Player's Guide: Modern Layout and Great Art

[robject]

This review of Mongoose Traveller 2E says "The art and production values have come forward decades", and "MGT2 looks modern, with a great layout and adequate art".

I've heard that in order to court a market, one uses market-based production.

So, set aside content for the moment.

Without stating any categorical imperatives, what might a Traveller5 Player's Guide look like, which appeals to the modern game player?

What constitutes a great layout and great art, which also captures the essence of Traveller?

UPDATE: Here's what I've gleaned so far from you-all (thank you for replying):

[FONT=arial,helvetica]Strategic Art that Accomplishes Many Things at the Same Time

• to self-advertise
• to brand the game
• to illuminate difficult text (sometimes this also works with brand: for example, portraits of the various major races and variants of humaniti).

Cover Requirement

• Flashy full-color "branded" professional graphic. (For example, the Beowulf getting its ass shot off by a Corsair.)
• Inside cover & 1st page-spanning graphic, as well. (For example, a professional modern re-do of the cover of the MT Referee's Companion.)

(I see that the message I chose to convey with those two images is: space is dangerous. Is that a reasonable message?)

Art Requirement

• Professional and "Branded" in a Consistent style.
• FEWER "cute, little pictures" in the books.
• No border ("full bleed") full-page "that carries themes and ideas across clearly". Full-color (but can it be successful in greyscale?)
• "Illuminates the fantasy portrayed by the text" = Reflect the actual text, equipment, weapons, armor, ships, vehicles etc.
• Showcases the Races, various humaniti, etc.
• Showcase archetypal images of careers.
• Showcase the standard personal weapons and armor.
• Showcase the standard ships players will use or encounter.
• Engages the reader.
• A subtle, branded background "texture". What would work here? A subtle tech pattern comes first to mind, but I think that Traveller is not really about the tech. A starfield is next, but that seems "cold". The shallow arc of a mainworld from low orbit might capture more drama and warmth than both of the other two. But maybe there's a better choice.

Book Style in General

• Glossy full-color.
• Port of Call-like entries for major worlds that the players should know.
• Tables spartan and mixed in: it only takes a gentle alternate row shading to indicate a table, and a table can break up text nicely.
• Graphic "widgets" used not-very-often to illuminate difficult text (for example, target numbers, damage calculation, or characteristic effects).

[/FONT]

 

[aramis]

The best selling games at present include D&D 5, FFG Star Wars, and FFG's 40K RPGs, and Cubicle 7's Dr Who and The One Ring.

All of them have extremely high quality art which is both on point and well matched to the text it is near, full bleed full color layout, and incredibly strong setting related art.

It's in a wholly different class than anything mongoose has ever released. (mongoose's prior full-bleed has usually been obfuscatory to the text upon it, the art is seldom well matched - and there's a workgroup discussion about just how BAD MGT2's gun art is.)

C7 has an incredible artist or two on staff... Jon Hodgeson's art for TOR is incredible. So is Jan Pospisil's and Jeremy McHugh's... and all three are close in style when working on TOR. Not easy to tell who did which without looking for signatures.

Dr Who is lavishly illustrated with excellent art.

Star Wars has a bunch of artists - but has a consistent style - mostly photorealist paintings. There's one of a middle aged Obi-wan that looks like a perfect in between of Ewan McGreggor and Sir Alec Guinness.

The 40K art is more varied in style, but still, a MUCH narrower group of styles than any edition of Traveller.

D&D 5 has a wider array still, but it's still far narrower than any edition of Traveller. (Tho' it's on par with the breadth of styles in T2K 1E.) It's all on point, too.

In short, the art has to work to actually support the text, needs to be consistent in style, and needs to be professional quality. Layout with full bleed on glossy paper is usual.

 

[Condottiere]

Star Wars aesthetic is based on any films they make, or will make.

40K is way over the top, though commercial considerations tampers down on the sex.

D&D seems to try and suit the setting.

 

[whartung]

But the art brings light to the fantasy portrayed by the text, and helps keep the reader engaged. People will buy books just to look at the pictures if nothing else, and the pictures encourage folks to read the accompanying rules. "I want to do THAT" and here's the text on how to do it.

I only looked at one MgT book, the core book I believe, when it first came out, and all I recall is pages of text, on crummy paper, and I wasn't impressed at all. (Not saying it's a correct impression, but that's what I walked away with).

So, if you want to cater to impulse purchases from stock in a store, you have to look good. You have to look like you want to be picked up and thumbed through. Most folks can not judge the rules or systems without reading them, so it literally has to be "judged by it's cover".

 

[robject]

[...] art brings light to the fantasy portrayed by the text, and helps keep the reader engaged. People will buy books just to look at the pictures if nothing else, and the pictures encourage folks to read the accompanying rules. "I want to do THAT" and here's the text on how to do it.

[...] if you want to cater to impulse purchases from stock in a store, you have to look good. You have to look like you want to be picked up and thumbed through. Most folks can not judge the rules or systems without reading them, so it literally has to be "judged by it's cover".

I think those are really good observations. At least, you showed this to me in a new light (kurishdam) -- about people who buy games (and graphic novels, perhaps).

Art engages the viewer. That's what it's there for.

Art that grabs the casual browser is a kind of advertising that RPGs do nowadays.

 

[Condottiere]

Mindspace, especially in an age where visualization gathers more importance than the written word.

I guess a picture really does say a thousand words.

 

[whartung]

Art that grabs the casual browser is a kind of advertising that RPGs do nowadays.

A stark example of this is comparing the OGL D20 base rule set, which is just text, notably the Monster text, and a full boat D&D manual based on the same rule set. These are essentially the same rules, but one set is clearly more attractive than the other.

 

[RandyB]

A stark example of this is comparing the OGL D20 base rule set, which is just text, notably the Monster text, and a full boat D&D manual based on the same rule set. These are essentially the same rules, but one set is clearly more attractive than the other.

And people will pay for a copy of the latter, even when the former can be had for free.

 

[Starflyer]

I think the artwork in players needs to be on target, professional and immediately brand recognizable. It needs to seen as a game aid that referees can share with the players to inspire and educate.

I was initially impressed by the latest coloration of MGT2 however after reading through I was very disappointed by art that did not reflect the actual text, weaponry and armor in particular. A poor representation of battle dress that after all the great BD images in the past was frankly embarrassing. The isometric deck plans are also a waste of space when we could have had full color deck plans that can be used in game.

The same day I received my downloads of the upcoming Mindjammer adventures where the artwork was spot on, relevant to the text and far more evocative of the setting.

Really got to hope that any new T5 books will look to greatly increase the production values and bring Traveller screaming up to date.

 

[Ackehece]

Consistent Art Style - cartoony is fine, as is ultra realism - but be consistent! (please no uncanny valley computer art - that means you poser artists!)
Short rules paragraphs- with flavour text demonstrating same
No need to explain design decisions in a player guide, so don't bother with dice charts etc
Colour (Keith ART is amazing, it is a bit old and dated looking.:CoW
Glossy Paper
Maybe a Graphic on the Cover - Text is consistent traveller style but we want to break in a new group, a group attracted by colour, by action, by the patience of a mite.....

 

[robject]

I've pulled together common themes from several people here - Wil (Aramis), Ackehece, Starflyer, Whartung, and Don's son, Michael McKinnney.

Strategic Art that Accomplishes Many Things at the Same Time

• to self-advertise
• to brand the game
• to illuminate difficult text (sometimes this also works with brand: for example, portraits of the various major races and variants of humaniti).

Cover Requirement

• Flashy full-color "branded" professional graphic. (For example, the Beowulf getting its ass shot off by a Corsair.)
• Inside cover & 1st page-spanning graphic, as well. (For example, a professional modern re-do of the cover of the MT Referee's Companion.)

(I see that the message I chose to convey with those two images is: space is dangerous. Is that a reasonable message?)

Art Requirement

• Professional and "Branded" in a Consistent style.
• FEWER "cute, little pictures" in the books.
• No border ("full bleed") full-page "that carries themes and ideas across clearly". Full-color (but can it be successful in greyscale?)
• "Illuminates the fantasy portrayed by the text" = Reflect the actual text, equipment, weapons, armor, ships, vehicles etc.
• Showcases the Races, various humaniti, etc.
• Showcase archetypal images of careers.
• Showcase the standard personal weapons and armor.
• Showcase the standard ships players will use or encounter.
• Engages the reader.
• A subtle, branded background "texture". What would work here? A subtle tech pattern comes first to mind, but I think that Traveller is not really about the tech. A starfield is next, but that seems "cold". The shallow arc of a mainworld from low orbit might capture more drama and warmth than both of the other two. But maybe there's a better choice.

Book Style in General

• Glossy full-color.
• Port of Call-like entries for major worlds that the players should know.
• Tables spartan and mixed in: it only takes a gentle alternate row shading to indicate a table, and a table can break up text nicely.
• Graphic "widgets" used not-very-often to illuminate difficult text (for example, target numbers, damage calculation, or characteristic effects).

 

[Ackehece]

Rob, Very much so. That is what I think would attract new players. I love the old style but sometimes you have to follow the market research and what is successful.


One thing we haven't discussed on this is
Traveller is a very gender neutral in terms of abilities and play style. The art should reflect the same. Balance in the number of gendered characters in the art
No exploitative clothes etc.
In fact the inside cover could be a female marine?


show that women are welcome and empowered in this system

 

[robject]

Overall, what works for me in the books we saw last night is almost always subtlety: the colors in the tables, the background pattern, and the art pieces. They're all there enough to draw attention, but not distract from the text.


There are three exceptions:

1. The cover art should be flashy. I think some of the cover art for MT worked well -- DGP art in particular, but also the Referee's Companion. Of course, I do not prefer cartoony artwork.

2. The inset text is high-contrast, probably because it is just MORE TEXT swimming in a sea of text. TNE did this using a datapad-like scheme. While I found their solution too distracting, high-contrast box text is clearly a known solution.


3. Those little graphic "headers" that explain a hunk of text. Those little doodads with open squares for numbers. They remind me of Stan Shinn's graphical containers for the UPP: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and so on. They also remind me of Protections for armor.

 

[robject]

As for the STYLE of artwork.

I like the photo-realistic art of Star Wars, but I also like the D&D art. Neither can be considered "cartoon"-like... and I haven't seen cartoon art done in a way that I can really appreciate for a Traveller RPG book. A graphic novel, sure, but not a game book.

Line art need not be cartoony. For example, the figures on T5.09 p26, 54.

I suggest that some Keith-style artwork (T5.09 p19) is not acceptable for a Player's Guide.



T5.09 Core Rules

In the Core Rules, the graphics I like the most are:

• the little sunburst (used sparingly to split up text).
• the CG starship images, reminiscent of deGraff and Boulton.
• the style and drama in the "observation deck" image (p12).
• most of the stark B&W career icons (all but p58), and all of the semiotics icons. Black and white seems appropriate here.
• the sophont images.
• many of the sketches in the skills list (p114, 121, 122, 129).
• the level of detail of weapons on p223 (but it's not enough - they need to be larger and color or "technical" or something attractive).
• LOVE the concept of the drawing on p204 (but needs more detail and either color or technical-ness).
• Like the small craft on p264, and the starport on p266 (but needs color).
• like the "organic brain" on p519.

Goals for the Player's Book

The main challenge is to only use art that illuminates the text. The semi-random "chance art" in the Core Rules are fine and add to the "clinical OSR" feel to the book. The Player's Book should not do that.

Inset Text should be high-contrast, no-border. A counter example is the Rule of Man footnote on T5.09 p17.

Table Text should be no-contrast, no-border, with light shading on alternate body rows. A counter example is the Important Eras table on T5.09 p17.

Art for Action. Probably the single thing needed for the Player's Book is art that not only illuminates text, but also conveys action and drama. If you're going to pay for art, make it do several jobs at once.

Consistent Art Styles. Organize by purpose to try to get away with multiple styles (maybe).

• Dramatic. If the style on T5.09 p12 were used, it should be followed throughout the text for those sorts of images.

• Starships. If starship images are computer generated, then ALL starship images should be CG. The starships on p70, 320-321, 726-737, and 738-739 ought to all use the same style (I prefer CG).

• Technical Drawings. Weapons, Vehicles, and Smallcraft should have the "technical-feel" detail of the images on p62, 66, 242, 247, 264, but in full color with background color contrast. Sophonts mostly appear to fall in this category as well, which is fine (some skeleton studies would be a nice touch as well).

• Greyscale could be used strategically. Maybe. For example, the semiotics. Also, the small craft on p264 look fantastic, and putting them in color might actually distract away from them. Similarly with guns and armor -- MAYBE.

 

[whartung]

the CG starship images, reminiscent of deGraff and Boulton.

I have not seen the CG starships in the T5 book.

As a general rule, I never cared for CG graphics in books (save books on CG graphics).

They inevitably look like bad miniature dioramas. Getting photo realistic finishing on the scene typically takes far more time than most modelers are willing to put in to it or what a skilled artist can crank out.

I liked the penciled photo-style from the original T2K rules, I like Bill Kieth's technical work, but never really cared for his people.

But I've always been fond of the scout trooper in Mercenary. That picture alone helps pin the fantasy that the book is about.

 

[cym0k]

I like the T5 BBB because it is a rule book. It doesn't try to be a flashy art filled super sales thingy. Look at it to get the data and the information out of it. That is it.

EVERY SINGLE RPG book I have bought since returning to roleplaying I have either not read, stopped reading, or not used. Why? Pointless fluff/filler and over-engineering on production. I bought MGT, Numenera, Eclipse Phase, Dresden Files, D&D 4E, Nobilis amongst others. I have sold them all on (except MGT). The games I kept are older books (AD&D, CT, and some Japanese TTRPGs that have been translated). Why? They are easy to engage with and get information out of for gaming, reference and use.

I apologise if this comes across as spamming as I have posted a similar sentiment in another thread. I need nicotine. Sorry!

 

[robject]

[FONT=arial,helvetica]As a general rule, I never cared for CG graphics in books[/FONT]

[FONT=arial,helvetica]
[/FONT]I agree - especially with non-starship images. I prefer the photorealistic art like you. And I don't want CG for people, animals, worlds, guns, etc.

But, if you haven't seen Andrew Boulton's work (or Jesse deGraff's before him) (or MagMagMag's after him), you've been missing out.

And, I think us old folks could easily deal with that level of quality. "Ah, just ignore that picture. It's not line art like it should be."

 

[robject]

I like the T5 BBB because it is a rule book. It doesn't try to be a flashy art filled super sales thingy. Look at it to get the data and the information out of it. That is it.

[...]The games I kept are older books ... Why? They are easy to engage with and get information out of for gaming, reference and use.

I apologise if this comes across as spamming as I have posted a similar sentiment in another thread. I need nicotine. Sorry!

Don't apologize (or apologise, for that matter). I'm old, too.

Thing is, the T5 books aren't going to be watered down comic books, even though they're not produced via 1977 linotype machines.

I suspect that we'll be able to cope with a little self-advertisement flash.

 

[whartung]

EVERY SINGLE RPG book I have bought since returning to roleplaying I have either not read, stopped reading, or not used. Why? Pointless fluff/filler and over-engineering on production. I bought MGT, Numenera, Eclipse Phase, Dresden Files, D&D 4E, Nobilis amongst others. I have sold them all on (except MGT). The games I kept are older books (AD&D, CT, and some Japanese TTRPGs that have been translated). Why? They are easy to engage with and get information out of for gaming, reference and use.

Two observations: First, do you consider yourself the "typical" RPG consumer. Two, it should be noted that you DID buy the books, even if they were sold later.

But, if you haven't seen Andrew Boulton's work (or Jesse deGraff's before him) (or MagMagMag's after him), you've been missing out.

Of course I'm familiar with Andrews work.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/traveller3d/7175867210/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/traveller3d/7175848000/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/traveller3d/7159136948/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/traveller3d/7164454908/

All plastic.

This is close:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/traveller3d/7006361734/

This one, is quite good:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/traveller3d/7159136170/

Most are more like the former than the latter.

This AHL looks like a badly lit plastic model:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/traveller3d/7006733214/

The biggest problem is that they look close enough to "real" that they eye catches all of the problems, vs a painting, where the lighting is consistent, or a line drawing.

People complain about the cartoonish characters in World of Warcraft, but the art style is timeless and has never really "dated". The low polygon count and clumsy "lots of big parts" and "octagonal wheels" style is part of the look. But if you look at older 3D games which strived for "reality", they date very quickly, and your eye catches the problems readily.

It's all about lighting and finish. If you look at some Model Railroad photos, it's quite amazing how much better a model can look when photographed in natural sunlight than inside the room with the layout.

Note, I never said 3D lighting and modeling was easy.

I just think that a regular artist can pound out more static "arbitrary scenes", faster, than a 3D one. "We need a ship in a star port", "we need a bar scene", "we need a guy diving behind a fallen pillar at an ancient temple" "we need fighters being tube launched out of a carrier".

Animation, sure, that's worth the time. But static shots for a book, that's different.

Note, I am not an artist. I can barely sign my checks.

 

[SanDragon]

Old and dated, like this?