2

1. Research
Louis Dodds-Rodgers

2. Existing Product
The fallout 4 game cover is a more
simplistic design its just the
symbolic power armour from the
rest of the franchise acting as a
symbol for the game. The colours
are dark and grimy which could
connote how the game is set in a
dark unforgiving wasteland. The
head on angle gives the impression
that we, the consumers are locked
In with eye contact with the power
armour, using such direct
addressing towards the consumer
could make them more inclined to
purchase the product as they feel
as though they are being directly
looked at.

3. Existing Product
Cyberpunk 2077 is set in the future, the
poster and game cover do a good job of
showing this with the use of neon
colours, the font. The use of neon and
the layering of the characters close ups
and full lengths is a similar layout as
previous sci-fi films and games such as
star wars, the car in the poster gives
symbolism of back to the future with the
DeLorean. The lighting on the outside of
the poster is dimmed and dark whereas
towards the centre it becomes more
neon and colourful drawing more
attention to the assumed protagonists.

4. Existing Product
The front of Destiny 2 includes three
characters presumably the three
available options in the game, the
background behind them is dark and
misty maybe showing where the game
is set is depicted as dimly lit and cold
planet. The front also includes a lot of
futuristic weapons and armour being
welded by human looking beings
meaning the audience/customer base
will empathise toward the characters
as they come from the same race.
The back of the game includes more information about the game such as the aim, the
characters etc. It also includes the size of the game, the compatibility and a small
explanation of what the game I about.

5. Existing Product Fallout 2 was released in the late 1990s
and as we can see from the front the
game art is significantly different, in the
more recent fallout games the cover art
is simplistic with high resolution
whereas in fallout 2 it’s very blocky and
low resolution which seems right
considering the period it was released.
The colours maintain the same dark
grimy pallet as the other games giving it
a eerie look. Although Bethesda didn’t
purchase the entire the fallout franchise
until around 2007 meaning they chose
to keep the more primitive fallout cover
art for their newer games such as 3 and
4 also featuring a close up front facing
angle of the power suit which could be
seen as the token of the fallout
franchise, they continue to stick with
the same/similar colour pallet meaning
they have a set theme and are keen to
stick to it.
The back of the game is a very time
accurate considering when it was made
game cases were more plain including a
blurb, some clipart from the game and
some compatibility information such as
the console to be played on and the size of
the game which also will have been time
accurate taking up less than a gigabyte in
data.

6. Research Analysis
• What common features do the researched products
have?
• Some common features my researched products
have include: Similar colour pallets, simplistic front
covers, minimalistic information on the front,
exclusive information on the back and clip art on
both the front and back.
• What aspects of the research will you include within
your on work? I will most likely include all of these
into my game cover as this is what both modern and
retro game covers include, these features tend do
draw the fan base.

7. Questionnaire Analysis
Survey Monkey Link:

8. Audience research
• Observation: The individual enjoyed my product
• What this says about my audience: That the product is
satisfactory.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: As it has a
lot of aesthetic qualities and prices they agree with.

9. Audience research
• Observation: The individual supports the design
• What this says about my audience: They enjoy my
product
• How will your product appeal to this audience: By
having a lower price as they said £20.99 is steep.

10. Audience research
• Observation: The individual agreed with my product.
• What this says about my audience: They enjoy my end
product
• How will your product appeal to this audience: By
advertising and social media.

11. Audience research
• Observation: The individual thinks the product should be cheaper
• What this says about my audience: My final product should be
cheaper rather than more expensive
• How will your product appeal to this audience: By being reasonably
priced.

12. Audience research
• Observation: The price was quite high
• What this says about my audience: They want a more
bargain themed product
• How will your product appeal to this audience: By
making it more value for money.

13. Audience research
• Observation: The individual would prefer the product to be cheaper
• What this says about my audience: They want more value for their
money
How will your product appeal to this audience: Adjusting the selling
price.

14. Audience research
• Observation: They thought the artwork was quite rough.
• What this says about my audience: They would like a finer
version of my end product.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: By having
some edited art design on it which is smoother.

15. Audience research
• Observation: This individual thinks the pricing is very fair
• What this says about my audience: Some agree with the
pricing
• How will your product appeal to this audience: By having a
reasonable pricing.

16. Audience research
• Observation: The reviewer thinks the graphic design is poor quality
• What this says about my audience: They may want a better design
on the case
• How will your product appeal to this audience: By neatening up the
graphic design on the front and back of the game.

17. Audience research
• Observation: This individual is content with the pricing and design
• What this says about my audience: They are happy with my end
product
• How will your product appeal to this audience: By keeping the main
aspects of my plan the same.

18. Interviews

19. Interview 1
• How much money do you roughly spend on games per year?
• -Over £100
• When looking at a newly released games cover art what catches
your attention first?
• -The colour palette
• Do you have a favourite game development company? If so which?
• Rockstar
• What is your favourite to day game?
• God of war
• Do you prefer simplistic designing or more maximalised?
• Simplistic

20. Interview 1
• Observation: The interviewee prefers more
simplistic game designs and has not spent
much on games in the past year.
• What this says about my audience: They may
want a cheaper product.
• How will your product appeal to this
audience: By finding a comfortable pricing for
my product which my audience will be
satisfied with.

21. Interview 2
• How much money do you roughly spend on games per year?
• Well over £150
• When looking at a newly released games cover art what catches
your attention first?
• The attention to detail and graphical quality
• Do you have a favourite game development company? If so which?
• Bethesda
• What is your favourite to day game?
• Dishonoured
• Do you prefer simplistic designing or more maximalised?
• Simplistic

22. Interview 2
• Observation: My interviewee is a higher end
gamer.
• What this says about my audience: Some of my
audience may have higher expectations than
others.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: By
making sure the graphical elements on my final
product are flawless and the attention to detail is
added to the cover as well as keeping a simplistic
design.

23. Audience Profile
Category Demographic Content to appeal to this audience
Age Range
18+ • Violence, mature language and gambling.
Gender
All genders • Male and female customisable characters
for more inclusivity making the
demographic more diverse.
Psychographic
Open world
gamer, Bethesda /
Open world
gaming fan
• Simplistic designing, sharpened graphics,
bright colour palette.
Social Status
Middle class • Comfortable pricing that doesn’t break the
bank.

24. Research Evaluation

25. Research Evaluation
• Give an overview of how you conducted your research. Discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of each method
– Product Research
• From the products I researched I came to the conclusion in my end product I am going to make
the design simplistic so it looks modernist to do this I will add a plain background image and
use a strong centred text to draw attention to the game, I will also use bright neon colours
theming my game in Tokyo this will be a good setting to use brighter colours to draw the
audience in.
– Questionnaires
• My questionnaires helped me further act on my original product research by finding out the
ideal price people will be willing to pay and what designs the general population of gamers
enjoy seeing on a new releases front cover.
– Interviews
• In my interviews I got to find out what my audience will enjoy more personally to
them the information I got helped me deduce that I will need to price my game
fairly, have an openly accessible game with bright colours and enticing graphics.

26. Research Evaluation
– What sort of a response did you get?
– I got an overall positive response on my survey showing that I chose the right
target audience, the more negative responses were towards the price which
will need adjusting to make everybody who will be purchasing the game
satisfied and making the overall cover look less rough and more professional
which I will do by polishing it up in photoshop by aligning the centre images
and text, making sure the text is easily readable so older people who are
interested in the game can not only read the front cover but the back with all
the specifics on.
– How did you distribute your survey? Give an advantage and a disadvantage
– I distributed my survey to my friends, family and on Microsoft teams to other
students an advantage of doing this is I get quick and easy responses from
people who clearly are interested in the gaming industry and graphic design
elements of it. A disadvantage is that I don’t know everybody in Microsoft
teams who filled it out so I cannot follow up with any questions on the more
negative responses on how to adjust my final product accordingly.