SporkFuMaster:

Just got started today on the box art for Dysnomia. This one may not be used, but it was a start to get the creativity hopefully flowing. Thought I would post it here to see if it worked or didn't work for anyone else out there.
By null at 2010-02-03

Very good to me, it seems (or probably is :) the work of a pro. About the game, this cover suggests me a sense of peace and tranquillity, so it probably fits best a Simulating game like Elite or Sim Earth (I dunno what type of game it is). However, if I look at this cover you can be sure that I'll give a look at the screenshots too :)

Thanks everyone for the quick comments and crits on that box art. I've got a few ideas I'm still working on as well as a couple of variations on that one. Should help out quite a bit and make these next ones a lot better.

Here's the current cover for our upcoming game, Attack of the 50ft Verbose Dinosaur:



Any suggestions/comments appreciated!

Well first thing I notice is that I don't notice the title as much. It's a pretty dull red. You could think about changing the title to 'pop' out of the page more and catch attention!

In addition, I can almost guarantee that the small yellow text in the corner will be unreadable on the Marketplace. Also, the buildings and the background all seem to blend in together. If the building in the background is on fire, shouldn't there be flames instead of just smoke?

I thought I would post the alterations I made to the box art I put up before. It certainly did need something more than just the moon to explain what might be in the game. A bit of the background, it's a top down shooter that takes place on the moon Dysnomia. I was trying for something different than the usual "guy and his gun" box art when I started this one.

The tentacles or whatever those are will not really be noticeable on the 360.  They'll just be slight discolorations behind the title.  In fact, the planet as a whole blends into the background way too much.

I agree.  I think that you should add some strong backlighting.  In fact, I'd backlight it as strong as the current highlight, and intensify the current highlight.  My general rule with contrast is to push it as far as I think I should, and then push it even further.  The tentacles are a nice touch, but they'll also look better backlit.

@AlMra

That cover art is not -bad- per se, but it's a perfect example of a well meaning cover art that will never help your game gaining attention. It's fine if you are happy with it, but what really makes me look into a XNA game is cover art that looks professional, and there's no way to make this professional other than replacing it completely (or drowning it in lame filters :P).

I'm sorry if it sounds harsh, but that's my honest opinion. It's up to you what you want to go with.

I think a good rule of thumb is looking at your cover art and thinking "Can I imagine a professional game on a shelf in GameStop looking like this on the cover?". I can imagine "Z0MB1ES"!!" doing that, even if it's not particularly pretty, because it still has that assertive style, so to speak.

I have no art skill whatsoever, but just in my personal opinion as a prospective browser-of-trials I like the tentacles version much much more.  The bare planet one was very mundane and having seen that I would have been 100% comfortable just passing by your game for the next one down the list.  The planet-clutching tentacles, however, made me genuinely intrigued and actively wanting to seek out more information about your game.  I think it's strong as a concept.  If you can do something along the lines of what the other folks are talking about to really deliver on the concept and make the tentacles more noticeable (especially at marketplace thumbnail size), I think you'll have a winner that will deliver eyeballs to your Game Details page.

I'd suggest putting some action onto the box. Your game is an alien shooter, and current boxart might represent space shooter, space strategy or some unclassifiable game as well. Your target is to attract gamers who like alien shooters. I'd put on the box the main character shooting some kind of monster, it's a clear message: this is a game where you shoot aliens.

Agreed 100% with AwesomeGamesStudio
The first things that comes up when browsing games is the cover. Screenshots don't come up until you click yourself into the game. So make sure you get the correct target audience. I've seen a lot of XNA games failing in that.

It doesn't have to be the actual action you'd experience in a game, but in a game about shooting stuff, having someone shooting stuff is a dead giveaway. Usually there are some typical conventions in game art you'll easily notice if you look at examples from professional box art. Like a strategy game is typically some sort of landscape or playfield where your game takes place, whereas puzzle games tend to focus more on the logo than what the game is about. Space shooters is another obvious one, with your ship flying through space, probably shooting stuff (something you shouldn't have for an Elite-type game, even though you shoot stuff in space :P) A puzzle platformer would have your main character doing one of the actions at his potential that don't involve fighting enemies.

AlMra:

Here's the current cover for our upcoming game, Attack of the 50ft Verbose Dinosaur:

Any suggestions/comments appreciated!

To be blunt, this is very mediocre. Here's some suggestions:
- The dinosaur doesn't appear to have any depth to him at all and appears to be a cut-out doodle.
- The background is just a flat gray sky. No searchlights, no police helicopters, no clouds, nothing. Where's the sense of chaos?
- You can't see the ground (so how do we know it's a 50 ft dinosaur unless we take your word on it?)
- That text at the bottom isn't even going to be visible when browsing the box art collection.
- The logo text - you applied Inner Bevel and Drop Shadow layer effects in Photoshop. Protip: I'm not a Photoshop expert, and if I can tell what you did to make your logo look the way it does, chances are it's not that unique or good.
- The building behind the dinosaur is smoking and burned, but where's the fire and destruction? It looks like it got left in the toaster too long; it doesn't look like it's been attacked by a vicious monster. The windows that have been burnt out just look like someone sprayed black spraypaint over them (is this what you did in Photoshop?)
- Stick figures falling out of the building. This looks very unprofessional and it looks like you didn't put effort into the art. Stick figures are never the most interesting possible choice of artwork; they're used because the artist is either unskilled, lazy, or not clever.
- Perspective issues. The second building from the left is at an angle and the perspective lines don't match up with the buildings on either side of it, which appear flat. The brown building to the right has its perspective lines disappearing into the back right, and the second building from the left has its perspective lines disappearing into the back left. If you don't know what "perspective lines" are, it shows you've never even taken an introductory art class, and you should not be doing your own art.

Would you apply for a job as an artist? If so, you are not an artist, and you need to find/hire one.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing your next attempt. If my criticism seems harsh, it's only because I care about games on XBLIG maintaining a professional appearance.

Since this thread has turned into a 'rate my box art' thread I thought I may aswell ask all your opinions of the box art for our first two games:

See & Learn box art

Ultra Pool box art

Personally, I like 'em. We did go through a few variations and they might be slightly altered before release but these are pretty much complete. The guy we have working on our box-art images shows a real interest in the games and wants to make the box art work for us.

I think a similarly important aspect of "first impression" design that some developers overlook is the game's title.  When I'm browsing the games, if my time is limited (which it often is), then I usually go for the more interesting sounding titles first, then their cover art/screenshots fall in together for me.

To above poster:
I thought the Ultra Pool cover art was very well made and way better than the rack of balls/cue picture I was kinda expecting.  The same goes for the other game, it looks well designed and has a professional quality to it.

Steve

@Martin Caine

I like the cover se See & Learn, and the logo is really good, but I'd probably try to seperate it more from the background picture, like by giving the picture a TINY bit of gaussian blur, or lowering its contrast or saturation.

Old:



New (based on Noogy's concept):



I think the new one looks a lot better and wasn't all that expensive.

I talk a bit more about this artwork and the processs of getting it created on my blog too: http://www.krissteele.net/blogdetails.aspx?id=204

Very nice. I have to agree with you, huge improvement over your 'old' version.

The work of a pro always stands out :)

That looks excellent, Kris :)  It makes a big different.  Having played your game (which is very fun, btw), I think this cover does a much better job of capturing the feel of your title.

And on a personal note, it's very cool to see someone else take my sketch and flesh it out.  I rarely get to work with other artists, so seeing this was a treat.  You've got a retail-quality cover there!

Noogy:

That looks excellent, Kris :)  It makes a big different.  Having played your game (which is very fun, btw), I think this cover does a much better job of capturing the feel of your title.

And on a personal note, it's very cool to see someone else take my sketch and flesh it out.  I rarely get to work with other artists, so seeing this was a treat.  You've got a retail-quality cover there!

Glad to hear everyone seems to like it. Noogy, I reallly do appreciate your initial sketch too, as it got me going in this direction. I probably was just going to use my boxart if not for that. There is no way to really tell how many more trial downloads this will get me, but I suspect it will have been worth the cost I paid.

A nice piece of art like that can be useful if you start sending out press releases.  Bigger sites tend to avoid making a mention of an indie title unless something about the release grabs them, like some nice art.  Have you also considered using the art for the title screen in your game (assuming you've secured the rights)?

Noogy:

A nice piece of art like that can be useful if you start sending out press releases.  Bigger sites tend to avoid making a mention of an indie title unless something about the release grabs them, like some nice art.  Have you also considered using the art for the title screen in your game (assuming you've secured the rights)?

I should link that on my press releases (or use it on the website I link to)... good idea.

I hadn't considered using it for the title screen (outside of perhaps using the title from that artwork on the title screen) but I'll consider doing that too.  I'd have to get the background expanded but overall that wouldn't be a huge deal.

A bit OT, but still related:

Kris Steele:

I should link that on my press releases (or use it on the website I link to)

For the version of the press release that you send out via services like gamespress.com, which is basically just text, I would link to a page that contains the box art (at a place where it is immediately visible when the page opens, i.e. so that you don't have to scroll to see it).
But if you are also sending individual e-mails to individual recipients (bloggers, games journalists, etc.), I would actually do this in form of a HTML e-mail and include a scaled down thumbnail version of the image right there in the e-mail. I did that for my Your Doodles Are Bugged! press release e-mails (both the "coming soon" press release and the "now available" press release) and choose to believe that it did indeed have a positive effect (of course I can't really know, but at least I didn't get any complaints :-)

Oh, and yes: The box art is so much better now, it was really worth it! :c)

Doc

I like the idea of this thread quite a bit. It does seem that cover art is glossed over much of the time, and it doesn't seem to be mentioned often during playtest or review.

So anyway, would anyone be so kind as to take a look at my cover and offer any suggestions? It's for a card/puzzler game that I hope to have out soon.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/9523/releasei.jpg