Cover art refers to the artwork depicted on the cover of a product, whether a box, a book cover or a front sleeve. Each product in the Doom franchise, or in any other franchise related to the Doom games, has its own distinctive cover. The artwork for some products is based on art from previous releases, especially if the newer article is somewhat related to the original in content. Each piece or art displays a picture or design, a logo, and often some product information.
Doom games cover art
Cover art from original DOOM!
Doom
On the Doom cover art, the game's protagonist is standing on a ridge, using a machinegun to fight off hellish monsters who greatly resemble Barons of Hell--one of these monsters is grabbing his left wrist, and another is tossing a ball of fire towards him. Another one of them bears a mechanical arm reminiscent of the Cyberdemon's rocket launcher (a second such mechanical arm, belonging to another monster, is also visible on some larger versions of the cover art, but is cropped off on most versions). Another marine appears in the background, and appears to be approaching the protagonist, hand raised, perhaps to render assistance. The Doom logo is shown over and behind the protagonist. This cover was illustrated by Don Ivan Punchatz.
Doom II: Hell on Earth
On the Doom II cover art, what appears to be the protagonist of the series, here showing an unusual buzz cut, is fighting a cyberdemon using the shotgun. The Doom II logo can be seen over and behind the two combatants. This cover was illustrated by Gerald Brom. The manual uses the same art and hence is not shown below.
Cover from DOOM II:Hell on Earth
Same as DOOM but has two weapons now.
The Ultimate Doom
The U.S. The Ultimate Doom uses the same artwork as the Doom box cover, but shows a dark frame around the picture and "The Ultimate" written on top of the Doom logo.
The UK The Ultimate Doom features entirely new artwork depicting large face of a red demon, not that unlike the monsters on the original Doom's cover art.
Master Levels for Doom II
The Master Levels for Doom II cover art shows a grey hellish background. The artwork is based on the same graphic as various other pieces of Doom related art, including the texture SKINFACE found in the Doom games, the Doom II texture SKY3 and the Collector's Edition cover art.
PlayStation Doom
The cover art for the Sony PlayStation version of Doom features an all new drawing of the Marine, sporting various injuries and standing over a demon carcass, letting loose a point-blank shotgun blast to a green Imp. A more minotaur-like Baron of Hell is at one side with a Lost Soul and an opening to a dark, cloudy dimension behind him. The "Doom" logo is on the top of the picture. This is used in both the original print (packaged in a larger case) and the Special Edition (packaged in a regular CD case).
The U.K. version of the cover uses a cropped image, showing only the top half of the Imp, Baron and Protagonist Marine. Cutting out the dead Imp, scenery of the outdoors behind them, along with the lost soul and any other imagery, making this version feel more claustrophobic.
Super Nintendo Doom
The cover art for the SNES version of Doom borrows nearly all its elements from the PC original, but with significant variations: rather than being essentially surrounded, the marine is retreating from a horde of demons approaching from one direction. Unlike the original, none of the demons have managed to lay a hand on him.
Final Doom
The cover art of Final Doom depicts what appears to be the face of an ammo box. Its simpler version of the Doom logo is written in yellow with "Final" on top of it and appears within a diamond shape on the center of the upper half of the design.
Sega Saturn Doom
The USA and PAL releases of the Sega Saturn port of Doom feature the Doom logo and a lost soul against a black background. The cover of the Japanese release is identical to the PlayStation cover.
Doom 64
The cover art of Doom 64 shows the Demon Artifact affixed on a black background with the Doom 64 logo on top of it.
Doom 3
The cover art of Doom 3 depicts a Hell Knight behind the Doom 3 logo.
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
The cover art of Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil depicts the Maledict under the Doom 3 logo.
Doom (2016)
The cover art of Doom (2016) depicts the Marine standing alone with a double-barreled shotgun.
(As of March, 2016) this may be likely to change over the next few days, as a recent poll on Twitter has voted to change this cover art to a new one more reminiscent of the original Doom's. The new cover shows the Doom marine grabbing an Imp that it leaping on him out of the air while holding a Double-Barreled Shotgun, as Imps, Pinky demons, and Lost Souls close in around him. On the reverse side it shows a Baron of hell looking onwards towards the marine, and some hellish mountain landscape. Whether this will be the official cover in the next few days is unknown.
Doom games cover art gallery
Doom manuals cover art gallery
Compact Discs for Doom games
Cover art from other games
Hacx
The cover of Hacx depicts the game's protagonist fighting a robotic monster, possibly an android.
Strife
Strife's cover depicts the Sigil and the Strife logo.
Other games cover art gallery
Other games manuals cover art gallery
Notes
- The cover art of Doom II was parodied in the run and gun platform video game Jazz Jackrabbit 2 in the episode selection screen.
- In Doom 3, the player will eventually come across several tablets. One of these closely resembles the original Doom cover.
External links
- Poster of the The Ultimate Doom cover art (high resolution)
- Template:Ig2 of the The Ultimate Doom UK cover art (high resolution)
- Poster of the Doom II cover art (high resolution)
- Sega Saturn Doom cover at MobyGames