Monte on covers

Psion · Mar 9, 2004

I Monte's latest Line of Sight, he discusses covers:

http://www.montecook.com/lineos.html
(note: if you come along this post later, you will have to look through the archives, as this links you to the current article.)

To cut to the chase, Monte laments that many current d20 publishers (WotC included) have went with "faux book" covers (I guess meaning immitating old book covers shod with iron, etc. ... it's a bit hard to argue that they aren't book covers.

) or, at best, a single, striking figure, and stated a preference to books that tell some sort of adventrue story, like the old 1e DMG and PHB. (He also has several intriguing examples on his website, including a few of my faves like Vault of the Drow.)

And I have to say, I really sort of agree.

What do you think? What are some good and bad examples, new and old?

(Perhaps not as dramatic as the ones Monte suggested, but I like the cover of the second world sourcebook with the woman stepping through the portal with a shotgun.)

Plane Sailing · Mar 9, 2004

Yes, I prefer the old evocative book covers. The original PHB and DMG etc didn't really do much to draw me in, but there were always some that inspired me, made me think that an adventure was in the offing. The adventure modules (particularly in the desert of desolation series) were especially good in that respect.

d4 · Mar 9, 2004

disagree. i prefer the "faux" book covers to previous designs. just a taste preference.

i like the idea that a D&D book looks like a book that could actually exist in the setting. i don't know, i guess it just gives the gaming table a little touch of verisimilitude. (if i'm going to be playing an old wizard reading a dusty old tome, it's kinda neat to look like i'm reading a dusty old tome.)

Psion · Mar 9, 2004

d4 said:
i like the idea that a D&D book looks like a book that could actually exist in the setting. i don't know, i guess it just gives the gaming table a little touch of verisimilitude. (if i'm going to be playing an old wizard reading a dusty old tome, it's kinda neat to look like i'm reading a dusty old tome.)

Lemme guess: you like (classic) deadlands and/or Castle Falkenstein, don't you?

MEG Hal · Mar 9, 2004

To make all of you happy we do both

This will be the cover for Fall of Man...it would not let me thumbnail it...sorry

This is the cover(s) for our Player's Advantage line

shadowlight · Mar 9, 2004

I mostly agree with Monte. I REALLY like the faux book covers on the core books ONLY, because I don't want the core rules to define my campaign setting. However, I really hate all the lazy, badly photoshopped imitations that most of the d20 publishers use.

Taking Monte's arguement one step further, I really miss the the full page interior art from 2e. The 3e art is fine, but I just wish it had more context (like th full page stuff from 2e).

d4 · Mar 9, 2004

Psion said:
Lemme guess: you like (classic) deadlands and/or Castle Falkenstein, don't you?

actually, i've never played either game.

Monte said:

When I started in the industry, I was told over and over again that covers were incredibly important for sales. While at TSR, I met people who were convinced that the cover of a book was more important than what was inside.

i don't agree with that, and i don't really think Monte does either. i don't think i've ever bought a book because of its cover. i buy books because i've flipped through them and skimmed their content or read a review somewhere. art doesn't affect my buying decisions at all.

Monte said:

When I was young, I can remember sitting in my room and studying the covers of the 1st Edition Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide.

i can't ever remember doing that. in fact when i was young, my fellow gamers and i got into the habit of covering our gaming books with brown paper bags, like we used to do for our school textbooks. we didn't even look at the covers after buying the books.

now i think Monte makes a good point that the health of the hobby is dependent on retaining old players and attracting new ones. i just don't get the connection to book covers, since i personally never pay attention to them.

shadowlight · Mar 9, 2004

MEG Hal said:
To make all of you happy we do both

This will be the cover for Fall of Man...it would not let me thumbnail it...sorry

This is the cover(s) for our Player's Advantage line

Love the "Fall of Man" cover, but I look at the "Player's Advantage" cover and think, "Someone spent a whole half hour in photoshop." If there's so little care taken with the cover, I automatically assume the same of the content...

jaerdaph · Mar 9, 2004

Monte commented on a TSR mantra that covers sell books, and the cover was more important than what was inside. To an extent, I agree, in that an attractive cover (and great art throughout the book) do draw your attention as a consumer to the product. However, in my years and years of gaming and making gaming purchases, I do have a few beautiful-looking books on my shelves that are poorly written and/or edited, and I also own a few text-only/minimal art PDF products that are absolute gems. '

I also want to add I really like the "old school TSR"-inspired cover designs that Goodman Games and Open World Press are doing.

shadowlight · Mar 9, 2004

d4 said:
i don't agree with that, and i don't really think Monte does either. i don't think i've ever bought a book because of its cover. i buy books because i've flipped through them and skimmed their content or read a review somewhere. art doesn't affect my buying decisions at all.

Each to his own, but art probably affects my buying decision about the same as (or probably a little more than) the content. There have been several books that I've purchased because of the art, and there have been several books with great rules that I haven't purchased because of crappy art (Modern Player's Companion is a perfect example).

I think when it comes down to it, people do judge books by their covers, so good products have to have great covers as well as great content.

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