Read on Twitter
There's one thing that will forever fascinate me about music album covers: why? Why just this one? With all the billions of billions of photos, fonts, art styles and combinations, how comes an artist/band settles JUST for that one?!
An example to kick off the thread:
An example to kick off the thread:
Early disclaimer: I'm not judging the choice of the individual images. Just pondering about the choice process.
In contrast, games are MUCH more mechanical: they show the game title, depict the main character (if any) or the setting, sometimes the action. Stick to the colour scheme.
Sure, some games have 'unique' covers, but the majority usually goes for the above.
Sure, some games have 'unique' covers, but the majority usually goes for the above.
With music, they do shit like this!
How can you work on an album for years, and then decide that its only graphical representation is a barely visible texture of white stucco??
It's amazing.
How can you work on an album for years, and then decide that its only graphical representation is a barely visible texture of white stucco??
It's amazing.
Also I have the feeling that album covers are much more eternal compared to game covers, which sometimes are remade later on or different per platform, region, etc.
This is of course true for music too, but less.
This is of course true for music too, but less.
I'm sure Moby took a session of hundreds of photos. How could he say: "yes, this is the one!" and when did he decide that the cover of his album was going to have a random hand in the lower left corner, like that?
You can barely identify this album (of course you do if you already know of it). Some of you might say it's iconic, but in terms of graphic design it really isn't. Probably more because the music in it is, so the cover becomes recognisable in turn.
(it's No Code by Pearl Jam)
(it's No Code by Pearl Jam)
How did the whole band agree on this? 
Which makes me think: will games get to this point too, in the future, as the medium matures? To the point where developers are artists, so the cover doesn't need to explain itself, but rather to evoke, if at all. Or just inspire curiosity.
And then in time become iconic.
And then in time become iconic.
Or did we miss that chance already, when the industry swallowed the indies again (ok ok, let's not go there...)
I could go on forever. Again, it's not a comment on any of those covers, but more on the process of choosing one of them.
If I were to release a music album I'd be in a constant stalemate as I contemplate all potential covers and probably fall in love with a new idea each day...
If I were to release a music album I'd be in a constant stalemate as I contemplate all potential covers and probably fall in love with a new idea each day...
