PlayStation Magazine Textual Analysis

1. Gaming Magazine Textual Analysis
On the front cover of the PlayStation gaming magazine cover released in June 2011 the
main image is of a character, which is the main feature of the months release. The
masthead is located just below the top of the page below a banner and over laps parts of
the main image while other parts of the main image over laps it such as the characters
head. The selling line is below the masthead to the right in a smaller font of the same
colour. In the left third there is a part of the masthead that can appear separated from
the rest of it, also the cover line that is featured in a box/circle is about the main image.
The box/circle is the same colour as the main cover line which spans across the whole
page about 2 thirds down. Furthermore a plus symbol shows what other content is in
the magazine. In addition to this a second gold banner spans across the bottom of the
page with the text in black with certain words in bold. The cover lines on the right side
of the page have the subject matter in golden bold text with the details in black text
beneath. The issue number and release date is below the selling line while the barcode is
at the bottom of the page.
The colours in the main image varies but show a worn down white female character
who is tending to a wound which shows blood which can tell the audience about a few
details of the game. The lighting focused on the character is natural sunlight, which
shows exploration in the game and a lack of civilisation. The character appears to be
struggling to survive and this doesn’t show the class of the character, which gives
questions to the audience, which they will want, answered. The characters eye gaze is
focused on the bandage while their gesture is down on both knee’s in a bit of a
struggle/panic, which can show details of the character narrative. The character is
wearing worn beaten clothing and has blood on multiple area’s of her body such as her
head and left arm.
The props feature in the main image are a basic compound bow, which is holstered on
the characters back and a climbing, pick which is held by on of the female’s hands and
lent against her leg. These 2 props show detail about the games genre and narrative,
which advertises the game heavily. The location appears to be outdoors on a rocky slope
in the natural sunlight with no signs of structures or foliage. The characters torso is in
the centre of the frame with the main cover line below this overlapping the image. The
character’s bow spans diagonally across the page being overlapped by the cover lines,
masthead etc. The relationships between the elements in the main image appear to be
in groups such as the characters eye gaze and there point of focus, the bow and climbing
pick then the worn beaten clothing and the rocky terrain. These group together well and
show different elements of the narrative in the game. The shot is a medium long shot
focused on the main character with the background being out of focus from what could
be mist or a deliberate effect from the gaming institution. The camera angle is focused
on the front of the character and is almost eye level with the characters eye gaze. The
film stock used is smooth, colour and has many shades for a CGI. The lighting is natural
and is coming down onto the characters left side with her looking in the opposite
direction. The captioning of the character over laps her in large red text that is all in
capitals. This stands out to the target audience and it can suggest danger, panic etc. Also
the cover line located above the red caption and to the left talks about the game’s
franchise and the characters narrative in the game as it says “Reborn” which can talk
about the characters narrative and the game’s franchise. Plus the use of alliteration
stands out to address the target audience as it can inspire them to want to same
experiences seen in the game. Also the spiked edged bubble on the left third explains
how the heroine of the game “comes of age” this can suggest the target audience being
near to the age of the character. However it doesn’t suggest which gender the game is

2. aimed at which suggests that it’s aimed at both genders aged around the 16-24 years of
age. The cover line on the right side that is in bold gold text in sans serif font doesn’t
stand out as much as the red text however it’s the same colour as the 2 banners on the
magazine front cover. Also the text that is in black rather than gold is just one word
sentence that uses various grammar and one word sentences. These address the
audience as they come across as a opinion/response that someone has about the game
featured in the cover line. The cover line below this has one word in gold, which is
“SECRETS” which is also the same cover as the previous cover line and is sans serif font.
The use of having gold to describe this word is that it relates to peoples existing
knowledge of secrets that are stereotypical such as treasure, ‘X marks the spot’. As well
as relating to the feature article ‘Tomb Raider’. The rest of the cover line continues from
this as a sentence, which is about the magazines institution ‘PlayStation’.