Research for Ancillary Task 1

For this task, we had to analyse a range of different box art designs for various Science Fiction and RPG games on how they represent their respective games and appeal to their audience. It would also help us with the design of our own box art cover. Since we have designed a PC game, I am unsure on whether we will do a back cover to our game, as most PC games are sold via digital distribution and do not require one. As such, the main covers I have chosen only include the front, but I will analyse a back cover later on.

There were two main types of front covers I found.

 This type of cover doesn't really explain the type of game that Destiny is. However it does convey from the "space theme" that this is a science fiction game. Aside from that, very little is shown to us. This cover is more focused on showcasing the Destiny logo (the one under the title) than it is on any specific character. This is due to the character design feature within the game itself, where the player can design their own character and customise their appearance. As such, it wouldn't make much sense showcasing the protagonist.

The cover design is very simple, and I feel given my limited graphic design skills, I would be better off following this type of style, as opposed to the next one.

This type of cover is more focused on the protagonist of the game. As you can see, Master Chief is the focus of the cover. It also shows that the game is a part of the science fiction genre with the background. The audience can also perceive that the game is a shooter just from the cover by seeing the gun in Master Chief's hand.
The cover does display the classic Halo font, with the special "O" as well, to signify the branding of the game.
As the player follows Master Chief's journey through the stars, the game offers little to no player customization options, at least in the single player portion of the game, so they are free to use the main protagonist on the cover.

This design would be quite difficult to replicate for someone of limited graphic design skills, so whilst it more accurately represents the type of game Halo is, as opposed to the Destiny cover, I don't think I will be choosing this style.

Of course, there is also the back cover to include on this. As such I have chosen the Fallout 3 box art as Fallout 3 was one of our primary influence points, as well as many of our intended audience will likely have played it due to its similarities to our game, being a Sci-Fi RPG as well.

The front cover of the box art is simply a character from a major faction in the game (Brotherhood of Steel), who appear many times throughout the game. This is because the game has similar character customization options to Destiny, where the player can customize their characters features, clothes and armour, so it would be difficult to showcase the protagonist. Looking just at the characters armour and weapon, it is clear that the game is a Sci-Fi shooter, but not much else can really be gathered from it.

The back cover however, tells us a lot more about the game. It features some of the lore and propaganda that is contained within the game (The 50's ish cartoons featured on the top of the cover). There is a section showcasing the various awards that the game has won, and some screenshots taken in game, so the audience can see what the game will actually look like. The description is still vague about the genre of game that Fallout 3 is however, so the audience would have to research that separately.

After that, it just the typical Xbox 360 information, such as the internet requirements, player count and the like. But it does include a link to the games webpage on the developers site. This is very helpful as it lets the audience see where to find all the information they will need in order to make an informed decision of the purchase of the game.

The following is a small showcase of a few of the covers I looked at whilst coming to my conclusions.


Box Art by Slidely Slideshow