MIDAS TOUCH ROUND 1 Results

[Daemon]

super-mega-hyper-sonic -VS- Ronthis the Werewolf | WINNER: Ronthis the Werewolf

super-mega-hyper-sonic
http://vgboxart.com/view/45283/littlebigplanet-2/

Judge 1:
- It's a marked improvement on the original, with better typography, a fresher layout and overall, it's much more pleasing to the eye than the bland original.

-The art is more high quality than the original, with a clean, smooth aesthetic.
- It's simple, but the text is rather large and kind of draws your eye, which is not a good thing. Presentation is meant as a background, but the text is bold and brash, detracting from the clean, simple box art.

- His design stays true to the original, using the exact same (but cleaned up) render as the original too. It's essentially a smoother, cleaner, more high quality version of the original and doesn't really try anything outside the box.

- The flood of LBP boxes means it's difficult to be unique or creative with them anymore, but still, this is pretty generic. It's also too plain, he could have added some more in, whilst still being true to the original. The tagline is also kind of unattractive. It's clean though, and looks nice overall.

Judge 2:
- This box is definitely an improvement over the original, and still managed keep a similar design.

- Some of the art used is pretty low-quality and blurry, which really hurts the overall appearance of the box.

- The presentation is simple and nice, which I'm a big fan of. However, the white words are distracting and take away from the actual boxart.

- The design is pretty solid, but has it's flaws. The back layout could be improved, and I feel like the whole box looks somewhat rushed.

- Overall it's a pretty good box, but it has a lot of small flaws (same paint-splatter brush used of the front and back, the legal text on the back goes from black to white rather abruptly, there are no ESRB reasons on the back, etc.).

Judge 3:
-Your box is an improvement over the original for several reasons. I feel that you better showed the creativity of the game, and also included a more varied colour scheme. However, changing the layout a bit more would have benefited you, as right now it looks slightly amateur.

- The art used is of a consistent quality, however there are still some things that are a bit blurry, one of which is the cardboard. Also, the legal information seems to be fairly low quality.

- The box could have been presented in a much better way. It seems that you were going for a simple look, however it comes off as a bit too boring, and it doesn’t really complement or enhance the box. Also, the large text in all of the corners seems to pull me away and distract me from the boxart.

- The design of the box is good, and strays just enough to make some improvements over the original yet still stay true to the original design. However, I feel that the space on the back could have been better used, because as of now the text and screenshots are way too big, and if they were smaller you would be able to create a more appealing design. Also, I think that if the cardboard was in the opposite places on both the front and back, that is, the cardboard at the top on the front and at the bottom on the back, the design would be a lot better.

- With some improvements, this box would be a lot better. Using my comments about the back and front designs, I think you will be able to create a more appealing design.

Ronthis the Werewolf
http://vgboxart.com/view/45275/prince-of-persia/

Judge 1:
- Again, definitely an improvement. The more vibrant colour scheme immediately stands out, plus the more organized composition.

- Great quality, renders are all smooth and there is no blurriness.

- Bland presentation that adds nothing to the box. As it doesn't share the same colour scheme as the box, this makes it more noticeable, and considering it's lack of any interest, it should be firmly in the background.

- Again, basically a touched up version of the original. This time though, the colours are more substantial, there is more change which in turn makes the newer one a higher quality product. It's still similar, but there is more added to it than SMHS's.

- Does a nice job of being definitely a new version of the original, whilst improving almost every aspect.

Judge 2:
- This box is a big improvement over the original, though that's not much of a challenge.

- The art all seems pretty high-quality. Or, at least, none of it is noticeably low-quality.

- The presentation is simple and pretty standard. It neither takes away from or adds to the boxart. Definitely not a bad thing, though.

- Nothing too special to this design, but it keeps a nice similarity to the original and takes it a step up.

- A pretty solid box overall. The back seems a bit too crammed together, and looks somewhat empty. I know the original didn't give much to work with, though.

Judge 3:
- Your box is definitely better than the original. Your new colour scheme better matches the game, and also brings vibrancy to the box. However, there are some layout choices that could have been made to make your box even better, which you can read about in the Design section of the comments.

- The art seems to be of a fairly good quality, however there is some issues with the legal information and also one of the renders.

- For me, the presentation neither adds or detracts from the box, it is just there. It doesn’t really do anything. It’s good that it doesn’t distract you from the box, however, it doesn’t complement it either.

- Although your design is much better than the original, it is also quite different on the back, and couldn’t really be recognised as being a remake, apart from the tagline and the render of the Prince. As for your design itself, there are some issues. On the front, I think having the two characters centred would have benefited the box. For the back, the screenshots could have been better placed beneath the text, with the tagline being bigger up the top.

-Your box definitely has potential, and with the improvements I mentioned, it could end up really good. The only thing really letting it down was some layout choices.

[Daemon]

amad2 -VS- Luigi53| WINNER: amad2

amad2
http://vgboxart.com/view/45482/resident-evil-4/

Judge 1:
- Big, big improvement. Uses a dark, atmospheric tone perfectly.

- Very high quality, dark and grungey with no blurry artwork or choppy renders.

- Dark, minimalistic presentation that fits subtly into the background.

- Very similar, but just improves on every aspect. Uses all the same renders but touches them up so they're smooth and fit in well. Everything is made to look more professional, whilst retaining the fact that it is an update.

- A great box in it's own right, with a dark tone that is accentuated with a haunting background and subdued colours.

Judge 2:
- I really like what was done here. This box manages to keep the same characters and renders but takes the box to a whole nother level.

- Most of the art quality is pretty good, but of course it has a few flaws. The ground on the back looks especially blurry.

- Very simple and dark. I feel like some experimenting would have helped, as a lighter background might have made the box stand out more and look better in general.

- The design is nice, but I feel like it could have been improved. Maybe making the characters on the front bigger and moving the logo up would help. The back design is great, though.

- I really like this box. Maybe changing the presentation a bit would help, but it's very good overall.

Judge 3:
- This is a definite improvement over the original. Your box takes the fundamentals from the original and uses them to create a much greater box, while not straying too far from the original. I love the colour scheme you applied to the front, it looks great. The only thing that I can fault is that some lighting could have been used on the front characters in order to make them appear a part of the setting.

- Everything seems to be of great quality, apart from the background on the back. Also, one of the renders is a bit jagged.

- The presentation is simple, and doesn’t add or detract from the box.

- Your design is outstanding, and definitely shares many similarities with the original while making enough small changes to really enhance it. I love what you did with the layout of the back, but I think something could have been done about the space under the screenshots. Other than that, I can’t fault the design.

- An excellent box, both as a remake and as a box on its own.

Luigi53
http://vgboxart.com/view/45576/call-...ound-in-blood/

Judge 1:
- I hate to say it, but the original is better. Luigi's update is just so...the addition of two characters makes it messy, and they seem squashed/stretched.

- Again, it's seems squashed. It's not too blurry, but it's not that HQ either.

- No presentation to speak off. The template isn't even 3D, and it doesn't seem proportioned correctly.

- It bares little relation other than being the same game. He's added characters, changed the colour of the title, used a different background and render. He even changed the ESRB!

- It's inferior to the original, and too different. Even on it's own, it's a mediocre box.

Judge 2:
- It's an improvement, but there still isn't much going...

- The art has pretty decent quality, but the boxart is small, so that's pretty easy to accomplish.

- There isn't really a presentation, and it would have helped the overall box if there were one.

- There's not much to this design, but it's nice and simple. I wish there were more to it, though.

- Overall a pretty basic boxart. I really wish a back and presentation were added, as that would have helped the box greatly.

Judge 3:
- Your box is about level with the original. Because both boxes are so different, it is hard to compare them. You basically went in a completely different direction than the original, and you can’t really tell that it was the box you were remaking. The original is quite simple, if not slightly bare. Your box has more going on, but it doesn’t really feel like an improvement, either.

- The background looks a bit blurry, but other than that everything seems to be pretty high quality.

- You have no presentation, other than a small black bar with your name, which detracts from the box, anyway.

- The box doesn’t share a similar design at all, and if I was asked, I definitely wouldn’t be able to tell that this was a remake. It is just completely different. I think that your box has a better design, but it wasn’t executed all that well. Basically, your box strays way too much from the original, and they both have two completely different styles. As for your design, I think that the woman shoudn’t be in the foreground, but would be better swapped and put in the middle.

- You don’t really seem to have followed the rules of the competition at all, as you didn’t really remake the original, but just made a whole new design.

[Daemon]

stevanR80 -VS- Suibuku | WINNER: stevanR80

stevanr80
http://vgboxart.com/view/45590/star-...ttlefront-iii/

Judge 1:
- Improves on the original by cranking up the pressure on everything. More frenetic, more bold and more attractive.

- Very high quality, and the render is clean.

- Fits the colour scheme, but is distracting. The main box is put to the side rather than made the centerpiece, as it should be.

- Different render, but still similar due to the blurring. The update just accentuates it more, but it's still true to the original even though it takes a slightly differing approach.

- Nice quality overall, the blurring works well.

Judge 2:
- It's a big improvement over the original, but it's still pretty basic.

- The few pieces of art used are good quality. No visible blurriness.

- The presentation could have been improved. The "V.S. THIS" makes it seem like the whole competition is just to see if you can make a better box, and the logo beneath it is somewhat distracting. But I do like that you included the original.

- It's very basic, but it looks pretty good. Adding a back would have helped a ton, though.

- A back and an updated presentation would have helped, but the box itself is pretty good.

Judge 3:
- This is definitely an improvement over the original. I love your render choice, colour scheme and effects. It doesn’t really resemble the original, but that isn’t being judged right here. Overall, a vast improvement over the original.

- Everything looks very high quality, however, you can still see some of the outline of the render.

- For me, the presentation heavily detracts from the box. The humongous text is unnecessary, and even though it was nice to put the original next to your box, it is just distracting.

- Even though your design is excellent, it strays too far from the original, and therefore doesn’t really meet the whole point of the competition. There isn’t anything I can fault with your design other than the fact that it doesn’t look like a remake, and unfortunately, that is really going to cost you marks.

- An excellent box, let down by the fact that it doesn’t resemble the original. On its own, it is spectacular.

Suibuku
http://vgboxart.com/view/45593/ironman/

Judge 1:
- The update improves in some ways, but it's colour scheme is rather sickly making it less attractive than the simple, clean original.

- Decent quality, but put behind the scan-lines to try and hide the blurriness.

- Small and virtually non existent, but works okay and definitely isn't distracting.

- The new colour scheme is a radical change from the original, and is unattractive on it's own. The back stays too close, not allowing to improve on the original's blandness in that area.

- The colour scheme really hurts it, very aesthetically unpleasing.

Judge 2:
- It's an improvement, but the front isn't similar at all to the original.

- Nothing is very noticeably low-quality, but the Iron Man on the back looks a tad bit blurry.

- There isn't much of a presentation. Remember, a good presentation can totally change the overall appeal of the boxart.

- The front doesn't resemble the original's design at all, which is kind of the goal of this competition. The back's design, though it stuck well to the original design, maybe is a bit too much like it. I feel like it could have been improved.

- It's not a bad box at all, but the back is very basic and the front doesn't achieve the goal of this competition.

Judge 3:
- Your box is definitely better than the original. I like the colour scheme, and the layout is fairly well done. I’m not really sure if your box is close enough to the original, but that isn’t to be judged in this criteria. It is merely whether or not it is better or worse. I like your box, and the design you implemented, however I do also like the simplicity of the original’s front.

- The art seems to be pretty good quality, but the legal information is very blurry and virtually unreadable.

- The presentation is barely there, so it neither adds or detracts from the box.

- For the front, the box has absolutely no similarities to the original. You have gone with a completely different colour scheme and layout. Even though your layout is much better, it is nothing like the original. However, your back is true enough to the original, while als straying enough to become an improvement. For the front, I think that you could have centred the characters. Also, the back is somewhat empty.

- Your box is pretty good, yet the front isn’t recognisable as a remake of the original.

[Daemon]

darthnater -VS- Deathmania | WINNER: Deathmania


darthnater
http://vgboxart.com/view/45261/the-e...olls-v-skyrim/

Judge 1:
- Not really, to be honest. Very unprofessional looking.

- Poor image quality, quite blurry and the text is awful.

- No presentation, but the template is at least composed neatly.

- Similar, but changes quite a bit without doing it in a superior manner. The aspects changed are merely replaced with more boring text or images of poor quality.

- Bland and uninteresting, with the only positive aspect being the touchup to the front render, but that's still pretty blurry.

Judge 2:
- I'm not exactly sure which is better, this or the original. Though I do think it's unfair that the original was even added to this competition, as it's really not a bad box.

- Some of the art used is pretty low-quality, and some could have been rendered better, but most of it is decent.

- Like a few other entries to this competition, there isn't really a presentation, which is disappointing to me.

- The front and back designs could both be improved.The back seems a bit too word-heavy and the screenshots are really distracting. The front looks kind of odd to me, as the background and image of Dovakhiin don't go together well.

- Here's a tip: You don't always need to make the front and back by putting multiple images together. There have been plenty of great boxarts that were essentially two images (one on front and one on back) with a nicely-placed logo on the front and words and screenshots on the back.

Judge 3:
- For me, I actually prefer the original box. It is mainly the back of your box that lets you down. The font choice, screenshot borders and general layout aren’t all that good, and they don’t really match the game. The colour scheme of the original box better suited this particular game, and for that reason, your box comes off a bit worse.

- The box is very small, and nothing seems to be of a very high quality. There are several blurry sections, sections that looks stretched, and the front character doesn’t seem to be rendered perfectly. The legal information and front logos also seem to be low quality.

- You don’t really have a presentation, other than a background which you can barely see. It doesn’t detract from the box, but it doesn’t add to it, either.

- The two boxes are fairly similar in layout, but I feel that the original has better design choices. There are a lot of things you could have done to the design of the box in order to improve it. For the front, I think a different background would have worked better, or perhaps some other characters. For the back, there is a lot of work to be done. The text placement and font needs to be changed, and made smaller, as do the screenshots. The screenshot borders also need to be changed to suit the game. The tagline is quite boring, so that could also be fixed. You have some of the basics down, now you just need to work on improving them.

- The box stays true to the original, but doesn’t succeed in improving on it.

Deathmania
http://vgboxart.com/view/45298/the-l...-majoras-mask/

Judge 1:
- Improves on the original greatly, with sharper image quality and just an overall cleaning up of the art.

- Very sharp, the smoky look is attractive.

- Excellent presentation that adds to the art by being artistic and creative itself.

- It's very, very similar to the original except improved in every possible way. Sharper, cleaner, more vibrant and more attractive as a whole.

- Has a wonderful hand-drawn look with close reference to the original. Best box of round 1.

Judge 2:
- I really like the changes made, and it improves almost in every way over the original.

- The art quality is all very good. No noticeable blurriness or low quality.

- The presentation is very sleek and nice, and the lack of words is a good thing in this case. It does a good job in making the boxart stand out more.

- The design is really nice. Though I feel like the back has a couple small flaws, such as the empty space in the bottom-right corner, the overall design is great.

- This box is really nice and very underrated on the main site. My favorite boxart of the competition so far.

Judge 3:
- This box is definitely much better than the original. I love all the textures you used, and your choice of renders. The only thing that is really letting the box down is the font choice for the tagline. I love the border you added. Also, I think it might have looked better with the original template, so as to create contrast, rather than everything blending in.

- Everything seems to be pretty high quality, and rendered well. I can’t see anything to fault.

- Even though the presentation is very simple, I like the subtle texture used, and, for me, it adds to the box. However, I feel that if the presentation had been more white/gray, then it would have better complemented the box, and made it stand out more. The texture could have had a subtle overlay over the white to bring it together.

- I can definitely tell that this is a remake, but you have also made enough design choices to make your box a definite improvement. There isn’t much I can fault design-wise, other than a few things. The main thing is that the tagline could have been better placed, with a better font.

- A really great box, that stays very true to the original, while changing enough things to stand on its own.

[TwistedTinkerToy]

Shouldn't you post pictures of the boxes? Or at least links to the competition threads? I don't know what boxes these are but I'd like to see them.

[Ronthis the Werewolf]

Can't wait for the next round!

[Luigi53]

Haha, I'm actually fine with losing, I don't really want to continue, because this was utterly draining. Just wanted to submit something to show I tried. XD