Art versus Science
Putting together a magazine is as much an art as it is a science. You have to balance broad appeal with niche interest, work the flow to keep people reading from one section to the next, making sure that heavy articles and features and interspersed with lighter fare. You have to think about what the readers will like and balance that against what information and products are currently available and make sure that the content is suitable for the faithful as well as new readers. You have to find a cover that pops on the stand and makes people want to pick up the issue and make sure that the content backs it up.
Some months this can be a real challenge, especially during those times of the year when developers for both technology and games go silent in preparation for their big events like Computex or E3, when finding that rzesonant content is based more around long form content. Other times it’s almost too easy. No Man’s Sky is an obvious choice for us in terms of a cover feature. It’s right up our alley, and from the feedback and questions we’ve received, right up yours as well. Some month’s content and flow is determined by the market. Next issue is going to be review heavy, that’s for sure, with Battleborn, Overwatch, Doom, Homefront: The Revolution, Total War: Warhammer, Eisenhorn: Xenos, Stellaris, Killer Instinct Season 3 and a bunch more all coming out within the space of a few weeks. On top of that, now that we have access to both VR headsets, it’s time to start reviewing those as well.
After you’ve though of all those factors, determined your content, commissioned your writers, and interviewed your subjects, when all the words are done and Malks has worked his magic we send out baby off into the ether to be printed. It can be a fraught time, with dates slipping on products, articles not coming through, delays and the like, but once you get your baby back from the printers, and pick up that first copy out of the box it’s all worth it. Seeing each issue in print energises
you for the next one. I love this job.