Tracing the Influence - Stolen Images in Games

[Snarboo]

Great job on the article, guys! It's a shame that games are less blatant about this nowadays, because I love seeing the influence behind them and their art design.

I'm surprised this doesn't have a section on Giger yet, but that would require a few pages to cover everything that's inspired by his works.

[derboo]

Oct 10, 2012 10:05:39 GMT -5 Snarboo said:

I'm surprised this doesn't have a section on Giger yet, but that would require a few pages to cover everything that's inspired by his works.

I'm also under the impression that in this case most games tend to rip off Giger's style and design principles rather than specific images or scenes (if you know any examples of direct rips, I'll be happy to include them). Most examples on dieubussy's blog I feel belong in that realm, too, although the DQ/MW and MS/BR ones are definitely for the article, probably SH3 and Ico, too. Whas the artist Ico's cover was inspired by the same one, or someone else?

[acidonia]

Smash TV cover totally has borrowed a Mech from Macross with edited pincer arms.




sega-mag.com/jeux/cover/Megadrive/Strider-Megadrive-EUR.jpg

The Megadrive/Genesis non Japanese cover of Strider the three guys in the Background are 80,s Warhammer 40k space marines. The sword strider is holding is from the Battle Beast/Beastformers toy line.



Konami Traced this Arcade Flyers artwork for a yugioh card it is less detailed the yugioh versions. They did not do this with any other video game based yugioh card.
flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=4309&image=1
yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Blue_Thunder_T-45

I ripped these using mame from a arcade Pang/.Buster Bros clone called Monsters World. They was all back grounds but where was they originaly traced from? The only one I know is the Skull is from the Evil Dead 2 movie poster.

[youloute]

More Akira? More Akira.




(taken from KOF '94)

[thekelvingreen]

Oct 10, 2012 10:27:12 GMT -5 acidonia said:

The Megadrive/Genesis non Japanese cover of Strider the three guys in the Background are 80,s Warhammer 40k space marines.

Oh, good eyes there! I've seen that cover a thousand times and never noticed the Marines. Some versions of the original Laser Squad borrow the Games Workshop Space Marine design for the sprites of the, er, space marines in the game.

As for the main article, the Weaponlord cover isn't a direct swipe, but there's a definite Frazetta influence. The artist, Simon Bisley, is a big Frazetta fan.

The Hit Squad was the label for budget re-releases of games in the Commodore 64 and Amiga eras. It was associated with Ocean Software, as I recall.

Regarding Dead Connection, "Philip" looks rather like Andy Garcia to me.

[muteKi]

Oct 10, 2012 10:21:59 GMT -5 derboo said:

Oct 10, 2012 10:05:39 GMT -5 Snarboo said:

I'm surprised this doesn't have a section on Giger yet, but that would require a few pages to cover everything that's inspired by his works.

I'm also under the impression that in this case most games tend to rip off Giger's style and design principles rather than specific images or scenes (if you know any examples of direct rips, I'll be happy to include them).

How about the fourth level from Mega Turrican? Compared to most Giger-influenced stuff this is pretty much a direct rip of the xenomorph face.

[derboo]

That's what I mean: The game just takes the general look of the Alien (with a way different jaw and back part of the head) rather than a specific illustration or movie shot, just like K9999 and all those Japanese games with enemies that look like Ohmu.

The Japanese Geocities site linked on the first page has a page on the Alien films (and selectbutton.net probably has a thread somewhere).

[TheChosen]

I think one of the faces from Metal Fangs, the black guy with a cap and a wide smile, might be Will Smith. And the guy above him reminds me bit of Marilyn Manson.

[kjn]

Great article. There was some recent discussions on the Ocean Software facebook page about game covers traced from The Punisher comics. As Simon Butler put it "considering the Ocean deadlines...everything is acceptable".


Green Beret


Cosmic Wartoad

[muteKi]

there was an ocean game called cosmic wartoad

learn something new every day

[acidonia]

Was just Browsing Tumblr a bit ago and this werid magazine cover showed up that fits this thread.



One one at Konami must of had a old DnD book around when they drew Giant Rat

[gboukensha]

Tex Murphy again, the lady in the back looks like Drew Barrymore:

[Lee]

I will start, by saying this article is really amazing. Honestly it is one of the most interesting things I have read on HG101. Kudos.

In reference to Metal Fangs:


I think the African American guy smiling is supposed to be Busta Rhymes:


The guy with the mask looks like Silver from the Golgo 13 anime film, which also appears similar to Vega (Balrog) from Street Fighter, here is nice Spanish article showing some of that character's inspirations:
criticsight.com/2012/de-donde-salieron-los-personajes-de-street-fighter-vega-balrog/

Also check out this article about Street Fighter:
fightingstreet.com/folders/variousinfofolder/ripofffolder/ripoffpage1.html


Here is a (poorly) written article on my blog that compares Mike Haggar's appearance and style from Final Fight to Sleepy from Mad Bull 34, a late 80s manga:

videogameafterlife.blogspot.kr/search/label/Final%20Fight

Feel free to add this to the article if you want.

[Weasel]

Third column, second row, is likely supposed to be Will Smith as "The Fresh Prince":

Note for the record that Smith's "The Fresh Prince" persona actually started in 1985, as he recorded hip-hop music with DJ Jazzy Jeff.

[Probable Muppet]

Great article!

Just wanted to say, Bjork is one of the unknowns on For Shadow over Riva:





The first unknown looks like Gillian Anderson and second maybe Geena Davis?