BradyGames

Red Bubble
March 10, 2008
Wawasee Navy Seal Foundation
July 20, 2015

     

    BradyGames, an imprint of DK and a division of Penguin Random House, is the world’s leading publisher of strategy content for PC and console video games.

    BradyGames understands what gamers—both casual and hardcore—want and need from strategy guides. Every guide features in-depth content, detailed screen captures, quick-reference tips, and professional strategy. As part of Prima Games, it is also a leader in the digital strategy realm, offering interactive maps, streaming video, searchable online guides and apps, and a full website at primagames.com.

    The Cover of the Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories strategy guide we designed.

    Interior spread of our design of the Manhunt 2 guide

    „Take your game further”

    Lead designer on over 50 books

    I designed between 10-19 books each year I worked with BradyGames. That included research and designing the look of the guide using licensor assets when supplied and creating my own assets when needed. Created hundreds of pieces of art that went into our guides. When designing the look I would also built an asset library for each book that the layout team would use to keep the guide consistent from cover to cover. The back covers are an important selling point for the guides and I got to  design those as well.

    Even though designing guides was my primary job I would often assisted the layout teams on many other guides for BradyGames when needed.

    Additional Book Cover Plates

    Designing the covers for many of these guides were more that just putting the game cover art on the front. We often had extra plates to create for additional depth and to stand out more on store shelves. One of the things we learned after a while is that instead of full glossy covers like we and our competitors normally made, if you make the cover non glossy or partially glossy the reflection of the lights in the stores made those books stand out. This also worked quite well with a foil plate to add reflection. We used foil on the Gears of War 2 collectors edition and a gloss plate on Manhunter 2. 
    Move the slider below to see how the gloss plate is used.
    Manhunt 2 color coverManhunt 2 gloss plate
    Manhunt 2 color cover interior

    Interior of Manhunter 2 cover

     

    List of Books I worked on.

    Cover ArtTitleContribution
    Ace Combat 6 Cover ArtAce Combat 6: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Ace Combat 0 Cover ArtAce Combat 0: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Aliens Vs. Predator Cover ArtAliens Vs. Predator: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Arc the Lad Cover ArtArc the Lad: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Beat Down Cover ArtBeat Down: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Borderlands Cover ArtBorderlands: Official Strategy GuideBook Layout
    Bully Signature Cover ArtBully: Official Signature Series GuideBook Design
    Bully Cover ArtBully: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Castlevania Cover ArtCastlevania: Order of Ecclesia Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Civilization 4 Builders Cover ArtCivilization 4: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Winter Assault Cover ArtDawn of War: Winter Assault Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Dark Crusade Cover ArtDawn of War: Dark Crusade Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Dragon Quest 4 Cover ArtDragon Quest 4: Chapters of the Chosen Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Fantastic Four Cover ArtFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Final Fantasy 4 Cover ArtFinal Fantasy 4: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Full Spectrum Warrior Cover ArtFull Spectrum Warrior: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Gears of War 2 Cover ArtGears of War 2: Last Stand Edition Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Getting Up Cover ArtGetting Up: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Grand Theft Auto 4 Cover ArtGrand Theft Auto 4: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Chinatown Wars Cover ArtGrand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Episodes from Liberty City Cover ArtGrand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Liberty City Stories Cover ArtGrand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Liberty City Stories Cover ArtGrand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Official Strategy Guide, for PS2 & PSPBook Design
    The Lost and Damned Cover ArtGrand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Vice City Stories Cover ArtGrand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Kingdom Hearts 2 Cover ArtKingdom Hearts 2: Official Strategy GuideBook Layout
    Kingdom Hearts 2 Signature Cover ArtKingdom Hearts 2: Signature Official Signature Series GuideBook Layout
    Magna Carta 2 Cover ArtMagna Carta 2: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Manhunt 2Cover ArtManhunt 2: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Phantasy Star 0 Cover ArtPhantasy Star 0: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Rune Factory 2 Cover ArtRune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Secret Codes 2007 Cover ArtSecret Codes 2007: Volume 1Book Design
    Secret Codes 2007 Blockbuster Cover ArtSecret Codes 2007: Volume 1 Blockbuster EditionBook Design
    Homecoming Cover ArtSilent Hill: Homecoming: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Spectrobes Cover ArtSpectrobes: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Star Ocean Cover ArtStar Ocean: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    The Suffering Cover ArtThe Suffering: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Supreme Commander Cover ArtSupreme Commander: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Watch Dogs Cover ArtFinal Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    The Last Remnant Cover ArtThe Last Remnant: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    The Warriors Cover ArtThe Warriors: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Cover ArtTony Hawk's Proving Ground: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Turok Cover ArtTurok: Official Strategy GuideBook Design
    Unreal Tournament Cover ArtUnreal Tournament: Official Strategy GuideBook Layout
    Bestiary Cover ArtWorld of Warcraft: Bestiary Official Strategy GuideBook Layout
    Dungeon Companion Cover ArtWorld of Warcraft: Dungeon Companion Official Strategy GuideBook Layout
    X-Men Legends II Cover ArtX-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse Official Strategy GuideBook Design

     

    Storyboarded, animated, and edited videos.

    We produced many videos for games, sales, and marketing. We created strategy guide videos that were sold on PlayStation and Xbox Live stores like the Batman trophy guides. We even built youtube and website commercials to drive viewers to our youtube channel and to compete directly with IGN. We also built overlays, intro videos and slates for the BrandyGames twitch channel.

    Commercials

    Get an inside look at the Pokémon Visual Companion.

    Join us as we officially launch our new BradyGames channel on Twitch!

     

    Play VideoTitlePlatform
    Play Video
         		Official Borderlands 2 Interactive Digital Strategy GuideYouTube
    Play Video
         		Twitch Channel AnnouncementYouTube
    Play Video
         		Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Official Strategy GuideYouTube
    Play Video
         		Build, Discover, Survive! Mastering MinecraftYouTube (The audio has been removed.)
    Play Video
         		The Making of the Halo: Reach Strategy GuideYouTube
    Play Video
         		Halo: Reach Legendary Edition Strategy GuideYouTube
    Play Video
         		Pokémon Visual CompanionYouTube

    Strategy Feed Videos

    Batman: Arkham Asylum. All the Riddler's Challenges video for the Medical level.

    Darksiders: Hollows Dry Road - all collectibles video

     

    TitleSeriesPlatformVideo Sample
    Alpha ProtocolBoss Fights: 5 videosXbox Live --
    Batman: Arkham AsylumThe Riddler's Challenge: 9 videos
    		Xbox Live
    Batman: Arkham CityThe Riddler Locations: 8 videosXbox Live
    Call of Duty 4: Modern WarfareIntel Item Locations: 16 videosXbox Live --
    Dark SectorBoss Fights: 9 videosXbox Live
    Dragon's DogmaBoss Fights: 9 videosYouTube
    Devil May CryStrategy: 3 videosYouTube
    Darksiders Collectibles: 10 videosXbox Live / GameTrailers
    FolkloreBoss Fights: 7 videosXbox Live
    Gears of War 2Collectibles: 5 videosXbox Live --
    Halo: ReachCollectibles: 7 videosXbox Live --
    Gran TurizmoStrategy: 1 videoPSN--
    Killzone 2Strategy: 5 videosPSN--
    Red Faction GuerillaAliens Vs. Predator: Official Strategy GuideXbox Live
    The Amazing Spider-ManBoss Fights: 3 videosXbox Live
    Silent Hill HomecomingBoss Fights: 5 videosXbox Live --
    The Bourne ConspiracyPassport Locations: 10 videosXbox Live --
    The DarknessCollectibles: 5 videosXbox Live
    UFC 2009 UndisputedFighting Style Basics: 5 videosXbox Live --
    WarhawkNewbe Flight Guide: 7 videosPSN--
    WheelmanCinematic Stunt jumps: 5 videosXbox Live --
    WolfensteinCollectibles: 12 videosXbox Live

    Promotional Gamestop videos

    BradyGames/PrimaGames hype video for the UK marketing department.

    Video for the Bradgames portion of DK's Marketing Meeting in London.

     

    TitleTypePlay Video
    BradyGames Connected 2006Promo video for use in booth at trade show--
    Gamestop Show 2007Showcase of upcoming strategy guides at E3 for Gamestop management. Sample
    Gamestop Show 2008Showcase of upcoming strategy guides at E3 for Gamestop management. Sample
    Gamestop Show 2009Showcase of upcoming strategy guides at E3 for Gamestop management. --
    Gamestop Show 2010Showcase of upcoming strategy guides at E3 for Gamestop management. --
    Gamestop Show 2011Showcase of upcoming strategy guides at E3 for Gamestop management. --
    Gamestop Show 2012Showcase of upcoming strategy guides at E3 for Gamestop management. Sample
    Marketing Meeting 2013Showcase of upcoming strategy guides at DK in London for DK management. Sample
    Marketing Meeting 2014Showcase of upcoming strategy guides at DK in London for DK management. --
    Marketing Meeting 2015Showcase of upcoming strategy guides at DK in London for DK management. Sample

    Paperfold videos

    BradyGames/PrimaGames hype video for the UK marketing department.

    Video for the Bradgames portion of DK's Marketing Meeting in London.

     
    Paperfod videos were done to support additions to the ultimate strategy guides. These guides had thicker stock pages that were perforated so you could pop out the shapes and make little paper models of in game characters and ships. These videos we made were to support the written instructions on how to build the models. We used in game sound, music, and art for game continuity. For the Borderland videos we were able to get the actor for Claptrap to narrate the instructions.
     

    Play VideoTitlePlatform
    Play Video
         		Borderlands 2: ClaptrapYouTube
    Play Video
         		Borderlands 2: SkagYouTube
    Play Video
         		Skylanders SWAP Force: Blast ZoneYouTube
    Play Video
         		Skylanders SWAP Force: Wash BucklerYouTube
    Play Video
         		StarCraft 2; Heart of the Swarm - HellbatYouTube
    Play Video
         		StarCraft 2; Heart of the Swarm - Swarm HostYouTube
    Play Video
         		StarCraft 2; Heart of the Swarm - TempestYouTube
    Play Video
         		StarCraft 2; Heart of the Swarm - Widow MineYouTube