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Pok-A-Tok box art cover
By avatar pigeon_face 30 on February 7th, 2011
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[ Box updated on February 9th, 2011 ] [ original ]

comments Pok-A-Tok Box Cover Comments


Comment on pigeon_face's Pok-A-Tok Box Art / Cover.

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pigeon_face 30 [ 1 decade ago ]


Let me just set a foundation for criticism here:

Apart from being a thrilling spectator sport, the ball game had a ritualistic function for the ancient Maya and was integral to Mayan cosmology and creation. It's thought that as the ball bounced off the players and the courtside walls, priests analyzed the path of the ball and tried to discern how it reflected the motion of the sun or Venus (hense the stars, ball looks like the sun). The court could be seen as the heavenly sky, or even the underworld. The myth in the Popol Vuh in which the Hero Twins Hun Hunahpu and Xbalanque beat the lords of the underworld in a ball-game provided hope for rebirth to the Maya.

The ballgame has been given all sorts of names by the various cultures that played it (uluma- modern day version, ullamalitzli- Aztec, Pok-A-Tok or Pok-Ta-Pok or Pitz by the Maya, but I chose Pok-A-Tok). The rules to the game also varied among the different cultures. For the box, as you can tell, I stuck to more of a Mayan theme (and name), but you would be able to play as all sorts of cultures.

I was originally inspired by the official FIFA Street cover, but as I began progressing with my work I strayed away from that design. The feel and gameplay would be like that of FIFA Street: exaggerated and unrealistic. I was thinking it could include some sort of juggling mini-game like FIFA Street, and other mini-games.

The box is excessively bloody because I imagine the matches being so heated that players would be severely injured during play, and afterwards the defeated team would be sacrificed. There have been disputes over who was to be sacrificed (the defeated team or the winning team), because it may have been looked at as some sort of divine right. I am not trying to support any kind of innuendo—that Mesoamerican cultures were bloodthirsty savages.

I have to say that I was also inspired by Mel GibsonÂ’s Apocalypto; the film seemed to portray the Mayans as ruthless and ferocious. The film should not be taken as an accurate historical account, nor should this game. Apocalypto was a movie that simply got the adrenaline pumping, as I would like for a game like this to do.

Thanks for Listening

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soccerman95 2 [ 1 decade ago ]

Hmm...I like this. It's a unique idea and to me, looks pretty professional. Good Job

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pigeon_face 30 [ 1 decade ago ]

Thanks, oh kind sir.

i know it's nothing super spectacular but i'm just looking for a little feedback. One of the only issues i'm dealing with right now is the burst effect on the front cover between the title and the building/jungle silhouettes. I like how the effect works on the front, it just isn't mirrored on the back in any way, but i didn't really think it mattered and i was satisfied with the final outcome.

i also had some issues making the text on the back appealing ... meh. It is what it is.

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Prong1978 18 [ 1 decade ago ]

I really didn't want to comment on this box considering how incredibly not helpful your comment on my Rock Band Pink Floyd box was, but considering the lack of attention this awesome box is getting...here I am.

First off, awesome idea making a box for Pok-A-Tok. If I had a time machine, one of the top ten things I'd want to do with it is watch real game of this 2,000 years ago or so (My major in college was history).

I think the front is terrific and I wouldn't change a thing with one possible exception. Almost every sport has a year attached to the name. Your game doesn't need a year, but having a game that says something like "42 AD" as the year appeals to me. I really like what you did with the "sunburst" coming from the ball, and the cool borders to the box.

On the back, I think you may have overdone the blood a little (particularly the stuff dripping into the legal text). The text IS a little tough to read, but isn't really that bad. I could do without the skeleton guy though. He seems out-of-place to me. Also, in your text, "Unlock and play" would make more sense to me than "Play and unlock" since you unlock before you play.

The blood in the presentation seems unnecessary to me and distracts from the box. Also, it would look more realistic if the plastic of the PS3 case was a bit transparent.

Overall, I give the concept 10/10 and the execution a 7.5/10. Thanks for uploading this box. I really like it.

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pigeon_face 30 [ 1 decade ago ]

thanks man. I kinda over-reacted with your pink floyd box. I'm a loser and a die hard pink floyd fan, and i just didn't like the idea of bringing pink floyd into Rock Band. Your previous works are very nice, however.

I kinda rushed the presentation and I have a different render to throw in instead of the skull guy. I was also debating weather or not the blood dripping into the legal text was necessary... thanks for the critique, i'll see what i can do

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pigeon_face 30 [ 1 decade ago ]

thanks man. I kinda over-reacted with your pink floyd box. I'm a loser and a die hard pink floyd fan, and i just didn't like the idea of bringing pink floyd into Rock Band. Your previous works are very nice, however.

I kinda rushed the presentation and I have a different render to throw in instead of the skull guy. I was also debating weather or not the blood dripping into the legal text was necessary... thanks for the critique, i'll see what i can do

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pigeon_face 30 [ 1 decade ago ]

alrighty, got'er updated. Didn't know what to do with the skull dude; the other render I had just didn't fit in and if I completely took him out it looked really empty :S

- Took out the blood dripping into the legal info area

- I didn't change my wording "play as and unlock" to "unlock and play as" because I believe it makes sense either way, since you would start off with certain cultures at first that you would play as and then progressively unlock more.

- Simplified the presentation; it looks much cleaner now.

comments? critiques? hit me

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pigeon_face 30 [ 1 decade ago ]

. . . Don't mean to bump, well actually I do mean to bump, but is there anyone else out there that would like to critique this awful box? I mean, War 2 has more views and favs than this...

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DemonFoxSlayer 17 [ 1 decade ago ]

This is Pretty Good... But one thing... You shouldn't bump You BoxArt. No... Bad... Don't Do it again.

The Box is well made, and I think I will fav, because i can relate to this because sometimes, I will feel, "Oh, this is my best box so far!" but yet it gets less fav and comments then the last...

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