Evolution of game covers

Game covers for the retail copy of the game play an important part in the sale. Not only had the cover got to incite the buyer but it also has to stand out against all the other games that are on the shelf with it. Within the digital distribution market game covers still have an important role as they are part of the main advert on the sites that sell the game.

Take a look at these game covers for the series of games called Half Life, The game series is self has a number of games which progress the story. As these games were released over the years we can see the development of game covers and how the conventions have changed.

For the first example we will look at the first Half Life title. The cover of this game is quite striking and already we can see some very simple conventions;

• Title, clear and bold.
• Striking image
• Game logo on cover
• Character from the game
• Miscellaneous things (game of the year .ect)

Now with the above cover the bright colours and the way the character looks out of the cover at the viewer is a great collection of features which grabs the viewers attention. The game cover is all artistically done, the character and the background were both done by professional artists, for the era that this was released this was a very common style as it showed what the in game graphics could not. Also on a side note I think that as this was the first game of the series they made the cover such a good attention grabber to introduce the buyer and hopefully make them part of the cult following, this is supported by the cover for the second release of the series as the dramatic change in cover details is shown.

Below is the second game from the series and already we can see the vast difference in styles of game covers. We still see similar conventions;

• Title, clear and bold.
• Striking image
• Game logo on cover (if available)
• Character from the game

But also we see some new features in the fact that the character's face looks to be done via some 3d modelling engine rather than an artistic work. The background within this one compared to the older cover has far more detail and mystery. This works to entice the buyer to get the game to find out what the city in the background is like. This cover does have a very specific audience however, the character's design is quite a icon in the games industry and by having a closeup of the character's face and showing great detail of it grabs the attention of any of the cult following to the game.

This cover shows some of the vast differences between the eras and the development of game covers through the years. We can see that in older times the game covers were very stylized and arty. They have a special feel them which doesn't seem to be replicated in any of the newer covers. The newer game covers on the other hand seems to have a clinical feel, a professional appeal to them. They seem to be precisely planned and done to a almost perfect look.

For a example of something completely different compared to the valve game covers i have looked at above. This cover shows of the unique art style of the game as well as the graphical models of the characters within the game. The cover instantly tells the viewer that this is a game that is of a positive mood compared to the half life game covers i have shown. The content of the cover shows the way the game feels; happy, a sense of freedom and cuteness. From the conventions that i have written about earlier it is clear that this cover fits in with them. It has a striking cover, title, characters within it. However, it doesn't have a normal logo such as the half life's crowbar but it has the style of writing on the wooden sign which is linked to the game in very much the same way as the crowbar to half life