NPA Cover first draft

[Mike Holmes]

That's great, John,

Then again, I'm not known for understanding art. :-)

Mike

[C. Edwards]

Also, I totally dig the "With an introduction by some guy" line. I'd leave it at that, even if [insert famous game designer] writes the intro.

I was thinking the exact same thing. Reading that would make me flip through to at least learn the identity of "some guy". Besides, it's just damn cool.

-Chris

[Jack Aidley]

Design 3 looks to me like every student publication that has ever tried to be punk, I doubt it'd grab my attention. I really like design 2 - although I second the suggestion that each game should have it's own font.

However, I'm not in the anthology so feel free to ignore.

[Matt Machell]

Design 3 looks to me like every student publication that has ever tried to be punk, I doubt it'd grab my attention.

I'm tempted to agree with Jack, and yet I actually really like the distressed look. My other worry is contrast. Does the title stand out against the background of the cover enough?

-Matt

[Michael S. Miller]

Personally, I'm still kinda partial to Luke's cover version 2, minus the slash, of course.

But, as John's now Cover Designer, I gotta vote for his 2nd version. The 1st version is gorgeous, but it doesn't fit the NPA. I don't think the 3rd version quite fits, either. If I opened that cover, I wouldn't expect to see games like Discernment, Pagoda, WTF?, the Agency, or even Snowball in there.

I'd also really like to see each game's unique font return to the back cover.

I absolutely loathe the idea of leaving the words "Introduction by Some Guy" on the cover. The entire point of getting somebody else to write the introduction is for name-recognition value. The won't recognize the name if it's not on the cover! I'd put it on the front cover myself, but that's just me. If I saw "Introduction by Some Guy" on a book, I'd think "Oh, he got his gaming buddy to write the introduction. Lame." and put it back on the shelf.

[xiombarg]

I love John's third "punk" cover -- but as I've said before, I'm a sucker for distressed fonts.

Tho, as per my previous comments, as amusing as the "some guy" thing is, I'd almost rather the front be like John's punk cover, with a back similar to Luke's original back cover, with the different fonts. In this, I agree with Michael.

But as front covers go, I'd go with any of the ones John has posted so far, really. I do certainly think the "punk" one is a good kick in the face.

[Luke]

Back for more punishment...

These are directly based on john's third design, but less dark. The ultra distressed and dark feel is very evocative, but I really don't think it fits what we are trying to accomplish in the NPA right now.

a green one!
http://www.burningwheel.org/pdf/npacover_r2.jpg

a white one!
http://www.burningwheel.org/pdf/npacover_r2_2.jpg

also, put in the full logo, which I really like with the NO on his t-shirt.

shred me,
-L

[Christopher Weeks]

Wow, Luke.

Green, definately.  And the "no" guy in the background is a brilliant answer to the unworkable slash.  The background gears are much better on the green than on the white.  I like this one best of all.

Chris (am I supposed to be opining as a non-participant?)

[Jack Aidley]

The background gears are much better on the green than on the white.

Wierd. I was going to say I liked the green but the background gears needed to be darker...

[Michael S. Miller]

Hi, Luke.

These are both way cool. I definitely like NO-Dude. And the size, font, & positioning of the 8 is right on the money.

To me, the green one is fine, but the white one is truly an awesome cover. (Probably I still regret arguing for the green on the 1st Edition FVLMINATA cover, 'cause I now think that white would've looked better).

I still think if my name and Mike's are going to be on the cover, there should be "and 6 more complete RPGs" down there as well, but that's the only nitpick I got. Great job, Luke!

[Ben Lehman]

I want to develop the "no" shirt guy as an iconic character for future anthologies.  He's awesome!

Other than that... I like the green one better, but either looks fine.  And the "over the bar" picture box looks much better in this volume.

Note that I have zip in the way of graphic sense.

yrs--
--Ben

[Christopher Weeks]

The background gears are much better on the green than on the white.

Wierd. I was going to say I liked the green but the background gears needed to be darker...

Actually, what if they were lighter?  I mean, lighter than the base green.  The contrast between the two might stay, or even be increased, but in the opposite relationship.  Then, what if the gears continued across the lettering (but not the logo?)  Anyway, I'm just brainstorming.

Chris

[John Harper]

Wow, Luke. These are great. And I like the NO guy, too. I think I prefer the white one, but they're both cool. Either would be a fine choice.

[Mike Holmes]

I like the green version, and I'll tell you why: the white just looks like we're skimping on ink. That is, it looks like a cheaper printing process. The green says that it's more a finished product.

OTOH, if you had a green border around the white version, I'd probably be satisfied.

The green is intended to bleed, right?

Good stuff.

Mike

P.S. Chris, and anyone else, as potential customers, I for one am interested in what you have to say.

[Matt Snyder]

Both look quite good, Luke. This has been a fascinating thread in terms of cover design, marketing and overall graphic design, and I'm glad to see it work positively toward a better design.

I won't say which of any of the above I like. I will say I'm damned glad to see design-by-committee pretty much work for once! Now, just step up as editor-in-chief, pick one, and rock 'n roll!