Designers are usually wonderful folk . . .they have fantastic ideas, go to great lengths to infuse product with additional, and colorful, personality, and do their utmost to prove how little others know about their trade. Unfortunately, support of such designer influences costs both the consumer and game designer bucks.
Whoa . . .I’m not getting down on designers. At different points in my excruciatingly exciting life, I believe I even managed a design or two for some CD-ROM packages, magazines covers, publication design, and even a book or two. But what I did that sets me apart from a few in the currently vogue design stream is that I maintained a low profile . . .not necessarily in personality, but in the final cost of the package.
Let’s take a look at some of the packaging for computer games. How on earth is one supposed to fit this box in a retail shelf, never mind at home in your software library? Oh, yeah, these boxes look cool . . .strange prismatic shapes, oddball constructions that require you to pull on a tab to obtain the full effect of the package, even holographic three-dimensional beauties that fit more in a museum of modern art than a bookcase. How you’re supposed to stack your cool software box with others in your collection is beyond me . . .do you simply stuff it in and hope you don’t need the space it requires (usually two or more box sizes) for other titles you might collect this year? Or do you simply toss the box away and maintain your software disk or CD-ROM in a separate container, and the manual in your special manual retention area?
What a waste! Figure that part of the cost of your title is in the design and production of the package within which it ships and is sold. Those special die-cuts, those metallic colors, all cost money. Do you really believe the software publisher is altruistic to the point where he or she offers these designs to you gratis? Guarantee that within that Suggested Retail Price is the cost of those boxes!
Hey, radical idea . . .what if software packaging become standardized? Why, then, wouldn’t that mean production costs of such encasements would be less than the current miasma of strangely shaped elements supposed to capture your interest at retail and in print ads? And that, in turn, would lower the cost of the title to you, the consumer? Phew—this is almost revolutionary.
Also consider the poor retailer. If he receives, say, 12 boxes of some title whose shape is triangular in nature, how is he or she supposed to stack all of those boxes on his shelf? Do you think it’s possible only ONE box might be displayed, with the remainder thrown into some corner in the store room? And suppose that one box on display is sold . . .and it’s a busy day . . .and the retailer doesn’t have the time to restock that shelf? When that gamer comes into the store and doesn’t see the latest and greatest game in the design-par-excellence box, perhaps he or she sees something equally as enticing because the retailer is able to maintain an adequate supply of that title on his or her shelves because the package is of a more standard, square size. Lost sale! And who knows how many of those might occur over a weekend. Naw, despite the avant garde appearance, strange packaging limits sales and irritates customers.
Kudos must be applied to one of the most original packages that falls WITHIN standard box sizes. MacPlay’s recent release of Astro Chase 3D arrives in a highly attractive package, including a three-dimensional mine within the die-cut box and metallic printing on the thick plastic cover. When stored, the box fits nicely with all of your other square boxes, and yet the package offers distinctive design and artwork WITHOUT alienating retailer or customer. Perhaps the notion that making friends with retailers is going to start coursing through the industry, and that will equate with higher unit sales. Not only that, but keeping customers as friends is also a good idea. Unless a publisher can actually prove the money invested in a super creative [read obnoxious] design is going to increase sales, forget it! Go with creative artwork and enticing copy on a square box, reduce the price of your title to reflect your savings in design, and prepare for increased revenues. Makes sense to me...-Mudgeon
Book Review: SimCity 2000: Power, Politics and Planning
by Don Henson
Book written by Nick Dargahi & Michael Bremer
Recently this book became entangled in my computer cables and to say it is complete and impressive is the least I can do. The amount of information about SimCity 2000 doesn’t stop with the basic or even detailed insights into how to better manage your cities, it goes much deeper. This book covers the Mac including version 1.1. It even has the money cheats for the new version.
If you are not satisfied at that level there are complete details of the development of the game, interviews with the authors of the game and various others at Maxis. The theories and realities behind the simulation and even the listing of where there are mistakes in how the simulation works. I sure didn’t notice that the areas that one zones as heavy create less traffic than the ones zoned light and this should be the reverse.
Need even more information, there is a listing of where one may find it on the information superhighway. Even a bit of tutelage in how to find what you need on Internet and the online services.
Want to transfer your cities between Macs and PCs, you can learn that here too. Don’t like the way your city is going and are inclined to be handy with ResEdit, well there information to make your city healthy, wealthy and wise is available, or just make a new scenario of your design.
The book is so complete it also covers the DOS version of SimCity.
ISBN: 1-55958-192-1
$19.95 US
304 pages
Prima Publishing.
P.O. Box 1260
Rocklin, CA 95677-1260
(916) 786-0426
MACnificent 7.1 CD-ROM available from IMG
MACnificent 7.1 Education & Games • 2nd Edition Macintosh CD-ROM is now available directly from Inside Mac Games. Ideal for both home and school use, this comprehensive collection of the latest versions of over 7,000 educational, game, and children’s files has been gathered by the National Home & School Macintosh User Group for authors worldwide. The programs have been carefully tested for compatibility on several different Mac CPUs and Systems, including System 7. The programs are described, rated, categorized, and cross-referenced. The “Librarian” program containing this information allows the user to navigate among the many programs with ease and efficiency and even launch them!
MACnificent 7.1 is available directly from IMG for the low price of $39, plus $3 shipping and handling. Subscribers and non-subscribers can order the CD-ROM by filling out the subscription form at the end of the magazine and checking the line for the Macnificent 7.1 CD-ROM or by calling 708/486-0636 with your VISA/MC number ready. Subscribers can also fill out the Back Issues order form found in the IMG Extras folder included with the magazine.
IMG’s Fax Number Changed....Again
Our new (and last) fax number is (708) 486-0647. Please use this fax number from now on to send letters, subscription orders, surveys, press releases, etc.
Special Thanks
As always, the editors of IMG would like to thank all of our writers, as well as Craig Fryar, Steven Lundin, Rod Whitten, Bob Nordling, Mark Rubin, Trey Smith, Jeff Morgan, Douglas Hempel, Jeff Rich, Mark Wall, Mark Adams, the Lessers and all of you who have given us your continued support.
A special thanks to Aladdin Systems for allowing us to use the StuffIt Installer.
