by Rob McCallum
Explore the history of video game box art and discover the unsung artists responsible for gaming’s great images
“Box Art – A Gaming Documentary” will explore everything about box art, cover art, the artists responsible for making these images, their processes and more!
This is your chance to help make this film a reality, secure a copy, and snag some exclusive content and items.
Before game trailers and the Internet age, even before magazines, our first contact with video games was the cover art on the front of the box. That’s the image that “sold” the game. It was the promise of an experience, and an extrapolation of game play regardless of the game’s actual graphical capability.
• But who created those images?
• Why was it on a box?
• Why did some games have different covers in different parts of the world?
• What lead to the change between covers that were painted on canvas and covers that were designed in a computer?
This exciting new documentary from Rob McCallum (Nintendo Quest, Kittie: Origins/Evolutions, Power of Grayskull) will look at video game box art from all eras, for both consoles and PC, foreign and domestic releases and variations, and showcase both the famous and infamous stories that surround the gaming cover art we know and love.
Our base goal of $30,000 allows us to make a documentary that’s around 90 minutes long and covers all the expected bases, which includes minimal travel to various places so we can film with a handful of some of the most well-known artists and illustrators.
While 90-minutes fits the general public and a distributor’s mindset, Kickstarter also allows us to create something in-depth for the fans, regardless of what’s preferred for the market which is why we have STRETCH GOALS that can give YOU the ultimate look at video game box art and more!
WAIT — YOU’RE MAKING TWO VERSIONS OF THIS FILM?
We’re offering both the 90-minute version and the “SPECIAL EXPANDED FAN EDITION” of the film on Kickstarter because some folks want the shorter cut and some want something more in depth. While the 90-minute version will be offered later via traditional platforms if we’re successful, much of the additional content for the “SPECIAL EXPANDED FAN EDITION” will be Kickstarter exclusive and not available at any other time.
Below is a list of current participants which include artists, illustrators, game developers, programmers, fans, collectors and more! Having gone through this process before, we’re sure more participants will emerge and join the project. The more successful the campaign, the more we can include in the film:
Tom duBois, Illustrator (Contra 3, Castlevania bloodlines, Turtles in Time, Sunset Riders)
Gerald Brom, Illustrator (Doom II, Diablo II, Heretic, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft)
Steve Peringer, Illustrator (Bugs Bunny’s Crazy Castle anad other Kemco Titles)
Paul Faris, Illustrator (Panic Restaurant, Power Blade 2, Cadash)
Timothy Girvin, Founder, Girvin (Design lead for Zelda logo, Game Boy packaging)
Roger Motzkus, Illustrator (Powerslave and Doom for Playstation, Fatal Fury for Neo Geo)
Mike Koelsch, Illustrator (Earthworm Jim, Timon & Pumbaa’s Jungle Games)
Greg Wray, Illustrator (Sonic the Hedgehog, Quackshot, Aladdin, Mega Man – Gameboy)
Dave McMacken, Illustrator (Total Carnage, Secret of Evermore, Destiny of an Emperor)
Brian Penry Designer, Illustrator & Writer (Sega’s Sonic The Hedgehog Style Guide)
Marc Ericksen, Illustrator (Mega Man 2, Tengen Tetris, Strider)
Mike Winterbauer, Illustrator (Solstice, Might and Magic)
Michael Mendheim, Illustrator/Game Dev (Sky Kid, Festers Quest, Dracula)
Ken Macklin, Illustrator (Maniac Mansion, Bubsy, Bubsy 2)
Mike Bates, Artist (Microprose, Firaxis, Nintendo, Sega)
Lee Macleod, Illustrator (Out of this World (Genesis), Ultima Series, RPG Maker and more)
Jennell Jaquays, Illustrator/Game Dev, Colecovision/id Software/TSR
Roger Loveless, Artist (Crystal Warriors (gg), Silpheed, Captain Command, Jim Power, more)
Terry Wolfinger, Artist, GameFan Cover Artist
Chris Hopkins, Artist (Dragon Warrior 3 & 4)
Jonah Lobe, Artist (Bethesda softworks)
Dan Tearle, Artist
Trip Hawkins, Founder EA/3D0
Mac Senour, Game Producer, Treasure
Tim Lindquist, Game Dev/GameFan Product Director
Nancy Fong, EA Pioneer
David Perry, Game Dev (Shiny Entertainment: Earthworm Jim, Aladdin, Cool Spot)
David Eddings, Game Dev
Tim Lapetino, Director, MOVA (Museum of Video Game Art)
David L. Bishop, Senior VP, COO, Namco-Bandai
Sheila Boughton, President, Tozai Games
Scott Tsumura, Co-Founder, Tozai Games
Gil Ruta, Retro Gaming Enthusiast
Jeff Peters, Game Dev/Designer/Founder, Electronic Gaming Monthly
Rusel Demaria, Strategy Guide Author
Chris Buckley, Graphic Designer (343 Industries and Xbox)
Ted Dabney, Atari Co-Founder
Howard Scott Warshaw, Game Dev (Yars Revenge and more)
Warren Davis, Game Dev (Q*Bert and more)
Andy Eddy, Editor, VideoGames & Computer Entertainment
Garry Kitchen, Game Dev (“Game Maker” software)
Jessica Chobot, Nerdist personality, Actress
Blair Herter, TV Personality
Darren Wall, Read-Only Memory Editor (Complete Mega Drive Works)
Syd Bolton, Game Collector/Curator, “PC Museum”
Patrick Scott Patterson, Producer
Donn Nauert, US National Video Game Team
John Lester, Game Dev, CollectorVision (Gamester81)
Jay Bartlett, Game Collector (Nintendo Quest)
Mason Cramer, Record Holder/Streamer (GlitchCat7)
Joe Granato, Filmmaker/Game Dev (The New 8-Bit Heroes/Mystic Searches”)
Tod Curtis, Game Collector
John Pompa, Collector/Competitive Gamer
The Game Chasers, Game Collectors/Personalities
Johnny Millennium, Collector/Personality
Scott Zientek, Game Collector (Grimsie42)
***SPECIAL EDITION DVD/Blu-Ray***
This version of the disc includes bonus features not included at the $13 and $25 tiers. We’ll likely include uncut interview(s), extended segment(s), or some other topic(s) that didn’t make it into the main feature. We will pack as much as we can on the disc while still making sure the main feature doesn’t suffer compression issues. IF WE HIT STRETCH GOALS, this extra content gets shifted to it’s own disc(s) as described in our stretch goal section.
***LEISURE SUIT LOUNGE LIZARD*** LIMITED EDITION PACKAGING:
You’re going to get an awesome collectible, hand-numbered box featuring our art work and the other rewards that fit inside it.
***DRAGOON COLLECTOR*** Tier:
If you pledge for the DRAGOON COLLECTOR tier, in addition to the numbered box, you also get a MANUAL that breaks down the content on every disc and includes notes about making the film from the director, PLUS our specially commissioned, Triplicate “Box Art” poster, ANDan EXTRA DISC of content EXCLUSIVE to this tier and higher ONLY for Kickstarter backers!
ALSO:
If we hit every STRETCH GOAL and YOU PLEDGE for the DRAGOON TIER or HIGHER, you could receive a FIVE (5) DISC SET! The film, the mini-featurettes, the uncut interviews and/or extended segments, the bonus disc that has exclusive content to the Dragoon tier and higher, and our soundtrack on CD!
***IMMORTAL KOMBAT*** About being in the film:
We’ll meet up with you at a con, in our travels, or chat over Skype and ask you about gaming, box art, and anything else like giving you a chance to plug a game you might be working on, too! We don’t promise you’ll be in the finished feature film – because we don’t know how long it will be yet – but we will include you in either the end credits, a bonus feature, or in some other fun way.
You’ll also get a cool limited edition metallic LUNCH BOX that features our art!
***FAMI-COMMANDER*** YOUR OWN BOX and GAME COVER!
Our talented artist, Catherine Yi, will work with you to create a “game cover” featuring your likeness as part of a game of your choosing. You’ll get that cover on 8×10 cardstock AND we’ll make it a box as well that will hold your rewards from the campaign! ONLY 8 AVAILABLE!
To see some of Catherine’s amazing work, set aside a few hours, and CLICK HERE! It’sOUTSTANDING.
***SPONSOR KNIGHT!***
This is your chance to have your gaming store, company, convention, or event as part of this production FOREVER! Give us your logo and we’ll showcase it at the beginning of the film as a separate “title card.” To be fair to backers that select this pledge, we are only allowing ONE SPONSOR PER STATE.
Here are the current states selected:
– NEVADA- OHIO
If you don’t see your state listed, then you CAN pledge for this tier and secure it before ANYONE else. For a better idea of what this might look like, please check out Episode One of Nintendo Quest Power Tour AND consider if we hit stretch goals and organize our materials as episodes, that’s a title card at the beginning of each episode.
***MASTER CHIEF*** Bundled DEVELOPMENT ART:
HIGHEST BACKER gets first choice of bundles. If all backers pledge the same amount, then priority goes to first backer of this tier. Here are the games offered:
Cacoma Knight in Bizyland
F1-Rock and F1-Rock 2 (combo)
Tom Sawyer
Here is one key image from each of the bundles but PLEASE visit our Facebook page to see EVERYTHING included!
We’re confident we can make an all-encompassing film on everything you’ve wondered about box art and more – but we can’t do it without your help! Our team includes game devs, game store owners, game collectors, media personalities, and museum directors – we all live and breathe video games every day.
For more information on the team, our other projects, or if you’d like to kill some time, please visit:
Our Main Website: www.BoxArtDoc.com
Our Facebook Page: Facebook.com/BoxArtDoc
Our Twitter Page: Twitter.com/BoxArtDoc
You can also follow the project progression at Kicktraq!
Filmmaking is never predictable and a million things can derail or delay production, and equally so, a million opportunities can come our way and affect the progress and development of the final product. Have patience as we navigate these conditions and know that we are here to answer any of your questions at any time – you are the reason why we’ll be able to create this film.
We’re targeting late 2018 for our release but it could release before or after – this is a best guess that puts the film ahead of all our personal lives.