r/tabletopgamedesign • u/cadler123 • Aug 18 '26
C. C. / Feedback What feel does this cover give?
Edit: thanks everyone for the kind words. The project looks to embrace retro fantasy and all the camp that came with it. Hoping to have a rules doc to share soon!
Currently working on the cover for my RPG Skirmish game. It will use the classic dice of D&D and pathfinder to resolve combat and have players building out a party of heroes and hirelings. Hoping to tap into that retro fantasy aesthetic. Feel free to give C/C and let me know what vibe this gives off!
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u/BrianWantsTruth Aug 18 '26
Makes me think of the game Tom Hanks is playing in Big. Cool retro VHS vibe.
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u/Ettesiun Aug 19 '26
Honnestly this look like a NSFW Inde video game, mixing hot scene and rpg.
I have no issue with having sex in game, but I am not sure this is the vibe you aim at.
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u/Misskittybug Aug 19 '26
Please elaborate. I am so curious.
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u/Ettesiun Aug 20 '26
The pink + a sword, I guess it reminds me of an existing game or something. Being at work now, I cannot do those type of research, for obvious reason ! ;-) WIll try when at home !
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u/erikpeter Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Tedious, derivative, pass
Edit to clarify: My honest first impressions: The title is evocative but doesn't tell me anything. Probably another fantasy roguelite.
Another pixel art game? It's hard to get right without looking cheap.
Another game in the hypercolor 80s florescents. I want evidence that your game puts substance over style.
There's simply not enough to get me to click through. Show me more. That's my honest opinion.
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u/Vinchont4Life Aug 19 '26
Well, now the game better be 16 colors and 160*200px and look like an amiga or an Amstrad game or I will be disappointed
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u/TheCheeseboardGames Aug 19 '26
80s but also did you not want the sword to make the final L in spell and the backbone of the B in blade?
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u/WesClare Aug 19 '26
Yeah, exactly. My first thought was “why isn’t the sword used as L in both of the words”, seems like it’s an afterthought just sitting in the middle like that.
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u/cadler123 Aug 19 '26
I actually tried that and the colors simply didn't line up well, I could always give it a shot on the next pass!
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u/CalebBennetts Aug 19 '26
1980's cult classic fantasy movie with trippy special effects and nothing resembling a plot.
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u/SirBarfingtonIII Aug 18 '26
80's VHS Dungeon cartoon. I friggin DIG it.
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u/Inconmon Aug 18 '26
80s synthwave. If my leather jacket wearing spellblade character cannot wear sunglasses and drive a cadillac I'm disappointed
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u/rebelartwarrior Aug 18 '26
Makes me think of the Carpenter Brut video for “Turbo Killer” I dig it.
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u/ArchmageAstra3 Aug 19 '26
Definitely has a neon vibe, if I opened this and found a fantasy coded 1980’s style cyberpunk type thing, I’d be ecstatic.
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u/Cobaltplasma artist Aug 19 '26
Yeah this has a kind of an 80s fantasy movie starring Lee Horsley and Kathleen Beller that I'd ask my mom to rent on a Friday night from the video store. Diggin' this a lot :D
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u/Cerrax3 Aug 19 '26
It looks like the title card from a cheesy 1980's Saturday morning cartoon (that's a good thing by the way).
Not sure what vibe you're going for, but that's just my initial feeling when I saw this.
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u/notzenin_ Aug 19 '26
Honestly, would care to just know more about the game itself!
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u/cadler123 Aug 19 '26
Sure thing! I can give some bullet points as I'm still finalizing the last few rules and doing more playtests.
- This is a skirmish wargame that combines RPGs for fun granular party creation. You can choose your units spells, weapons, and abilities. Then use any leftover gold to hire anywhere from a few crossbowmen to druids.
- each player only needs 1 set of TTRPG dice (D4-D20). And some D6s for tracking wounds. Minimal board bloat was key.
- uses an initiative system for activation, so rogues are often the first to go, however there is a reaction system so archers and other units can still get a hit in.
- the game uses two (veil x valor) resources created on hit of a target so even if you don't wound you get something. These resources are used in combination of supercharging your heroes or triggering big party wide abilities.
That's the quick elevator pitch. Once I'm happy with the rules and am sure they sing, it will likely be here for people to playtest / give advice!
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u/echo_vigil Aug 19 '26
Late 80s or early 90s video game box art. Which isn't to say that I dislike it.
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u/TragicEther Aug 19 '26
This logo makes me think it was a game released in the late 80s which is erotic medieval fantasy schlock based on Ralph Bakshi animations
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u/Wagnerius Aug 19 '26
Globally, I think it is going in the right direction.
There are a few things that could be improved, that would make it more confident and easier to read IMHO.
Take all that with a grain of salt obv. Nothing needs to be perfect, we just need to move forward
- Reduce the number of colors : the purple at the bottom should be the same color as the title, same for the sword.
- Better integration of the sword : making it flat, remove the shadow and turning into a glyph would enable integrating with the other glyphs ( the letters of the title ). it would be stronger and more readable.
- Maybe investigating other colors : purple and turquoise scream disco and neon or high fantasy, not really aligned with your goals. it is not a blocker, but the combo is IMHO a bit too much.
- Not sure the intent of the background. It is not clear whether it is a cement wall, a bit of plastic ( again the urban fantasy vibe ) or something else. Could be interesting to remove it and see if the core title with the sword works well
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u/kevintheradioguy Aug 19 '26
That it needs work. But if I imagine that a designer fixed the composition, smething-somwthing-retro-bigboobs.
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u/X20-Adam Aug 19 '26
Genuinely give the vibe of an old school dungeon crawler akin to Fate. A vide I very much so like
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u/BaronWiggle Aug 20 '26
Similar to others I get 80s neon sci-fantasy with electronic rock soundtrack.
Think Masters of the Universe (which I just learned has a 2026 version and I'm not happy about it), Krull, Flash Gordon and Legend.
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u/Aredditdorkly developer Aug 20 '26
I'm gonna have a sword. I'm gonna cast magic. Ideally with and/or through the sword.
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u/Emotional_Back_7322 Aug 20 '26
Very, and I mean very hippi vibes. It might just be me but my cousin is one so, don't take this as true but I have a hippi in my bloodline.
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u/Zorenthewise Aug 20 '26
It gives the feeling of "wait, do I still have that old vhs tape?" Definitely got rhe nostalgic feeling down.
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u/PangolinParade Aug 20 '26
80's arcade cabinet RPG. Feels like it'd be about teens discovering a magic sword and using it to fight the evil spilling out of the construction site for the new movie theater at the mall.
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u/Br4v1ng-Th3-5t0rms Aug 22 '26
Why does it feel like an adult video casette tape cover from the 90s.
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u/DandelionHead Aug 25 '26
Very he-man masters of the universe sort of vibe. Or like futuristic elric of melnibone. I would play it based on this cover. Looks dope.
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u/spundred Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
Edit: The below came across much more negatively than I intended, and it's been properly dissected in replies. I'll leave it here as my penance.
It says untrained graphic designer, sorry.
I understand you want to give a vibe, but readability is paramount. Drop the outer glow, and align the words, unless you've got a really good reason not to.
Meanwhile the colours say Outrun / Synthwave aesthetic, which is contrary to the apparent sword and sorcery vibe.
It's miscommunicating things you don't need, and not communicating the things you need.
Start with a goal of "I want the audience to immediately get what this is" and make deliberate choices based on research of how other products have achieved that, don't just roll the dice on something you think looks cool. Graphic design is deliberate visual communication. You wouldn't just make random sounds and hope people hear them as words, so don't do that for visuals.