“What about this one?” My mum held up an Xbox 360 game.
Like every Friday evening, I’d attend the weekly grocery shop just so I could plead my case to go into Blockbuster afterwards.
I scurried over to inspect my mother’s find.
The parchment background, the weird symbol cresting the centre of the cover, and the name itself (Oblivion) didn’t foster the excitement I had hoped.
I glanced up at her with a cocked brow.
“Look at the back,” she said, sensing an impending huff.
I flipped the cover over and there I saw why she called me over:
Images of a rugged world, filled to the brim with creatures, magic, and open-world adventure. It used words like “explore” and “free roam” to appeal to the inner RPG escapist I was back then (and still am).
A grin swiftly replaced my pinched expression, and I soon begged my mum to rent the game for the week.
After negotiating a series of chores, she agreed.
Just not to breaking the speed limit to get me home.
And you know what?
I never left my room all weekend. In fact, I don’t recall even opening the curtains. I was a “shut-in” in every sense of the word because the game was that good.
The same thing happened when the sequel, Skyrim, was released.
I thought it couldn’t get any better after Oblivion, then it did. And still, to this day, I occasionally miss the world of Tamriel, so much so that I’ve got an entire YouTube playlist devoted to Skyrim soundtracks.
(Yes, your Overlord and Saviour is a sucker for nostalgia.)
Anyway, I say all this for two reasons:
- I miss Blockbuster. I miss their popcorn. I even miss the dudes with the greasy goatees behind the counter. Renting movies/games online doesn’t even come close.
- In the case of Oblivion, it’s a reminder to never judge a game (or book) by its cover.
But we should most definitely judge a book by the words, typography, colours, and imagery used to sell the story. Sadly, Amazon and other retailers only allow authors the space for their blurbs, but as for typography, colours, and imagery?
Not so much.
It’s why for The Divided Region Starter Bundle, I painstakingly designed the product page to accommodate all these elements.
It took me weeks.
Everything from the button colours, fonts, imagery, and wording was carefully picked to ensure visitors immediately “got” the mood and nature of the story.
The grey speaks of the gritty undertones.
The gold buttons whisper fantasy.
The imagery hints at adventure.
I’ve even added a little book trailer now. 🎥
And guess what? You can watch it here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/divided-region-starter-bundle
DJJW