The main Research document for the FMP.

1. Research

2. Market Research: Existing Products

3. Posters
Colour is a crucial component to an effective poster, best shown in the first two posters below. The use of a
lighter to darker red is great at showing depth/distance in a minimalistic piece, especially with its connotations.
The red really gives off a sense of danger and risk, if you have played the tomb raider games you'll know this to
be a core focus. If I was take anything through to production I think it would be the use of space/positioning,
especially from the second poster. Using the sun and positioning Lara in a way that draws the focus onto her is so
effective. The first two posters have a very modern style to them, as they are what I would call minimalistic. The
third one has a definite retro style to it, this could be creating in the present day, maybe with the intent to insight
some nostalgia in certain parts of the audience. The use of simple language is effective and works well with the
minimalistic asthenic, “Every Legend Has A Beginning”. Its vague yet has depth and simple yet detailed.

4. Posters
I chose these posters as they capture the simple pixelated style that I wanted to somewhat replicate in both the
experiments and the production. This style is both minimalistic and nostalgic, as it uses the same style of many
older video games. The use of this positioning is quite unique amongst the grand scene of posters, as minimalistic
posters are mostly the only kind to adopt this. The positioning is done to create a greater sense of minimalism
and to therefore draw more attention towards the subject. Positioning/spacing is another thing I'm taking into the
production, especially the magazine and poster/s, I think this will help me to achieve the aesthetic that I'm going
for. I quite like the font that is used, I would probably use a font closer t that of the one I used for the previous
FMP.

5. Magazines
This magazine is a great example of a decent text to image ratio. Some text can look overwhelming in its
format/positioning, this one isn’t as the column and lighter font makes it easy on the eyes. The use of colour,
green, is effective at giving the magazine and series of magazine a aesthetic identity. I liked the use of allocated
numbers on the images, as not all of the readers will know what they are from, this helps to include more readers,
it is pretty effective in my opinion. If I was going to point out something that I feel this magazine is lacking in, it’s
the use of pull quotes. They can an effective way to draw in readers to the piece. For example if a new game
review used a pull quote like ‘We truly hold our game close to our hearts’ I would probably read into that piece.
From this magazine I will try to take the use of colour, spacing/positioning, and pull quotes into production.

6. Pixel Design Imagery
Pixel design imagery should cover the maps and insignia which I think shows off the image side of my concept in
an effective way. First of all is the insignia, as this won’t just be the in-game insignia, I plan for this to be the
center of the poster/s. I have already somewhat planed out the insignia I want, but the design is in question. As
I'm not sure i am able to create it. I plan to use existing insignia like the ones below as inspiration for the
production experiments, this should give me a chance to test my ability. I really liked the simple and minimal style
to the first one, as the bright red and solid black work well in a pixel format. The first one gives me a sense of
roman influence, much like many modern flags use the same format as the French, their influence was also fairly
long-lasting. I think that insignia is so important because it is how something is portrayed besides it’s actions. I
aim to create some kind of map for the concept, hopefully 1 larger one and one that hones in on the chosen
region. The 1st map is quite close to the style I would go for, but on a more pixelated style and I'd properly go for
a darker colour pallet.

7. Animation
I chose this animation because it covers many different styles of pixel animation, I aim to create a short intro
animation. This animation was hosted on YouTube, however recently it was blocked due to copyright, so it isn’t
really an existing product anymore. I think that was because the song wasn’t that different from the original, and
the YouTube copyright system is messed up. I did still manage to find some images via google of the animation.
The 1st and 3rd images below are a great style, but a bit too detailed for what I am going for. I am aiming for a
more simplified aesthetic, this is mainly due to my ability, in that I don’t think I could pull something so detailed
off. I do still really like all of the colour themes/pallets used, as they work well at providing depth and personality
to the animation. These different styles are telling of the many different creators that came together to
collaborate on this piece. My favourite frame is the 2nd one, more specifically the floating island, I really like the
style and pixel density. I like how most of all the detail and vibrant colours are on it, it works well to pull in and
catch your attention.

8. Bibliography
• Anon (2019). Xbox: The Official Magazine . Bath: Future PLC. 0, 4-5, 10-11. Found at:
https://issuu.com/futurepublishing/docs/oxt173.issuu
• Vimeo. (2019). Feel Good Inc. (Pixel Art Collaboration). [online] [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019]. Found at:
https://vimeo.com/308869087
• Pinterest. (2019). Video Game Posters | Video game advertising | Pinterest | Tomb raider 2018, Tomb raider lara
croft and Tomb raider full movie. [online] [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019]. Found at:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/307933693244287831/
• .

9. Audience Research

10. Survey Results
Q1 From this quantitative question I got a good range of ages. From what I can tell most
were around 17-20, I think a few people were in the late 30’s, this is most likely what
screwed the average to be higher. From this average age I can guess that someone of
that age would have a probably played more retro looking games than people who
are younger.

11. Survey Results
Q2
.

12. Survey Results
Q3 .

13. Survey Results
Q4
From this qualitative question I was able to get a more 3-d sense of what the audience would be looking for.
However, this is somewhat a bias, as I have 11 responses and therefore not a large enough number to be accurate at
what I wanted. Although it was still useful to see people’s opinions from the question.

14. Survey Results
Q5
From this qualitative question I was able to see how much of
my potential audience would respond positively towards a
setting somewhat based in real-world history. Overall I got a
sense that they thought it could give a setting some substance,
but it should also have other elements to it as well. This is what
I was hoping for, as my concept is of this. I have based it in a
real-world time period with the normal events and what not,
but I take it down a more fictional path. I did this as I felt I
would have more freedom. I am glad I did this.

15. Survey Results
Q6
This qualitative question was an important one, as my concept
somewhat revolves around player choices. From this question I
was able to understand that it is circumstantial, as it works for
some games and not for others. Sometimes player choice can
create a poorer narrative than if it was scripted. Some players
prefer games to be more like interactive movies. An example of
this is the Tomb Raider and Uncharted games. My audience is
seemingly mixed on this, which is good, if all players preferred
the same games then gaming would never evolve. I'm glad some
like the idea of player choice, as it is a core theme to my concept.

16. Survey Results: Summary
Q4
To summarize the survey and its findings…
I have focused on the qualitative questions as they gave me a more 3-D sense of my audience and their preferences.
Their responses wouldn’t have changed my project much at all, but it was defiantly good to see their thoughts on a
few relative matters. The general sense of the responses will certainly be on my mind from now until the end of this
project. It was interesting to get their take on the topics covered in the questions, especially the responses that gave
for and against answers.

17. Overall Research Summary
Q4
Overall the research helped me in many ways. I knew when I started the research, that parts of it were not going to
alter the project anywhere as much as others. The existing product research helped me to grasp the concept more, to
better visualize what I was setting out to create. The insignia and maps research was especially useful at this, so was
the animation research. The survey helped me to understand my potential audience a little better than before. I had a
vague idea of my potential audience, this helped to make that more clear and actualized. There was some research I
had wanted to conduct, as I think it would have sided me in the upcoming production. I wanted to research the
setting better. This would have been centered around the chosen region, with its legends, folk tales, peoples and
traditions, etc. I did not conduct it in the end as it felt out of place to the rest of the research, as it didn’t fit in the
defined categories like the other parts did. I still might conduct it in my own time, as I want to give my all for this
project.