Existing Products Analysis - Resident Evil 6 - Second Draft

Existing Products Analysis - Resident Evil 6

This is the game cover for Resident Evil 6. The game is created by Capcom who are arguably the biggest horror game company in the current market. The target audience for Resident Evil 6 is Male 18-24 year olds. The layout of the cover shows a zombies hand in the foreground, this shows that the game will be of the horror genre. Zombies are also very common in the horror games and are regularly used in the most well known horror games. People are represented on the cover as being confident and fearless. The choice of image tells us that the game will involve zombies, gore and violence. The genre of the game is reflected in the image as it shows a deformed hand which is a connotation of horror games. Dead people are generally not something you see in anything other than the horror genre. The designers have tried to make the cover look appealing to an audience by creating a sense of mystery with the deformed hand in the foreground, this will attract the audience because it would intrigue them to find out what it is. The cover follows the same layout as the other games which shows the audience that it will be the same type as game as the previous ones. The cover sticks to the codes and conventions of a horror cover as it used dark colours to connote mystery and the theme of death. The main character in a shadow hints that the character must make tough decisions that could be seen as dark. This is usually happens in horror/zombie tv shows, such as The Walking Dead and 28 Weeks Later. The cover aims to scare the audience and reinforce their fears, such as the fear of the unknown. The psychographic audience for the game would be people who are particularly interested in the Resident Evil series or people interested in horror games.

Existing Product Analysis - Grand Theft Auto V - Second Draft

Existing Product Analysis - Grand Theft Auto V

T his is the video game cover for Grand Theft Auto V. This game cover is designed by Rockstar Games, the company who also produced the game. Grand Theft Auto's target audience is male 16-24 year olds. The purpose of a game cover is to attract a consumer and convince them to buy it, this cover would convince the audience to buy the game as it shows things that male 16-24 year olds would be interested in. The colours are used to make the image pop and attract the attention of the audience, the green V has connotations of greed, jealousy and envy. These are all things that the images on the cover connote. The image are in a cartoon style to show the audience that it is a distorted version of reality and it has connotations that anything is possible because it's been imagined and presented as a cartoon. People are represented on the cover as being driven by money and power. This is shown by the main characters looking menacing whilst holding guns and looking towards the cars. The stereotypes that are enforced are that people living in the USA are violent, gun slinging maniacs who only want to commit crimes and violence. The choice of this image tells us that the game will be action packed and violent. The layout of the cover makes the white text in the foreground stand out. This will attract an audience because the main selling point of this game is that it is the next instalment of a very famous video game series. Also, the layout of the cover is the same as that of all the previous games, this is to say to audience that the game will contain all the same themes as the old ones. All of the pictures on the cover imply violence and masculine dominance. The cover also shows the narrative of the game which is a game that is played with multiple characters. The demographic audience for the game would be males aged between 16-24. The psychographic audience would be people who are interested in video games.

Audience Interview

Audience Interview

Question : What is your favourite type of horror game?
Answer : Horror games which involve Zombies and the survival aspect of games. My favourite games are DayZ which is an open world post apocalyptic survival game.

Question : What do you expect to see in a horror genre?
Answer : I would expect for something weird to happen, they usually have lots of blood and gore. I think it adds more to the suspense if the game is set in a dark place.

Question : What would you expect to see on the front and back cover of the game?
Answer: Something that teases what the game entails. This would make me want to buy the game because it makes it look mysterious. On the back i would expect to see an overview of the features of the game, if it is online etc.

Question : What point of view do you prefer the game to be in?
Answer : I think first person games are scarier because it puts you in the shoes of the character.

Question : What do you expect the text on the back of the cover to say?
Answer: Something that sets the situation you are in, if it's post apocalyptic then I would expect it to say where it's set and who the main characters are, or at least hint at it.

My audience interview was with someone who is within my target audience who play horror games regularly. The answers I got will help me in deciding the layout of my front cover and the information that I will put on the back.

Industry Research

Capcom

Capcom are a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, they are most known for the best selling franchises Resident Evil and Street Fighter. The company was established in 1983. The company has subsidiary branches in North America, Europe and East Asia. Capcom is one of the biggest, most well known companies that produce games. Their first games were coin operated arcade games, but in 1985 decided to start to produce video games for consoles, and this is where the company took off and became what it is today.


Red Barrels

Red Barrels are an independent developer who developed the hit video game Outlast. The company was associated with the production of Assassins Creed, Splinter Cell and Uncharted. The team decided to become an independent producer after leaving the production team for Ubisoft, one of the biggest producers in the business. Red Barrels are regarded as one of the most promising up and coming developers of horror games.

Existing Products Analysis - Resident Evil 6

Existing Products Analysis - Resident Evil 6

This is the game cover for Resident Evil 6. The game is created by Capcom who are arguably the biggest horror game company in the current market. The target audience for Resident Evil 6 is Male 18-24 year olds. The layout of the cover shows a zombies hand in the foreground, this shows that the game will be of the horror genre. Zombies are also very common in the horror games and are regularly used in the most well known horror games. The cover sticks to the codes and conventions of a horror cover as it used dark colours to connote mystery and the theme of death. The main character in a shadow hints that the character must make tough decisions that could be seen as dark. This is usually happens in horror/zombie tv shows, such as The Walking Dead and 28 Weeks Later. The cover aims to scare the audience and reinforce their fears, such as the fear of the unknown. The psychographic audience for the game would be people who are particularly interested in the Resident Evil series or people interested in horror games.

Existing Product Analysis - Grand Theft Auto V

Existing Product Analysis - Grand Theft Auto V

This is the video game cover for Grand Theft Auto V. This game cover is designed by Rockstar Games, the company who also produced the game. Grand Theft Auto's target audience is male 16-24 year olds. The purpose of a game cover is to attract a consumer and convince them to buy it, this cover would convince the audience to buy the game as it shows things that male 16-24 year olds would be interested in. The layout of the cover makes the white text in the foreground stand out. This will attract an audience because the main selling point of this game is that it is the next instalment of a very famous video game series. All of the pictures on the cover imply violence and masculine dominance. The cover also shows the narrative of the game which is a game that is played with multiple characters. The demographic audience for the game would be males aged between 16-24. The psychographic audience would be people who are interested in video games.

Research into existing media products

Research into existing media products

The codes and conventions of most video game covers are very similar. Examples of big video game companies include EA, Rockstar and Infinity Ward. All of these companies all create their video game covers with the stereotypes of their target audience in mind. Rockstar are the most obvious in their advertisements for the series Grand Theft Auto. Rockstar play on the interests of their target audience when creating their games and have created one of the most successful video game series of all time, this is shown as within 24 hours of it's release, it had made over $800 million. Another company famous for producing horror games is Capcom. Capcom produced Resident Evil which is one of the most well known games in that genre of all time. The Resident Evil adheres to the codes and conventions of a horror film as they usually have the same target audience.

Initial Idea

Initial Idea:

My first thoughts for the product I will create is a printed text advertising campaign. I am deciding between producing an advertising campaign for deodorant or a game cover for a game with a clear audience. I am going to work on my own as I like to do things independently and I don't like relying on other people to affect my grade. I am going to create the text on photoshop as I am very comfortable in using it.
My first ideas for the product will be an advert for deodorant. I am choosing this as I have experience in creating an advertising campaign for an energy drink for my GCSE coursework.