Cover art?

[NordicExpanse]

Been playing Civ since the original came out in 1991. Right now delving into my first Civ V: G&K journey as Alexander the Great.
Kind of a random question about the first Civ game. The cover art features my hometown's 1990 skyline (it's what caught my eye as I was browsing through the game aisle). Does anyone know how they came to choose it or was it just a random out of the hat thing?

 

[Osvaldo Manso]

The cover art features my hometown's 1990 skyline (it's what caught my eye as I was browsing through the game aisle). Does anyone know how they came to choose it or was it just a random out of the hat thing?

I was not aware that the cover was based on an actual city skyline. I always thought that it was just a graphic composition, a drawing if you wish. I don't remember ever reading anything about the cover art as well. By the way, can you tell us the name of your city?

 

[Tristan_C]

It is a paper cut-out piece. It has a sad story. By a wild coincidence, I met the artist who created it when she came to our school to talk about the paper cutting artform. She brought many cuttings as well as photos of works she no longer possessed. I and another kid piped up at the civ cover when it appeared among the pictures. I didn't get to see the original (that would have been just too awesome); a firm had previously offered to buy the original with all rights. Looking back it's usually the sort of thing that pays off for artists, no question, so she went ahead. Who could have predicted that Sid's team would later approach her with a huge amount of money? I think she appreciated our reaction to the story because it made us all furious.

 

[Theov]

Been playing Civ since the original came out in 1991. Right now delving into my first Civ V: G&K journey as Alexander the Great.
Kind of a random question about the first Civ game. The cover art features my hometown's 1990 skyline (it's what caught my eye as I was browsing through the game aisle). Does anyone know how they came to choose it or was it just a random out of the hat thing?

Scan originally from Exotica gallery, resized and retouched w/ IfranView.

The box art itself wasn't made for Civilization. It's a promotional poster for the traveling Ramesses the Great exhibit at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1988-1989. The city skyline in the background is that of Charlotte in 1988. Most of the buildings shown are still present.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Civilizationboxart.jpg

according to the wikipedia it's the 1988 sky line.
Don't know if anything changed in 2 years though so it could be the same.

 

[Whelkman]

Well, fellas, here's where it all began...on an off-ramp on Andrew Jackson Highway:

https://maps.google.com/?ll=35.2214...8UGrImqUMXcgug7UNJ-_xw&cbp=12,293.38,,1,-3.33

Or at least roughly a quarter of a mile from this spot.

One Wells Fargo Center, the building on the left with a distinctive rounded top and "steps" tapering down, was completed in 1988.

 

[Osvaldo Manso]

Well, fellas, here's where it all began...on an off-ramp on Andrew Jackson Highway:

https://maps.google.com/?ll=35.2214...8UGrImqUMXcgug7UNJ-_xw&cbp=12,293.38,,1,-3.33

Or at least roughly a quarter of a mile from this spot.

One Wells Fargo Center, the building on the left with a distinctive rounded top and "steps" tapering down, was completed in 1988.

Excellent! I am a little surprised that Charlotte seems such a big city.
I always imagined North Carolina to be a state with few population and small towns.

 

[Osvaldo Manso]

The box art itself wasn't made for Civilization. It's a promotional poster for the traveling Ramesses the Great exhibit at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1988-1989.

Very interesting! I suppose that Microprose needed to ask for permission for using the image of that promotional poster. Do you know anything else about it?

 

[ChiefSparkY]

This thread is awesome I'm about to do a road trip of the Deep South, I might have to venture a little more north when I get to South Carolina and head up to NC!