They say that we’re entering a new golden age for gaming. With the reveal of Facebook’s Oculus Rift, Sony’s Playstation VR, and SteamVR, virtual reality headsets have left the realm of farfetched ideas and crowdfunding sites, and will soon hit shelves with the capacity to play high-budget titles from major game studios such as Square-Enix, Rocksteady Studios, and Crytek.

     With this kind of innovation we’re seeing from today’s game developers, we would hope to see the same from the industry’s graphic artists. After all, iconic logos from vintage titles such as The Legend of Zelda or Half-Life are as timeless as the games themselves. Let’s take a gander at logos from some of the hottest titles of the past 5 years.

     If we're being honest, there isn't much to these aside from text. Let’s face it, these logos are looking a bit… Bland. But hey, it’s the 21st century, this is what’s “In” right now: text with an eensy bit of stylization to spruce things up. Let’s chalk it up to contemporary artistry. They don't look bad, if maybe lacking in detail. I mean, If we look back at the retro days of gaming, today’s graphics should still seem like an improvement. 

     That was eye-opening. Even with all the advanced software graphic designers have in their arsenal, these legendary retro titles still seem to show them up using the simplest of means. It's important that gaming companies don't neglect their graphic designs. After all, logos are a form of branding, and the way a company (or video game) brands themselves becomes their identity! Take it from Cory Schmitz, who's credited in the designs for games Broken Age, Everyone's Gone To The Rapture, and most recently, the logo for the newly rebranded Oculus VR company. In a conversation with VICE Magazine, he explained the importance of a good logo, as well as what he sees as a problem with contemporary graphics, "It's almost always the first impression. It's the face of whatever you're doing, it's what people see... I'd love to see more bold, weird stuff that could potentially strike a chord with people, rather than stuff that's been focus-tested to death."

     Taste is subjective. But, if you ask me, today’s video game logos are lacking in creativity. In fact, it seems to me that the titles are borrowing ideas from other successful projects, leaving many of these logos to look identical to one another. If this truly is a golden age, let’s hope for more innovative graphic design. The next generation of gamers would do well to have memorable logos to look back at when today’s hits are considered tomorrow's classics. ♦

Sources:

http://www.digitiser2000.com/main-page/modern-game-logos-are-rubbish