Theory of Branding/Cover Art Evolution

Here is my theory on the evolution of the branding/cover artwork for Solstice: The Staff of Demnos. It’s a curious tale of character evolution through the lens of 90s marketing, and a glance into how branding for video games of the era was approached and executed.

Artwork #1—Mark Wilson

In early 1989 (or perhaps earlier) Mark Wilson created the digital art used in the Solstice video game intro screen. The rendition of Shadax in this piece very closely mimics the actual character sprite utilized for game-play.

That intro screen exists in the version 4.0 prototype demo cartridge that I own. That intro also appears in the contemporary Software Creations official “Making of Solstice“ video that was recorded while the game was still in its late development stages.

Artwork #2—Neal K. Sutton

In mid 1989 Neal K. Sutton created the proposed cover art sent to CSG Imagesoft by Mark Wilson of Software Creations. In this rendition, the appearance of Shadax is almost entirely based on the video game intro screen design.

A hinge was added in the background as well as well as a couple monsters from the game interacting with that main character, including a skeleton.

The artowrk is an obvious cover design, with open space left at the top for branding. The it is verified that this artwork was submitted to CSG Imagesoft with the intent of Software Creations for it to be the box artvia an interview with Mark Wilson in Edge Magazine #181, Nov 2007.

^{Note: I attempted to reach out to Neal K. Sutton via e-mail, website message, and Facebook in hopes that the museum could purchase a high-quality print of the artwork done for Solstice, but received no responses.}

Artwork #3—Unknown Artist

An unknown artist (assumed hired by CSG) created a third design. This design was based on Neal Sutton’s art and carried over the inclusion of the henge in the background and the skeleton, but introduced new elements to Shadax including blond hair, blue pants, green boots, and the design of the staff of demnos. This art by an unknown artist was only ever used *once* in full for advertising: on a two-sided advertisement was a dealer-facing promotional insert in handout from the the Winter 1990 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) that was held in Las Vegas in January 1990.

The only other use of this artwork is as a small partial cutaway that made an appearance in the July/August 1990 issue of Nintendo Power [p. 45]. ( https://archive.org/…/nintendopoweris…/page/n43/mode/2up ).[Note: I would really like to track down who this artist was to add that information to the history of the game]

Artwork #4—Mike Winterbauer

In 1990 CSG hired Mike Winterbauer (Winterbauer Arts) to create what would become the final branding/cover art for the game. The art created by the unknown artist had to have been provided to Mike Winterbauer as the primary reference for the final design continued the elements of blond hair, blue pants, green boots, leather belt, and the Staff of Demnos (which looks nearly identical in both art pieces, but nothing like it does in the actual game inventory screen).

(Website of Mike Winterbauer: https://www.winterbauerarts.com/ ) (Mike Winterbauer’s prints online store: https://www.winterbauerarts.com/shop-art )

5. Mike Winterbauer’s version of the character design would later make it into the production costume design of the game commercial (created by Ad-marketing, the Los Angeles ad agency who created the commercial under direction of their president, Jack Roth. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JILZo0JQ4Oc ], (Tuesday, November 27, 1990 issue of the Los Angeles Times — [ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2307578616231210&set=a.1852737111715365 ]).

6. The live-action commercial production also included a photo shoot of the actor who played Shadax that was utilized in additional print media advertising the game. (Full spread ad [ https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/3014582335530831/… ]), (Half page ad [ https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/3014584408863957/… ]). This “live action” version of advertising included the rendition of the Solstice logo and Staff of Demnos artwork created by Japanese artist, Naoyuki Kato (加藤直之), as depicted in the Japan release of the game on Famicom. [Full spread Japan Famicom ad (https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/3014582365530828/… ]), (Mr Kato’s art blog [ http://naokatoh.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/ ]).

**I think my theory here is substantial enough that I’m going to accept this as the history of the game cover design without further evidence suggesting otherwise. I would love to have any further details to further flesh out the marketing/branding history of Solstice. **

My “extension to the theory” as to why I think this evolution occurred as it did is rooted in CSG as a subsidiary of Sony Group, and their PR push that seemed to be determined to brand Solstice as a “metal” game. The marketing team for Solstice was in-house and managed by Larry M. Castro. I’m not sure if this branding direction was at the discretion of Mr. Castro or a directive pushed from higher ups in Sony Group. (Larry M. Castro’s CSG Imagesoft Inc business card as found affixed to the version Solstice 4.0 prototype included in this collection [ https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/3014580062197725/… ]).

This is reflected in their inclusion of the game ads in Heavy Metal magazine like Riff [ https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/1854185941570482/… ], and their multi-issue promotion in the official CSG newsletters about the game being the favorite of Kelly Nickels, bassist for the rock band, L.A. Guns. [ https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/1887899881532421/… , https://www.facebook.com/…/pb…/1887900041532405/… ]

While the final “rendition” of Shadax feels less connected to the game, the evolution certainly pushed him into a more “heavy metal” theme by the game’s release. I think perhaps Sony CSG just felt that that the Shadax of the game wasn’t “exciting” enough to market, and marketing in the 90s often had little to do with the actual product.

In any case, the cover art for Solstice certainly became an icon of 90’s video games.