Product Reviews

 

This task required me to find two products that will be similar to mine and review them and focus on the purpose of the product, the form it takes and why, the platform it is available on and why,  the genre, target audience, the strengths of the project and its weaknesses, and how it could possibly be improved. This is to help me when thinking about these things for my final major project as it will not be a success if I do not have a clear idea of what my product will be and why.

Product One: The Walking Dead Volume 1

Robert Kirkman (2004). The Walking Dead Volume 1 Days Gone Bye. United States of America: Image Comics. p1-144.

What is the purpose?
The purpose of this graphic novel is to entertain people and make them think about their lives and all the luxury items that they own, and what they would do if they suddenly lost all of that and had to learn how to survive by fighting for what they own.

What form does it take? Why was it chosen?
This product takes the form of a graphic novel. This form was chosen so that events and characters can be shown to the readers. Also making it a graphic novel means that the writers don’t have to describe everything as it can be shown to the readers. Also showing the readers the events enhances the experience as they can see everything that happens and don’t have to imagine it.

Which platform is it on and why?
This product has a physical platform in the form of a graphic novel, but is also available in digital form on mobile and tablet devices. It is available on physical platforms because when it came out that was the only way people could access comics, and today comics are still popular in physical form. It is available on mobile and tablets because many people use them to read now, so making it available on these platforms means more people can access it and opens it up to a wider audience.

Which genre is it? What makes it that genre?
This product is a horror as it contains violence and gore throughout. Also the art style makes the zombies look realistic and make them appear scary. Also by having the drawings in black and white it makes it seem like it is a bleak world that adds to the horror atmosphere.

Who is the audience?
The target audience for this product is anyone between the ages of 16-40 as this is the age group that is most interested in the horror genre, and also some of the content in the graphic novel might not be suitable for anyone younger than this. The graphic novel is targeted at both males and females so that everyone is able to enjoy it.

Strengths
The strengths of this product are it is available to many people as they can access it physically and in digital forms. Also its story and characters are well developed to make it interesting for the readers and grab there attention. Another strength is the art style as it is realistic and brings the events of the graphic novel to life.

Weaknesses
The weakness of this product is its target audience does not include anyone so some people will miss out on and the product will not reach everyone.

Any improvements?
I think this product could be improved by being in colour as this would show off the gore more which would increase the feeling of horror of the reading experience.

Product 2: The Outbreak

Chris Lund. (2008). The Outbreak. Available: http://www.survivetheoutbreak.com/. Last accessed 28th April 2016.

What is the purpose?
The purpose of this product is to give people the chance to make choices that affect the story and give them the chance to see how long they can survive in the situations that the story puts them in.

What form does this take? Why was it chosen?
The form this product takes is an interactive film on a website. This was chosen so that people can watch the story unfold with actors and then make important decisions based on what they have just seen. Another form this could have taken is the form of a video game so that people could actually play during the action and then make their choices .

Which platform is it on and why?
This product is on PC, available to find on the internet. This was done so that anyone with access to the internet can play it and they can share their choices online with their friends so that they can compare what they each did. Also because it is free to play that means anyone can play it.

Which genre is it? What makes it that genre?
This product is a horror as it has zombies and violence and gore, also the music used creates fear and tension and the sound made by the zombies increases the fear felt by the user. Also the quick editing used makes the user feel slightly disoriented which increases their panic while watching.

Who is the audience?
The target audience is teenagers and young adults as they will be most interested in this product as they will feel like they have been placed into a zombie apocalypse and will want to see if they could survive that.

Strengths
The strengths of this product are allowing people to make choices that impact the story and decide whether characters live or die, and also the editing and sound of the film as they contribute to the horror of the product and increase the tension throughout.

Weaknesses and improvements
One weakness of the product is it only gives you two options to choose between each time which means there isn’t a lot of variety available. Also there aren’t that many choices offered throughout so they could improve the product by adding more choices and more variety of options. Another weakness is no information about the characters is provided so there is little weight behind the choices that you make and you don’t fell anything when a character dies.

camel solanum. (2015). Survive The Outbreak Gameplay. [Online Video]. 4 May 2015. Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MJ63g9hijg. [Accessed: 6 June 2016].

From this task I have learnt how I could create a digital comic or interactive story and what is needed for these types of products to be successful. I can apply this to my work if I decide that for my Final Major Project to create a digital comic or a choice based story book as I will know what worked well for these products and how I can make them unique for my project and also I will know how these products could have been better and use that to make sure that my project is as good as it can be.