New & Final Cover Art

Destron said:
This is just for Episode 2. Unfortunately, it's a fan-made box, so it's probably not going to see the light of day.

4435-orig.jpg
Click to expand...

That is far too cumbersome for my liking...I think it'd be better simpler... It doesn't advertise Portal/TF2 either, which is no good.


The new Valve box art is meh, but I can't see what else they can do.
 
The box design above is excellent although it's obviously not much good for the orange box. The orange box should at least be orange surely?

I've got a good idea in mind. It's simple on the front & features the details of everything contained on the back. I'd like to do a mock up if I get time over the weekend.
 
I certain don't envy whoever had the task of designing the cover, but that said, i'm also of the belief that it could have been better. Unfortunately alot of gamers do judge a game by its cover ...and lets face it - xbox owners are probably more likely to associate the words "half-life" with high school chemistry classes rather than one of the greatest games of all time.
 
Laivasse said:
That new art is pretty useless tbh. I know exactly what's going to be in the Orange Box package, and on a casual glance I completely failed to realise that the little stick guy in the middle is meant to signify the inclusion of Portal.

Impulse buyers won't understand the significance of the different motifs, they'll just think it's a crappy cover. People anticipating the release will already know what's inside and so they don't need to be forcefed the 3-in-1 message. Better off going for something that makes more of an impact, like that fan-made cover (although I don't think that's perfect either).
Click to expand...
Bingo. The only people who will know what the portal icon is are those that have already been following portal and in that case they will know its in this box anyway. It adds nothing and doesnt even indicate that that icon is relevant to a game in of its own.

I think they should concentrate on one eye catching image than a bunch of throwen together art. In terms of sales I think they should be pushing the HL2 element as thats what people are familar with. Put on the box and even the front that the other two are included...but HL2 deserves alot more than maybe 1/9th of the covers real estate.
 
Destron said:
You do that. I want to see it. :thumbs:
Click to expand...
I doubt I'll get time now ..... well, maybe I'll do a rough mock up with the basic idea & post that. Then maybe I can finish it off later. It's a pretty simple idea but I think it would be better than both the official covers we've seen. My idea for the cover is the bright orange fo the original with a big HL logo on the front & the words 'Hal Life 2'. I think that would look pretty striking on a shelf on a store.

The problem is they are trying to show all the contained games on the cover. I think that's were they're gooing wrong. This is basically about Half Life 2 as far as XBox 360 & PS3 owners are concerned. That means HL2, Episode 1 & 2. TF2 & Portal are bonuses for console owners.

For PC players on the other hand it's all about Episode 2, TF2 & portal. I think that warrants a different box all together. One like the fan made cover that Destron posted. And I don't think you need to give to much space to TF2 & Portal on the front. Just maybe the words 'also contains Team Fortress 2 & Portal' with details on the back.

Laivasse said:
Impulse buyers won't understand the significance of the different motifs, they'll just think it's a crappy cover. People anticipating the release will already know what's inside and so they don't need to be force fed the 3-in-1 message.
Click to expand...
I agree. Why heavily push EP2, TF2 & Portal to console owners less familiar with the HL series? They'll see HL2, TF2 & think what happened to HL1 & TF1?!
 
Looks great. I'd prefer it much more if they used that actually.
 
xirow said:
Don't know if you are interested, but this is my Orange Box cover :)
Click to expand...
That's fantastic. That's the kind of thing I had in mind (with maybe lkess on the front). The back cover is exactly what I was imagining. Excellent work Xirow :thumbs: I don't think I'll bother with my mock up after seing that. Send it to Valve, post it everywhere, Upload it here for all to see (if you don't I will, because that is fu**ng spot on :))
 
Whoa... Holy crap that is good...

And its lots of orange at the same time - only bad thing is that Epi2 isn't in the city - but is still awesome.
 
Thanks for the compliments :)

evilsloth said:
only bad thing is that Epi2 isn't in the city - but is still awesome.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. I guess my Orange Box cover is focusing on Half-Life 2 and Episode One. The Black Box I made is focusing on Episode Two.
 
OK, that's settled - can you make a version of that so it could be printed and put into a DVD cover?
 
Both, just depends on which I end up buying...
 
The box art is OK, I'd prefer if I had consistant boxart, like when you buy a series of books, and all the covers match up nicly, I like that sort of thing.
 
Man, this is really good. If the cover had a pic from EP2 as the background it would be perfect. Good work fella :)


coverorangebox.jpg
 
Asus said:
To me it would seem harder to make box art mentioning 5 games look just as awesome and not crowded like a cover featuring just one game. /shrug

It's a nice improvement over just text on an orange box IMO. Surely it would be obvious which came first and which was the updated version.
Click to expand...
Those are exactly my santimonies. It looks better than the last one, but that looked like a "cool" brochure for something tremendously dull. So dull I can't even think of an appropriate something.
The new one's better, but still not very good. But of course you need to get across the fact that there are a whole shit-load of games in this product and that they're games in their own right rather than Half-Life 2: Episode Two, oh, and Portal and TF2.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
From Warren Spector to Arkane Studios: Half-Life 2's cancelled Ravenholm episode
Replies
2
Views
10K
Clan Wolf 2
Clan Wolf 2
MFL
Fascinating look at the ongoing psychological evolution of flat hieirarchies.
Replies
2
Views
2K
Tollbooth Willie
Tollbooth Willie
Omnomnick
Dota 2 "Reborn Beta" Source 2 Client Revealed
Replies
20
Views
8K
Aizawa
Aizawa
Omnomnick
Examining The Files Of "SteamVR Performance Test" & "Aperture Robot Repair"
Replies
27
Views
91K
MFL
MFL
B
Community Interviews: Tony Newton, co-creator of Redemption
Replies
0
Views
5K
Barnz
B
Back
Top