Mike Doyle’s Game Art Gallery

Titan

2008-07-26T06:34:00.001-07:00

Valley Games’ Titan
Jan 2009

Cover Art by Kurt Miller

Municipium

2008-07-25T20:02:00.001-07:00

Valley Games’ Municipium
April 2008

Nexus’ The Eagle and the Lion

2007-09-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

August 2007
Nexus

Partial lineup of leader and unit cards. Pictured here are 3 levels of leaders and different infantry units.

The game has 4 two sided boards. Pictured are two boards.

Detail from board

Rules detailed with period flavor

Valley Games’ Supernova

2007-09-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

July 2007
Valley Games

Container

2007-07-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

Valley Games
July 2007

Big City

2007-07-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

Valley Games
June 2007

Demetra (Key Harvest)

2007-07-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

QWG Games
June 2007

Hannibal Rome vs Carthage (Graphic Design)

2007-06-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

Valley Games
June 2007

For this project, I was involved strickly with some of the graphic design. Those elements I worked on were the box graphics, rules and Battle Cards. The art is by Kurt Miller.

De Witte Baron (Restaurant)

2007-06-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

(The White Baron)
Netherlands
May 2007

The type works well over the character compositionally allowing the arms to flow freely underneath. Additionally, this arc feels right on a restaurant window.

A monogram can be used for other occasions – like on the menu or napkins.

El Capitán

2007-04-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Oct 2007 (Expected Launch)
QWG

Board

Board Detail

Board Detail
A sheet with coins, start player tile and expansion city

Loan Card

Multi Travel Card

Rules cover and spread

The title lineup from QWG’s MasterPrint Editions

Samurai Cover

2007-03-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

Personal Project
March 2007

Caylus Premium Limited Edition

2007-03-31T16:25:00.000-07:00

March 2007 (In Development)

Ystari Games

I was certainly very flattered and pleased to have been approached by Cyril of Ystari to develop the art for a limited edition of this popular title. For the game, I've centered the look around a simple idea, to communicate "Medieval". Also, given the storyline is about building a castle, I started by placing the castle as close to center as possible to reinforce the goal. The game story unfolds with the placement of tiles that look as if they have been ripped out of an illuminated manuscript. The icons were already pretty clear from earlier versions, so all I did was to make the cost icons (in the left corner of the tiles) larger and easier to read. The overall read is very rich and luxurious while working fine on an informational level.

Front Cover

Front Cover (Detail)

Front Cover & Sides (Flat Box top)

Board without pieces

Board with Pieces

Tiles

Tile backs

Rules covers and open spread

Typographic detail. Type inspired by illuminated manuscripts of verse.

Tower of Babel (Cover)

2007-03-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

Personal Project
March 2007

China Cover

2007-02-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

Personal Project
Feb 2007

Here, I introduce a technique that I am quite fond of – that of collage. As these Euros utilize theme more as texture and ambient mood, so too, a collage technique assembles thematic details not in a literal manner but one with an evocative presence and emotive texture. The look is very sophisticated and aspirational with a coffee table appeal.

Cover Detail

QWG Games Yspahan Box Art

2007-02-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

Feb 2007 (In Production)
QWG Games

Continuing the system look of the Master Print Editions that I created for QWG, we have here the box graphics for Yspahan. Given that this game is a lighter on, it was decided to use brighter colors – appropriate for the Persian setting – and a simplier drawing style which is appropriate to the period. Authentic arabic details embellish all the surfaces of the book for a rich, interesting look. Gems placed on the surface of the book cover add depth and speak toward trade.

QWG Games System Look and Leonardo da Vinci Box Art

2007-01-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

April 2007
QWG Games

QWG needed a distinct look for their new series of games "Master Print Editions" which are unique and sometimes limited edition products. For this, I created a look which seems like a book with a hard bound book sleeve. Such a look offers a very collectible appeal as it works well as a volume set on shelves. The look can include interesting thematic objects on the books, like barnicles for Reef Encounter. Note, on the image below, only Leonardo is actually real – this was an original concept sketch to sell the idea.

Concept sketch for a warm, inviting system look with a lot of collectability. Note, only Leonardo is planned to be printed.

Here we have the look for the front covers with a debossed area look for image plate. Objects possibly can be placed on the cover for additional meaning and effect.

To heighten the drama and intensify the piece, I chose to paint a portrait of Leonardo based on his famous self portrait. This original production was a crayon drawing. I found it was great fun to flesh out the details in paint and color. His work typically has a good deal of detail and highlighting in the hair, so I executed it as such. You can get a better sense of it in some of the detail images below. Finishing it off, I aged the painting with a cracked varnish look. Embellishing every surface of the book and sleeve are 16th century Italian ornamentations which greatly contribute to the eye candy. Additionally, the drawing compass adds to the message of invention and precision.

The sides have a realistic sense of a shelf of old books which has quite a bit of appeal.

For the back of the box, we continue with the leather texture and include a nice shot of the game. Here, I photographed it with some sweeps of light to add drama. The back sides include an aspirational quote which I thought a nice touch. In this case, we have a quote from a contemporary of Leonardo's.

The board and components were already created and not part of this creative endeavor.

Modern Art

2006-12-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

Nov 2006 (Released)
Odysseia Jogos

My first game art publication is through Odysseia Jogos which is out of Brazil. The publisher wanted a game that looked beautiful. The art created was done with broader brush strokes and bright colors, but remained quite tame as far as contemporary art is concerned. The notion here was something not offensive but attractive to players.

Innovations here include a Certificate of Authenticity, signed by the publisher and hand numbered. Also, I wanted to introduce a token sheet that had a nice look to it beyond the tokens. For collectors who keep games unpunched, the sheet has a look of a painting. Additionally, the rule book is quite something to look at. Artfully done, with bios of each artist, the book is fresh and new looking. Also with this project was the establishment of a house look for Odysseia’s games – a cover format for their boxes.

Reef Encounter / Amun-Re

2006-12-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

Personal Project
Oct 2006

One of many system looks that I have created that could work as potential looks for publishing houses. This one using a cloth pattern along the left and side panel.

Tempus

2006-12-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

Personal Project
Sept 2006

Dune (Board & Tokens)

2006-12-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

Personal Project
August 2006

Flowerpower

2006-07-19T18:51:00.000-07:00

Personal Project
July 2006

Die Macher

2006-07-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Personal Project
July 2006

Garrett’s Games & Geekiness (logo)

2006-07-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Doug Garrett
July 2006

Odysseia (logo)

2006-07-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

Sept 2005
Odysseia Games

Named after Homer’s adventure, Odysseia speaks of the spirit and challenges of designer games. Here, the hand direction the ship is the players’ god-like control over the gaming worlds they play in.

Boardgame News (logo)

2006-07-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Oct 2005
Rick Thornquist (BGN)

There are times when the simplest of solutions is the best. Such marks are easily understandable and memorable. This mark for Rick Thornquist utilizes a font which refers indirectly to the typewriter fonts of another age of reporting. Here the letterforms have the “slab” serifs, but are more robust and authoritative than the cliché courier/typewriter fonts.

Euphrat & Tigris

2006-07-02T18:37:00.001-07:00

June/July 2006
Personal Project

Box Cover

Board
The goal here was to improve on scanability of the board in play and create a look and feel with a more proprietary look for the E&T brand. The solution was to adapt tile work of the Sumerian gate of Ishtar to the board map. As the game has abstracted location and units, it seems appropriate to abstract the landscape in a manner consistant with period detailing. The result is a deep blue mosaic that has a jewel-like appeal. The overall feel appears as if the game might have been played during ancient times.

Tiles again based on period iconography. Gold borders separate the tiles from the deep background, while pure colored backgrounds quickly establish tile types. Simple iconography reinforces tile types using unique geometry for each tile type – red = vertical icon, blue = horizontal icon, green = circle icon and black = diagonal. Even with inconsistent oriented placement, quick identification can be assisted through this geometry. Leader tiles have heavier concentrations of color than previous editions for a stronger color read. Small icons relating to the associated tile assist color blind players. The monument tiles blend into the background along the edges and have a gold inlay to form a bulls eye onto the monument.

Samurai

2006-07-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

June-July 2006
Personal Project

Cover
Decorative, dramatically lit Japanese rocks are arranged to form the island nation. The quiet, austerity of the design is filled with tension which is punctuated with a small drop of blood. All this is powerfully enhanced through the use of black – black from the beautiful bits of the game as well as the traditional Japanese lacquered arts. Typeset in a simple sans serif font and arranged in an Asian format, all elements remain dramatic and understated – a hallmark of Japanese design. Such style works well on coffee tables or as a decorative piece on the mantel where a striking image with minimal branding and product name have the look of a well designed photograph or art piece.

Board
A combined board offers a more dramatic sweep of graphics. Japanese colors and motifs are bold and memorable. References are not of Japanese maps but samurai gowns. Unexpected. Dramatic. Such iconic, graphic appeal heightens recall and calls attention in crowded gaming environments. Pieces contrast board so that they pop more off the board. Background patterns are of the samurai.

Boardgame Speak (logo)

2006-07-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

April 2005
Aldie and Derk (BGG)

Something fun and slightly outrageous for Aldie and Derk, cocreators of BoardGameGeek and hosts of the first boardgame podcast. Turning the pawns into the couple through facial hair placement seemed an appropriate direction based on their presence on the show.

Quest Machine (Logo)

2006-07-02T18:35:00.001-07:00

Dec 2004
QuestMachine
(proposed mark)

While working for QuestMachine, I had proposed to evolve their current mark. This was one such proposal. The machine was based on their exsisting mark. The look was embellished with more Jules Verne details and victorian ornamentation. The border includes a time machine date device which would change depending on the game. Sort of a fun little detail suggesting that QM takes us to interesting places and times.

Adventure League

2006-07-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Jan - May 2005
QuestMachine

Illustrations for gameboard
The board was a series of connecting torn pieces from a map – each piece showcasing a different illustration of some exotic local where an excavation would be. QuestMachine dissolved before completion of the project, but the illustrations to each map piece were finished and are displayed below.

Tiles
Each tile is unique which adds to the experience of collecting treasures. Though they are different, strong color coding and similar object characteristics help to create good identification within each set when placed on the board.

Stephen Glenn's Pinata

2006-07-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

July 2005
Stephen Glenn

Stephen Glenn, designer of balloon cup, approached me with an idea he had. It seems his original prototype for Balloon Cup was totally different than released - a very common experience for designers. This name of the prototype was pinata. His proposal: would I examine what this box cover could look like. Intriguing. Such a colorful, festive theme from a passionate culture. Not to mention the precursor to a published game with such respect. Sounded great to me!!

The following design takes advantage of the colorful custom, filled with motion and vibrancy. The pinata is singing with activity. Streamers going this way and that. Blurry forms marking movement. Add to this a strong diagonal composition and a close crop of the pinata and we have a colorful, celebratory image. Finally "pinata" painted in a latin typestyle finishes the thought.

Settlers of Catan

2006-07-02T18:02:00.001-07:00

Dec 2005
Personal Project

Goa

2006-07-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

August 2005
Personal Project

Here, in this rendition for Goa, we have both a medieval flatness to the art and a crisper lineart drawing indicative of some contemporary digital art. The centered composition which is focused around crop production and transport is alive with “spicy” colors. The quilt design incorporates motifs from traditional Indian patterns.

Puerto Rico II

2006-07-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sept. - Oct. 2004
Personal Project
visit my PR mini site

A reinterpritation of the well received boardgame. Here, I developed a single board to replace the individual player mats. Buildings are prearranged on a 16th century style map of a port in such a way that buildings effecting like roles are grouped together. Additionally, buildings that are more expensive and worth more VPs are located higher up in the map (with the exception of the Large Buildings). In this way, horizontally one can scan the roles and vertically the VP/cost value. With this board, when choosing a role, one can easily see who might benefit from a role by virtue of the buildings they have purchased and where they lie on the map. Player's farms are located on the edges of the map. All illustrations here are original.

Building Tiles
Building size is determined by their VP value. Each player has their own set of tiles which have a color band and seal (for color blind players).

Ship Mats

Box Cover
Here, the game's mechanic of roles has been visually distilled to a portrait of a 16th century aristocrat. Floating above a plantation, the figure’s eyes thoughtfully gaze back at the viewer. The game’s name is painted on the canvas period style, while a supergraphic logo adds to the emotive quality of the package.

While this treatment does not go much further than many other titles in terms of a simpler, more contemporary look, it does have a comfortable appeal that would sit well on any coffee table.

Puerto Rico I

2006-07-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

Oct 2004
Personal Project

My first investigation with the PR graphics was the player mats and tiles. The goal here to add more flavor to the game using found material and collaged as such. Plantation tiles surround the city tiles.

Age of Mythology, the Boardgame

2006-07-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

July - Aug. 2004
Personal Project
visit my AoM minisite

The following personal project was developed less with a consumer appeal in mind and more for my own collection. Many details here are impractical for mass consumption but fit my needs.

This contemporary facelift includes many unique physical characteristics including acrylic boards and tiles as well as magnets embedded within. Here, the invisible forces of the magnets provide a subtile reference to the worlds of the gods and mythology. This also provides a fully satisfying playing experience when placing and fiddling with the pieces.

The look and feel of the art throughout this project is a collage of found imagery that has been artfully composed. This sets the mood for the rich variety of cultural interpritations throughout time of our relationships with things greater than ourselves – mythology. This relationship which attempts to control the uncontrollable forces that surround us has led to some of the most beautiful and horrifying interpritations and stories known. It seemed more interesting to me to weave them together to create an impactful tapestry.

Cards

Wallpaper (avail. on the minisite)

Boards
Because there are so many different layers of information going on, I didn't see a great need for a ridgedly formatted board – the game's structure isn't one that allows for quick, simple analysis of who is “ahead”. This being so, I allowed for some formatting variance from board to board, creating a little more interest, beauty and flow to the overall presentation. Design standards that were set up are:
- The Holding Pen portion of the board is always on the left positioned exactly the same way – this is one information layer that is somewhat scannable. One can see how many myths/heros/resources another has relatively easily.
- The resource tile spots are squares within a picture (usually indicative of the geography) and are in the top or middle vertical section.
- The city squares have a picture knocked out of them (usually indicative of the culture) and are on the bottom or right vertical section. This different format from the resource squares aids when scanning other people's boards.
- Overall, the approach was one of an appropriate sense of modernity and museum austerity that complimented the use of plastic.
- Finallly, an ancient poem from each culture was also added to provide cultural tone to the piece. There is something about ancient writings that give one a direct connection to the soul of those before us that is very powerful - even if but a simple poem.

City Tiles
I wanted the tiles to have a gem-like quality in a manner which complemented the plastic board. The reflectiveness was desirable in this respect. The addition of magnets brought a new dimension to the feel of placing the pieces.

I chose to use cultural artifacts for the city tiles. The artifacts further contributes to the unique look of each nationality and speaks toward their culture. Another approach might have been to illustrate the buildings themselves, but I felt the buildings would tend to look too much alike.

Resource Tiles

Tuck Boxes

Reference Cards