Cover Analysis #3 - Spyro - Enter the Dragonfly

 My final cover analysis is of the Platformer game, Spyro: Enter the dragonfly. This game was released in 2002 by Universal Studios (the one of the publishers for Spyro before Activision). The game was released for Nintendo’s Gamecube and the Playstation 2. This Spyro game was the first Spyro game to be released for generation 6 consoles and was also the first not developed by insomniac games.

The game is mainly aimed at ages 12+ and I feel that this somewhat shows in the style that this cover is done in.

The front cover of the packaging of this game features the games protagonist, Spyro. The Spyro games are a series, many games were produced before this one, and therefore it is recognisable to previous players. Much like the character Mario, Spyro acts as iconography in the gaming world, the Spyro franchise is incredibly popular. The colour scheme for this game cover consists of purples, lilacs and greys; this fits in well with the colour of his scales. This front cover features nothing much more than an extreme close up on Spyro and the Spyro logo.

The typography used on the logo is very fitting with the game. The ‘S’ has scales and a tail and the text ‘Enter the dragonfly’ is written inside a double headed dragon. This form of typography both looks interesting, but also somewhat informs the viewer about certain aspects of the game. The Spyro logo, used in other Spyro games, is also, well known and uses iconography to become recognisable to fans.

This game has 3 icons on the front cover. The ESRB rating which informs viewers that this game has been rated E – for everyone. The Universal interactive logo which detonates to the audience the publisher of the game and the official Nintendo seal of quality, something put in place by Nintendo to stop bootleg games being purchased unknowingly, this features on all of Nintendo’s products, including merchandise.

At the very top of the cover, the Nintendo Game Cube logo is shown in a curved black box, this is shown at the top of all Nintendo Game cube games and is put in place to both attract players with Game Cubes, but also to show new players what gaming platform said disk works on.

The Spine of this box art is very simple; this is done to make it easily identifiable on a shelf and not too overcrowded. This spine simply features the Spyro logo, ‘Enter the dragonfly’ in a simple red text and the Game Cube logo overlay, as seen with all Game cube games. This overlay continues on to the back cover of the game and is used to place the barcode, warning messages, icons, copyright information and more about the age rating.

The back cover, similarly to the Portal and Peggle boxes I analysed, contains screen shots. Four very different game play screenshots are shown on this box art, these are used to excite the viewer and make them want to play. Each of these screenshots has a caption below, explaining what is going on or making a statement about the game. Words like ‘Stunning’ and ‘Beautiful’ are used to entice viewers into wanting to buy the game, believing that it is going to be worth what they pay. Some of the captions refer to the viewer as ‘your’ instead of Spyro. This puts you into the place of the character and gets you involved. The use of words like ‘your’ when referring to a character, acts well as an invitation for viewers of the box to play the game.

A sub title ‘The way of the dragon. Strength, Discipline and Bubble Breath’ brings comedic value to the game, having comedy in a game is another way to light heartedly sell your product and get more people playing it.

Finally, a short paragraph is displayed on the back of the box, this, similar to a blurb on a book, briefly gives you a feel of what the game is about. It uses words like ‘Dazzling’ and phrases like ‘Hottest adventure ever’ to make viewers think they are missing out by not getting this game.

Now, after analysing 3 Posters, Trailers and Box arts, I feel I know enough about some of the common conventions used within the gaming industry. Next I will be summarising all of these, this will make it easier for me to apply these conventions to my final piece when it comes to making my product.