The New Look, The art of SR4 Options

[NightmareX]

I'll admit it, I'm guilty - the only physical copy of SR4 I've bought to date is the BBB. So, while I've been admiring the cover (and other) art of the PDFs I haven't exactly spent a whole lot of time looking at the cover art. And this is a mistake on my part, because for me the cover art (and layout even) contributes to the general feel of the SR world.

Very generally speaking, 1st Edition, for instance, was generally gritty and raw with a bit of a tribal or mysterious twist (like that damn skull ;) ) which led to a vague familiarity. 2nd Edition was more realistic in backgrounds but more over the top in subject matter, giving the whole picture a quasi-surreal feeling. 3rd Edition, well, what can I say. Between the cartoonish crap and the general coldness of the subject matter 3rd Edition left impression of a world so far divorced from reality as to be somewhat non-sensical. Of course, shining exceptions like First Run, Dragons of the Sixth World, Corporate Download, Corporate Punishment, Matrix, and the Shadows of books very much saved the realism of the world to a degree, but the crap art on the core book covers (save MitS) had already done the damage.

So now we're in 4th Edition. The BBB was ok, but generally meh (but then what can measure up to the 1st/2nd BBB cover?). Alone it gives a very much disjointed, disassociated feeling (it is obvious that the four runners pictured are not a team). But lets get some context.

Runners Havens, aside from the fact that the troll and his guns(!) are huge compared to the woman, this is a rather gritty piece, almost a return to the 1st Edition feel. It feels dirty, nasty, like the city is a polluted over developed drekhole. Beautiful.

On The Run is more of the same coldness as 3rd Edition, but this piece is different. It's somewhat realistic, and has an edge about it that the 3rd Edition core art lacked. It feels, in a way, like a hard night out on the town.

Street Magic. What can I say about Street Magic! It's awesome, it's odd, it's hi-tech but retro/mysterious/mystical at the same time. It's another cold pic, but also very much an "in over my head" theme. Very Shadowrun.

Emergence is an odd cover. Lots of AR, lots of action, lots of motion. But not alot of substance. Dude jumping fence as something blows up and chopper pursues. Alone, not very impressive.

And finally Augmentation. A "hot" picture color wise, cyber chick and ork docs. Very slick, very stylish, very artificial.

Overall, all combined, to date the SR4 cover art gives the impression of a very slick, stylish, and new world, but all an artificial veneer over a dirty, deeply corrupted reality. Almost a feel like GitS in a way, both the movies and the SAC series, but with deeper, grimier shadows beneath the pretty appearances. In all, very very Shadowrun indeed :smokin: