Tracing the Influence: Retraced Edition
Tag: Origin Systems
Metal Morph cover (1994) 🔗

Another cover that borrows several of Frazetta’s fall guys from various black-and-white drawings. The origin of the bald hero in the center is still unknown, looks more like a movie still to me.
Discovered by corsair from the Hardcore Gaming 101 forums.



Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress cover (1982) 🔗

Ultima is one of the foundational works of fantasy CRPG history, so no wonder its production was inspired by two of the giants of fantasy illustration at the time. The demon's torso and parts of his pose come from a Frazetta paintign aptly titled Swamp Demon (sorry about the rough cutout for the comparison - it kind of blends in with the shadows, so it's hard to tell where the monster ends and the background begins), whereas the adventurer is teleporting in from Boris Vallejo's futiristic Behind the Walls of Terror. Ironically, it wouldn't be long before Origin System found themselves at the other end of such a "transaction" - and reportedly weren't amused.








