Mortal Kombat 11 General Discussion Media Thread

Yup, and even after the subtle redesign of the logo, it's still one of the most recognizable game logos of all.



Yes.
I mean, even the "11" in the new MK11 logo font even resembles the "II" from MKII, somewhat.

Seriously, if they put the MK11 logo with the dragon image right above it, would it really sell less copies?


MK11 logo.jpg
 
Yes.
I mean, even the "11" in the new MK11 logo font even resembles the "II" from MKII, somewhat.

Seriously, if they put the MK11 logo with the dragon image right above it, would it really sell less copies?

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No it wouldn’t, the game would sell either way due to popularity or the success of the previous games.

Someone needs to have a serious chat with the marketing team at NRS Studios.
 
The MK11 logo is alright. It's not great, but not bad either. MK logos usually had these sexy yellow to orange gradients. Now it's just...1 color. Meh.
 
Remember there was reason why Scorpion along with Raiden, Kitana and Mileena were omitted from MK3. You know the story.
Just like there's a reason why NRS and WB have effectively erased Vanilla MK3 from history. No Scorpion = not a Mortal Kombat game.

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Just like there's a reason why NRS and WB have effectively erased Vanilla MK3 from history. No Scorpion = not a Mortal Kombat game.

The other main reason was that it was unbalanced as fvck, but sure, let's just skip right over that tidbit.
For YEARS (even until today) people have joked that it was the Kabal show featuring everyone else, but Ok.

Let's not act like Boon didn't want Scorpion in the game and suddenly feign amnesia that Carlos and Daniel Pesina were fired from cross-promting another game, all while dressed as Johnny Cage.
Hence, no Johnny Cage or Raiden in vanilla or UMK3, either.
 
Remind me what the consequences were for omitting him from Vanilla MK3 again?

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Scorpion wasnt the face of series then. That game couldve had literally everyone but him and it wouldve been fine. It was the fact that damn everyone from the original game was gone. That's what ed everything up. Not just Scorpion.
 
I must say that even when I like Scorpion I‘ve got enough of him being like literally everywhere. Hell, he is even the NRS symbol. Now he is on every cover of the new trilogy. I miss the times when the MK logo was the main thing. God, I love the MK2 cover with the dragon and the dark blue sky and lightening. UMK3 is also very well done. MK4 with Goro is cool as well. DA and Deception nailed it too.

Anyways, I am really waiting for 1/17, just want to see more of this game.
 
While I agree MK3 failed a lot because of the lack of "ninjas", it wasn't only Scorpion, but all of them.

Also, Raiden was missing. The three top favorites were away.

But IIRC, it was only in MK:DA where Scorpion had a more "special" promo.

Even after, it was only during NRS creation he resurfaced as highlight. Tobias was pro Sub-Zero and MK:DA-MK:A didn't give Scorpion privilege.

I love Scorpion, he's surely one of my favorites, but I did hope it was Raiden this time. And tbh, I do hope they stop screwing Scorpion. There isn't a single game that he isn't a joke when it comes to story. I thought that with Boon assuming control it would change, but all he did in all games is BS. In MKX, ok, he was badass, he finally got rid of his rivalry, became human, got his revenge...

but did his revenge really needed to unleash Shinnok? This was almost as prank as MK:A.
 
Scorpion is the mascot of MK, him being on the main cover is not surprising. It's like how Sweet Tooth is with the Twisted Metal series since he is always on the main covers of the series in recent history.
 
I'm willing to give RR a shot as Sonya but I don't know why they want to replace Tricia Helfer, she was by far the best Sonya they've ever had IMO. I wish they had just created a new character for RR to play and let Helfer keep voicing Sonya. I just hope this was something Boon wanted and wasn't something forced on NRS by WB for marketing purposes. There are a few characters I'd like to see get new voice actors, I've never been happy with the guy who voices Raiden, he sounds too much like a cartoon character and I'm hoping Shao Kahn sounds better in this game than he did in MK 2011.
 
Speaking of which, I want to know why they're back at Shang Tsung's Courtyard in the MK11 trailer and I want to know what the hell happened to those guards and monks.
Looks like a mass execution event happened, given that the monks all apparently died while meditating and the guards were slaughtered.


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I wonder if some of the arenas will have two different looks, like one current day and one from another time frame? That's Shang Tsung's courtyard it would seem so maybe we'll get a version where everyone is alive and then that one.
 
Yeah I've hated Raiden's voice since MK9. He sounds like such a cornball. He's got the voice of a cartoon office boss.
 
Scorpion is the mascot of MK, him being on the main cover is not surprising. It's like how Sweet Tooth is with the Twisted Metal series since he is always on the main covers of the series in recent history.

The difference here is that Sweet Tooth was always on the cover. Both Sweet Tooth and his vehicle, represent the theme in the game. It is "TWISTED". What is supposed to be an innocent ice cream machine and a happy clown, is actually a killing machine with psychopath behind it's wheel.

Mortal Kombat on other hand, started as Mortal Kombat. It wasn't about Scorpion. It was the Dragon. The tournament itself. That's why people feel that Scorpion is being forced down their throat. Up until Armageddon, the cover art of Mortal Kombat games was always the dragon symbol, show in different frames. (Except MK4 one as it had Goro, Tanya and Raiden. But even then it showed multiple characters, representing the idea of a Tournament between MULTIPLE characters) and logo was still in the center of attention.

Now with Midway being reborn as Netherrealm, marketing boys offered them to have a mascot. Ed Boon's favorite character is Scorpion. Simple. I myself create logos for other people, so I usually know how marketing guys think. They most likely believed that Dragon symbol as a mascot was too weak, and they needed an actual face.

In MK9 they picked two most popular iconic characters, and placed a logo behind them. Trust me if Raiden was more popular than Sub Zero and Scorpion, they would have picked him. But also I believe they picked them for aesthetic reasons too and it was a good representation of rivalry, two opposing forces.

So once MK9 shipped they checked for feedback, did some analysis, and decided to make Scorpion as the primary face of the MK for MKX. Ed Boon's opinion could have easily influenced the decision as well (after all he is the face of MK then it comes to communications). Sub Zero became a secondary option. Hence why he only appeared on MKXL Cover. While Scorpion is the primary cover art and is even the face of Kombat Pack. Even from design point of view, you can see the difference in how much effort is put into Scorpion's Art and Sub Zero's one. Scorpion is given a variety of cinematic poses. Front, side view of battle ready Scorpion and the Scorpion with his chain spear at the ready. Sub Zero is just put there standing in neutral pose, looking straight forward.

Now with email being pretty much proven real (mostly). It is unfortunate to see them treating MK Logo as a second thought. Judging by the content of the email and previous versions of Cover Art, I can tell that it was a pretty valid option of not even having an MK Logo included. Even the previous version with the logo, had Dragon being very transparent and hard to see due flashing effects. And while I am glad, they decided to not only keep it, but make it brighter, I already see them walking down the dangerous path.

Dragon logo is the foundation of Mortal Kombat games. It is far bigger than any character of MK. Dragon is the Mortal Kombat. It represents the idea of a tournament where fighters engage in a deadly Mortal Kombat. The problem with MKX and now MK11 cover art is that it gives a wrong impression. Pulling Solo Scorpion on the cover art for the second time, sells him as a main character of the series, even though he is a side character, then it comes to a story mode.
Making Dragon Logo less visible and hiding it behind the character, leads to a risky path of forgetting the very foundations. Scorpion was never the foundation of MK. He was PART of it. Hence saying that the only reason why MK3 had a tough time was because Scorpion was missing, has no clue what the he/she is talking about. A lot of original cast was missing. It was a prime example of what happens when you cut out the foundation. A lot of franchises and companies made the same mistake of neglecting the very core of what made them who they are today and paid the price of being shut down or forgotten. You can't cut down the base of the tree and then put the sapling beneath the trunk. Trunk is just gonna die without its roots and sapling will get crushed by sheer weight of the tree.

One has to move forward, yes. But to move forward, means you have to respect the base platform on which you have grown. If you want to grow, you have to make sure the base grows with you, you upgrade it, make it better so it matches the current time and that way it allows you to expand. If you neglect it, it will sooner or later give out and you will fall to your death.

This is just my assumptions and opinion as a designer.
 
The Mortal Kombat tournament is literally only relevant in the first two games though.

Scorpion is now the face of Mortal Kombat. He's one of it's driving factors and is THE selling point for thousands of fans. He's bigger than the dragon, he's more important than any other character under him.
 
Well, MK is not the only franchise pushing a certain character. Tekken has also members of the Mishima family on every cover since Tekken 3 (Jin, Kazuya and Heihachi). Though I have to admit they are more of an inpact concerning story than Scorpion. Him and Sub-Zero did not even wear their promoted outfits during MKX story mode.

I‘m still not buying this cover art. Could be Boon messing things up just in order to troll people thinking that leak was for real. The cover art just doesn‘t seem real to me. It‘s way too bright for a MK game...
 
The Mortal Kombat tournament is literally only relevant in the first two games though.

Scorpion is now the face of Mortal Kombat. He's one of it's driving factors and is THE selling point for thousands of fans. He's bigger than the dragon, he's more important than any other character under him.

I really do hope, company does not see it the same way as you do.

This is the famous last words of every single franchise and company I have known for years.

It is pretty funny how small things like that, have the potential to influence the entire thing.

I am not gonna argue with the fact, that for a lot of newcomers Scorpion is the face of MK right now. But Mortal Kombat isn't played by just newcomers. The "old" community is still alive and well. The old foundation, remember? And I can tell, that there is a very decent number of people who like me, don't consider Scorpion as the face of MK. Not because of personal hate for the character or anything like that (contrary, he is my one of top favorite characters), but because we know from where Mortal Kombat comes.

He's bigger than the dragon, he's more important than any other character under him.

Sorry I missed that part in game. Wasn't Johnny cage supposed to be the champion and Cassie Cage the main protaganist, while Scorpion was literally shown to set Shinnok free and couldn't even fix the mistake? That's pretty crappy presentation for the character more important than others.

That's what I am talking about. He is on the cover art, used as the main face, but in story he is shown as the guy who endangered entire existence, because of his inability to listen to reason. Yet was shown to reason with Sub Zero, even AFTER an attempt on his life by Frost.

What it means? Bad marketing. It shows that Cover Art is made by a team of marketing boys, who have no idea, of what Mortal Kombat stands for. They picked what seems nice and put it on the cover. And they aren't even good at that. Yellow, bright background, Scorpion in front of the dragon. From design point of view, this screams only one thing. Scorpion is the main character of the game. If he plays important role or is a main protaganist of the story. I will understand the choice.

I mean he has a good chance to be the main character in a story. His foolishness unleashed Shinnok and resulted in Raiden's corruption. Scorpion might take this upon himself to correct his error by defeating Raiden, BUT if it turns out that Scorpion plays only a side role in the story, then this is a major fail in marketing department. It is 101 of marketing and design. Represent the IDEA behind the game. 1-3 showed only the logo, as tournament was the main idea of the game. 4 showed characters, representing the build up of factions and characters. 5 shows two blades forming a shied, to represent the idea of deadly duo, that is Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. Deception included Onaga as he is the main enemy. Armageddon included only a logo, but in flames, representing the fact that everything is going into a shitstorm and everyone is going all out for the epic finale.

MK9 cover was also smart. It showed Scorpion and Sub Zero engaging in a duel with Dragon Logo being open in the background. And we did see both Sub Zero's and Scorpion engage into fights. They were side story, but important nonetheless. AND, they also represented the idea of a tournament. Which MK9 was all about.

Now MKX cover art? What's that? Only Scorpion and black background with basic Text and Logo. Hmmm. Scorpion must be playing a pretty importa... aaand Cassie Cage is the main protaganist and the game is about passing the torch to new generation. Yes. That Cover Art definitely reflects that...

MK11. So far the theme is about time, two different versions of Scorpion were shown in the cinematic trailer. So you would think that cover art would show SOMETHING about that. Hell it could be two scorpions in the same cover, but just in different versions, indicating different timelines, universes, etc.

You know? I think I can quote [MENTION=17789]Tarkatan_Trash[/MENTION] here. People are getting f%cking lazy. Now that I look at all the cover art from older games and the current designs, I am seeing a lot of form over function.

He's bigger than the dragon

Sure he is. Let me check my key chain. Oh wait it is a dragon. Let me check what happens when I write Mortal Kombat logo in Google, or let me check the coin in the invitation letter for the gameplay reveal of MK11. Oh wait. It is a Dragon.

So because marketing team decided to put Scorpion as a face on cover art for two games, he suddenly became bigger than the symbol that represented Mortal Kombat for 27 years? Sure, he did. Maybe for some kid, that just started playing the game.
 
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Well, MK is not the only franchise pushing a certain character. Tekken has also members of the Mishima family on every cover since Tekken 3 (Jin, Kazuya and Heihachi). Though I have to admit they are more of an inpact concerning story than Scorpion. Him and Sub-Zero did not even wear their promoted outfits during MKX story mode.

I‘m still not buying this cover art. Could be Boon messing things up just in order to troll people thinking that leak was for real. The cover art just doesn‘t seem real to me. It‘s way too bright for a MK game...

Exactly! Thank you. That's my point. Mishima family in Tekken is a driving force. Most of the major events that happen in the game, is because of them or directly linked to them. Hell entire Tekken tournament is funded by the Zaibatsu company, which belongs to Mishima family. So of course they will be the face of the game. That makes sense.

As for MK11 cover art. It is set in stone unfortunately.
The reason why it is bright, is because they are doing Esports with this game. They are pulling Overwatch here. Like Tracer is the mascot of the game and is even a logo in Overwatch league, they are trying to pull the same shit with Scorpion. But here are the reasons of why it doesn't make sense.

1. Scorpion is part of the Tournament. He doesn't make the tournament, he doesn't influence tournament in a major way. Throughout the history of Mortal Kombat games, he has NEVER won a Mortal Kombat tournament.
2. Dragon Logo has been the symbol of Mortal Kombat for 27 years. They are trying to put Scorpion's face as Esports mascot. They are literally trying to replace Dragon with his face. The face that has been on for how long? 4 years? Especially that Esports, would be considered as our version of Mortal Kombat tournament? Good luck with that. Maybe wait few more decades, so the old community of MK would die out first. Which is pretty unlikely judging by the fact that life expectancy keeps growing even for the oldest folks.
3. Game is about extreme violence. They try to sell it in the same bright colors as Overwatch. I think everyone can see that it doesn't connect. Like at all.

In my opinion this "Cover Art" was just lazily done. No thought put into it. "Eh, we put Scorpion in the last game, let's do it again. Otherwise we would have to... *gasp* use our brains!"
 
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