Does anyone think there is a connection? I know the cover art has impacted my decision to buy other apps/games so I’m not sure why our gamebooks would be different. But maybe they are.
I guess generally the art for official COG games looks more polished. For example, I really liked the art for Star Captain and it probably played a role in my purchasing the game. I know I don’t have the tools to create a professional level image, so I’m considering getting a local cartoonist or graphic artist to help. Any thoughts?
I do think it pulls people in. Sabres of Infinity and Life of a Wizard have awesome art, which is part of what got me interested.
Also, my gamebook’s got a ton of illustrations done by a proffesional artist, and I really think it’s boosted the overall qaulity. I think it’s a good idea to hire an artist.
I don’t know if it directly effects how many sales you get, but it certainly helps attract user attention, which in turn, gets you the sales, if that makes sense?
I’d never buy a game/app/whatever else have you just because it had a good icon, but on the appstore list all you’ve got to go on is the icon, name and rating - so yes, if you’ve got a good icon, I’m going to be inclined to click on your app and check out the details (which will - or won’t - sell it to me).
I go contrary ,usually if i see a ultra polished professional cover in a interactive novel or game book i just go away convinced that is a typical no choice inside app like some of the competence companies. It´s I have really bad and expensives experiences with similar apps pay 8 dolars for a no choice at all adventure that put sounds i hate and images i couldn’t care less . Sorry i want a game book not ilustrated magazines with zero text quality.
I know here is not case i have almost all cogs but for me a crap cover is totally same that a ultra polished one i dont read play covers.
@Samuel_H_Young
I’m not sure if MaraJade is of the type, but I know for a fact that a fair few people do actually dislike the addition of images and music - those belonging to “IF purist” groups for example.
Sam you know that i would buy your app first day lol. And i help you with text color so i would be a hypocrite if I say i hate good stylistic setting. If purists lol, @CJW I have a friend like that ,he never wanted try a COG due it haven’t commands . I call him hypocrite due i saw him playing japonese hentai interactive novels :)) Fully sound and graphical detailed .
But i tend to like soundless and no illustrated versions due spoiled my imagination.
It depends on the consumer, I believe. A better cover art can make people believe that the inside is brilliant, even though skill in art and skill in writing don’t quite go hand-in-hand.
@Samuel_H_Young
IF in the future you get a lot of people moaning about the images (and I do say if, as I doubt you’ll get very many!), you could probably implement a setting that disables all images, just by using a simple boolean variable and if statement before every image.
I *think* @Reaperoa does/did something similar in 8Thrones, which worked quite well.
Hmm…My comment was deleted. But I basically said that no one has complained yet, and that I could do that if I had to, but I’d see it as a waste of $280 and 16 amazing illustrations.
I think cover art is extremely important, but then I’m a graphic designer by trade. The truth is people do judge a book by its cover, and the cover at least needs to be attractive or exciting.
The illustrators CoG uses are mostly second tier. Poor anatomy, crummy composition, in some cases unappealing subject matter. But probably the average consumer isn’t as picky as me. And hiring a top-shelf illustrator is currently beyond CoG’s budget.
I think two conversations are taking place. I have one nice graphic for my icon, but no images in my games. That’s simply due to the fact that I can’t make them myself.
So, I agree that a good icon is important, and though it shouldn’t effect how we judge the story before reading it, it does.
As for me, pics during the story aren’t important to me. It changes nothing either way, but that’s just me.
For interior bells and whistles, I’m an purist in that I don’t want sounds (to me, that’s some other sort of beast, not what I’m after). I don’t think they make a game bad, just not for me. A game that’s dependent on images–seeing clues, etc.–would be interesting. If there’s art, I wouldn’t want it to be distracting from the text or so large that you have to scroll around it or so large that the author skimps on the words. If it doesn’t make me have to do extra work to see the story, then it shouldn’t affect whether or not I’d want to buy the game. I haven’t seen art and IF integrated well, but that’s on me, because I tend to avoid those games. I should expand my horizons, or even try making a game like that myself.
In a printed book, I love having lots of art.
Cover art: I’ll admit that I’m attracted to books/games with well-designed cover art. It gives me confidence that the writer or publisher has a good eye and good judgement, or that they went to someone with an eye for design so maybe a lot of thought went into the rest of the package. There’s an element of “ooo, sparkly, must have.” The right cover puts me in the mood for the game. I’d also enjoy seeing art at each significant chapter break.
Also, the more games there are to choose from, the more helpful it is to have something that’ll get people to take a look at yours, whether it’s a great title or eye-grabbing cover art.
That’s what gets me to pick up something. But after that…it doesn’t really matter. And if, say, something had what I’d consider the worstest art ever, but someone told me it’s a great game, I’d read it anyway.
The image I’m using for my WIP is one I love because it says “step back through time” to me, but maybe the game will end up with something entirely different that’s more broadly appealing and exciting
Okay so I was brainstorming with my better half last night about Community College Hero’s cover art.
I’m presently leaning towards one of a few “superheroey” silhouette images on iStock. The ones I like include both a female and male silhouette and the background is city but not a huge metropolis so it could potentially be Speck, the rather small city that serves as my setting.
They run less than $20 from what I can tell. Has anyone used iStock? Would there be any reason I couldn’t use such an image for a Hosted Game?
My wife says that clean, basic, crisp shapes may show best as an icon on the App Store etc and are most appealing (for her, at least).
Well the illustrations for DH cost roughly the same amount ($17.5 on average, actually) and they were done custom by a pro. I think it’s a good idea, but if you’re gonna get it at that price, you may as well have someone create it for you.
Have you emailed Choice of Games to receive their guidelines for publishing? They have a list of images/sizes that are required. I would read that document before you buy anything.
@JimD
You could always resize the image, but depending on its original size, it may become grainy or pixeled. With mine, they look spectacular on tablets and PCs but rather wierd and scrunched up on smart phones.
?
well the sound track starts off paused, and you can ignore the illustrations if you want 