Coin-Op : The Arcade Guide

[Greyfox]

Hey Guys and Gals, something new to show you all..

For the last four months I have been putting together which hopefully will get published at some stage, a book about arcade video games, but done in a visual sense, like arcade flyers, screen shots and some light descriptions on these classic arcade games, look at it as thing of beauty along side your favorite retro gaming books, the book will cover beat'em ups, shootem'ups, driving games, Action games etc, other articles to break it up, I'm hoping to make it at about 140-160 pages thick or possibly in a volume format hence the second preview states, but we'll see . I am 29% through the book at present, as it's a lot of work and retrieving facts etc.. and wanted to share with you the Retro Gaming Community for your help in deciding what Cover design I should go for the book, my faith will be decided on it of course these are a Work In process and will either have elements added or removed.

so please take the time to look at these three designs and post what you feel appeals to you most about them, you help is most welcomed. I can't answer at present when the book will be finished as this is a one man operation and requires a lot of dedication and finalization, also finding the best publisher to undertake the printing. I can also mention there will be a digital download version also when completed, so it looks dandy on your mobile devices, but won't be avalible on Kindle as this is a colour rich product.

Poll voting can be changed if you wish ...


Cover Design Number One :


Cover Design Number Two:


Cover Design Number Three:


and a sneak preview of some of the content

Driving Games:
OutRun


beatem'ups:
Double Dragon


Driving Introductory Spread:

[The Laird]

You already know my thoughts but I voted anyway

[Sputryk]

Torn. Image 1 is very good, though a little dark (dull gives the wrong impression!). Whereas Image 2 is offputting as it reads COIN UP. As it is only Volume 1 (in the series?), I will nevertheless vote 1 AND 3 - one cover for each of the first two Volumes.

[Greyfox]

Torn. Image 1 is very good, though a little dark (dull gives the wrong impression!). Whereas Image 2 is offputting as it reads COIN UP. As it is only Volume 1 (in the series?), I will nevertheless vote 1 AND 3 - one cover for each of the first two Volumes.

Yes I was / am considering it in volumes..but I'll have to wait and see as it's graphic heavy and all spreads are been designed from scratch every time, as this is a real labour of love , I want it to blow people away...but who knows..but thanx for voting so far...

Edit : only coped it..yes it says in design 3 coin up...lol... Will update it to say the correct wording..sry bout that

[Antiriad2097]

Design 1: I like the neon logo, but the Japanese characters are surplus. It seems every videogame article, book, poster, t-shirt, toilet roll etc must have Japanese on it these days and imo its become passe. The arcade cab is ok, though too dark and has lost its marquee, but I do like the wall with the posters behind, its a nice way to introduce relevant detail without being OTT. The control panel is an abomination though, it looks like a bad MAME cab conversion with a joystick hanging 3 foot out to the left. It doesn't look connected to the cab either.

Design 2: Seems very generic, there are no end of fanzines, mags and books that use this style. Is not a bad design as such, just uninspired. Japanese characters - check, cut and paste sprites - check, generic bland cab - check, weird control panel designed by artists instead of gamers - check. Again, the control panel looks like a bad MAME cab and doesn't seem linked to the cab.
Having said that, the font looks about right, the wall and cab colours complement each other and the sprites don't seem out of place. Hate the blue control panel on a wooden cab though.

Design 3: Don't like the title font, but that may just be me (though you've said you'll at least correct the title text). I don't know why I don't like it though - I suspect its the coin in the middle, though I can see what you've tried to do there. The vector cabs and grid background is once again something of a cliche, but in this instance I think its a good one - its very evocative of videogame books from the 70s and 80s when this was cutting edge design. I'll even let you keep the Japanese text on this one.

To summarise, I like the top half of Design 1 and the bottom half of Design 3. Overall, 3 gets my vote by a long way compared to the other two though.

I realise that's a lot of criticism, but you did ask

Regardless of cover criticisms, the content looks to be enjoyable coffee table fodder - when can I preorder?

[edited, as I spotted I'd actually put the wrong numbers on for my preference!]

[sscott]

I like 3 myself.

[IronMaidenRule]

Number 1 is my preferred cover, it is dark and atmospheric, much like how I remember arcades being.

[resident paul]

Cover 1 reminds me of 'Flynn's Arcade!'

[zapiy]

Love them all fella but i would pump for number 2 if pushed.

[commanderkaiser]

I'm drawn to the 2nd and 3rd one

Basing it purely on what I'd buy walking around the shops I'd say they appeal to me more than the 1st (which is a bit dark and not really something I like the look of)

I like the look of 2 but overall I'd say 3 since IMO it looks a bit more professional and seems like something I can imagine say picking up out of interest in a shop or whatever.

[Greyfox]

Thanks everybody for the feedback and honestly on this..as who better to know than vintage gamers like yourselves what should be what and where..

@ant, thanks m8 for your break down on this for me, there was something I felt was misplaced with them in places, the japanese text is actually the wording "Arcade" so it wasn't simply to be included to look cool, the muted background in cover design one was intended to be as I remember all arcades I ever walked into dimly lite and musky environment , I wanted the neon to be lifted ,as I tested it with background lighter and it didn't have the effect, but now that you raised the issue with the control panel this does not fit with the rest now..lol, I seeing what your talking about, so I'll have to address this with the final render of the cover, also the neon signage, I don't think design wise will work properly with the cover design 3 as you said it represents the 70s , 80s technology style I when with, they are like two completely different time periods, I'm trying to create a cover which is fresh and timeless, but I'll test your suggestion and see what comes of it, and I may post it. Regarding preordering , not at the moment, as it's still in heavy development and I will be sorting all that out soon as I can, but very pleased you thought it's worth the pre-order

I was considering sticking a neon characters in place of the marquee , rather than sticking an actual arcade one in there, I'm open to suggestions on what should go in there.
@residentevil Paul, yes the first cover design is based on Flynn Arcade idea, so that idea worked out , as I hoped it would amongst video game players, so thanks for that..

Anyways people..keep voting, your votes determine the cover when it gets released

Thanks again.

I

[Helensification]

I prefer number 1.

I was going to explain my preference but Ant's explanation is so close to mine (only longer ) that it would just be superfluous for me to add more.

Good luck with the book.

[Sputryk]

Thanks everybody for the feedback and honestly on this..as who better to know than vintage gamers like yourselves what should be what and where..

the japanese text is actually the wording "Arcade" so it wasn't simply to be included to look cool,

Sorry to say, but it isn't. The katakana characters are GA I DO. So, it is the Japanese word for 'guide'. I'll have a check later for their word for 'arcade'. Katakana is used for imported words, and then Japanised for pronunciation. Occasionally, they also abbreviate words, e.g.: Pasokon - Personal Computer.

[Greyfox]

Yes sorry thats what ment to mention above the the wording was infact “guide“ and not arcade, this was the intention in the first place , i must be losing the plot with the word arcade continuelly in my head...

[Retro_Heart]

Looking very cool mate