What’s in a cover? The Art of Video Game Covers and Its Localization

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. And when it comes to video games, the same could apply. The cover art might not truly reflect the gameplay, but it can actually influence the game commercialization success in different markets. This visual element is an introduction to the universe of the game’s world. When looking into the localization of a game, the adaptation of the cover art can be the difference between growth or realizing it’s game over.

Many games go through an adaptation or recreation of the cover art to better suit the target market where the game will be commercialized. The success or failure of a video game could depend on this adaptation. We have seen different covers for Asian countries versus the Western Hemisphere, and even covers that differ between the European Market and the North American market. In this article, I will analyze the covers of two video games that opted to adapt the cover art for its different target audiences. With attention to authenticity and accuracy, proper localization is how your organization can truly level up their video game covers.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

United States Cover:

On the cover of this new edition of this saga classic, Zelda, we can see a clear contrast between the European and North American editions. This adaptation is notable because it occurs in a game released in 2017, which goes against the trend towards greater uniformity that has been seen in recent years.

To begin with, in the edition for the United States, the central element of the hero in the scene stands out. The character facing the horizon is prominent, giving an image of power, brandishing the sword in a pose that, though relaxed, is imposed on a natural setting including chiaroscuro and fire. The warrior giving his back with the sword in his hand is an image from which it’s difficult to find archetypes in European art. In general, even in the most classic heroic characters, there is an effort to introduce certain subtlety and complexity to the personality. In other words, we can say that this image from behind gives a fairly flat and one-dimensional message: potential conflict, violence, and a powerful hero who must use his sword to overcome the conflict that awaits him.

European Cover:

There is a stark contrast to the European cover. Here the topic of the hero resting on the weapon is clearly being evoked, posing in a contemplative attitude, which we find for example in the David of Donatello. The young and innocent hero who must face the world, but at the same time casually rests on his weapon. In fact, it’s impossible to ignore the similarities between the epic tale of the young hero who saves the world and Link's character. An innocent and somewhat naive posture, which contrasts with his true power and the importance of his mission.

Each element also highlights the central role of nature and the impressionist style that dominates especially in the green of the grass, with much lighter colors, minimizing the volcano and the fire as something far away. The contemplative, confident but fresh and innocent gaze of the protagonist contrasts with a somewhat stiff and unmistakable heroic pose on the American cover. On the European cover, the sword is just a tool, whereas on the North American cover it is brandished.

The birds, on the other hand, are one more element of the landscape on the cover of the United States, serving only to reinforce the intense yellow of the volcano through its contrast. On the European cover, the birds are out of focus (in fact, they can hardly be distinguished as such) and provide a framework for the composition, evoking the idea of a proscenium that frames the story, well known in European painting since the Renaissance.

The leaves also reinforce the depth and dimension of the composition at different levels from the closest to farthest that includes the grass, the character, the mountain, and the volcano. While on the North American cover the composition is flatter and only two levels stand out (the character and the volcano in the background).

In summary, we can say that, in their effort to localize the covers, the developers of Zelda understand that the North American audience will be more attracted by the notions of conflict, heroism and violence of the game, while the European players will be attracted by the adventurous aspect of the game.

Racing: Carmageddon

United States:

Germany:

Italy, Spain, France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom:

This is a well-known game with an awful premise (gaining time in the race by running over pedestrians) that generated serious problems for its globalization and localization. Legally, it faced serious issues in Germany and the United Kingdom, and in some countries like Brazil, it was completely banned. To be able to commercialize it in Germany and the United Kingdom, the developers had to remove the blood and the "gore" elements from the video game and, in addition, turn the pedestrians into zombies or robots. This made the premise of having to run them over more “acceptable”. In terms of their globalization, they had serious legal obstacles, and in terms of localization, they had to modify central graphic aspects in order to get approved (both legally and culturally).

The covers speak for themselves of the huge cultural differences between audiences (or the differences that the marketing departments for the respective regions assume to be the taste of their audiences). In the case of the United States, the cover is almost cartoonish, where it seems to be funny to be running over a pedestrian; which happens without any subtlety: the content of the game is communicated unambiguously. In fact, there aren't even reservations about showing blood, anticipating something that will be seen all the time during the game.

In the case of the German cover, the design is much simpler than for the rest of Europe, focusing the design on the driver and without additional elements. The driver's face and expression evoke features that we can see in German expressionist characters. His gaze and his sordid smile anticipate that we are in front of a psychopath, a sinister and macabre character.

This contrasts with the cover chosen for audiences such as France, Italy or Spain, where a grotesque face is chosen instead of a bleak expressionist character, with exaggerated features that refer more to the grotesque theater of Latin cultures than the grim face of the character on the German cover. The element of racing is emphasized with the presence of cars at the base of the composition, and the fact that it occurs in a city with the background of buildings on the horizon.

We can see how the developers had to abandon the cartoonish tone of the North American cover, since almost certainly the majority of the European audience (or at least the parents who had to buy it at a time when the average age of the players was still young) couldn't find it attractive or funny to run over a person and splash his or her blood. Furthermore, although the game had more obstacles in Germany, more efforts were made to contextualize the character, while taking into account cultural differences that could be used as references that made sense for each consumer: a delusional and grotesque character in the case of other countries such as Italy, Spain or France, and a shadowy character with expressionist features in the case of Germany.

As analyzed in these games, the adaptation and localization of the covers of the game were significant. By knowing the target audience well, covers can be adapted to meet their needs and make this visual aspect unique and attractive for the local players. Like an esports tournament, quality localization is a multiplayer game that requires collaboration and teamwork.