One Last 6E Preview: The Covers!

[Steve Long]

I was gonna add these to Showcase #8, but had to wait until Dan bumped up the allowable file size for me. ;) Enjoy! I think Fred did an awesome job on the covers and can't wait to see 'em IRL.

[mattingly]

Great job, Fred. The covers are tops.

[Psistrike]

*tries deep breathing to remain calm* Just 9 more days til the PDFs are available to buy, just 9 more days....

[tomd1969]

*tries deep breathing to remain calm* Just 9 more days til the PDFs are available to buy, just 9 more days....

*whimper* :(

[Hugh Neilson]

I'll be on vacation until the end of August, so I'll follow up on getting my copies in September. By then, the Boards should be swimming with interesting tidbits.

[Blue]

OMG STR20 PONIES!!!!!11

I understand the intentional genericism, since it's not a genre book. I just wish there'd been some kind of full color art, maybe a battle royal of a dozen genre characters duking it out on the cover.

Still, this is good.

[lemming]

There are some cool pictures inside.

[Tclynch]

Sorry, my initial reaction was shock and disappointment. I guess I was expecting..... well, artwork. Something new, inspiring and attention getting showing various genres. Something more to set it apart for 5th. Blue and yellow??? Really??
Yes, I know it's the insides that matter and really, it's just my gut reaction. Sorry.







Blue and yellow?

[Derek Hiemforth]

Folks... Fifth Edition was a big success. It truly baffles me why folks are so disappointed that Hero Games hasn't abandoned the look-and-feel approach of a core rules set that sold out of printing after printing. It is attention-getting; it's distinctive. There are countless other books that can have pretty pictures on the cover. For the core rules, why mess with an approach that obviously worked...? :confused:

[Tclynch]

I have no doubt it will be almost as big a success again. Hell, you could put a pic of a bowl of gravy on it and most of the people posting here would buy it. Would it appeal to the masses (other RPG/ MMO gamers), that's debatable. Will it make them go "WOW" when they see it? Debatable. It's a great company and I do want it to succeed. IMHO, the cover could (should) have been more attractive. I'm speaking from a marketing stand point. Pretty cover= good and helps to sell.



Blue and yellow????

[Blue]

Folks... Fifth Edition was a big success. It truly baffles me why folks are so disappointed that Hero Games hasn't abandoned the look-and-feel approach of a core rules set that sold out of printing after printing. It is attention-getting; it's distinctive. There are countless other books that can have pretty pictures on the cover. For the core rules, why mess with an approach that obviously worked...? :confused:
It's not that baffling; we always want more. More more more! ;)

I actually think that in this case, the test printing of Book of the Machine may have set that bar higher. It was nice to have a hardbacked hero book with a picture cover; haven't had one of those since 4th. (Unless you were lucky enough to get in on the print-on-demand stuff they did a couple times)

But in the end, the cover is something I generally look at once, when I get it. After that, I just hope it holds up under the relentless beating.

What I should be asking is how bulletproof THESE books are :p

[BobGreenwade]

Folks... Fifth Edition was a big success. It truly baffles me why folks are so disappointed that Hero Games hasn't abandoned the look-and-feel approach of a core rules set that sold out of printing after printing. It is attention-getting; it's distinctive. There are countless other books that can have pretty pictures on the cover. For the core rules, why mess with an approach that obviously worked...? :confused:

As I said in my rep message: Excellent point. I totally agree.

:thumbup:

[JohnTaber]

I'll admit that my first reaction was disappointment in the new covers...no artwork...boo hoo. :( I posted this on my Facebook entry and Darren replied. He made a point that I had not really considered. He mentioned that brand identity is important.

In my mind brand identity is important for a couple of reasons...

When gamers see the new books they will instantly know that they are for Hero. The graphic on the cover is very similar to that of the 5th ed book. The different color will distinguish it as a different revision of those core rules.

The second reason is that these books are the core rules for a universal system. Keeping them clear of artwork helps foster the universal RPG mindset and open box philosophy that is so crucial to the game system that we all know and love.

Anywho...just some takes from someone who has seen the light. :thumbup:

GO HERO! :celebrate

[Tclynch]

Well, it's done. I guess we could call this one the BBB round 2.








Blue & Yellow..... sad.

[Doc Shadow]

I find both to be incredibly boring.

Brand Identity is what a distinctive and, hopefully, unique Logo is for.

But eye-candy is what sells to the casual consumer.

What's that old saying they have on Madison Avenue: Don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle.

6E has no sizzle to sell. And in this economy, that's going to be important.

[Derek Hiemforth]

I have no doubt it will be almost as big a success again. Hell, you could put a pic of a bowl of gravy on it and most of the people posting here would buy it. Would it appeal to the masses (other RPG/ MMO gamers), that's debatable.Fifth Edition did. If the only people buying it were the people who post here, it would have been a failure. But it wasn't... it was a success. And in terms of the RPG world as it is in recent years, it was a big success (perhaps even a surprisingly big success).

[Wolf]

Seriously, even Chaosium sold out to the Wizards 3.x open license machine. During the life of 5th ed it's had to proverbially swim up the RPG stream and it was still successful in it's time.

I originally wasn't sure about the cover's but given the time looking at the PDFs they have grown on me, I'm sure they will continue to. I can't wait to see the books, I figure seeing them together will seal the deal for me. I mean, seriously they are as they are going to be, get use to them. I love what I've seen so far, and figure I'll try to love it completely.

I feel like I'm rambling and re-stating what others have said, so I'll just leave with my 2 cents intact.

[GoldenAge]

Bah, I don't see these as meant to cultivate new patrons. If they are, the art falls short. However, if their primary goal is to create interest in existing Hero boosters (and thus sales) then they could have put a dead fish on the cover. Its what's inside that counts.

[Jhaierr]

Hell, you could put a pic of a bowl of gravy on it and most of the people posting here would buy it.

http://www.jhaierr.net/6E1-gravy.jpg

:D :thumbup:

[Derek Hiemforth]

http://www.jhaierr.net/6E1-gravy.jpg

:D :thumbup:Sweet! :D


Although wouldn't the gravy pic actually be more appropriate for the Advanced Player's Guide, since it's all options and non-essentials (the "gravy," if you will...)? :think: :winkgrin:

[GamePhil]

I just realized, I've been charging my power ring for the last several years from my 5E book, and I don't remember where I put the battery. What am I going to do now?

[Derek Hiemforth]

I just realized, I've been charging my power ring for the last several years from my 5E book, and I don't remember where I put the battery. What am I going to do now?I thought END Battery went away after 3rd Edition... :think: :winkgrin:

[GamePhil]

I thought END Battery went away after 3rd Edition... :think: :winkgrin:

Well, that explains why I can't find it, but only makes the crunch harder. Whatever am I going to do? :think:

May have to join the Blue & Yellow Lanterns. So, what does a blue lantern do, anyway? Yellow is fear, right? ;)

[Psistrike]

I just realized, I've been charging my power ring for the last several years from my 5E book, and I don't remember where I put the battery. What am I going to do now?
Ssh. This is a little known secret, but the 6E's 2 main books are actually the improved Green Lantern power batteries in disguise. They have Disguise 30- [Only to appear as a simply RPG book] and the charge from them last 3 times as long. After all, what color do blue and yellow make? :p

[GamePhil]

Ssh. This is a little known secret, but the 6E's 2 main books are actually the improved Green Lantern power batteries in disguise. They have Disguise 30- [Only to appear as a simply RPG book] and the charge from them last 3 times as long. After all, what color do blue and yellow make? :p

ooo, you're good.

[JmOz]

Well, that explains why I can't find it, but only makes the crunch harder. Whatever am I going to do? :think:

May have to join the Blue & Yellow Lanterns. So, what does a blue lantern do, anyway? Yellow is fear, right? ;)

Blue is hope, they are nothing without the power of the green. They can make Green Lanterns more powerful, plus some of the other basic abilities (Flight, protective sheeths)

[Tclynch]

http://www.jhaierr.net/6E1-gravy.jpg

:D :thumbup:

Too funny! Thanks! How about the other book with biscuits?;)

[dan2448]

I am afraid that I am diappointed in this cover, too. Though I do like the new color scheme. Way, way too bland for my taste, I'm afraid. (Just like my reaction to the very similar 5th edition cover.) Since the Hero System rules do not change much from edition-to-edition, I suppose that I was hoping for a major shift in look-and-feel. (Perhaps one as dramatic as the shift from 4th edition, with its George Perez cover, to the 5th edition, which separated the core rules from "Champions" and had that minimalist cover.)

But I don't play "Champions" (or any other RPGs) much anymore. My heyday was in the 1980s. So maybe my opinion doesn't matter much. But I do still buy game books from time-to-time, including 10 or so from 5th edition, from Aaron Allston's "Champions" through, most recently, "The Book of the Destroyer," all of which I've liked to varying degrees.

I was hoping to convince a friend of mine, who never played D&D as a kid but who is a huge "World of Warcraft" player today (even as a married father of two), to try playing pen-and-paper "Champions" with me, since he's heard of the "Champions Online" MMORG. But I am positive that if I showed him a multi-volume rule book with those bland covers, there's no way that he'd want to play.

My apologies for being negative about these covers. I am sure that I will buy many 6th edition "Champions" products in coming years. I would strongly second the suggestion that covers to subsequent 6th Edition "Champions" products be commissioned from Patrick Zircher (or even better, from George Perez), if that's financially viable.

[Hugh Neilson]

I am afraid that I am diappointed in this cover, too. Though I do like the new color scheme. Way, way too bland for my taste, I'm afraid. (Just like my reaction to the very similar 5th edition cover.) Since the Hero System rules do not change much from edition-to-edition, I suppose that I was hoping for a major shift in look-and-feel. (Perhaps one as dramatic as the shift from 4th edition, with its George Perez cover, to the 5th edition, which separated the core rules from "Champions" and had that minimalist cover.)

In fairness, the shift to full colour interiors seems like a major shift to me. Maybe we should remember the old adage about judging a book by its cover.

On reflection, I also find I don't tend to purchase books, CD's or DVD's based on their covers. Or gaming books, for that matter, which I generally order sight unseen.

[dan2448]

I buy some things sight unseen as well, including many 5e "Champions" game books. But I have played "Champions" since the early 1980s, and still have every edition since the 2nd. So I am very familiar with the product, and was sold on it long ago. In part because I have become very comfortable over time with the consistent thoughtfulness and quality that Steve Long and DOJ have brought to the 5e prodcuts they published over the last 7 years, I'd probably buy some 6e "Champions" products even if they did have a photo of a gravy boat on the cover, like the joking one posted above.

I don't tend to do that, however, for things with which I am not familiar. For example, I first bought paperback "Conan" books as a kid 30 years ago because I liked the Frank Frazetta painted covers. Last year, I bought the "Hollow Earth Expedition" RPG game book for a similar reason. I'm even leanign toward buying the new "Pathfinder" for the same reason.

I suppose I was just hoping that 6e might be designed in significant part to try to try to lure in a new generation of players via the MMORG, not just to satisfy long-time fans like myself. I am sure that I am betraying my own preferences by saying that I was hoping that would be done, in part, by having "amazing" cover artwork that would help get potential new players over any perception that pen and paper RPGs are too "old school," too slow, and too boring.

[ghost-angel]

After walking around GenCon and seeing all kinds of RPGs and RPG Books and all of them trying to entice me to look at them by their covers and cover art...

lots of reds, blacks, grays, and browns.

Blue and Yellow - love it or hate it - STANDS OUT in the current RPG market. It's a very bright HELLO! cover amongst the sea of covers I viewed this weekend.

love it or hate it - it's definitely not the norm.

[Jhaierr]

Too funny! Thanks! How about the other book with biscuits?;)

Mmmm. Biscuits.