Print Your Own BioShock Infinite Cover

[The Wooster]

Print Your Own BioShock Infinite Cover

Support the fight against generic grizzled-ness.

So, let's not beat around the bush. The original cover for BioShock Infinite is kind of crap. Gun-on-a-stick, Booker DeWitt, gets central billing (staring off into the middle distance in that special way meant to drive frat bros wild with desire), while the real protagonist, Elizabeth, is bumped to the back cover for fear that her lady bumps and lacking arsenal will drive away the emotionally-stunted shooter audience. Fortunately, the game does ship with an alternative cover, chosen from a selection of eight in an online fan vote.

The alternative cover is beautiful, but if it's not to your taste, there are alternatives to said alternative. Irrational has made all eight entries available in high resolution for your downloading and printing pleasure. [http://www.bioshockinfinite.com/media/#8f3XJePYPpo] The covers are available in PS3, Xbox 360 and PC variants (this is strictly a change in size format, they're not plastered in logos like most game covers). Personally, I'm partial to the "falling" design you see in the top right.

Of course, no news piece on alternative cover art would be complete without a link to this excellent NeoGAF [http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=442713] thread. Seriously, people. Games are art, it's time we started packaging them as such.

Source: Bioshock Infinite [http://www.bioshockinfinite.com/media/#8f3XJePYPpo]

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[Proverbial Jon]

Wooo! Alternate cover art!

Infinite's official cover is downright god-awful and, although it's a beautiful piece in its own right, I'm not a big fan of the alternate they provided on the reverse. Irrational get extra points for providing extra alternatives though.

Yes. Yes, I have such a depressing and empty life that I am driven to actually care about these things.

 

[Krantos]

Cover Art you say? What is this "Cover Art" You speak of? Is it available through Steam?
/jk

OT: Cool that they're releasing the other covers. There's a whole lot I'm tempted to mention (like the fact Cover Art really isn't for us [read core gamers]Edit: See Explanation further down the page) but suffice to say I'm glad they're giving people more options.

 

[Marik2]

wow this is really cool of them

more games should do this from now on

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Thank you so much for that NeoGaf link; I think I'm going to spend the next few days swimming through those beautiful pieces.

 

[elilupe]

There's a whole lot I'm tempted to mention (like the fact Cover Art really isn't for us [read core gamers]) but suffice to say I'm glad they're giving people more options.

What? Cover art isn't for core gamers? What in the heck is that supposed to mean? If I had to categorize myself into "core gamer" or "non-core gamer/casual gamer", I'd obviously classify myself as a core gamer, being on this site, and I LOVE cover art. Well-done cover art is fantastic, think about the Japanese cover of ICO, Kingdom Hearts, Out of This World, or Secret of Mana. Saying cover art is for non-core gamers is just a strange stance, I think. Unless you believe the only core gamers are those who play on Steam and thus don't have the boxes to place cover art on, but that's a whole other barrel o' monkeys.

 

[Dr.Awkward]

Darn. The red one back during the alt cover poll isn't offered, and if I get the game that would be the one I was most interested in.

Hmm... Although, what if someone bought the Steam version? I mean they would have no use for a cover in that case, but Irrational might try creating a $10 deal where you can get a physical copy of Bioshock Infinite with your cover of choice in that situation.

 

[tehweave]

Cool! What kind of covers can I get for steam?

Oh. I can't can I?

Sigh.

 

[Absolutionis]

Well, it's nice to appease the people that whined that the cover of the game went for mass-market appeal with a picture of a dude with a gun and a damsel in distress... with fire and sparks...

I guess the people that bought it on Steam didn't complain much over something so superficial.

 

[Irridium]

Thank you so much for that NeoGaf link; I think I'm going to spend the next few days swimming through those beautiful pieces.

Likewise. I now know what I'll be doing this week.

 

[Krantos]

There's a whole lot I'm tempted to mention (like the fact Cover Art really isn't for us [read core gamers]) but suffice to say I'm glad they're giving people more options.

What? Cover art isn't for core gamers? What in the heck is that supposed to mean? If I had to categorize myself into "core gamer" or "non-core gamer/casual gamer", I'd obviously classify myself as a core gamer, being on this site, and I LOVE cover art. Well-done cover art is fantastic, think about the Japanese cover of ICO, Kingdom Hearts, Out of This World, or Secret of Mana. Saying cover art is for non-core gamers is just a strange stance, I think. Unless you believe the only core gamers are those who play on Steam and thus don't have the boxes to place cover art on, but that's a whole other barrel o' monkeys.

Sorry, shouldn't have brought it up unless I wanted to talk about it I guess.

First off, don't worry, this isn't some PC gaming BS. It's a business perspectives thing.

Ask yourself this: What is the purpose of Cover Art? Not for the consumer, for the publisher. Here's a hint, it's the same reason they put cartoon characters on cereal boxes.

Answer: To make it more appealing. It's Advertising. Marketing. The purpose of cover art is to make the game look appealing to someone who knows nothing about the game. It's for those people who walk into a game store knowing nothing about the games on the rack. It's trying to get their attention and convince them to pick up the box and look closer.

Now think about Core Gamers. Do we care about the cover art when it comes to what games we buy? No. We research the game, read articles, watch trailers, etc. We're knowledgeable about the game itself, so the cover art is not going to influence our decision. Most times our decision to buy is made before we set foot in the store.

So when a publisher designs the cover art, they don't ask "Does this adequately convey the theme of the game?" Instead they ask, "Will this increase the chance that someone will take interest in the game, when they know nothing about it?"

Which is kind of disheartening because it says a lot about the general American Consumer, because our cover art is terrible, as a general rule.

 

[jericu]

Darn. The red one back during the alt cover poll isn't offered, and if I get the game that would be the one I was most interested in.

Hmm... Although, what if someone bought the Steam version? I mean they would have no use for a cover in that case, but Irrational might try creating a $10 deal where you can get a physical copy of Bioshock Infinite with your cover of choice in that situation.

Actually, the red cover is the actual alternate cover included with the game. If you buy it, you flip the cover, and+ there it is.

 

[Mojo]

I think I'm gonna have to got to my local copy shop and have two or three of these printed out. A quick Google search told me the format is "272 x 183 mm" can anyone confirm that? If I'm lucky the copy shop will have a default setting though. Only shame is that they didn't add the quote on the back like they did on the original cover. But I guess I could always just add it with Photoshop.

 

[Scrustle]

Sweet. I actually went to the website the other day looking for these, and I couldn't find them.

While the alternate cover we got wasn't bad (and far better than the normal one), I much preferred the other one featuring Songbird. "Falling" is pretty good too.

 

[Lilani]

Considering the lengths they've gone to in order to appease people about this whole cover fiasco, I'm surprised they bothered standing by it in the first place. I mean, while I appreciate that they're doing anything at all, it still seems rather backhanded. Like, they appreciate the value of their characters and how much they mean to the community...but not quite enough to actually change the cover it ships with.

 

[LiMaSaRe]

The alternate cover is beautiful. It's the one that I voted for and I switched over to it instantly. There is also no doubt that Elizabeth is the protagonist, and one of the best in game history. But Booker is not a gun-on-a-stick. that is an insult to Irrational's storytelling skill. He has a complicated emotional background and I enjoy roleplaying as this particular gruff, grizzled man. Why not direct your insults at one of the dozens of silent protagonists in shooters?

 

[Kenbo Slice]

I think it's stupid that there was a bunch of complaints about the cover. The cover doesn't matter. The game does. I mean some albums I enjoy have crappy covers, but I don't throw a hissy fit over it.

 

[Leemaster777]

Personally, while I agree that the original cover for the game is a bland sandwich covered in bland sauce and lies, I actually really like the alternate they chose to ship with it. But while I won't be partaking in these covers, I do admit they're fantastic, and good on Irrational for trying to do their best to please the fanbase.

 

[Blue Musician]

While I appreciate the NeoGaf link, is there a possibility of a PC Games Cover link? The NeoGaf forum doesn't seem to contain them