Time to take VGBA to the next level

[Reed]

Designers of VGBA,

Over the years, thanks to all of you, the quality of box design has increased dramatically. In the beginning (tm), boxes were pretty simple and consisted of a front cover and presented in 2D. Today, they include a back cover and generally presented in 3D. Sometimes the art is even custom made. We see beautiful and masterful boxes posted nearly every day.

However, in some areas (minimalism especially) there are other communities sometimes beating VGBA at our own game.

This is unacceptable. The good news is that I know this community holds some of the best designers out there. That said, there are a number of trends that I think are moving things in the wrong direction. Or at the very least, holding progress back. Let's nix these things, please, and get back to breaking ground in box art design.

Presentation

• It's fine to add your name to the presentation of your box, but not in 60pt font. It should be small and elegant.
• Adding the game title is generally redundant.
• Less is more! Go over every element and ask yourself if it's really needed. What can be done with less is done in vain with more.
• Remember, the box is what's important and should be center stage. Presentation should simply support it.

Create a little tag/logo for yourself. Here are some good examples. Clean, not too distracting, can be easily applied to any box.



In context: alldreamsfalldown / eat nade / Gunslinger / deiviuxs

Comments & Critiques

• Stop with the "you need x, y and z" comments. There are no hard rules and we need to encourage experimentation.
• No more juvenile comments (e.g., "I came"). Herp derp. It just makes you sound 12yrs old. I will assume you are indeed 12 and you know that you must be at least 13 to participate here.
• Don't call people who post a screenshot or wallpaper trolls (or low quality boxes, for that matter). Generally these are users who thought the site automatically adds a template. I am putting together a little How-to guide to help explain the site better and hopefully get more people into the craft.

General

• Encourage experimentation and minimalism. Learn what minimalism is. We need to move in this direction. The community has mastered the art of creating official-looking boxes, now let's see it master alternative boxes (e.g., no bar codes, no ESRBs, no warning notices, etc).
• Explore and be open minded.
• Be nice, friendly, helpful. Participating in any fight will = ban.
• Don't judge a box on perceived effort. Judge the end result. I really dislike dismissive "it's just a wallpaper + logo" type comments. It's nonsense. Any professional designer will tell you, minimalism is hard. But the end result often looks easy. It wasn't. Minimalism done right takes a lot of time to choose/tweak the right (few) assets that fit together in the best possible way.

Let's use Ico as a case in point. As you can see, the last box (the US version) has a lot more assets, required more editing and is... awful. The first two do a great job of communicating the feel and atmosphere of the game.


[middle box by qwerty334]

All that said, there's nothing wrong with continuing to create official-like boxes. Please do. That's been our bread and butter. But let's do more to expand beyond that.

[Hunter]

I'll give it a try but i can't see myself abandoning my old style and going only minimal.

[stevanR80]

Designers of VGBA,

Over the years, the quality of box design has increased dramatically. In the beginning (tm), boxes were pretty simple and consisted of a front cover and presented in 2D. Today, they include a back cover and generally presented in 3D. Sometimes the art is even custom made. We see beautiful and masterful boxes posted nearly every day.

However, in some areas (minimalism especially) there are other communities sometimes beating VGBA at our own game.

This is unacceptable. The good news is that I know this community holds some of the best designers out there. That said, there are a number of trends that I think are moving things in the wrong direction. Or at the very least, holding progress back. Let's nix these things, please, and get back to breaking ground in box art design.

Presentation

• It's fine to add your name to the presentation of your box, but not in 60pt font. It should be small and elegant.
• Adding the game title is generally redundant.
• Less is more! Go over every element and ask yourself if it's really needed. What can be done with less is done in vain with more.
• Remember, the box is what's important and should be center stage. Presentation should simply support it.

Create a little tag/logo for yourself. Here are some good examples. Clean, not too distracting, can be easily applied to any box.



In context: alldreamsfalldown / eat nade / Gunslinger / deiviuxs

Comments & Critiques

• Stop with the "you need x, y and z" comments. There are no hard rules and we need to encourage experimentation.
• No more juvenile comments (e.g., "I came"). Herp derp. It just makes you sound 12yrs old. I will assume you are indeed 12 and you know that you must be at least 13 to participate here.
• Stop calling people who post a screenshot or wallpaper trolls (or low quality boxes, for that matter). Generally these are users who thought that the site automatically adds a template. I am putting together a little How-to guide to help explain the site better.

General

• Encourage experimentation and minimalism. Learn what minimalism is. We need to move in this direction. The community has mastered the art of creating official-looking boxes, now let's see it master alternative boxes (e.g., no bar codes, no ESRBs, no warning notices, etc).
• Explore and be open minded.
• Be nice, friendly, helpful. Participating in any fight will = ban.
• Don't judge a box on perceived effort. I really dislike the "it's just a wallpaper + logo" type comments. It's nonsense. Personally, if I'm going to print out a box to replace the official one, it's going to be something that communicates the essence of the game in the most beautiful and elegant way.

Let's use Ico as a case in point. As you can see, the last box (the US version) has a lot more assets, required more editing and is... awful.


[middle box by qwerty334]

All this said, there's nothing wrong with continuing to create official-like boxes. That's been our bread and butter. But let's do more to expand beyond that.

Wow.......Bravo my man.

[sd1833]

Nice post, Reed. I especially like your tips regarding proper commenting and critiquing. And while I do enjoy experimenting with minimalism, like Hunter I don't see that as the ideal style we should all strive for, and I doubt I'll abandon my own methods.

I couldn't agree more that the US ICO cover is simply terrible, though.

[Sarashi]

Let's use Ico as a case in point. As you can see, the last box (the US version) has a lot more assets, required more editing and is... awful.

That's an opinion. You can see that someone obviously spent time on that, but just putting a logo on an official wallpaper is not. Yes, admittedly, it may look good, but it's not as good when you realise the beauty of the box is only courtesy of the developers and artists who made it in the first place. If you did some editing and merging to create a new design, then it is usually clear that you have made an effort to make something more than impose a logo onto a piece of art. For the developers, that's fine, because THEY made the art. For us, work that is original is more greatly praised than blatent cobbling together of other artworks.

[Reed]

I'll give it a try but i can't see myself abandoning my old style and going only minimal.

That's certainly fine. I'm not saying anyone should abandon their style (aside from some specific points, like names/titles on presentation), just that it should be explored and most importantly, supported.

I still love official-like boxes too, but I think a lot more attention needs to be placed on alternative works.

[Patches]

Hi Reed, great thread I like your points on minimalism and I have a few ideas to share if you don't mind:

Ma (間) - Interval in time and space ~ This is an important concept that we should all be aware of when making covers, especially minimalist. I think that some times, people often misinterpret minimalism to mean "blank" or "plain" when in fact, minimalist artworks (whether poetry, visual, music, dance, etc.) should be expressing even MORE about the idea through less material.

That is NOT to say that "busier" boxes aren't acceptable ~ of course, everyone has their own taste. This is just a few views I had on minimalist covers in general

I strongly encourage everyone to read the link posted, even if you don't fancy minimalism yourself it has some fine pieces of art in it.

[Deividas]

Very good points on the commenting and such. As for the minimalism approach...its cool too see once in a while but if the site just turns into everyone doing minimalism...its going to get old and boring very fast. Its awesome to see someone do it once in a while when they come up with an idea. But if everyone starts doing it all the time....ummm...and i know im not going to change my design style either...i like to do different stuff now and then. But overall when I want to make a cover...its going to be the way I want it overall and not whats expected.

And I dont like how you defend people who put a logo on a wallpaper and call it a box...that should not be acceptable by anyone's standards here. Or is that just bad of me to think that?

[Element]

Oh yeah. I absolutely love minimalism. I would love to see more minimalistic boxes. Maybe that will inspire me and I will do more boxes.

[Reed]

That's an opinion. You can see that someone obviously spent time on that, but just putting a logo on an official wallpaper is not. Yes, admittedly, it may look good, but it's not as good when you realise the beauty of the box is only courtesy of the developers and artists who made it in the first place. If you did some editing and merging to create a new design, then it is usually clear that you have made an effort to make something more than impose a logo onto a piece of art. For the developers, that's fine, because THEY made the art. For us, work that is original is more greatly praised than blatent cobbling together of other artworks.

2 assets vs 20 isn't evidence of greater effort. If you're doing it right, choosing those exact 2 assets took a long time and required a lot of experimentation in how they was used together. Placement, sizing, color tweaks, adjustments, fading, etc, to get the most beautiful result possible. It doesn't mean that someone just randomly grabbed a wallpaper and logo and slapped it together. It's just as likely that the box with 20 assets was cobbled together.

Also, the Ico example is actually scientific fact*. The US version is terrible**.

*Kidding. Mostly.
**This part is true.

[Hunter]

That's certainly fine. I'm not saying anyone should abandon their style (aside from some specific points, like names/titles on presentation), just that it should be explored and most importantly, supported.

It definitely should be explored but it's a bit of a dangerous territory, it's easy to grab a couple of renders and mash them up, brush the background, and use filters to give a nice presentation but creating an official box art is like walking into a jungle filled with landmines. it's a lot harder and requires effort which in the end helps the Boxartist to elevate his talent. minimal just feels cheap at times because of how effortlessly the box art was put together, but unlike official it actually puts more pressure on your creativity. It will definitely be interesting to see if the other members will do well in the minimal department.

It just harder to know when you've put in enough effort into one box art so that it's in eligible quality for the site.

Also, the Ico example is actually scientific fact*. The US version is terrible**.

*Kidding. Mostly.
**This part is true.

I don't think anyone can disagree with that.

[Sarashi]

2 assets vs 20 isn't evidence of greater effort. If you're doing it right, choosing those 2 assets took a long time and required a lot of experimentation in how they was used together. Placement, sizing, color tweaks, etc. It doesn't mean that someone just randomly grabbed a wallpaper and logo and slapped it together. It's just as likely that the box with 20 assets was cobbled together.

Also, the Ico example is actually scientific fact*. The US version is terrible**.

*Kidding. Mostly.
**This part is true.

So you are saying most people who impose a logo onto a wallpaper actually make a viable design. Fine, your opinion.
Sorry, in my opinion, that doesn't classify as that much effort. There probably is a limit to how much change you can do with two assets. Oh well, everyone has their own opinion. I think that in some cases, minimalism can be opposite to the idea of the item itself.
For example, a minimal Micheal Bay movie box. If the idea is overcrowded explosions, it makes sense to embrace the essence of it.
(Please do note that I am not fighting, just expressing my opinion)

[Leegion]

I like the idea of going in a new direction with box-arts. I for one would be happy to mix my style up every now and then with a minimalistic box that focuses more on the design than officiality, it could definitely be something useful to try. Plus the idea of the logo/tag rather than a huge NAME across the presentation would work nicely.

[Deividas]

So you are saying most people who impose a logo onto a wallpaper actually make a viable design. Fine, your opinion.
Sorry, in my opinion, that doesn't classify as that much effort. There probably is a limit to how much change you can do with two assets. Oh well, everyone has their own opinion. I think that in some cases, minimalism can be opposite to the idea of the item itself.
For example, a minimal Micheal Bay movie box. If the idea is overcrowded explosions, it makes sense to embrace the essence of it.
(Please do note that I am not fighting, just expressing my opinion)

Agreed. Placing a minimalistic wallpaper and a logo does not take skill or effort because the effort was done by the designers of the wallpaper itself, and someone making a box from it is them just taking credit for someone else work. A good minimalism box art requires creativity and a great idea, which is not so easily done

[twoxT]

I'm so hyped now!
I'll definitely take these rules in to action for my next box.

[deiviuxs]

Great thread, Reed.

I especially agree the points you made about commenting. Reading comments such as "I came" or "Have my babies" do not belong on the main site and make no connection to a box art.

As far as minimalism, I definitely would like to see more of it, however, it is hard to master but without experimentation nothing will happen. Also, I do not have huge problems with wallpapers and logos only. I actually like quite a few boxes in the NeoGaf forums. They might look simple, but they are very attractive and pleasant to look at.

P.S. I appreciate you using me as an example. I did not see that coming and I am very delighted.

[Element]

It definitely should be explored but it's a bit of a dangerous territory, it's easy to grab a couple of renders and mash them up, brush the background, and use filters to give a nice presentation but creating an official box art is like walking into a jungle filled with landmines. it's a lot harder and requires effort which in the end helps the Boxartist to elevate his talent. minimal just feels cheap at times because of how effortlessly the box art was put together, but unlike official it actually puts more pressure on your creativity. It will definitely be interesting to see if the other members will do well in the minimal department.

It just harder to know when you've put in enough effort into one box art so that it's in eligible quality for the site.

Minimal is just as hard as an official. And it also puts way more "pressure in the creativity" than officials.

Try to come up with a good minimal design. First you have to came up with an idea, which it's not easy. Every game has it identity, and recreating them is hard. Then, you have to think "How can I do it with just a few resources?", "Which resources?", "How can I improve them?", "They will fit together?" and "If not, how I can make them fit?".

Look at this:


First, the idea. The emblem on the front, the bird and the Triforce, is easy to think of. But where to put it? He chose the right place for it, considering the the bird is a constant figure during the game, one of great importance. The Triforce, is the main objective, "To get the Triforce and destroy Demise". The stuff on the back are also very important stuff, but their importance is linked with the two in the front, making them secondary. Which goes great on the back. The symbols of Courage, Wisdom and Power, representing the trials, Link had in order to grow, and be capable of getting the Tirforce, and the Harp, which opened paths so that these trials could happen.

Second, how he did that. He chose an style, an emblematic style, great for Legends. The amount of swirls are great to represent flow, which could go great for both water and the sky. The swirls here would go great with Wind Waker, but the square, emblematic style, wouldn't, because of the cartoon style that the game has.

So you see, for a minimal cover to be good, EVERYTHING about it have to be perfect, in the perfect place.

[Reed]

I'm actually still trying to get the hang of it. Minimalism takes time to master I guess (well for me ).

Keep at it! I really like the Kid Icarus one. The only thing I'd say is that it seems overly bright/overexposed.

Ma (間) - Interval in time and space ~ This is an important concept that we should all be aware of when making covers, especially minimalist. I think that some times, people often misinterpret minimalism to mean "blank" or "plain" when in fact, minimalist artworks (whether poetry, visual, music, dance, etc.) should be expressing even MORE about the idea through less material.

Yep, well said.

And I dont like how you defend people who put a logo on a wallpaper and call it a box...that should not be acceptable by anyone's standards here. Or is that just bad of me to think that?

Just don't comment on those, then. It's fine, it's not hurting anything. I mean, it's all well and good to encourage people to put effort into their boxes, but this isn't the way to do it.

The larger point and problem is that too often people dismiss boxes with that sort of commentary. And ultimately it scares designers off from practicing minimalism because they're worried they'll get dismissed by those who assume it didn't take enough effort.

It just harder to know when you've put in enough effort into one box art so that it's in eligible quality for the site.

Don't worry about it, really. Sometimes a great box may take 40 hours. Sometimes it may take 2. If you like it, post it.

Sorry, in my opinion, that doesn't classify as that much effort. There probably is a limit to how much change you can do with two assets.

Again, there is no way for you to know how much time or effort it took. It's often easier to make something with 20 assets than it is to make something with a few. Good minimalism is hard and every single little detail is examined carefully. Do you look at an iPhone and say it took less design effort than a Blackberry because the Blackberry has more buttons?

In any case, don't get so caught up in perceived effort. Only the end result matters.

[madoublex]

Great post Reed! I agree, I would love to see more minimalistic boxes on the site, and I've really wanted to drift away from official boxes for awhile.

[Reed]

Minimal is just as hard as an official. And it also puts way more "pressure in the creativity" than officials.

...

So you see, for a minimal cover to be good, EVERYTHING about it have to be perfect, in the perfect place.

Bingo! Great post and example.