Lesson 33: Game Cover and Promotional Art

Last lesson UI and cutscenes could move; people still don't know your game exists — the first impression is often just one image. On Steam / itch lists, you get about 3 seconds: does the color grab attention → what genre does it look like → do I click?

The title screen is a "cover cousin" too: character in the center, title big enough, background only sets mood without stealing focus. The "goblin + ice field + big text" example above tells the selling point at a glance.

1. What a Cover Needs to Say

Information	How to show it
Genre	Weapons, scene, UI vibe (platformer / RPG / shooter…)
Style	Pure pixel, scaled pixel, or illustration hybrid
Mood	Palette + pose + lighting
Quality	Clean composition, readable text, not a muddy blob

Clear focal subject: one core character/object should occupy about one-third to half the frame. Foreground bright, background dark; midground shouldn't fight the protagonist for contrast. Don't put title text over busy texture.

2. Platform Sizes (Just Remember the Common Ones)

Platform	Key image	Size	Notes
Steam	Capsule	231×87	Almost all you see in the list
Steam	Header	460×215	Page sidebar / header related
Steam	Library Capsule etc.	See official docs	Fill in at launch
itch.io	Cover	Usually ~630×500	More flexible, still must survive shrinking
Mobile store	Icon	1024×1024	Square, recognizable from far away

Squashing a big image to capsule ratio — subject and text get muddy and break apart; dead in the store. First thing after finishing a cover: shrink to 231×87 and look again.

3. Pixel Game Cover Strategy

In-game might be 32×32; the cover doesn't have to be the same image:

Approach	Best for
Nearest-neighbor upscale	Emphasize retro, pixel aesthetic itself
Same design redrawn higher-res	Most indie games; enough detail without betraying style
Illustrated cover	Budget allows; want to stand out more in lists

Title text: hand-drawn pixel font, or pick a hard-edge pixel font. Enough contrast; outline/outer glow OK; at capsule size you should still read two or three key words. When tilting or distorting, use Nearest — don't end up with blurry text.

Composition cheat sheet:

• Character centered + big text top/bottom
• Side-action pose + text on one side with negative space
• Boss confrontation symmetry (strong mood; text must be even brighter)

Palette follows genre: action leans warm contrast; puzzle leans cool calm; horror leans low brightness high contrast. Check value hierarchy in grayscale first, then color.

4. Promotion Is More Than One Cover

Stores also need screenshots: real playable frames often convert better than polished posters.

Pick the "most typical three seconds" for screenshots: one combat shot, one exploration shot, one character shot is enough to start. Social media crops square / vertical; Devlog prioritizes short GIFs.

Recognition comes from one visual rule: limited palette, unified outline, fixed head-to-body ratio… cover, icon, and promo art share one set so people recognize you across lists.

Characters, monsters, scenes from the same universe can appear as a set — like a portfolio, and like "this world has content."

Launch materials can also include: banner, square image, vertical story image. Resize per platform; don't redesign composition and selling point for every single image.

Banner/header is flatter: reposition character and title; don't just stretch the original.

5. Homework

Make a cover that's "store-ready" for your virtual project:

1. Concept: game name, one-sentence selling point, target player, 3 reference covers
2. Sketches: at least 3 compositions, circle the final choice
3. Final: itch-oriented ~630×500, or Steam Header 460×215; includes character, background, title
4. Thumbnail test: export/scale to 231×87, screenshot and explain whether subject and title stay readable
5. Optional: same selling point in a variant (action-leaning / character-leaning), or add one store screenshot composition

Next lesson covers the complete game art asset pack — gather everything from previous lessons into one deliverable Asset Pack.