Adventure Game Studio

Creative Production => Critics' Lounge => Topic started by: Igor Hardy on Sat 10/07/2010 00:13:56

Title: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: Igor Hardy on Sat 10/07/2010 00:13:56
Wanted to have a classy logo for the game - particularly for the game's main menu - so I designed this:

(http://hardydev.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/snakes-cover.png)

Any thoughts? I'm particularly interested if the colors are ok, and if the important elements are easy to understand.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: tzachs on Sat 10/07/2010 00:40:52
This looks classy indeed.... I like the colors and shapes, and the message is well understood.

The only thing I would change is to stop the green lines before they cross the snake's face, which looks weird to me (just cut the last three lines).
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: evenwolf on Sat 10/07/2010 00:51:26
+1 for referencing Vertigo.


(http://www.sailorbeware.com/sis/aef_daythree/1_23_07/logos/vertigo.jpg)
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: Igor Hardy on Sat 10/07/2010 01:10:12
Yep, it was meant to be blatantly vertigoesque. ;D

Quote from: tzachs on Sat 10/07/2010 00:40:52
The only thing I would change is to stop the green lines before they cross the snake's face, which looks weird to me (just cut the last three lines).

Interestingly, those 3 lines are the last thing I added to the image. I did it to mask the snake as I wanted to make it slightly less apparent - to some extent it's a snake and to some just a circular pattern.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: evenwolf on Sat 10/07/2010 01:28:46
Quote from: Ascovel link=topic=41369.msg547040#msg547040
I wanted to make it slightly less apparent - to some extent it's a snake and to some just a circular pattern.


Well I don't know about that.   If you want a more subtle snake I would 1.)  remove its eyes.   2.)   move the snake's tongue offcenter and taper it towards his body.   It's quite obviously a snake on first view.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: Kweepa on Sat 10/07/2010 03:18:26
Maybe I didn't play enough of your game, but I don't see what the game and the title have in common, or why the font is Gothicky.
It's a nice logo.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: evenwolf on Sat 10/07/2010 03:40:44
What if instead of all those angles you used more rounded edges and used a striped snake pattern like this?


(http://awaytogarden.com/files/2009/07/coiled-snake-3.jpg)
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: markbilly on Sat 10/07/2010 08:55:12
I've never liked that font. Besides that though, it's great!

If there was one more thing, the style of the logo is completely different to the two art styles used in the game...
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: Igor Hardy on Sat 10/07/2010 19:32:34
Would anyone have an idea for a different font to use for the title? I agree that the current one is not perfect. The font must be legal and free of charge though.

Quote from: SteveMcCrea on Sat 10/07/2010 03:18:26
Maybe I didn't play enough of your game, but I don't see what the game and the title have in common,...

The connection is quite simple. The bar's name is Avalon and in the course of the game you meet a lot of snakes in it. One of the working titles was "2 Snakes in Avalon" if that makes it any clearer who/what the snakes are - ultimately we decided that there were more characters that deserve to be called snakes in there. Btw the new version will have additional snakes/Avalon motives inside it.

Quote from: evenwolf on Sat 10/07/2010 03:40:44
What if instead of all those angles you used more rounded edges and used a striped snake pattern like this?

The shapes' blocky edges and simplicity of the pattern are meant to be part of the style.

Even more importantly, I don't think we are skilled enough to do such a detailed pattern.

Quote from: markbilly on Sat 10/07/2010 08:55:12
I've never liked that font. Besides that though, it's great!

If there was one more thing, the style of the logo is completely different to the two art styles used in the game...

Thanks. I think if Snakes has any problem with conflicting styles, it's during the actual game, but after the recent background update hopefully they work together well enough. However, the logo is supposed to have a bit of different (and more specific) character than the rest - like posters or opening credits for films.

Also, our art director left saying we weren't paying her enough, so we've gone wild and eclectic.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: Anian on Sat 10/07/2010 20:09:01
How about the guy (silhouette) shown as in inside the bottle, maybe just change the position of the hands so it looks like he's pressing the sides of the bottle. Same thing, black on gray, but maybe remove the top and the bottom (the black parts of the bottle), it's clear without them what it's supposed to represent.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: Igor Hardy on Sun 11/07/2010 15:55:39
Nice idea, anian. I don't have the time to draw that version at the moment (the awful heat here slows down all work), but I'll definitely try it later.

For now I changed the font for something much simpler. What do you think about it?

(http://hardydev.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/snakes-coverx.png)

Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: markbilly on Sun 11/07/2010 16:15:44
Heaps better! :)
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: TerranRich on Thu 15/07/2010 20:34:36
Where do you get these god-awful fonts? :P

Seriously, that font is just... yech... it's inconsistent and not appealing at all.

What kind of feel are you looking for in terms of the typeface? I could help you pick out a nice font that would go well with the theme.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: Igor Hardy on Fri 16/07/2010 08:15:54
I take all the fonts that I can find and are free to use, but I'll be grateful if you propose something more stylish.

The best kind of font would be something like on the Vertigo poster - blocky and sometimes out-of-bounds letters.

[EDIT:] HardyDev server is currently down and so are the images. Should be fixed later today.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: evenwolf on Fri 16/07/2010 11:59:14
Just don't use Arty fonts.    Not ones that steal attention away from the actual content.   

You can take an everyday "boring" font and use design elements to make it really pop and complement your logo.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: TerranRich on Fri 16/07/2010 23:25:19
How about this one? http://www.dafont.com/chinese-rocks.font?text=SNAKES+OF+AVALON
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: evenwolf on Sat 17/07/2010 00:41:08
"Colonna MT" as a concept:

(http://jessespots.com/ags/ascovelsoa.jpg)


From a design standpoint, it should be clear why I chose a font with an inner channel / groove.  It creates a flowing, snakelike pattern in the text without being too literal.   Meanwhile the grandiose tone of Avalon remains intact with the shape of the font and the enlarging of the first letters.

Still I don't know the tone of your game.

The reason why the blocky font works for Vertigo is because the filmmakers wanted to invoke a feeling of terror & uncertainty.    If your game seeks to invoke the same emotion, there might be a decent font out there.  But its a bigger challenge because a font doesn't automatically invoke the feeling.   The short, uncertain word "Vertigo" was paired perfectly with that font.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: evenwolf on Sat 17/07/2010 04:19:36
I like the one Terran picked out too.  I think it lends itself to the Vertigo theme, if you're still shooting for that.

You could even experiment with the sizes of individual letters.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: TerranRich on Sat 17/07/2010 04:43:16
I like your choice, too, Evenwolf, as well as your reasoning. It makes complete sense and would look very nice.

So it all depends on your choice of direction, Ascovel. :) Try out both versions (with each font).
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: evenwolf on Sat 17/07/2010 17:38:09
Quote from: TerranRich on Sat 17/07/2010 04:43:16
Try out both versions (with each font).

"chinese rocks" on blue:

(http://jessespots.com/ags/soa.png)
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: Igor Hardy on Sat 17/07/2010 21:07:10
Thanks very much Terran and evenwolf! Both font ideas are great! I'll consult the rest of the Snakes team and we will pick one up. The blue tint is definitely worth considering too.
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: LGM on Sun 18/07/2010 07:45:58
Is this seriously what's keeping you from releasing the game? Come on, already! I wanna play it!
Title: Re: Snakes of Avalon - logo concept
Post by: Chicky on Sun 18/07/2010 14:00:25
Play it then!

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=40799.0  :=

I like chinese rocks, fyi. Maybe change the pose of the man in the middle?