straight to the review score.
Review score system:
* 10 point system - Official PlayStation Magazine, Edge, Games Domain Offline
* Percentage - Play (UK), PlayStation Plus, Ultimate Future Play
* 100 point system - Mean Machines, Total Control, PC Zone
* Decimal point system - Official Xbox Magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Cube
* 5 star system - Computer and Video Games, GBX, PSM
So what to choose?
Anything you like. I prefer the 10 point system, but we can choose anything really.
We have to be fair when reviewing games. No accepting bribes or caving to threats.
Magazines with overly harsh review scores: Edge, PC Gamer
Magazines with overly generous review scores: PSEXtreme, Hobby Consolas
== Hardware reviews ==
We'll definitely be covering every major console of each generation.
Also on the agenda is other contenders like the Stadia (cough).
Since we're covering PC as well, we can also put the latest computer tech to the test.
CPUs, GPUs, water coolers, you name it.
== Interviews ==
One of our main veins of exclusive content.
It doesn't have to be just designers, game directors, and other big cheeses.
We can also interview big-name YouTubers, gaming icons and veterans, insiders, and more.
If you can get Dave Grohl to do an interview, you know you've made it.
Older gaming magazines sometimes did interviews with fictional characters.
We probably won't be doing that.
== Making Of section ==
A pleasant feature of a gaming magazine I insist we should use in ours.
Some people out there are curious of game development, from concept to finished product.
It would indeed be neat to see how much a game changes through development.
Magazines with 'Making of' sections:
* Edge
* GamesMaster
* Retro Gamer
== Hints & Tips ==
The Internet has killed off this sort of content in publication.
Magazines like Expert Gamer and PowerStation went the way of the dodo.
Should we have a page or two (or more) dedicated to hints and tips?
I say no.
We can but it's wholly made redundant by that there aforementioned Internet.
Let's not do walkthroughs. That's what YouTube and GameFAQs is for.
== Miscellaneous ==
We can also fill pages (pad the magazine more like) with meta-gaming news.
Content like:
* speedrunning
* e-sports
* mods
* emulation and hacking (or maybe not if our lawyers say no)
* blunders made by gaming journalists
I consider such topics to be page-fillers.
Helpful to get our 100 page average, but the first to be nixed if we're pressed for time/space.
Actually we should do the gaming journalists blunders because it's funny to laugh at those bozos.
== Readers' submissions ==
Let's make our magazine interactive with submissions from our lovely readers.
Types of reader submitted content:
* funny captions to in-game screenshots
* short reviews for games
* artwork
* cosplay
* reactions to gaming news
== Filler sections ==
Talking about things other than video games in a gaming magazine? Sacre bleu!
It's been done before in other magazines. Should it be done here?
Magazines with non-gaming sections:
* DVD and CDs - Official PlayStation Magazine (1990s/2000s)
* books and DVD and CDs - Edge (1990s/2000s)
* anime - GameFan, Hyper, MAN!AC
* celebrities - Incite Video Gaming
I suppose we can have a listing for these.
For example, what our staff is watching on Netflix and reading.
Not celebrities though because who cares!
Filler content we can try:
* pizza delivery taste-testing
* designing gaming shirts
* models/cosplays in gaming garb
* making gaming-themed baked goods
* reviewing chairs to game on (beanbags, Patrone, etc)
* what food to eat with what genre of game
* top 10/100 lists
* building a gaming PC from scratch (with hilarious results)
(all of the above is content I have seen in other magazines.)
== Competitions ==
Another reason we'll have readers sticking around.
Also another reason we need a sizeable capital to start with.
There should be two types of competitions:
* passive - subscribers are automatically entered
* submission - the readers themselves can enter
Submission type competitions we can have:
* get the most trophies/achievements in a certain period of time
* beat a speedrun record
* complete a speedrun bounty
* creating cool levels in games like Dreams or Doom
* do some crazy things in a game
Types of prizes:
* consoles (e.g. PS5s due to being rare as hens' bollocks these days)
* Amazon gift cards
* PSN and Steam cards and other gaming gift cards
* swag such as cool designer sunglasses, merch signed by celebrities, and more
Gift cards are tied to region, so make it very clear to readers to subscribe with real details.
If they submit their address as Antarctica as a meme, they better not cry when they do win.
== Annual issues ==
Every year our magazine should have an annual issue.
This is the year in review, containing 'best of' content, basically that year's greatest hits.
Also content that didn't make it into the other issues, like cut content.
This special edition issue should come free with 12 month subscriptions.
Seeing as it is special, the price can be raised to say $7.50 or $8 for standalone purchase.
== Final issue ==
It's no fun closing up shop and waving goodbye to an esteemed project such as this.
When the final issue does arrive, give it a tear-jerking sendoff.
Don't let it fizzle away with a standard issue with no fanfare.
One thing you could do is what Nintendo Power did: bring back past writers for a retrospective.
Have a super 'best of' that culminates all the best moments throughout the magazine's lifespan.
Let the community voice their grief too with fanart and heartfelt messages.
== Conclusion ==
Video game magazines shouldn't be dying. If anything I reckon they're due for a comeback.
With the above tips in mind you're sure to pump out dynamite content.
Let's bring back old school styles with current news. It'll be a good one.
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