Arrows of Indra: the Cover
Here it is, the cover of the upcoming Arrows of Indra RPG!
(http://x84.xanga.com/dcf8410153338283513080/b226106521.jpg)
From what I understand there might still be some slight changes but this is pretty much it. The first thing I would like to draw your attention to is that while the scene's details are exotic, the type of adventuring it depicts very much isn't. That's exactly what I wanted from the cover, for it to say: "this looks different and has new and exotic things compared to your typical D&D game... but in the ways that you really care about, its still going to PLAY in a way that's comfortable and familiar to you".
It depicts an action scene somewhere in the Dandaka Jungle: a group of adventurers have gotten themselves into some trouble when a seemingly abandoned temple actually contained a powerful and unholy Asura Demon. The short guy running from the demon is a Yaksha thief. Then we have a couple of human fighters (the one with the sword is probably a lower-caste fighter, the one with the bow is clearly a kshatriya, armed with a magic bow), and a human magic user or "Siddhi" (who is using an Enlightenment Power against the Asura). Incidentally, the Siddhi (the figure in the red sari) is a meant to be a kliba, or "third gender"; which to my knowledge might just make it the first depiction ever of a transgendered hero on the cover of an RPG.
Anyways, I the cover looks great, the image will wrap around to the back cover too; and I congratulate Bedrock Games for their excellent job on it. And with the completion of the cover, we can now announce that, barring unforseen disaster (we're still waiting for layout and interior art), Arrows of Indra will be released in January 2013.
Buy it! You won't regret it.
RPGPundit
Very nice!
Yeah, maybe change the generic font for the subtitle and the "RPGPundit" credit but apart from that, this is an amazing cover. Well done, Bedrock Games!
DISHOOM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishoom) !!! (punches air)
Great cover, sound reasoning behind it.
Looks cool.
Looks great! Much better cover than most OSR games, to be honest.
Looks nice, covers everything it needs to. Good job to the artist.
The cover does look good. Congrats.
Thumbs up. How does it look with the Bedrock Games logo not overlaying the border of the picture. Is it a bit odd that BG overlays but RPGPundit doesn't? Especially as the RPGPundit typeface is thin relative to the BG logo.
I am glad people like it. This was a real team effort. The illustration is by Michael Prescott who really did an excellent job and he worked to compliment the logo which, was done by Richard Iorio, and helped set the tone if the image. This the the second cover of ours they have worked on together and I continue to be impressed.
Pundit is being humble about his own contribution here. His feedback and suggestions were crucial to making the image as evocative and authentic for the setting as possible. He was informed and involved at every stage and it shows.
Benoist, the tagline and pundit's name are both in myriad pro. I do like myriad pro for some reason, but not fully satisfied with it here. Definitely feel free to suggest a font as i am still playing around with options (looking for a simple sans serif that will be easy to read and smooth). This was done in Indesign if that matters.
Quote from: languagegeek;586380Thumbs up. How does it look with the Bedrock Games logo not overlaying the border of the picture. Is it a bit odd that BG overlays but RPGPundit doesn't? Especially as the RPGPundit typeface is thin relative to the BG logo.
I tried it a number of ways and this looks best in my opinion. The logo didn't look quite right elsewhere, and pundits name definitely seems to work more being on tge bottom right within the background rather than over the image. The logo being between the illustration and background helps bring it together. Pundits name is meant to match to tagline but still adjusting font and size.
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;586389I tried it a number of ways and this looks best in my opinion. The logo didn't look quite right elsewhere, and pundits name definitely seems to work more being on tge bottom right within the background rather than over the image. The logo being between the illustration and background helps bring it together. Pundits name is meant to match to tagline but still adjusting font and size.
Yep, just curious. You never know how a layout will work until you try lots of options.
For a RPGPundit typeface, how about the theRPGSite font: "Clearface" (I think that's the one). It's iconic in its own way and Bold-Italic has a kinda Gujarati swash to the letters.
http://myfonts.us/td-LC3PbU
I've used Myriad in the past where I want the text to be non-distracting (like in an academic abstract) or as a sans-serif font in combination with a main serif text font (like Minion). I think it functions well in these situations. As a display face it can be underwhelming beside the excitement on the rest of the cover.
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;586387Benoist, the tagline and pundit's name are both in myriad pro. I do like myriad pro for some reason, but not fully satisfied with it here. Definitely feel free to suggest a font as i am still playing around with options (looking for a simple sans serif that will be easy to read and smooth). This was done in Indesign if that matters.
I'd see something ing bold and a little less generic-looking, without going into fancy weird fonts. Maybe something like Benguiat Bold?
Quote from: Benoist;586413Maybe something like Benguiat Bold?
http://myfonts.us/td-X1SWi7
Neat-looking thing.
Personally I would add some kind of subtle texture in the yellow field.
Nothing that will overwhelm the lettering or logo but just enough to break up the yellow blah.
I would move the RPG pundit credit in to the center - and the bedrock games in the same place on the back cover.
But that's just me.
Quote from: languagegeek;586417http://myfonts.us/td-X1SWi7
Yes. Something ITC Benguiat Std Bold.
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/itc/benguiat/std-bold/
I like it a lot.
Maybe it's because I've been playing Borderlands 2 a lot lately, but it looks like something out of a videogame, an awesome videogame, and I mean that in the best possible interpretation.
Yeah, Bedrock Games really doesn't need to be on the front cover.
Quote from: Jaeger;586463Personally I would add some kind of subtle texture in the yellow field.
Nothing that will overwhelm the lettering or logo but just enough to break up the yellow blah.
That might be a good idea, just something to add a slight bit of texture.
QuoteI would move the RPG pundit credit in to the center - and the bedrock games in the same place on the back cover.
But that's just me.
I haven't got a problem at all with Bedrock games being in the front.
RPGPundit
Looks good. As minor adjustments, I recommend raising the picture to lessen the gap below 'Old School ... ' and moving RPGPundit over beneath the Bedrock logo.
That looks dead sweet. If I saw this in a game store I would pick up just on the strength on the image on the front alone .. so well done all round :)
Quote from: tellius;586643That looks dead sweet. If I saw this in a game store I would pick up just on the strength on the image on the front alone .. so well done all round :)
Awesome! That's what we want to hear!
That's a great cover - both as art and in terms of setting the scene of what to expect (well assuming the game inside is as Pundit says, obviously).
I think I may have to pick this up :)
We are going to experiment with a textured background. I think that may look good unless it ends up making the image or logo look less clear or something. But worth a try. Still looking into other fonts for pundit's name. I do not have the one benoist suggested so i will look for something similar. My only concern with a serif is it might not be enough of a contrast from the logo, but i will try several and see how they look.
For pundit's name placement, i tried all the positions people suggested before settling on the one we posted here, and they just didn't look right to me (even tried below the bedrock logo, but imo it just didn't look right and it also implied the book was written by bedrock and pundit----and pundit is the sole author so i dont want to give that impression).
The bedrock logo on the side overlapping the illustration and the yellow background has mostly been well received by people I have show it to. But since a few people have suggested it ought to go on the back I am curious whether others agree or disagree. I placed it there at the suggestion of the artist and personally liked the way it looked (seemed to join the illustration with the rest of the cover and the colors all work together). I future I was thinking of including the logo on the front of all new rpg lines.
We still have a couple of weeks to make final decisions on the cover so all this feedback is helpful (at the end of the day Bedrock and Pundit have to decide what we thinks works best but I am considering every response carefully and really appreciate the constructive advice).
I think a pattern on the yellow would look good - PEG often do this kind of stripe layout on covers and they always use a texture I think (Solomon Kane is likely the best example - http://www.peginc.com/games/the-savage-world-of-solomon-kane/).
Maybe also looking at changing the purple stripes in to a feature/decorative border of some sort, to continue the Indian influence?
I think just something very soft and very simple, as far as texture goes..
And I do not want this delaying the game's release!
RPGPundit
If you're thinking about textures, take a look at the back of Lords of Olympus...
Quote from: brettmb;586814If you're thinking about textures, take a look at the back of Lords of Olympus...
Those are pretty cool. What program did you do them in?
Textures may be difficult at this stage if we want to hit our release date (which we want to), I may have a few days to go over some possibilities, but if they can't be perfected the cover will have to be finalized without them (changing fonts or moving the bedrock logo after this point though is much less of an issue).
I always do covers in Photoshop. Here's a quick sample I threw together for you. I have some time today if you want any help. Just email me.
Quote from: brettmb;586827I always do covers in Photoshop. Here's a quick sample I threw together for you. I have some time today if you want any help. Just email me.
That looks pretty good. Any way to do it more subtle though, so that it doesn't detract from the big Sun Wheel and Logo?
I think the thing would be to make it a very soft thing, so that someone looking at the cover wouldn't really notice it was there, but they'd notice if it was removed. That kind of thing.
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;586833That looks pretty good. Any way to do it more subtle though, so that it doesn't detract from the big Sun Wheel and Logo?
I think the thing would be to make it a very soft thing, so that someone looking at the cover wouldn't really notice it was there, but they'd notice if it was removed. That kind of thing.
RPGPundit
It was just a quick mock-up, so yeah, it's easy to be more subtle with the right files to start (without logo, place logo later, etc.). Like I said, I've got some time today, so if you guys want some help with it, I'll handle it.
+1
On my buy list.
Totally need a printed version on acid-free paper with permanent long-lasting full color ink.
That's a beautiful cover and I'm really looking forward to it.
Thank you so much!
RPGPundit
Quote from: The Butcher;586856That's a beautiful cover and I'm really looking forward to it.
I firmly second this.
Oh wow. It's now on my list.
I love that cover. I immediately know what kind of encounter that is. It both feels natural to D&D, and also exotic. Well done.
Agree with the textured yellow. It's probably already done but Brett's mock up has the level of it just pare the transparency of the textured layer back a bit. it would also work with a texture taken from Hindi or Jainist temple carvings again pared right back to the faintest overlay.
I also notice the Fighter is unarmoured which is great for the setting but is it replicable in play? A pet peeve of mine is an image in a game book that can't happen in play.
Quote from: brettmb;586827I always do covers in Photoshop. Here's a quick sample I threw together for you. I have some time today if you want any help. Just email me.
Could you make the yellow texture go all the way to the bottom yellow strip? My mind wants consistency for some reason.
And for some reason looking at that emblem bothers me with that background texture. I think the emblem is a transparency atop the yellow texturing? Sorta too busy, it hurts my eyes. Could the emblem be made more opaque?
Quote from: Mistwell;589892I love that cover. I immediately know what kind of encounter that is. It both feels natural to D&D, and also exotic. Well done.
That's exactly what we were going for; so thank you.
RPGPundit
Quote from: Opaopajr;589913Could you make the yellow texture go all the way to the bottom yellow strip? My mind wants consistency for some reason.
And for some reason looking at that emblem bothers me with that background texture. I think the emblem is a transparency atop the yellow texturing? Sorta too busy, it hurts my eyes. Could the emblem be made more opaque?
That was just a sample. Bret gave us a hand with a new texture which will be on the bottom yellow band as well.
I think the cover looks very exciting. Although I am late to the congratulations party, I mean it very sincerely. This has taken me from "not particularly interested" to "genuine interest". Great work!
//Panjumanju
Quote from: Panjumanju;590010I think the cover looks very exciting. Although I am late to the congratulations party, I mean it very sincerely. This has taken me from "not particularly interested" to "genuine interest". Great work!
//Panjumanju
Wow. Thanks. That is a very helpful comment. I am glad it grabbed your attention.
Very much like the cover!
The only suggestion I have is...consistency. I like being able to identify books in a line, along books of a publisher, on my bookshelf. If Bedrock has a consistent style, Id stick with it, or redefine it by whatever you do here.
Quote from: Lynn;590030Very much like the cover!
The only suggestion I have is...consistency. I like being able to identify books in a line, along books of a publisher, on my bookshelf. If Bedrock has a consistent style, Id stick with it, or redefine it by whatever you do here.
This is going to become our style moving forward. When we release Sertorius it will have this look (with the background forming a central band for the image). Our next Servants of Gaius will too.
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;590034This is going to become our style moving forward. When we release Sertorius it will have this look (with the background forming a central band for the image). Our next Servants of Gaius will too.
That's good to know!
RPGPundit