Matrimelee insert preferences, part 2

This is a continuation of the Matrimelee insert design survey. In this poll we analyze the logo and the use of borders. Please review <a href="http://www.neo-geo.com/snk/releases/matrimelee/insert/part2/vote2.html" target="_blank">this web page</a> which contains illustrated comparisons and let us know what your preferences are by participating in this poll.

<small>[ April 24, 2003, 03:08 AM: Message edited by: Shawn ]</small>

voted

voted.

i really like the revised insert, but i'd say, that imo there should not be any japanese letters on the spine of an official english release.

voted buttrock

Mission Accomplished!! No boarders (I prefer the black thick boarder in the low part of the insert). English letters (I like its gothic style) and revised insert, like the original SNK ones.

The revised insert looks better exept that with the first side totaly in white then the second part of the insert should be with some white too.

Voted, but I think there should be another option about last question. I like the borders, but prefer the english title on the spine. However, there is not an option with these two together. Also the revised insert took away the black strip. I think it would be absolutely great if it had the black strip across the bottom(front and back) with the borders, english title on the spine, and the meg count lowered on the spine. I guess all of these variations would make the poll a bit long. It is quite hard to please every single person. wink Whatever the final insert ends up being, I know I will like it because all these adjustments are minor and I love the insert on the whole.

Woops sorry, wrong post.

BTW: I think that both options could be mixed in the end, otherwise one of the questions would be quite useless.

<small>[ April 24, 2003, 07:03 AM: Message edited by: Pep ]</small>

Voted.
I think the Japanese spine looks kinda empty.
Too much blank space at the top and bottom.

Voted.

Both are beautiful, however I would have to say the current insert edges a bit better then the revised.

Thanks Shawn for asking!

The insert is great as it it is but if you added the border......... it would look so good!

Voted. Let's hope Playmore will focus a lot more on these polls ! wink

The artwork with no black border adds contrast to the cover art.

English releases should have english spines. Plain and simple. But I would have not put gothic looking fonts for the english spine either. Gothic fonts for a spine would be more suitable to a Castlevania title, IMO.

Voltamp:
The insert is great as it it is but if you added the border......... it would look so good!

Click to expand...

Personally I think one of the most important aspects of the revised insert is getting that black stripe off the spine of the game. On the cover I don't mind it so much, but on the spine? That's a different story. Kind of sticks out like a sore thumb, at least for me. The problem with combining the black stripe & borders is the front of the insert begins to look a little crowded, it may be possible with better source art that for the moment I think only Playmore has.

If this poll continues the way it is (very neck and neck it looks like for the moment), maybe the artist at Playmore can come up with a good balance between the two that could please everyone. Ultimately, I will be happy as long as the meg count is on the spine and in it's traditional layout. That alone is a major step in returning to great english inserts.

About the logo on the spine:

It's not actually the 'japanese style' logo, it is the full size matrimelee logo. It still says 'matrimelee' in the exact same font/style as the 'english style logo', it's just much smaller. A matter of preference really, but the way I see it I don't know how many of my english games use the same exact color scheme (orange/yellow/red) as the full size Matrimelee logo does.. It would just mesh better imo.

Not to mention it's one of the best game logos I've seen in recent times. (maybe even of all time) Too bad there isn't an all english version of it. oh_no

wtf, where are the 'genre' stripes?

everyone cares about the meg count but no one cares about the stripes?

i also think its pretty funny that you complain about the meg count position. i would prefer it to be different, i mean this isnt snk making the games anymore.

and what about the early releases like magician lord, and cyber lip, and nam75? what about their inserts?

Keep the current style without borders. I like

<small>[ April 24, 2003, 09:10 AM: Message edited by: BryLmoo ]</small>

Border is good but needs outside color to offset maybe. Maybe ghosted flames. The logo placement at lower right corner of border needs to be moved a little further outside of border. As far as the spine, I like the japanese logo but I wish theyed do a streched version as to fill the spine better like the english version does. The japanese version looks od like its just plopped there.

Overall Id say the back and front of the insert does'nt match in overall workmanship. Its like they did several intense peices of art and cut and pasted them together trying unsuccesfully for one cohesive overall design. Actually more than likly they had artists do several peices of art for promotion and then had a crappy design team through this insert together. Its like quality in and crap out. Im sorry if your going to have a fine artist do illustrations why not let him colaborate with a layout artist to make one quality peice instead of a patchwork peice? Seems like Playmore has done this a lot lately, taking quality work and patching together a mediocer product. I hope they get past this.

I vote entirely for the current style. If you want a jp logo, buy a jp cart.

neojedi:
I vote entirely for the current style. If you want a jp logo, buy a jp cart.

Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I was thinking also.

Shawn.
I voted for the revised insert.
Does voting for the current version mean
that the meg count should be placed higher
as proposed by SUN/PLAYMORE?

Im all for tradition style..

SUN/PLAYMORE should hire Cole to
do the insert.
Great work. Cole... buttrock

Vote for border, US logo style and revised
insert.

neojedi:
I vote entirely for the current style. If you want a jp logo, buy a jp cart.

Click to expand...

As explained a little further up this 'japanese logo' is actually the full size matrimelee logo. If this were noted in the poll the stats might be a bit different. It is part japanese, part english, and one of the best logos to appear on a Neo Geo game. It's definitely worthy of being on the spine. It's on the front of the insert also, so should that be removed also? Just slap a big 'MATRIMELEE' there, that will look really slick! wink

The japanese insert will most certainly not be using that logo on the spine. Playmore keeps tradition with those and goes for plain text. That would be a major change in the japanese insert design.. Doubt that will ever happen and for good reason. Imagine if playmore began swapping out the japanese screenshot for a spiffy meg count..

But any ways, I like it. With proper source art it could look much better on the spine.. ie. bigger, fill more vertical space, maybe the 'matrimelee' portion could be enlarged a little more because it seems no one can see it.

Harry Hazard:
Shawn.
I voted for the revised insert.
Does voting for the current version mean
that the meg count should be placed higher
as proposed by SUN/PLAYMORE?

Im all for tradition style..

SUN/PLAYMORE should hire Cole to
do the insert.
Great work. Cole... buttrock

Click to expand...

Harry, in the last poll white and traditional meg count lay out were the leading choices. So I'm assuming unless those numbers change dramatically then the answer to your question is no and that the meg count lay out will be traditional. (that is if this all goes through with Playmore, only Shawn knows about)

I can't really take much credit for the revised insert because there is not much added to it. That is, in my opinion, essentially what any person who wanted to make a proper english insert would have done.

If you ask me, I can only think of one reason as to why the recent english inserts from Playmore have been inferior to previous english inserts. Maybe 'inferior' is too strong of a word, but everyone with english games should know what I mean. It really does seem like whoever is in charge of doing them doesn't seem to have had much, if any, exposure to the older english games. But who really knows?

<small>[ April 24, 2003, 11:57 AM: Message edited by: Cole ]</small>

Cole:
It is part japanese, part english, and one of the best logos to appear on a Neo Geo game.

Click to expand...

Hard to tell because the English part is squeezed down to the bottom. I like the fact that the original logo is on the cover, but the English name by itself just suits the spine shape better. The logo is made for a close-to-squarish display area.

neojedi:

Cole:
It is part japanese, part english, and one of the best logos to appear on a Neo Geo game.

Click to expand...

Hard to tell because the English part is squeezed down to the bottom. I like the fact that the original logo is on the cover, but the English name by itself just suits the spine shape better. The logo is made for a close-to-squarish display area.

Click to expand...

Yeah it is really cramped in there, I'm sure someone at Playmore could do it more justice. Like Electroman, I suppose I'm just not a big fan of the font used in that logo. Nor the color scheme.

But the color scheme is understandable because that is just a portion of the full logo cut out for the spine.

I'm no art critic but it just doesn't seem like it was meant to be there by itself to me.