Tabletop Games & Artwork; Getting It Right!

One of the thing that draws us into a lot of tabletop games is the use of artwork. The cover of the box, the art on your components and the art within rulebooks all serves to get people looking at your games.

However, there are still plenty of times where artwork in games falls by the wayside and some questionable choices mean that the game either doesn't look like you'd first thought when you crack open the box, or it just feels cheap.

Now, before I start delving in I should preface this by saying that not every company is CMON or Fantasy Flight Games. I know they don't have the budgets to hire dozens of artists but these still feel (to me at least as a consumer) to be pillars you need to stick to. These are, of course, all my own personal opinions as art is subjective.

NEVER Use Photos/Real Life Images

This sounds rough but seriously, don't use photos and screengrabs from films and TV series when making your games. I know it might be a nice short cut and also means you can get in a few references to the IP along the way but it also looks really bad.

It will most likely always feel out of place when compared to the rest of the game and look like someone has cut it out and stuck it on top of the cards. An example of this is Firefly: The Game by Gale Force Nine.

Great, fun game with some nice mechanics but the artwork taken from the show just doesn't look right.

Compare this with the artwork from Legendary Encounters: Firefly (actually, all of the Legendary Encounters games) and you'll see that they used their own source to bring the characters to life.

You can immediately see that it allows them to cater to not only the cards and actions individually but also the game as a whole has a lot more of a coherent feel to it.

This might be something which is tied directly to the needs and wants of the company you brought the IP from but if you can take the time to create awesome new renditions of the cast and tie that aesthetic into your game as a whole, I think you'll hit the right note with gamers.

Other good examples of where this has been done well is with the range of products by Fantasy Flight Games for A Game Of Thrones where they still managed to get lots of original artwork done for the Living Card Game. There was a version of the game which came with artwork from the TV show and it just looked cheap by comparison. I mean seriously, take a look at it...

Now, there are some exceptions to the rule. I have a copy of the second version of DOOM by Fantasy Flight Games and even though this uses digital renders from the video games I think it works better. I do believe, however, that this is due to the fact that it's digital and not real actors or actresses.

I think, wherever possible, that companies should be striving to get someone in to bring their own artistic take on characters. As I've mentioned above, your game feels a lot more cohesive.

Part Of A Whole

I've mentioned above about how games need solid artwork so that the games feel cohesive and every element of it seems like it's part of a whole. This is achieved really well by some companies and I'd like to highlight this with a few examples too. The Lord Of The Rings: The Card Game does this exceptionally well.

Every piece of artwork, regardless of the artist behind it, feels like it's part of the same world. This is done by having a relatively similar tone between various pieces and also tying it all together with the use of additional card art which serves to frame the piece. All of the cards have these beautiful frames which really make the cards stand out and immediately indicate if it's evil or good for example.

KeyForge is another good example of this. They have taken a world which is so ridiculously diverse and different and managed to get the same look and feel for the game across the board. Every piece, regardless of the artists, feels like it's one part of a whole and when put next to each other you'd be hard-pressed in many cases to tell that a different artist created the work.

This really comes down to hiring a damn good art direction. If you have someone who really cares about the product and keeps a good eye on exactly what gets introduced into the mix you'll get a damn good game.

Hire One Artist

You can also manage to get that cohesive feel for your game by just hiring one artist to do the whole lot. CMON has done this with Adrian Smith and his influence across a vast array of their games. Blood Rage looks and feels more like a complete package because it is lathered in his artwork.

Looking towards different companies, Garphill Games has also managed to get this just right with a lot of their games. The North Sea series of games has been exclusively created using artwork from the stunningly talented Mihajlo Dimitrievski and the games, therefore, feel more complete. His artwork is iconic and striking and so when you see that you can guarantee that everything you look at will be tailored to fit the game.

Inclusivity & Representation

Regardless of what game you're making, you should be thinking about inclusivity. Games are just that, games, and they don't need to reflect a period absolutely perfectly. If you're making a game which features Medieval knights in Europe it doesn't take much to throw a few people of different skin colour and women into the mix. Everyone plays games nowadays and so it's good for everyone to feel like they have something that represents them within the game artwork.

Also, don't fall into the trap of lazy stereotypes. If your game is set in China or Africa think about how you're going to approach the artwork for the game and maybe even hire someone to consult on it so you get it right without being offensive. This goes for even games set in weird far off Sci-Fi worlds. You have the chance to make your aliens and such interesting and diverse in terms of race and character so pursue that in the artwork.

Don't Forget!

Some additional words of half-baked wisdom from me are that if you're making a card game, make sure that the backs of the cards also look nice too. Yes, people might end up covering them in card sleeves but the game will at some point have all it's card backs showing and you want them to look fancy even then. Age Of Sigmar: Champions is a good example of this.

Additionally, when it comes to components make sure that there's something neat to look at. Little nudges and winks to funny elements of the game or cool effects make all the difference. In Barenpark for example and games like Dream Home, there are always little things happening in the background which will draw the eye and make you chuckle. If you're making a game chock-a-block with tiles, you need to do this so that it breaks up the mass of dungeon tiles and forest floors you're working on. A dropped sword here or a laser burn there makes the difference.

I'm sure something more will pop into my mind as I walk away from this and in general this was simply a vehicle for telling people to stop putting photo-art in their games, but I hope you read through this and have your own thoughts on the matter. I know a lot of people prefer seeing new and interesting artwork in their games, especially since we pay so much for them!