BioShock Infinite

[Forbin]

Someone posted this fan art on reddit a couple days ago.

I think the one by irrational is going to do it's job. Other than the tie he's wearing, nothing looks off to me. That fan pic would be terrible at communicating what the game is to the market they want to hit.

[I_smell]

Or any market.

Other than people who like dark, noisy, grainy, scratchy tiny racist text. That box is like 90% decoration with a tiny picture of George Washington being a racist in the middle! Not to mention it looks like a survival horror.

I think "Chimney sweep dude shoots the american flag" is a fine boxart- and if you're gonna re-purpose any promotional art as boxart then I'd at least make it an orange and teal version of this one.

[youmeyou]

The art in the middle is a poster from in-game. But it obviously doesn't work out of context.

[I_smell]

Yea I know.

lol they posted this boxart on the Irrational site and disabled comments, which is something I don't think they've ever done before. I bet there's people at Irrational who really hate that the box is a gun man.

[elmuerte]

If it wasn't obvious from my previous post, I don't like the cover design. It's unoriginal and boring. It is like 99% of the other covers out there.

[SiN]

I think it's fairly safe to say that the art is gorgeous, but the layout is indeed generic. I like it though.

I get the feeling that when you're making a game as bat-shit crazy as Infinite, some concessions need to be made to the publisher. I'd rather it be the box art (or even the marketing message) than the game. (Sounds a lot like Bioshock 1, doesn't it?)

[TychoCelchuuu]

Because I haven't bought a boxed game in... many years I literally do not care what goes on the box.

[Frenetic Pony]

Because I haven't bought a boxed game in... many years I literally do not care what goes on the box.

I agree with this, and am more concerned about the generic character design. Hey look it's Nathan Drake again! Man, that guy gets around, to like every friggen shooter this generation.

Why, WHY do designers do this? Frankly, if I had to take a stab, I'd say it's almost too much time, too much second guessing yourself, and too much compromise. Given enough time in the collaborative, everyone gets a say on everything game development strategy we use today everything ends up looking the same, like a lowest common denominator.

I was interested in FUSE when it was called "Overstrike" and looked stylish:

Seriously, which one looks more interesting? I'm pretty sure I've already played the above one, several times this generation.

We need more than just new consoles, we need new ways to make high end video games. Something where a game doesn't lose all originality and personality the longer it takes to make. I miss the weird Anime/Bobbledhead Elizabeth design... now she just looks like any other woman.

[I_smell]

The Fuse art IS really unbelievably bad.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Both of those pictures are bland beyond belief. It almost hurts to look at them. The FUSE artwork is slightly less bland, but it has its own problems.

[TychoCelchuuu]

To see the difference between FUSE and Overstrike you really need to watch the trailers:

Then you need to weep for a world where an entertainment company decided that going from the second trailer to the first trailer was the way to sell more copies and make more money.

[Orv]

The fate of Overstrike is probably the most disappointing thing gaming has ever done for me personally.

[Twig]

Wait what the fuck I thought those were two different games from skimming over the conversation earlier today and you guys were just for some reason comparing them because they were similar.

Who is responsible for ruining Overstrike? Geez, it looked like such a fun, cheese-embracing action romp as Overstrike, and now it just looks like any other generic shooter ugh ugh ugh.

We need more than just new consoles, we need new ways to make high end video games. Something where a game doesn't lose all originality and personality the longer it takes to make. I miss the weird Anime/Bobbledhead Elizabeth design... now she just looks like any other woman.

I don't really think that's a valid thing. There've been a number of games that have gone in the opposite direction, as well. See: Borderlands.

[Orv]

Wait what the fuck I thought those were two different games from skimming over the conversation earlier today and you guys were just for some reason comparing them because they were similar.

Who is responsible for ruining Overstrike? Geez, it looked like such a fun, cheese-embracing action romp as Overstrike, and now it just looks like any other generic shooter ugh ugh ugh.

TakE A wild guess.

[BigJKO]

Both of those pictures are bland beyond belief. It almost hurts to look at them. The FUSE artwork is slightly less bland, but it has its own problems.

The FUSE artwork is what looks infinitely MORE bland. Both are bland, though, you're right about that. But at least OVERSTRIKE has the tiniest bit of character in the artwork, not just "Bloom, bitch!"

[SiN]

Then you need to weep for a world where an entertainment company decided that going from the second trailer to the first trailer was the way to sell more copies and make more money.

Just to play devil's advocate here: it probably *is* a way to sell more copies and make more money. If looking at the past is a reasonably good way to predict the future games like NOLF, Wind Waker, and (closer to home) Psychonauts and Brutal Legend go some ways toward proving that non-realistic art styles just don't sell in the mass market.

I'm not saying I agree with this, but I am saying that if it were *my* $20 million (minimum!) I'd want to play it safe too.

The FUSE artwork is what looks infinitely MORE bland. Both are bland, though, you're right about that. But at least OVERSTRIKE has the tiniest bit of character in the artwork, not just "Bloom, bitch!"

Yeah, they're both bland results of their own respective art styles. Overstrike's art style is rarer in shooters, so it wins the "less bland" title. Going on the trailers, I like that Overstrike actually had some personality. Yes, cheezy as hell, but I'll take that over nothing.

[melmer]

Back cover has liz, so you can all calm down

*Edit: Pre-order back cover :/

http://irrationalgam...h-we-hired-one/

[toblix]

«Shooter»

[melmer]

Gimme that fuckin shooter!

sorry, i can't see the word shooter without turning into a gangster from a Guy Ritchie movie

[TychoCelchuuu]

Just to play devil's advocate here: it probably *is* a way to sell more copies and make more money. If looking at the past is a reasonably good way to predict the future games like NOLF, Wind Waker, and (closer to home) Psychonauts and Brutal Legend go some ways toward proving that non-realistic art styles just don't sell in the mass market.

I'm not saying I agree with this, but I am saying that if it were *my* $20 million (minimum!) I'd want to play it safe too.

Right, I'm saying we need to weep for the world where this is the case. Just because the generic stuff sells more doesn't mean we have to like that fact. NOLF, Wind Waker, Psychonauts, and Brutal Legend didn't deserve obscurity for looking pretty.

[I_smell]

The big thing with that FUSE art is that I can't see what it's a picture of. The giant orange thing in the middle could be water, fire, or just some kind of lense flare. Whatever it is, it's pushing his hip out a lot and he's holding a sword version of it in the other hand. The guy (girl?) behind him is holding a gun that I can't tell where it ends or begins. It's like the whole image is obscured by white noise, and for some reason that's the #1 focal point.

Then everyone's head is cropped out, so you're just looking at a bunch of torsos getting eaten alive by Inner Glow.

I'd really argue that even though you can say the OverStrike one is a bit uninteresting, you have to admit that the Fuse one is insane.

[Sno]

«Shooter»

I recall that BioShock was sold as a "genetically enhanced first-person shooter".

[I_smell]

You ARE being a little crazy if you don't like it being called a shooter.

[elmuerte]

frist person shooter

[SiN]

Right, I'm saying we need to weep for the world where this is the case. Just because the generic stuff sells more doesn't mean we have to like that fact. NOLF, Wind Waker, Psychonauts, and Brutal Legend didn't deserve obscurity for looking pretty.

Ah okay, just checking. It's easy to blame publishers, but a bunch of the blame is ours too.

But yes, this is sad. One solution is that taking risks is easier on smaller games. I hope in the next gen we see more price points. Ideally there'd be $5-$15 and $25-30 downloadables, and $50-$60 retail games. A game like Overstrike could exist at $30 with a budget of $10-$15 million, where the profit (as a % of revenue) is higher due to the lower overhead on digital.