Engage with never before seen original video game artwork from your childhood…
OVGA endeavors to further the appreciation and awareness of video game art. Collectors passionate about video games and original artwork compile, create, and moderate the content on OVGA free of charge. The website stores two databases, one for cataloging art and the other for indexing artist information. The site also features a forum for in-depth discussion, while serving as a resource for questions on art conservation, storage, and framing.
Up until the mid-1990s, almost all video game box artwork was hand-painted, whether full-scene box art, logos and titles or spot illustrations. Everything was done by hand and physical artwork underpinned the packaging central to the games’ marketing. Attractive, dynamic art caught the eyes of gamers and helped sell games long before the prevalence of social media and online reviews.
“It would be easy to assume that these works of art couldn’t possibly be in the hands of collectors,” explains OVGA Founder Ibrahim Faraj. “However, many of these paintings were not retained by the game companies themselves. As a result, some collectors have been able to obtain the original works of art they remember from their childhoods. With box art being frequently uncredited at the time of release and with the information at risk of being lost to time, private collectors have played a significant role in the research, documentation, and preservation of these works of art.”
Uncropped and unobstructed by logos and copy text, original illustrations offer an unrivaled viewing experience. Through information resources and curated artist biographies, OVGA seeks to add context to and enhance the beauty of these works. Each is a treasure and collectors play a vital role in their preservation.
OVGA strives to give back and provide a platform for collectors to meet one another, discuss shared appreciation, and ensure the safeguarding of original video game art. Being part of the OVGA community is more than just collecting but the relationships made along the way.
OVGA looks forward to being part of your collecting journey and helping you preserve these beloved pieces of video game history. OVGA can be found at www.originalvideogameart.com
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