Welcome to the official blog of My Owl Software, creator of the excellent Apple Jack games!



Sunday 1 April 2012

Imagine my suprise, when, completely unsolicited and out of the blue, Kate from www.katewillaert.com sent me this brilliant Apple Jack 2 box cover:



Apparently Kate read my comment in the last post about trying to do a cover loosly based on the Mario 2 box art, and with her advanced drawing skills did it herself, properly.

Now, clearly it's a lot better than the mouldy old cover from my last post and I'd love to use it. What concerns me is the legal / moral issue of using something SO similar to the original:


...especially when the game already 'borrows' the pick-up-and-throw game mechanic from SMB2. Even if there isn't a legal problem in using it, I don't want the game to be seen as some sort of Mario tribute, since it's very much its own thing. That said, there's no doubt many more people would click on the game if it had Kate's box art. Hmm.

Anyone have any opinions on this?

8 comments:

  1. Keep it. It's too good. There won't be any legal issues since there's plenty different about the parody image and the original to worry over.

    Your first cover design doesn't exactly scream "I'm fun; play me!" as Kate's cover does. In addition, the obvious parody will appeal to Nintendo fans, of which there are lots out there. You really have no reason to scrap it.

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  2. Yeah, you're right, it's too good not to use.

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  3. I agree with Kobun. Keep it.

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  4. I like it :)

    I would even suggest making the cover look more like the Mario 2 box with the black strip at the bottom and a few unique logos. You could even parody the Nintendo seal of quality.

    I can't wait for this game to come out. Are you still thinking of releasing at the 240 MSP price point? I've heard it from both sides of the coin... but I think the general consensus is the $1 games sell a lot better on XBLIG.

    Hell, you could release it at $10 and get a sale from me :)... Looking forward to it :D!

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    1. The artist tried the black strip initially but the box shape didn't really give enough room for it.

      And it'll probably be 80 points now, since as you say the lower priced stuff simply sells better.

      More people seem to like the Mario 2 box than not, so I'll use it!

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  5. The position of Marios leg on that cover always weirds me out.

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    Replies
    1. What has been seen cannot be unseen. lol

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