Digital Rhetoric | Information Design
Project Overview
The Retro Realm game magazine is a collection of essays that I've written in Digital Rhetoric compiled into one document. Using InDesign, I created a 17-page magazine talking about ethics in video games and reviewing some games that I personally play myself!
Project Background
The Retro Realm Magazine is a collection of essays and other writing samples that I've written in Digital Rhetoric. Using InDesign, I challenged myself to try out new features to write and design content that was related to video games and ethics that I've learned in class.
The magazine features papers like updates for games I enjoy playing, reviews, and an in-depth analysis of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Ethics. This project taught me a lot about information design for another medium that I had little knowledge about.
Hopefully, in the future, I can work on similar magazines or vlogs talking about design, ethics, and video games as a hobby. Or perhaps, a published company!
The magazine features papers like updates for games I enjoy playing, reviews, and an in-depth analysis of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Ethics. This project taught me a lot about information design for another medium that I had little knowledge about.
Hopefully, in the future, I can work on similar magazines or vlogs talking about design, ethics, and video games as a hobby. Or perhaps, a published company!
Programs used: Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop
Project Goals
- Learn new features on InDesign like Table of Contents, Export Options, etc.
- Write engaging texts about video games and ethics.
- Use design skills to create a magazine that is visually appealing.
Project Constraints
- Limited time due to other classes and responsibilities.
- Lack of knowledge about InDesign's complex features.
- Not enough time planning to create the magazine.
Method
Before I started on the magazine, I looked at inspirations for magazine designs online. I used a mixture of Japanese Anime magazines and Game Informer magazines to understand the layout of an entertainment magazine. The pages and information that I thought would be beneficial were added to a private Pinterest Board that I've created for the project. During this, I also took the time to revisit my old papers from Digital Rhetoric and make edits. These edits included looking for grammar or any misspellings since they were Maymester assignments and I definitely had errors everywhere.
Afterward, I used InDesign's grid system to create different layouts for the content. This made it easier to paste the content onto the pages and I focused on creating a focal point for each section. There was a lot of back and forth between creating columns for the text since I was essentially stuffing almost six pages of context into a magazine at once. Obviously adding breaks like images helped make some breathing room while reading. Any images I've used were also credited to the magazine as well.
Throughout this process, I've talked to classmates and professors receiving feedback on the magazine.
Key Takeaways
Honestly, designing and writing a magazine yourself is difficult. There are so many elements to keep track of that without a schedule, you could trip and fall easily. However, with time and effort, I was able to complete this project among other high-priority projects I've had like my portfolio website and final projects.
Additionally, this content may seem out of the way for Technical Writing despite my talking about ethics and video games. However, it made me realize that my skills as a Technical Communicator are fluid in other disciplines outside of that. Much of the ethics I've learned from Digital Rhetoric was beneficial for me once I took TCOM: Ethics, Practice, & Theory! But there is a lot that we can learn from video games and play that some people may not realize either.
I feel as though there are many improvements that could be done to this magazine if given the time. Especially setting up the document for print in case I wanted to have a physical copy. Or perhaps messing with the Adobe PDF settings to display the magazine in a certain way for my readers. The content could also use a bit more rework to make it more digestible. Obviously it wouldn't be a problem if someone were also an avid gamer, but it could definitely help the attention span!