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[Walshicus]

So a set of random gaming links reminded me of an old Amiga game with awesome box art:

And it got me thinking about how the stylisation of box art prior to the late 90s just plain rocked. It had character and range. [I hope Moby Games don't mind me rehosting their images...]

Film Style

Noir Style

Sci-Fi Epic Style

Fantasy Novel Style

British Comic Style

Art Deco Style

What The Fuck Style

Real Photography aka Seriously, Where the Fuck is Carmen Sandiego Style

Shit Style

So why did box art get mostly crap? Am I just looking back on gaming's presentational past with rose tinted, whiskey stained nostalgia glasses?

 

[MattKeil]

So why did box art get mostly crap? Am I just looking back on gaming's presentational past with rose tinted, whiskey stained nostalgia glasses?

Yes. And a lot of that is not good.

I mean, really? The guy in the wolfman mask is good box art? :lol

 

[Walshicus]

Yes. And a lot of that is not good.

It had character! It was crap, but it was tongue in cheek AWESOME crap. How can you NOT love the wolfman mask?

 

[HK-47]

Someone bust out Mega Man

 

[dark steve]

wait a second, the German and Hungarian Albion boxart doesn't feature that stupid hole in the front cover of the box?

Urgh..

 

[kenta]

I would honestly love to see what you look like in real life

 

[[Nintex]]

Two of those boxarts hold the answer why boxarts aren't "AWESOME" anymore.

 

[MattKeil]

And a great personality? :lol

Also, in before that SNES box with the hillbilly and the banjo.

 

[zoku88]

Someone bust out Mega Man

Man, I was going to say "I can't wait until someone posts Mega Man" ..

 

[chubigans]

Dont make be bust out the EA lineup of cover arts.

I would honestly love to see what you look like in real life

:lol

 

[Walshicus]

I would honestly love to see what you look like in real life

Uh... why?

 

[Tabris]

I think you are confusing "better" with the "80's"

 

[mollipen]

Uhm... most of the box art in the original post are absolutely and utterly terrible.

 

[Barakov]

When it comes to box art some nearly all of those rival the worst of the worst.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I think box art is better now than back then. It was pretty cheesy back then.

 

[Walshicus]

I think you are confusing "better" with the "80's"

Well no, of course most of them were heavily 80s. But the point was that within the style of the time they had character and personality beyond the manufactured art we see today.

I'm looking through the 25 or so 360 games I own and the only box art I'd say had any real merit belongs to GTA 4.

 

[Jacobi]

Yes. And a lot of that is not good.

I mean, really? The guy in the wolfman mask is good box art? :lol

You pull out that to demonstrate bad art? I want to play this shit right know!

 

[Chris_C]

I think you are confusing "better" with the "80's"

The 80's WAS better, watch Miami Vice if you don't believe me, and Knight Rider. Also see American Ninja, No Retreat No Surrender and Fists of Steel.

To the OP, to a certain degree I agree with you, problem is for the most part we've got standards now, and unfortunately with that comes homogenization.

 

[Pojo]

The only good box art can be found in Japan.

 

[MattKeil]

You pull out that to demonstrate bad art? I want to play this shit right know!

You're just blinded by the subdued glory of Hasselhoff.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I think you are confusing "better" with the "80's"

Aren't those terms sort of synonymous?

 

[DarkKyo]

Awesome? I think you must mean horrible.

 

[UncleGuito]

Are you kidding me? Pretty much all of those boxes that you posted look incredibly ugly.

 

[HK-47]

The only good box art can be found in Japan.

Covers cluttered with half the cast? No thanks

 

[Dibbz]

Open your eyes!

 

[NaughtyCalibur]

Why is the main character in "Bat" doing the same exact thing in both box arts?

Also, this must be a joke thread.

 

[chaostrophy]

That Lord of the Rings one is really sweet. A lot of those suck though. No offense.

 

[gutshot]

The "so bad it's good" category should not count as better.

 

[Azzurri]

So you're telling me this was good box art?

It looks like a current Wii title box art.

 

[NaughtyCalibur]

 

[Stumpokapow]

One thing that does suck about boxes now is the amount of standardized design elements that take up space that used to be artistic. Ratings symbols, more and bigger publisher/developer logos, greatest hits bars, platform bars, warranty info on the back. Yuck!

 

[MattKeil]

I'm looking through the 25 or so 360 games I own and the only box art I'd say had any real merit belongs to GTA 4.

Look harder, and beyond the 360.

But hey, hooray for "character."

 

[sky]

backfire total

 

[raYne]

Is.. is that David Boreanaz?

..:lol

 

[Funky Papa]

I have this piece of shit right behind me

Words cannot describe it.

 

[Walshicus]

Open your eyes!

Well yeah, that's pretty good from a generational perspective. Within that general area character drawing I prefer the approach... um... whas-is-name used with the FFVI cast:

- messy but in a good way.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

Get over your nostalgia

 

[MattKeil]

Well yeah, that's pretty good from a generational perspective. Within that general area character drawing I prefer the approach... um... whas-is-name used with the FFVI cast:

Wow. :lol

 

[BobbyRobby]

I used to have BAT 2, was called the Koshan Conspiracy here though. takes me back

 

[Walshicus]

Double post.

 

[Walshicus]

Look harder, and beyond the 360.
But hey, hooray for "character."

I'll give you Ico, Okami and to an extent Bioshock. But RE4, Shadow of the Colossus and Sins of a Solar Empire? Great games, but the cover designs are pretty boring and unimaginative.

Get over your nostalgia

Nevar!

backfire total

Hah, just a little! How can I twist this to make *them* look like *they're* the ones with bad taste?

 

[Deleted member 30609]

I personally can't stand the majority of those box arts but then I didn't grow up with them so perhaps I don't have the rose-tinted glasses required to enjoy them.

 

[MattKeil]

I'll give you Ico, Okami and to an extent Bioshock. But RE4, Shadow of the Colossus and Sins of a Solar Empire? Great games, but the cover designs are pretty boring and unimaginative.

Compared to what you posted, they're fucking Rembrandts.

That RE4 cover is absolutely perfect.

 

[bathhouseterror]

why are they shooting a ship of ninja turtles

 

[dacuk]

The only good box art can be found in Japan.

I challenge you to compare Konami art on Nintendo / Super Nintendo years:

Super Famicom

compared to this:

Super Nintendo



And let's not talk about Castlevania 3 / Akumajou Densetsu.

Famicom

compared to:

All American Konami art of 8/16 bit era is poster worthy

 

[snoopers]

Yes. And a lot of that is not good.

I mean, really? The guy in the wolfman mask is good box art? :lol

This is excellent art. Ever red some Liberatore graphic novel ? Also, CYBERPUNK ffs! How can you hate ?

 

[chaostrophy]

I have this piece of shit right behind me

Words cannot describe it.

I have to admit, I like the typeface that TEKWAR is printed in. But the design is pure crap overall.

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Box arts alright still, what does suck ass is the booklets from PS2/X Box > PS3/360 the gaming booklet has pretty much been killed, they are like 6-10 pages where as they used to be 30-40 pages, sucks ass.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

In all seriousness.

The artwork on these boxes is based on the styles of the time. Bad boxart is bad boxart, regardless of period, but some of these (Indiana Jones, The Two Towers, Atlantis, Simon the Sorcerer) are lovely to me. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I remember when such art was cool. Much like clothing, what looks good at the time looks bad 20 years later.

I fully suspect that some of the boxart we consider cool right now will seem cliched and dated if we were to look back on them from 20 years in the future. Well, WE might still think they look cool, but a 15 year old at the time will probably see a lot of them as out of style. So I think it's important to remember that in some cases, box art today is not just "better because it's better" but actually "better because it's not out of style right now".

 

[Walshicus]

Compared to what you posted, they're fucking Rembrandts.

That RE4 cover is absolutely perfect.

Really? I mean, I don't really think the use of colour works in the RE4 box art. If you use black on red you kind of need to have more going on - it's pretty suffocating, and not in an appropriate fashion. At least in my opinion. Sins of a Solar Empire's art looks like it came off of any of a billion random space scene generators. Shadow of the Colossus' box art is a total disappointment though, given how beautiful the game' stylisation is when running. It's completely mundane.

I always thought Bioshock should have used a more... obviously art deco design over the rusted metal approach. But it's still better than most of what's been put out recently. Okami though; that's pretty much a testament to how box art SHOULD be this/last generation.

why are they shooting a ship of ninja turtles

Because they're awesome. Those Ninja Turtles are also Pirates.