Redesigned Box Art Images Approach Games Differently

[roseofbattle]

Redesigned Box Art Images Approach Games Differently

A group of artists at Better Box Art reimagined the covers for video games if box art was done without marketing in mind.

Better Box Art believes video game box art should be as creative as games. The group, made up of entrepreneurs and artists across the U.S., hopes to distribute a series of 10 alternate cover images for popular video games with the help of Kickstarter backers.

Peter Lapp, founder and director of operations of Better Box Art, got the idea for varied cover art after looking at the cover art for books, which sometimes show no characters on the cover. Lapp believes video game box art focuses more on marketing than the games themselves. The following covers exude a feeling or atmosphere over a single character.

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Lapp explained that having a character as the focus of cover art can be excellent when used effectively, but he told The Escapist that often publishers do so with the intent of marketing. "All too often, the main question being asked when a publisher designs a character-centric cover is, 'How recognizable is this character and how many units will the sell?'" Lapp said. "As much as I love Far Cry 3, its cover is perhaps the best example of this in action. Ubisoft clearly realized that they had struck gold with Vaas at that year's E3 press conference."

Lapp went on to say that even though Vaas was only a small part of Far Cry 3 [http://escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/far%20cry%203] among several other ideas in the game, Ubisoft decided Vaas was the best selling point.

"If the way that the character is portrayed on the cover gives us better knowledge of who they are in relation to the media we're about to consume or it gives us greater insight into the themes, ideas, or tone that the piece of media has to offer, than a character-centric cover can be wonderful," he said. "If it's done purely for marketing reasons, it's rarely very good."

some found the art offensive. [http://escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/far%20cry%204] Better Box Art's version of a Far Cry 4 cover shows no characters; instead it illustrates a mountainous landscape, focusing on nature.

Lapp does not know whether the artist commissioned for Better Box Art's Far Cry 4 image, Tyler Holman, had that controversy in mind when creating his image. "When we contacted Holman, he immediately began discussing concepts for Far Cry and kept reiterating that he wanted to make the environment the focus of his art," Lapp said. "It's clear to me that the primary motivation for his decisions was that he wanted to create a design based on the elements of Far Cry which genuinely inspired him."

Better Box Art's kickstarter campaign [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2049635223/better-box-art] ends October 24. All 10 designs are available as cover art for game boxes, and 11"x17" posters. The Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4, Grand Theft Auto V, and Watch_Dogs designs are also available as mouse pads. Those interested in the Kickstarter also have the option of commissioning Better Box Art to design alternate cover art for a game of their choice.

Source: Better Box Art Kickstarter [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2049635223/better-box-art]


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[Rad Party God]

The Arkham cover is very reminiscent of Sin City, wich I approve of and GTA's cover looks actually better than the official one, Destiny and Watch Dogs kinda look like book covers and I like them, both Far Cry covers and the Tomb Raider one look great too, as for the rest... well, they look good, but I'm not a fan of the rest.

 

[Absolutionis]

Destiny is bunch of people running around aimlessly with a huge chunk of the box art taken out symbolized by the black circle.

Arkham City is about the addition of Catwoman and also making everything larger than they previously were.

Infamous is about wildly using your powers to look cool while everyone around you helplessly is at your mercy.

Far Cry 4 is not out yet, so much substance in the box art is missing. But we know there are elephants!

Far Cry 3 is about wildlife with no purpose in life except to await the approach of humans, their main source of sustenance.

Watch Dogs is about Ubisoft manipulating media outlets to manipulate buyers into getting hyped over a title.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is about doing whatever the hell you want. This means guns, explosions, and crime to the common gamer.

Infamous Second Son... I have nothing.

Infamous 2 is about how you think you're cool, but there is a bigger baddie out there than is dark and evil. Also, onlookers still don't seem to mind too much.

Tomb Raider is gritter and darker than previous iterations. Also, this Lara is different due to her iconic guns replaced by a bow and smaller "personalities" which we highlight.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Neat. Reminds me a lot of the Alternate Cover thread [http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=442713] that's been around for quite some time at NeoGAF.

But because of stuff like that thread, I'm not sure how successful this Kickstarter will be.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Some of these are really good! The visuals are quite striking indeed!

...Aside from the Batman one. I get that it's supposed to look like the comics, but the enlargement of Selina Kyle's bust is really unnecessary. Not to mention that she saves Batman in the game, and not the other way around as the pose suggests >.>

 

[Eiv]

The Farcry ones are terrible from a typographical perspective but nice from a purely aesthetic viewpoint. The Watch Dogs one is a straight rip from the godfather, might be classified as parody. GTA V is an interesting take only let down again by the type. Tomb Raider is perfect, would love to see that one on the box.

Fair play to them all though, clearly leaning more towards the art end of the scale rather than design.

 

[BrotherRool]

I liked the Watchdogs and Tomb Raider ones and Far Cry might be cool. Watchdogs in particular looked a lot more interesting with that cover.

I thought the Arkham City one was pretty terrible. Unless it was meant to highlight some of the areas where the Arkham games begin to slip into Miller territory? But those are almost the only part of the games that aren't completely cool. I don't really get the inFamous ones, because it's not a murky series in any sense. And GTA has always had good covers anyway.

Spoiler: There might be a reason why publishers rarely try minimalist covers

All the labels you need to put on it completely spoil the atmosphere. But box art in general is complete rubbish, way too many floating heads and odd graphics that immediately date the games, I'm a big fan of people trying new things. Final Fantasy has always had the best box covers of any franchise

 

[Story]

Kudos to the artists, but I can't say I'm a fan of any of these.

Yikes, talk about your back handed compliments.

 

[Ferisar]

Kudos to the artists, but I can't say I'm a fan of any of these.

Yikes, talk about your back handed compliments.

I'm of same opinion. I really don't find these that compelling as game covers having actually seen the games they're trying to advertise for. These would do better as book covers on pretty much all fronts.

I mean, they look neat still, but eh?

 

[Morti]

I like them all as standalone pieces, I don't think they'd really work that well as box art though since they don't really feel like they capture the games properly, at least not their entirity.

Except the Arkham City one, I fail to see how "TITS!" has any more merit than what we currently have.

 

[Story]

Kudos to the artists, but I can't say I'm a fan of any of these.

Yikes, talk about your back handed compliments.

I'm of same opinion. I really don't find these that compelling as game covers having actually seen the games they're trying to advertise for. These would do better as book covers on pretty much all fronts.

I mean, they look neat still, but eh?

I think you just nailed it.
Many of these would serve better as book covers since most of them are purposefully vague and mysterious what with the shadowy figures and cut off faces. This approach works better with books since it is not a visual medium like video games are.
For example: We can imply what Laura Croft might look like when we read written description of her but we actually know what she looks then we play the game.

The exception is the GTA cover, which honestly just looks like a busier version of what we already have.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

The reason I've never bought into the alternate cover craze is the lack of console banners in any of them. The covers are attractive as hell but when they stick out like a sore thumb on my shelf. I don't care about any logos on the front or back covers, I just want the banner at the top and spine.

EDIT: After having a good look at them I don't even really think they're all that great. The best video game covers, to me, are the ones that give a feeling about what the game is about without being too showy or to subtle. See the Pikmin 3 (or EU/JAP versions of 1 and 2), Resident Evil 4 International and ICO International box arts for what I mean.

 

[Vigormortis]

Serious kudos to the artists. There's some damn fine talent on display in these alternate cover designs, as well as some rather creative flourishes with just a touch of surrealism.

That said....I honestly don't find any of these "better" than the official box art. Perhaps different, in an almost abstract kind of way, but nothing that'd make me do a double take in surprise or awe.

I don't know. Maybe these designs just aren't my cup of tea.

The one exception might be the Watch Dogs alt-cover. But for me, though I do somewhat like it, I find that it's marred by too many iterations of the title and an ironic look of being too "busy" for what is trying to be abstract symbolism.

 

[Olas]

Cool . . . . . . . . . . . .​

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
But why is so much of the text sideways? It looks like the typographer didn't know what direction the box is supposed to be held.

 

[Scorpid]

Moar like Polish Box Art!... Because the poles tend to make their movie posters very minimalistic and trippy... whatever. They've all got Merits except the Arkham City one. It looks like batman is in his batcave masturbating with a Cat Woman sex doll. The others for the most part need work but I like the direction they're going in. I for one am tired soldier(s) walking/running from a battle/explosion with lasagna spilled down his side.

 

[Eiv]

Cool . . . . . . . . . . . .​

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
But why is so much of the text sideways? It looks like the typographer didn't know what direction the box is supposed to be held.

I believe it may be for the spine. Out of context, it does look misplaced though.

 

[Ferisar]

Kudos to the artists, but I can't say I'm a fan of any of these.

Yikes, talk about your back handed compliments.

I'm of same opinion. I really don't find these that compelling as game covers having actually seen the games they're trying to advertise for. These would do better as book covers on pretty much all fronts.

I mean, they look neat still, but eh?

I think you just nailed it.
Many of these would serve better as book covers since most of them are purposefully vague and mysterious what with the shadowy figures and cut off faces. This approach works better with books since it is not a visual medium like video games are.
For example: We can imply what Laura Croft might look like when we read written description of her but we actually know what she looks then we play the game.

The exception is the GTA cover, which honestly just looks like a busier version of what we already have.

And we all know what kind of book that Batman cover would be. Let's say we won't be finding it in a general store

But yeah, exactly. Vague covers that evoke wonder work, but only when there's actual vagueness at work. Most of these games are pretty straightforward as far as the player's or the world's identity is concerned.

 

[Erttheking]

For some reason I really like the Destiny one. If only because it makes me think of an Arthur C. Clark novel.

 

[Sarge034]

I think they all look like very rough concept art and am not really digging them. Far Cry is not just about nature but nature is all that's depicted... Is that not the same as only showing the bad guy and guns just in the other direction?