The magazine ad art is infinitely better. This new one is somewhat bland and uninspiring, not to mention technically inferior (the poster said it is not final, but close, and I can only hope it will be improved). But what was wrong with the previous art? Is the dwarves vs. orcs theme gone?! If not, the new art fails to show it. Please tell me it hasn't become another generic medieval theme, a la Dominion!
I like the new one better. The magazine ad art was too gloomy for my taste. My wife would prefer blues skies over the brownish-green orcs on the cover at least. But, heck! It's only a cover! I don't care if they illustrate it with the front page of Washington Post as long as the game is good. Certainly drooling for this one.
I quite like the sunny blue sky. In my favorite fantasy novels, battles are rarely fought under a scorched red sky, or at night. They start at first light and continue through the day. The scene reminds me of Jon Snow defending the Wall.
I like the new one better. The magazine ad art was too gloomy for my taste. My wife would prefer blues skies over the brownish-green orcs on the cover at least. But, heck! It's only a cover! I don't care if they illustrate it with the front page of Washington Post as long as the game is good. Certainly drooling for this one.
I think the art is fine, and yes, the most important thing is the game quality. Is the game about a medieval castle siege simulation? I hope so; we need something different (Shadows Over Camelot doesn’t counts)!
I liked the sketch and dwarf castle scene a bit more. The coloring looks a bit bland, but somehow also cartoony.
For a board game however, it's decent. Some of my favorites have unattractive covers. So if the game is good enough it doesn't matter what you put on the cover.
I would like to see anybody on the battlements. Druss, maybe?
And please - not soo sunny weather ...
I completely agree. The dark, menacing atmosphere of the previous images seemed more appropriate than this sunny daylight image.
And I completely disagree. The dark, menacing atmosphere of the Polish magazine ad was highly appropriate if the game is set in White Wolf's World of Darkness (tm), but IMO was a little over the top and monochrome for what is, after all, a boardgame. I think the atmosphere of this one matches the board art more, too.
Granted, the technical work on the other was much nicer -- and yeah, the chains and spikes are over the top in a different way. But the blue sky is quite appropriate, and has plenty of smoke in it.
Epic perspective. The more I look at it, the more I like the bright daylight--there's so much dark art in games these days I sometimes feel like I'm going blind.
It is a bit exaggerated--you couldn't pay me to climb one of those impossibly long ladders on the left side--but it does give a great impression of Irresistible Force Meets Impregnable Object.
Imagine, if you will, that same guy holding the sword up, standing balanced on some ramparts.... The "camera" is behind him. Standing with him on the battlements are but a few stalwart defenders... Perhaps only five or six. One or two are drawing longbows and aiming towards a teeming throng below, one or two are holding swords-perhaps one is grappling with an invader at the top of a ladder while his compatriot is trying to push the ladder away with a pole or spear or even his scabbard... Maybe one or two is throwing any random rock or hay bale or pot of scalding liquid over the side...
Down below we can see an interminable throng of attackers with all manner of beasts and machines of war and siege aimed at the wall underneath our heroes.
There is no blue sky... There is no blackened sky... There is no sky at all. It's not filled with the multiple arrows of the defenders nor the smoke of the engines of war. There is no sky.
There is only the WALL. There is only the HORDE. And there is only the HONORABLE FEW that would guard that wall against the horde.
This picture, in my mind, of but a handful of men against an infinite army says much about what this game could be about.
I like the sketch better. It left a lot more to the veiwer's imagination. And the guy with the mace was very hunchback like and much less human... way more menacing, like he was going to take care of business or die trying. It was more of a "there's gonna be hell to pay one way or the other" type concept. The sunlight does detract a lot. More acrid smoke and impending doom and gloom is needed. But I'm really looking forward to this game. Hopefully it's as good as it looks like it might be.
That's what I was going to say! The sketch was a LOT more dynamic, this one is a bit more stiff. I liked the "orc" look better than the humans. But eh, each to his own. Not like the artwork is going to change the game (a whole lot)
Is the dwarves vs. orcs theme gone?! If not, the new art fails to show it. Please tell me it hasn't become another generic medieval theme, a la Dominion!
Yeah, why use a generic medieval theme when you could use a generic fantasy theme?
Yeah, why use a generic medieval theme when you could use a generic fantasy theme?
Because Fantasy is so much better? Besides, I have never played any games that are about a battle between orcs and dwarves, or that even include one. And your snarky comment doesn't answer my question: Has the theme changed? It's hard to tell in the new picture if the attacking army is orc or human.
I prefer to be more eclectic. I think we already have A LOT of games with fantasy theme (battlelore, lord of the ring series, cave troll, small world, and the list goes on and on and on...), and a change would be refreshing...
I prefer to be more eclectic. I think we already have A LOT of games with fantasy theme (battlelore, lord of the ring series, cave troll, small world, and the list goes on and on and on...), and a change would be refreshing...
I guess I could make a similar list of games with medieval themes. Just from my collection: El Grande, Domaine, A Castle for All Seasons, Arkadia, Carcassonne, Saga, The Pillars of the Earth, Royal Palace, Castle Merchants, Angus... Of course, I probably have an equal number of fantasy-themed games, but that's only because it is one of my two favorite themes.
I prefer to be more eclectic. I think we already have A LOT of games with fantasy theme (battlelore, lord of the ring series, cave troll, small world, and the list goes on and on and on...), and a change would be refreshing...
I guess I could make a similar list of games with medieval themes. Just from my collection: El Grande, Domaine, A Castle for All Seasons, Arkadia, Carcassonne, Saga, The Pillars of the Earth, Royal Palace, Castle Merchants, Angus... Of course, I probably have an equal number of fantasy-themed games, but that's only because it is one of my two favorite themes.
Yes, you are correct. But the games I listed are all about confrontation and characters (Troll, dwarves, elves, heroes) with different powers and/or superpowers, besides the same theme. The majority of the games you listed have in common only the theme (and most of them could have any theme), but they are very different in mechanics, kind, concept...
Yeah, why use a generic medieval theme when you could use a generic fantasy theme?
Because Fantasy is so much better? Besides, I have never played any games that are about a battle between orcs and dwarves, or that even include one.
The reason for my comment is that, around the time that the LotR movies were coming out, there were so many new fantasy themed board games released, even non-LotR ones, that I got rather tired of that theme. Oh, look, yet another game with humans, orcs, dwarves, and/or elves. So in cases where two similar games existed, in which one was fantasy themed and one was not, I prefered to play the non-fantasy one. E.g., Doom vs. Descent, or Memoir '44 vs. Battlelore.
I'm mostly over that now, but when a new game comes out with orcs, dwarves, or elves, I still feel like they're being a bit unoriginal, or jumping on the fantasy bandwagon. What's wrong with humans vs. humans in a defend-the-stronghold game? Or if you want to have a mythical race, why not use something less commonly used by other games, such as centaurs or minotaurs, or come up with something completely original?
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And your snarky comment doesn't answer my question: Has the theme changed? It's hard to tell in the new picture if the attacking army is orc or human.
Beats me, that would be a question for the designer.
Or if you want to have a mythical race, why not use something less commonly used by other games, such as centaurs or minotaurs, or come up with something completely original?
Great point! If the market asks to fantasy theme games (board game, not card game), why not classical mythology? I think it could be a lot more appealing (and fun)…
Yes, you are correct. But the games I listed are all about confrontation and characters (Troll, dwarves, elves, heroes) with different powers and/or superpowers, besides the same theme.
Yes, but that is beyond the point. I may be wrong, but although this game is about confrontation, I don't think it is full of characters with different powers.
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The majority of the games you listed have in common only the theme (and most of them could have any theme), but they are very different in mechanics, kind, concept...
I don't see many similarities in the games you listed, either. In fact, they are totally different from each other, in mechanics, kind and concept: a two-player wargame (BattleLore), a cooperative game (Knizia's Lord of the Rings), an area control game (Cave Troll) and a true confrontational Euro (or however you want to define Small World).
I will not discuss the merit of the "could-have-any-theme" cliché, but it should be noted that BattleLore is the nth implementation of the C&C system, Small World is a redevelopment of Vinci, and Cave Troll was originally themed on Archeology.
Also, I should note that confrontational Fantasy themes, while pretty common in the American market, are very rare in the Euro style of games. And from the (albeit vague) designer's comments, I expect this game to be more on the Euro side.
Yes, you are correct. But the games I listed are all about confrontation and characters (Troll, dwarves, elves, heroes) with different powers and/or superpowers, besides the same theme.
Yes, but that is beyond the point. I may be wrong, but although this game is about confrontation, I don't think it is full of characters with different powers.
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The majority of the games you listed have in common only the theme (and most of them could have any theme), but they are very different in mechanics, kind, concept...
I don't see many similarities in the games you listed, either. In fact, they are totally different from each other, in mechanics, kind and concept: a two-player wargame (BattleLore), a cooperative game (Knizia's Lord of the Rings), an area control game (Cave Troll) and a true confrontational Euro (or however you want to define Small World).
I will not discuss the merit of the "could-have-any-theme" cliché, but it should be noted that BattleLore is the nth implementation of the C&C system, Small World is a redevelopment of Vinci, and Cave Troll was originally themed on Archeology.
Also, I should note that confrontational Fantasy themes, while pretty common in the American market, are very rare in the Euro style of games. And from the (albeit vague) designer's comments, I expect this game to be more on the Euro side.
Yes, there are several differences between then, but the similarities that makes me tired: War of the Ring: confrontational fantasy game Lord of the Ring Confrontation: confrontational fantasy game Battlelore: confrontational fantasy game Cave Troll: area control game, but I confront other guys with fantasy-based creatures with variable powers - it’s a confrontational fantasy game Small World: confrontational fantasy game All these games involve very similar creatures, like I said: orcs, trolls, elves, heroes, thieves, and others that everybody already knows. Similar creatures, similar powers, and so on.
I would go for a bit of a darker sky and some more of the already mentioned "gloom and doom" (cracks in the walls, for instance, or a rampart falling). Otherwise, the idea of the game and the image attract me.
I'm definitely staying away from these types of threads if I ever get the opportunity to do artwork for a game.
Why? Feedback is good. Constructive criticism is useful in situations like marketing; this isn't just a painting, it's the potential cover of a product.
So if the game is good enough it doesn't matter what you put on the cover.
