Valherjar: Core Cover for Critique

[matthijs]

Cmts on the first cover (mostly negative, sorry about that):

Drop the flames altogether, they're very very cheesy. Don't go with blood red on pure black - find some other combo of colors, this looks very 80ish and unprofessional. The pic is better than #2; it seems to have a connection with the setting. Change logo font, go for something less obvious; the most obvious choices have been used by everyone, and nobody wants to pay cash for what everyone has done already.

[greyorm]

People do want to pay money for what others have already done. Familiarity breeds sales, the more familiar looking/feeling/seeming something is to a potential buyer, the more likely they are to purchase the item because it is psychologically "comfortable".

To an extent, this is also how brand familiarity-based sales work: a name/logo/manufacturer becomes familiar to a customer and generates sales of products the customer has never seen before from that brand because of their familiarity with the brand's previous products.

People are uncomfortable with things they have never seen before. Very few people want the cutting edge, never-before-seen, completely new product -- if you do, you're in a minority.

Now, how well all this maps to the gaming market in general is something I have no knowledge of, but all the above is Business (and Psych) 101.

As such, the nostalgia factor of "looking like a game from the 1980's" will appeal to gamers who fondly recall systems from the 1980s, and that can very much help drive sales and expansion of the game (lacking a notable brand name or other focus point for the buyer).

Based on the artwork, I myself thought "Shadowrun" -- though I intellectually know it is nothing "like" Shadowrun, the guns-and-magic idea and the aesthetic of the illustrations were reminiscent enough to evoke that response. Since I like Shadowrun, that's a good thing, it increases interest in (and thus the chances I will purchase) the product.

[Cemendur]

Based on the artwork, I myself thought "Shadowrun" -- though I intellectually know it is nothing "like" Shadowrun, the guns-and-magic idea and the aesthetic of the illustrations were reminiscent enough to evoke that response. Since I like Shadowrun, that's a good thing, it increases interest in (and thus the chances I will purchase) the product.

Yes, the artwork gave me nostalgia for Shadowrun. As I have fond memories of playing Shadowrun, this too is a good thing.

However, the flaming title reeks of "cheese".

Suggestions: Check out the Font for Nova's vikings, the one that is sideways: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/

The title art for: http://www.vikingart.com/VikingArt.htm

Also check out the artwork on the page above for info on art that may be inspirational for border art.

Various Lord of the Rings fonts give inspiration for fantastic adaptations of Norse Mythology

[matthijs]

greyorm, what I meant by "everyone" wasn't "every professional publisher", but "everyone who's ever printed up their own campaign notes at home". Not all familiarity is good, as I'm sure you'll agree; the association should be with quality stuff.