Really cool individual who runs a zine from USA but it is published in Nottingham at GameCity, as huge community of nerds and fanboys eager to create game related work to sell and exhibit around the globe. Corey is a mature designer, his general aesthetic is how I would be approaching a few of my briefs. He has a cargo and I have started to follow him, to see what else he produces.
SO after a lengthy chat with Lorraine to get to know what I am letting myself in for and terminology I can summarise this:
Generally speaking, there are two types of LARPing, these are divided into High Fantasy which deals with the Tolkien/full on immersion fantasy and the Low Fantasy which basically makes magic more mystic and wyrd as opposed to the norm. Decor, or costume is totally subjective to the faction/individual.
TERMINOLOGY
There is a massive list of this so this is what I have so far:
OSP - Occupational Skill Points, these are gathered playing the game and are similar to console players attaining skill points.
IC - In Character, this is often used to differentiate between speech engaged in either OOC or IC.
OOC - Out Of Character, term used to ascribe to non gaming speech/action.
OS - Occupational Skill, this is the attributes that have been gathered on the field of play. They often take the format of ski
CS - Character Skills, these are what come with your character and general OSP.
PHYSI REP - Physical Representation, this varies within systems, but generally accepted as being in context with your own OSP and the environment/realm/world.
HPC - Hits Per Location, AKA hit points, similar to a health bar. Localised according to damage sustained within the arms/legs/torso/head.
Froffing - OOC banter "hey did you see X kill Z last match? That was insane!" can lead to information being used against other players due to the nature of the game.
LAMMY - One who has a laminate that is ordained with a special effect/spell or power that can be redeemed during play. Can only be used if ok'd by the ref.
LAMMY MUNCHKIN - Lammy hoarders, can be selfish or sorted. Depends on the tone of voice used in speech.
PGT's - Power Gaming Twats, these are the one's who go to games to acquire more stat points to increase their OSP, similar to rushers in console gaming. Can either be benevolent of malevolent depending on the individual.
FOIP - Find Out In Play, term/phrase used for n00bs who can find out their query by playing more, or done because other players cannot be arsed describing a term/lore to someone else.
Metagaming - this is comparable to froffing, gathering info OOC in order use in game against a faction or individual/group.
NPC's - Non Playable Characters, these tend to be high ranking officials such as kings, elementals/ancestors/gods. Depends on faction alignment.
DPC - Directed Player Characters tend to be the ones who give our plots to people, act as messengers and work OOC and IC logistics. Make sure everything runs smoothly.
There are varied systems that operate within the complex game structure and each system is different depending on the size of the game/game world.
The average/estimated sizes of the groups in attendance at each event respectively is 10/25 for a small group and between 1,000/2,000 at the larger mainlines.
A mainline is one of the main events that unite the broken factions throughout the UK.
One of the mainlines as such is an organisation called 'Lorien Trust', which has a set of rules, regulations and referees to ensure that gameplay flows according to the rulebook.
There are a whole host of guilds and factions that divide the land of Erdreja, these include:
GUILDS
Mages - these deal with the magic side of things, mainly those interested in casting ritual spells or effects that take place in game, also under the umbrella of "power guilds".*
Incanters - this guild take care of enchantments and rely on faith based magic users.*
Healers - these are associated with priests and focus on the channelling of life energy to heal others and themselves.*
Scouts - these are the swift, often stealthy characters that rely on their knowledge of the forest, tracking ability and fancy footwork.
Alchemists - potions and poisons, the art of using ingredients to make the latter.
Armourers - smithies who rely on their extensive knowledge of the forge to create armor and weapons that can be traded IC and OOC.
Bards - These are split into 3 different categories, harpers (lore), scribes (scholars) and entertainers.
Militia - This covers melee training and the general combat side of the guilds.
Archers - Projectiles and arrows.
FACTIONS
DRAGONS/CELTICS
BEARS/SCOTTISH
JACKALS/GREECE/N.AFRICA
TARANTULAS/ELVES/FANTASY
UNICORNS/TRADERS
LIONS/ARTHURIAN
HEARTS/STAGS/ENGLAND
VIPERS/TUTONIA/GERMANIC
Each faction has their own religions, although gods are not referenced, instead they are reffered to as Ancestors, as they do not wish to directly offend IC or OOC. This is because the festival caters for the Lowest Common Denominator.
ANYWAY, moving onto the actual LARP group I will be studying myself.
Fools and Heroes.
There is a system similar to the one described previously, although I will not go into great depth describing it all as it would take hours. I will however, discuss races/religion as the system is interesting and captivating at best.
Now all that is left is to have a word with the people involved and construct some questions that would appeal to gamers and non gamers. And of course get some interesting photos for the publication.
Just thought I would catch up with some much needed print knowledge, especially since my SOI declared that I knew alot about the subject and intended to produce work integrated with some interesting finishes.
The book was a great source for some of my briefs and sped up development of the CODE brief significantly. The rest of my annotation can be seen in the PDF.
First image I have sourced from a book I got out at the library from Rockport: Innovative Promotions that Work by Lisa L. Cyr. Probably will hold onto this as it will come in handy for when I need to come up with more deliverables for briefs or ideas in general.
Ok back to the brief, I love the use of transparent paper to lure the audience into reading the contents/image. A sort of reveal element ties in with the overall brand guidelines/concept behind the magazine, where gaming is stripped back and viewed in a different way.
Despite the content of the magazine, I thought that this served a s contemporary example of how to approach layout design, especially since I avoid it like the plague. The overview of type specs allows freedom within restrictions and would help greatly towards the DC publication.
This sort of simple format and layout seems like an ideal little piece that would greatly compliment my heroes of science brief whilst not overcomplicating the content/direction. It also means that the rigid format and structure of the content and colour go hand in hand with its overall effectiveness and how the imagery used supports the impact to the intended audience.
Thought I would make sure that I included PDFs more in my posts as it only takes 5mins to put together and enables me to post more without fear of overloading and making the blog look cluttered. I have decided that the main feature to support Code's concept would be Virtual Geographic, a name I have taken from the tumblr blog of the same name. Its a shame because I could have made a huge publication dedicated to the entire subject and think it could sell really well. Anyway, I have included some of the images I will be using for content of Code. I also trawled the internet for some tasteless/interesting tat and game related paraphernalia which would also feature in the magazine. ALthough looking at the Random Loot stuff, I am not sure if it is dumbing down the content of the magazine or if it is just putting something in for the sake of it. I will have to get some feedback from a few people to see how it is received.
"Makeshiftis a quarterly print and online magazine about creativity in unlikely places, from the favelas of Rio to the alleys of Delhi. These are environments where resources may be scarce, but where ingenuity is used incessantly for survival, enterprise, and a self-expression. Makeshift believe in an industrial future fueled by networks of makers, from roadside engineers to co-working creatives.Makeshift are documenting a movement of hackers, sharers, and entrepreneurs innovating under resource constraints. Makeshift is about people, the things they make, and the context they make them in."
Really like the layout and the grid they have used to produce the spreads. The composition is something I will be using for inspiration when considering how to apply it to my own work, with the exception of using much more bold colours to bring my own work to life. It is something I strongly believe in and think makes something more engaging when using appropriate colour combinations to enhance overall impact. Especially when dealing with content heavy work.
Just thought I would look at a range of commercial magazines to see which sort of directions suits the brand guidelines/idea of the zine. Personally I dont think I will be using the commercial approach as it does not suit my target audience though I believe it is better to know your enemies better.
Little piece I picked up in the library, due to the nature of the magazine or 'zine, this format seemed highly appropriate, small compact and can be easily carried. Despite the common misconception that today's gamer is a lazy individual who feeds off trolling the internet and gaining points based on their habitual pushing of buttons to attain a higher status, actually goes places regularly. The shop being the main point of contact for the individual where magazines or smaller publications can be found. The magazine format is relatively small to all of the others, but it still would stand out if the design was high impact and had a certain attractiveness paired with a unique approach.
Insight magazine has neither, but it does have its size. And a handful of well laid out, clear type. All for 20p.
Heroes of Science needs some context and due to the nature of the size of the publication, it only seems fitting to look at the dimensions and colour profile of the Guardian's The Guide.
CMYK values:
Text: PSO SNP Paper (ECI) FOGRA42L Max TAC 260
Covers: ISO Coated v2 300% (ECI) FOGRA39L Max TAC 300
According to the European Colour Initiative, the Offset Profiles for the supplements are in regards to mass production. This is when using Offset Lithography as the primary methodology for the manufacturing of the publication/supplement. These values are used for colour-accurate proofs, the FOGRA "represents the expected result of a standardized offset print on coated paper... with subsequent matte film lamination." (Usage in practice/Pre-press)
The profile in question is a good choice when the intended printing conditions are not yet know. The advantage of the coated profile with a maximum total ink coverage of 300% is it's higher flexibility regarding the use of sheetfed and web offset printing. The best results for professional printing are achieved with cmyk prepress data prepared with the profile that matches the printing condition exactly.
Their deadlines for Display Copy are 8 days prior to publication.
Inside copy is 5 days prior to publication.
The double page spread specifications are:
Trim: W 290mm x H 230mm
Bleed: W 300mm x H 240mm
Type: W 270 x H 205mm
Some other handy specifications for pages are as follows:
Half Horizontal - W 130mm x H 100mm
Half Vertical - W 63mm x H 200mm
Quarter Page - W 63mm x H 100mm
Half Height Double Page Spread - W 270mm x H 100mm
Page Bleed -
Trim: W 2145mm x H 230mm
Bleed: W 155mm x H 240mm
Type: W 130mm x H 205mm
2 + 2 Column Fireplace - W 146mm x H 200mm
These will be handy for both the Eureka! brief and the Heroes of Science brief, as I will have to play around with different layouts to maximise the overall look of the publication/editorial. It will also help to demonstrate my capabilities in regards to type and layout as it is a skill I need to develop more so I can become more employable.
