Mental Kombat Label Contest!

[Lost Monkey]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mindfield:

I noticed, John, that you decided to update your submission #2 using the Mephisto font like mine. Thief! (Or should that be, "Hey! Stop!" :-) Heh... looks good with the Cool3D/Xara-esque beveling. I opted for the plain white. It struck me as more "true" to the old Atari style carts. :-)

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Currently there aren't any entries from anyone named John... so I'll assume you are referring to me (Jason).

 

The font wasn't changed... All 4 of my entries were updated to have the "/100" removed as per Simon's request.

 

So double "Hey! Stop!" to you.

[Mindfield]

quote:

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Originally posted by Lost Monkey:

Currently there aren't any entries from anyone named John... so I'll assume you are referring to me (Jason).

 

The font wasn't changed... All 4 of my entries were updated to have the "/100" removed as per Simon's request.

 

So double "Hey! Stop!" to you.

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Doh! Shame on me x2. :-) Wow, I didn't even notice that before. I guess I was just looking at the images rather than the titling, but I honestly didn't notice that you used that font. I just came across it when I was looking for a decent typeface for the title and decided to use it 'cos it seemed to fit. Well ... great minds? :-)

[Lost Monkey]

Actually, the font I have is called "Mortal Kombat 4" ... guess how I came across that! It probably is just a renamed font though...

[Mindfield]

quote:

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Originally posted by Lost Monkey:

Actually, the font I have is called "Mortal Kombat 4" ... guess how I came across that! It probably is just a renamed font though...

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Must've been; I can't remember where I got Mephisto from -- probably one of those gigantic font sites like Fontopolis or something. Awell, it works.

 

I'm debating on a third submission before I tear my system apart and put in a new drive... once I start that I'll be out of comission for a day or two, and frankly doing these labels is rather fun. :-)

[Albert]

Well, after what's shaped up to be a rather crazy weekend I've now had some time to add a slew of new label entries, as well as update some others. Here's what I have for everyone this time around:

 

- Dale Crum - Submission #4

- Uwe Heinrich - Submission #3

- Uwe Heinrich - Submission #4

- Efren Ramirez - Submission #5

- Efren Ramirez - Submission #6

- Eric March - Submission #3

 

And for the updated labels:

 

- Efren Ramirez - Submission #1

- Efren Ramirez - Submission #2

- Efren Ramirez - Submission #3

- Efren Ramirez - Submission #4

- Dale Crum - Submission #2

 

That's thirty different labels. There are still two more days before the contest ends, so odds are good that a few more will be added before then. Enjoy!

 

..Al

[Simon]

Wow! Another fine update and still some more days until the deadline for the contest.

 

At the moment I'm thinking about driving to the biggest european computer party once again and presenting Mental Kombat in the WiLD-Competition. I visit the party since years and it's always fun seing some thousands of people computing there. Visit http://www.theparty.dk for more information. BTW: Last year I won place #2 in the C64-Graphics and #5 in the WiLD-Competition.

 

Simon

[ATARIPITBULL]

I just love the work done so far, and I think I like the work done on Efren Ramirez #5, and Bengamin Langberg #1.

[rpmxixipt]

Hi all..

 

After following the Gunfight label competition with some amusement, and now the Mental Kombat competition with even more amusement, I feel compelled to renounce my lurking ways and contribute to this fine discussion.

 

First off, congratulations to the moderators of this site.. I would never have thought an Atari page would have been so interesting - or lifestyle-changing.. I've now gotten into the dubious habit of shopping my local thrifts on a weekly basis thanks to AtariAge!

 

Secondly, as a clandestine PhotoShop noodler, I am AMAZED at the breadth of the entries in this competition! I wish I had just HALF the imagination as the contest entrants so as to come up with detailed visual covers for a block-style 8-bit game. I see blocks, I think of checkers. They see blocks, they see it as a graphic arts challenge. Simply amazing!

 

With that all said, of course I have a favorite, and at this ninth hour I want to send a rah-rah his way.. Efren Ramirez is the KING! In a world of boring photographic lights and darks, Efren uses cartoon artwork and florescents! Instant cart-grab appeal, in my opinion.

 

His #4 is a great piece of work! When I ever get the gumption up to program a game (and that may be sooner than later, thanks to the gauntlet thrown down by sites like AtariAge), Efren scores double points with me as a label designer!

 

Thanks for allowing me my two cent allowance.

 

RPM

 

PS: What, no E.T. avatar?

[Albert]

Guess what? More Labels!

 

Robert Mackey

Tony Morse

Benjamin Langberg - Submission #2

Brent Doughty

 

...and one updated label:

 

Benjamin Langberg - Submission #1

 

Updating these pages could be a full-time job! But don't slow down on my account.

 

..Al

[Simon]

The deadline's getting closer and closer and we are near the record of labels set by the Gunfight-Contest.

 

I'm looking forward to the final update and keep being curious about what may come...

 

A big *THANK YOU* once again to Albert who made this contest possible and spends so much time on updating these sites...

 

Simon

[Mindfield]

quote:

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Originally posted by rpmxixipt:

First off, congratulations to the moderators of this site.. I would never have thought an Atari page would have been so interesting - or lifestyle-changing.. I've now gotten into the dubious habit of shopping my local thrifts on a weekly basis thanks to AtariAge!

---

 

I don't shop my thrift stores on a regular basis, but since arriving here I have found myself looking for VCS consoles and carts whenever I find myself in them -- which does seem to be more often as of late. I have the sneaking suspicion that the day I find that elusive 2600 system sitting all lonesome on a shelf, I'll end up buying it. Then I'll probably end up frequenting my local thrifts for carts... God pity my wife when that happens. :-)

 

quote:

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Secondly, as a clandestine PhotoShop noodler, I am AMAZED at the breadth of the entries in this competition! I wish I had just HALF the imagination as the contest entrants so as to come up with detailed visual covers for a block-style 8-bit game. I see blocks, I think of checkers. They see blocks, they see it as a graphic arts challenge. Simply amazing!

 

I don't think so much of the game as I do its theme. The gameplay just provides fodder for the image. Everything else is a blank canvas ready for brush and paint. Or mouse and pixels, anyway... :-) Actually I just enjoy challenges and contests like this. I don't particularily care about the prize -- oh, a cart with my artwork on it would be tremendously cool, like somehow being a part of Atari's history -- but I just have fun doing 'em, just to see what kind of ideas I can pour into to the challenge put forth. It's a chance to challenge myself to do something new and fun. But mostly it's the fun. :-)

 

quote:

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With that all said, of course I have a favorite, and at this ninth hour I want to send a rah-rah his way.. Efren Ramirez is the KING! In a world of boring photographic lights and darks, Efren uses cartoon artwork and florescents! Instant cart-grab appeal, in my opinion.

 

There's no doubt that his are originals. I'm a bit of a noodler at cartooning myself, but unfortunately my deficiency at drawing proportional, believable humans sort of precludes me from going that route. I used to cartoon a lot in my younger years, but I guess digital artwork has sort of taken over that interest -- the pixel being of more interest to me than the pencil, I guess. Still, I opted to go for a more modern look to the labels, sort of a tacit statement that this is a new game, while still trying to make the labels look sort of retro in style. (At least with my first two submissions anyway; my third was a bit of a joke...) I dunno if I succeeded, but I had fun trying, anyway...

 

quote:

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When I ever get the gumption up to program a game (and that may be sooner than later, thanks to the gauntlet thrown down by sites like AtariAge)

 

Go for it! I'd love to try my hand at it, but my time is limited, unfortunately. I used to dabble in 6502 assembler on the 8-bit Ataris, but the VCS is a whole 'nother beast entirely, and I think working in an environment with no video RAM and next to no system RAM to speak of might confound me a little... it's a fundamental shift in one's approach when designing a game, one which I would be hard pressed to accustom myself to. But I love challenges, and I have a feeling that one day I might actually sit myself down and force myself to figure it out just so I can say I did it...

[Rhindle The Red]

Albert,

 

I sent in two submissions, but with the flaky nature of hotmail, I can never be sure if my messages get through. Could you let me know that you got them in time?

 

(I asked the same thing in the message, but if you don't get the message, you won't know I sent anything.)

 

Thanks.

[Albert]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rhindle The Red:

Albert,

 

I sent in two submissions, but with the flaky nature of hotmail, I can never be sure if my messages get through. Could you let me know that you got them in time?

---

 

I got them, and I'll be putting them online shortly. Fortunately my cable modem is back online after being down for nearly two days. Doing the updates yesterday was, uhmm, fun over a dial-up connection.

 

..Al

[Albert]

Okay! Here are the last few Mental Kombat submissions:

 

- Efren Ramirez - Submission #7

- Mike Tinnes - Submission #1

- Mike Tinnes - Submission #2

- Philip R. Frey - Submission #1

- Philip R. Frey - Submission #2

- Adrian Mims

 

That's a total of 40 labels! And it's the week before Christmas when everyone's supposed to be busy! Any one of them would make a fine label for Mental Kombat. I wonder which one Simon will choose?

 

..Al

[Mindfield]

Let the judging begin! :-)

 

I loved Rhindle's proto cart... that was hillarious. Very authentic... :-)

 

Looks as if Simon's gonna be a little preoccupied this yuletide. How can anyone expect him to enjoy his turkey when faced with a monumental decision like this? :-)

[Simon]

Well now it's up to me, huh?

 

The last update brought up some nice designs again. The idea of that prototype-label was great (Philip R. Frey - #1)...I really love it - it's as simple as ingenious.

 

I will need some time to compare all those *GREAT* labels and make a final decision afterwards.

 

Please let me know which labels you like most. I doubt that this will make my decision easier, but... it's like using my audience-joker in "Who becomes a millionaire".

 

Simon

[MattyXB]

Try first the 50:50 joker, then this is easier for the audience.

 

And think about it to use the telephone joker. Who can help you?

 

 

 

Matthias

[Simon]

Matthias: I wouldn't dial your number, because I wouldn't get an objective answer due to your entry in the contest, would I?

 

I'm close to a decision I think. I really liked the "prototype-idea", but due to the fact that I want to ship a complete pack consisting of cart, box, instructions and bandanas I won't choose that design as I can't imagine any design for the box and instructions which fis to that prototype-label.

 

My first thought of the prototype-label was "That's it! That's the winner!", but my second thought about the box-design changed my mind. I hope you can understand that, Philip R. Frey. The next time I develop a 2600 game (and that'll be quite soon), I want you to design a prototype-label for that game as I will provide it as cartridge only. OK?

 

Simon

[liveinabin]

I'm not posting who I like best, cause frankly that just winds up the other artists.

[Mindfield]

quote:

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Originally posted by Simon:

I'm close to a decision I think. I really liked the "prototype-idea", but due to the fact that I want to ship a complete pack consisting of cart, box, instructions and bandanas I won't choose that design as I can't imagine any design for the box and instructions which fis to that prototype-label.

 

My first thought of the prototype-label was "That's it! That's the winner!", but my second thought about the box-design changed my mind. I hope you can understand that, Philip R. Frey. The next time I develop a 2600 game (and that'll be quite soon), I want you to design a prototype-label for that game as I will provide it as cartridge only. OK?

 

Simon

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For the real authentic deal, get him to send you the Avery labels he used for the purpose -- pre-written, of course -- along with the proto label underneath them, then stick 'em on top. Then you've got the real authentic proto experience. :-)

[Rhindle The Red]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mindfield:

For the real authentic deal, get him to send you the Avery labels he used for the purpose -- pre-written, of course -- along with the proto label underneath them, then stick 'em on top. Then you've got the real authentic proto experience. :-)

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Hate to tell you, but none of that stuff actually exists. It's just pure digital wizardry.

 

And as for being upset at not winning, just choose my other design!

[Rhindle The Red]

Oh, and Simon, I will, of course, be glad to do up a new "prototype" label for you in the future.

 

As for creating a "total package" to accompany the protype label, I'm sure we could figure it out if we worked on it. But the decision is yours.

 

Good luck.

[Mindfield]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rhindle The Red:

Hate to tell you, but none of that stuff actually exists. It's just pure digital wizardry.

 

And as for being upset at not winning, just choose my other design!

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Damn. That was good. I was quite convinced you'd just scanned and printed an actual prototype base label/cart, printed out a few basic Avery labels, scribbled on 'em, pasted 'em on to the printout of the proto scan, then scanned the whole works in. Very convincing! :-)

[slapdash]

You know, looking at some of these labels, I'm a little surprised that there aren't any "reference" labels (like Scanners, Einstein) to (in order of surprise):

 

The Mindmaster

the aliens from The Menagerie (Star Trek)

the psycop mind war practicers from Babylon 5

[legeek]

Mindmaster DID cross my mind when I was working on label ideas

 

le geek aka Ben Langberg