The 1980’s was a revolutionary and historic year for video game creation. Many of todays iconic arcade game protagonists stemmed from the creative developers and designers at Nintendo, Namco, and Atari. These games captured fans around the globe due to their simple controls and unique characters, and easy to follow story lines. Although these games are simple when compared to modern day video games, they were revolutionary for their time became recognizable characters for years to come. These stamps symbolize their overall simple character design and the recognizability of these lovable characters.
My Approach
I wanted this stamp series to highlight the historical and iconic elements of arcade characters from over 40 years ago. Each of these characters are prominent in their respective video games that have revolutionized the gaming industry and lead to many advancements. During this time period, due to the limitations of technology, they were typically displayed in limited color palettes and pixelated art styles. With these stamps, I wanted to honor these roots while modernizing their designs to fit current design trends and to create an overall consistent style within the stamps. Rather than using squared off edges and straight lines like artists and designers used in the 1980s, I took a more rounded approach, implementing diagonal lines, softer shapes, and fun, bright color palette that honors the original colors while also tying all four games together.
On the outside of the brochure, I included the title "Arcade Games of the 1980s" to allow those quickly viewing it to understand what will be included on the inside. On the back. I designed an arcade cabinet to include the four games I designed stamps for, Pac-Man, Galaga, DigDUg, and Donkey Kong. I designed a "Hall of Fame" screen on the arcade machine to emulate that of a top score screen of arcade machines from this time period, allowing those purchasing these stamps to connect with the topic and make a connection to the product.
On the inside of the brochure, I created a 2x4 grid to display the four stamps together to show their consistency with each other and to display the series as a whole. On the left side, I display the Pac-Man stamp and Galaga stamps while on the right side I display the Dig Dug and Donkey Kong stamps. Under each stamp I display the title of the game they correlate with as well as a paragraph of information about each game and their significance within the history of gaming and a synopsis of the game. This allows those to gain a deeper understanding of their stamps and why these games hold importance. In the center, I provide the customer with a synopsis about gaming and arcade games as a whole within the 1980s and how they lead to the video games we have today.
