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Logo Design for the CORE Game Engine

By imworlds ⋅ October 11, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment del.icio.us StumbleUpon

(Scroll down for the artwork. All logos are available in vector and print format, and painted/mixed media artwork is also readily available as 300dpi jpeg or other print ready files.)

The following are notes and artwork I developed as part of an exercise in art directing for the CORE game mechanics, an awesome home-brewed roleplaying game engine project piloted over at Dragon’s Landing Inn. The following is simply an exercise in what how I would deconstruct the meaning of a game system such as CORE, and then create a design identity around these ideas.

If the makers of CORE wish to use these designs, or inquire about further designs, I’d be very happy to share these, or more ideas. Just email me.

The following are written in note-form. You’ll find the artwork integrated into the notes.

1. First considerations
I first look at the mission statement inherent in the game system acronym.

CINEMATIC: Images should convey the cinematic feel of the system, that this is story-centered, not mechanics-centered. Also, this engine allows for multiple genres of storytelling, so the graphic identity should serve these various genres, or at least the design concept should be malleable and change when applied to different genres.

I also see the cinematic aspect being exploited by multimedia experiments, such as music, motion design and animated sequences.

OPEN-SOURCE: Suggests the system is open to experimentation by others, and designed with collaborative tinkering in mind. I imagine a design that becomes a metaphor of democratic creation, open to outside of the box thinking and egalitarian creative opportunity.

ROLE-PLAYING ENGINE: The first images that come to mind are dice, pen and paper as symbolic design elements. However, since this is a cinematic engine, I might want to avoid the math-centered associations of dice mechanics and instead focus on story-centered metaphors.

CHUPACABRA: Lastly, I know that this system has a heritage, as the chupacabra served as the founders’ mascot for a few years. Perhaps the chupacabra could work its way into the logo and design ethos of this product.

2. Initial ideas that come to mind
Movie posters. These graphic one-shots are designed to sell the high concept of a movie to the right audience quickly and powerfully. The use of a movie poster metaphor in the CORE system design language could serve two purposes. One, the concept could be a unifying design idea that ties all of the system worlds together under the umbrella of cinematic story-telling, and two it could serve the same function of conveying a story-world to its audience quickly and powerfully. I imagine a 60s style minimalist Saul Bass design being used to convey a spy-craft world, or a classic pulp design from the early thirties to convey a swashbuckling space opera. All genres can be conveyed with this design idea.

I like the idea of the logo relating to one or more of the following elements of the system: the chupacabra head or silhouette, which could look like anything. My first thought is of a monkey skull, or perhaps a sheep skull, slightly tweaked to look alien. Skulls can be minimalized and still look representational. But, skulls can also be a cliché in design.

Another element of the system is the focus on character design and specifically the idea that character attributes are broken into four quadrants: social, mental, emotional and physical. This reminds of the alchemical idea of earth, air, water and fire to represent these ideas; perhaps an alchemical logo identity could represent these values, somehow suggesting that character is at the heart of CORE, and at the heart of CORE are these four primal attributes. Combining these alchemical symbols into a quadrant or synthesized design could convey the engine aspect of the system.

I also think of a hyper-cube as a symbol to represent multiple genres. A hyper-cube suggests a perspective outside of time, which could serve as a metaphor for multiple-worlds, multiple-universes, multiple-genres (now that I think of it, a hypercube would work well with my own brand Imaginary Worlds, since my concept inherently crosses genre borders as well). It might be possible to mix the four elements of the character attribute system into a hypercube, conveying the ideas with one simple but elegant design.

Without getting too complex with these ideas right off the bat, I will list some first thoughts about what the symbols could be that would represent the four character attributes. A fireball, matchstick, or lighted wand could represent the intuitive aspect of a CORE character (magic abilities, superpowers); a water droplet, cauldron, or chalice could represent the emotional quadrant (emotions and social skills); a coin, cross, circle, earth, or fist could represent the physical and kinesthetic aspect of the character; and a cloud, vapor symbol, arrow, or sword could represent the mental abilities of the character.

In traditional playing cards, these symbols become the heart (for emotion), the spade (for intelligence), the diamond (physical), and the club (for intuition). In tarot, we have the cup, sword, pentacle, and wand.

3. Third step: read through the rules and get a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the system.
What do the designers of the system intend to really convey in its design. At this point, I want to back up my initial intuitive sense of the system, and make modifications if need be. I might also generate some new ideas as I read through.

After this, I’ll want to try some mock-ups.

4. After a few false starts, I come up with a logo design that incorporates die rolls (suggesting a 10 sided die), the four quadrants of the character engine in the game, dynamic motion, and the chupacabra.

I like the first look of these, as the logo conveys a sense of playfulness, open-ended application (as far as genre is concerned), and design scalability, so that I can repeat the design throughout the work. The logo works by conveying the tone and fun of the engine, and works also as a simplified design. This is a good start.

The next step is to incorporate the logo into an actual poster.

If this is a game that serves multiple genres, then I will need to either get a genre world from the “client,” or design my own. Because it’s fun to create, I’ll make up my own. I have a few ideas. I know that the designers of the game want to use the engine for fantasy, space opera, and pulp-style gaming worlds. I’ll create my own game worlds from this beginning based upon ideas I already have for my own fiction projects. I’m not sure how far I’ll go with this (quantity of movie posters), but each poster should potentially serve as a springboard for an entire world to be designed.

Here are some genre ideas that I would like to illustrate
A superhero game inspired by the show Heroes, and the books Carrie and Firestarter, by Stephen King. I’d also incorporate some ideas from X-Files, Delta Green, Watchmen, the anime Akira, and actual history. What I’d like to do is create a superhero world without capes and tights; rather, the characters find themselves suddenly in extraordinary circumstances, chased by government secret agents, a terrified population, and terrorist groups. This would be a superhero world without “the super,” where ordinary people must come to grips with mysterious powers, and choose to use them for good or ill. This will be a story about the price of power and the cost of securing our world. I’ve done some research on the CIA and MKULTRA and would like to incorporate some of this conspiracy theory into the feel of the world.

Next, I’d like to design a high fantasy world based on the heroic age of myth that most cultures share. Players become famous demigods from Greek, Norse, Mayan, Egyptian, Korean, Japanese, Polynesian or Chinese mythologies (or create their own), and fight against the new mortal age of iron that is destroying this age of myth. Older gods would act like distant but ever-watchful feudal lords, while mortals will encroach and fight to assume power as the gods weaken. The players are caught in the middle, either working as heroes in service of humanity, or as tricksters or monsters working against humanity and serving the gods wills. Very action-packed, magical, and fantastic.

I have an idea for a space opera that combines the flavor of Serenity, Cowboy Bebop and Star Wars with the treasure hunting mystery of Indiana Jones. Players work as treasure-hunters, smugglers, bounty-hunters or pirates, working to unearth, steal, transport or destroy alien artifacts scattered around a solar system. Deadly alien and human antagonists want these artifacts for themselves, as a war between civilizations is brewing, and those who control the ancient alien technology will have the advantage over the enemy. The setting also uses machine intelligence, hacking, and genetically enhanced heroes. Very pulpish, fantastic, and exaggerated action.

Okay, here’s a start. These worlds may not become fully actualized, but these concepts can be used for design purposes. Next, I’ll take one of these worlds, and try to create a one-shot poster that clearly details the concepts and objectives of the respective game world.

The following are concept pieces only, meant to convey an art direction for future worlds, and meant to convey how one might convey a role-playing genre with a cinematic motif, that instantly ties the idea to the CORE design ethos. These are not fully fleshed out worlds (although the ideas incorporated into these designs are potentially in progress).

In these posters, I wanted a pulp or classic feel to the design, so I mixed genres, going for a noirish detective piece cross-pollinated with a fantasy world in the first poster, and a 60s kung-fu movie design motif mixed with a high fantasy world concept in the second. I added fold marks (because movie posters used to be folded) and distressed the images to make these look like they might have actually existed in film history.

5. Conclusion: some other thoughts that come to mind.
Everything in the flavor of the rules, adventures and designs could use cinematic metaphors. The designers call the game master a Director and the players Actors; it would be interesting to call Adventure One-shots “Pilots,” complete campaigns a “Series,” even collecting them as “Season One”, “Season Two”, etc. I could even see the adventures packaged in DVD cases with film-like interior art. This metaphor has a lot of potential. I look forward to playing more with these design motifs.

I would also be interested in exploring CORE as an engine capable of appealing to people outside of the hobby. In what ways could role-playing be sold as a concept to nontraditional audiences? I’ll keep this in mind as I explore future concepts.

Note: art and concepts are by Q.P. Bauer. Please inquire via email if you want to use these. I’d be happy to work with the awesome people over at Dragon’s Landing!