Game Designer. Project Lead for The Last Goddess, now on Kickstarter. Former Librarian and Graphic Designer.

Oct 11, 2016

I’ve Never Forgotten These Vintage Computer Game Print Ads

Does anyone else remember this series of magazine ads that Lucasfilm Games ran in 1990?

This advertisement for **Loom** appeared in the Nov. 1990 issue of **Computer Gaming World**

To me, there’s something iconic about the design of these advertisements. Is it the blue box at the top, proudly announcing that this is no mere ad, but a statement on “the art and science of entertainment”? Or is it just the specific arrangement of the headline, screenshots, box art, and ad copy on the page? Here’s another one, this time for The Secret of Monkey Island.

An ad for **The Secret of Monkey Island** from the Dec. 1990 issue of **Computer Gaming World**

I saw this ad before I ever played Monkey Island, and I stared at that large screenshot for ages. Why is a soda machine in a game about pirates? (It’s complicated.) Is that guy in the hat the main character? (Nope.)

Today, showing gameplay is easier than ever when advertising a game online (animated GIFs and videos are plentiful), but I would urge us not to overlook the elegance of clean type, the careful arrangement of screenshots, and to not be afraid to make a statement.

As a kind of test, I created an advertisement for my new game—The Last Goddess—in the same style of the Monkey Island ad.

An advertisement for **The Last Goddess** I created in the same style as the ads above.

What do you think? Does this ad design still hold up 26 years later, or is it just nostalgia talking?

P.S. The Last Goddess is on Kickstarter until Oct. 29th