Writing Style and Audience

Writing Style and Audience

In this post I will be analyzing the writing style as well as the target audience of gaming magazines. I will do this by reading articles from a gaming magazine and describing key aspects of them here to determine the writing style and audience.

Writing Style

The magazine I will be reading is PC Gamer from February 2022, the 353rd issue. I have noticed that in the articles a very casual tone is held. The articles often use the words "I, we, and you," this means that the articles are written in direct address, because they speak directly to the reader as not a narrator but another individual or individuals. The informal tone is evidenced by the word choice, often writers will make references to popular culture or jokes to illustrate their points. I will use an example from the magazine I listed above, the article I will be quoting is, Gloomhaven: Sword and Board, “If you feast on this kind of tactical play like I do, then Gloomhaven’s ruggedly narrated adventures are exactly what you want from the genre.” We can see the direct address and first person in this quote as the writer speaks directly to the reader as an individual using the words “you,” and “like I do,”. We can also see the informal language and jokes used in the article, Inscryption: Die Card, “TRAP CARD: The second act of Inscryption is a 2D pixel-art RPG in the style of Game Boy Pokémon Trading Card Game. It trades horror for whimsy, and calling it ‘a bit different’ would be an understatement.” We can see that the title of the section was a pun based on popular culture referencing the card game Yu-gi-oh and also making an allusion to how the game confused the writer by changing its direction, and we see the casual language by saying calling it different would be an understatement which is not often said in formal essays. There is also a use of technical terms in this quote as words specific to gaming like "2D pixel-art," and "RPG," are used, this shows how the articles can connect with their target audience by using terms that their viewers are familiar with.

Articles are almost always started with a drop cap and a short paragraph that describes what the article will entail which is usually included with information about the game it covers and possible opinions on it. The same causal tone is kept and some of the articles will start off with directly talking to the reader. When articles are concluded they typically are a short blurb restating the points made previously in the articles. In reviews, articles are ended with an additional shorter blurb as well and then a rating which describes how "good" the game is. These ending blurbs keep the same informal tone and usually use direct address because they directly speak to the reader on if the game may appeal to them.

Pull quotes are very common in gaming magazine articles. In each of the articles I researched at least one pull quote was there. These pull quotes are pulled directly from the text of the article and made much larger than the regular text, they are placed away from the line that they are pulled from. This is most likely done to attract the readers' attention by using an intriguing or flashy quote so that the reader wants to read the rest of the article.

Captions have been used in every article that I have researched. In each article at least one image, either a screenshot for a game already released or a promotional image for a game in development, has been used and at least one of the images used will have a caption describing what it is. This is a common practice because it allows the writers to illustrate their points further to the audience but when using captions, it can be better explained how the images directly relate to the points.

This image of the article titled, The Monster Within, describes the game, how it works and specifically the different ways the game plays out. The captions to the image at the top and the one under it on the page on the left describe the images' purpose in relation to the article. This description allows readers to better understand the article and the game that the article is focused on.

Target Audience

Gaming magazines have the same target audience as video games themselves which is mostly teenagers and young adults in the 30s and 20s range. Their audience is also almost exclusively people who play video games. This is because video games directly relate and interact with their audience through talking about video games. The articles' use of casual language and jokes appeals to this younger audience as it makes the viewers feel that the magazine is equally young and hip as theirselves. The previously mentioned use of technical terms related to gaming also illustrates how video game magazines connect to their audience because the use of video game specific jargon allows the video game playing audience to better understand as well as feel in the loop about these terms. These features of the articles all create a sense of connection between video game magazines and their audience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, articles of gaming magazines use an informal tone and reference pop culture to connect to their predominantly younger audience. The writers' use of technical terms relating to video games is to connect to the audience and give a sense of inclusivity since most if not all of the readers will be accustomed to video games. These things are imperative to establishing a connection to the readers who will return to purchase their magazines and thus it is imperative to my own magazine to be as authentic as possible.

Filipstojcic. “Gaming Magazine.” SlideShare, 28 Jan. 2016, www.slideshare.net/Filipstojcic/gaming-magazine-57593615.

freeportpressd. “Game Informer Continues to Power up the Print Subscribers.” Freeport Press, 21 Mar. 2018, freeportpress.com/game-informer-continues-to-power-up-the-print-subscribers/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CGame%20Informer%20magazine%20is%20the%20most%20efficient%20and. Accessed 2 Mar. 2022.