Poster Timeline
I had to create a gaming hardware timeline infographic for this part of the project, whether it be a poster or a brief film. Since I don't often create posters, I made the decision that now would be the ideal time to practise and learn.
Research
With my research completed on how the gaming console industry and technology have advanced over the years it was now just a matter of deciding how to design it and then what images I wanted to add. I started from the beginning on when the first home computer was introduced in the 1970's and then worked from there to the present. The poster will contain console launch dates with some messaging on what was happening during those years, such as "first ever games console launched", "handheld consoles start to appear", and "family gaming experience with Wii".
I researched how to create an infographic poster and to understand better what to do and found some good examples. I then tried to dig deeper to find some posters based on the gaming industry and historical type timelines.
I also watched a couple of videos on making infographic posters, which provided some useful information on ensuring you stick to only 2-3 fonts maximum and use attractive colours to lock your viewers in.
I chose to create my infographic poster directly in Wix software as I felt for this exercise it met what I needed to develop it.
Research
With my research completed on how the gaming console industry and technology have advanced over the years it was now just a matter of deciding how to design it and then what images I wanted to add. I started from the beginning on when the first home computer was introduced in the 1970's and then worked from there to the present. The poster will contain console launch dates with some messaging on what was happening during those years, such as "first ever games console launched", "handheld consoles start to appear", and "family gaming experience with Wii".
I researched how to create an infographic poster and to understand better what to do and found some good examples. I then tried to dig deeper to find some posters based on the gaming industry and historical type timelines.
I also watched a couple of videos on making infographic posters, which provided some useful information on ensuring you stick to only 2-3 fonts maximum and use attractive colours to lock your viewers in.
I chose to create my infographic poster directly in Wix software as I felt for this exercise it met what I needed to develop it.
Here is my final Infographic poster design
The History of Gaming
1970's - 2020's
1990
2010
1972 - Pong
Beginning of arcades
1978-1982
Arcades golden era
1993 – Mega Drive II (Genesis)
1995 – PlayStation
2001 – Xbox
2006 – Nintendo Wii
1970
2013 – Playstation 4
2017 – Xbox One S
1972 - Magnavox Odyssey
1980
1977 – Atari VCS 2600
1985 – Nintendo Entertainment System
1989 – Sega Genesis / Nintendo GBoy
1990 – Super Nintendo Entertainment System
2000
2000 – PlayStation 2
2005 – Xbox 360
2006 – PlayStation 3
2013 – Xbox One
2017 – Nintendo Switch
2019 – XBox 1S Digital
2020
First ever Games Console launched
Arcade gaming popularity grows
Nintendo / Sega /PS grow market
Handhold games appear
Microsoft launch Xbox
Microsoft and Playstation dominate market
Nintendo comeback with Switch
Wii launches encouraging gamers to get active
2020 - XBOX series X
2020 Playstation 5
High spec new gen consoles launched
Where will technology take us next..
Conclusion
I enjoyed learning about the history of video games and creating a poster about it.
I wanted to capture not only the technology changes throughout the years but each actual console launch to give a full picture of the different brands coming into the market. Also adding in some large messages to help explain what was happening at that time I think draws attention to this, especially in the different colour font used.
In terms of what I think I could do better next time, I'd not include so many actual console launches but focus more on the main messaging around that timeframe so its less busy when reading it, however overall I'm pleased with the poster, how I've presented it and the message it shares.
Research Sources and Bibliography
https://www.contentstack.com. From Pong to Call of Duty: The Globalization and Localization of Video Games. [Online]. Available at: https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/globalization-online-gaming/ [Accessed 22 Nov 2022].
https://www.visualcapitalist.com. 50 Years of Gaming History, by Revenue Stream (1970-2020). [Online]. Available at: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/50-years-gaming-history-revenue-stream/ [Accessed 17 Nov 2022].
https://www.youtube.com. 14 Infographic Do's and Don'ts to Design Beautiful and Effective Infographics. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBBmbdPbfhw [Accessed 24 Nov 2022].