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A TRIBUTE TO THE ART OF ROGER TISSYMAN

19/2/2019

17 Comments

 
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For me, the cover artwork of a game was always part of the experience. It's partly why I never really engaged with the industrial level of piracy that was rife in my school; I saw games as a complete package. I wanted to enjoy that ritual of choosing a game, taking it home, then studying the cover and the inlay while it was loading.

It's a lost joy; nowadays games either feature dull, identikit, photorealistic covers, or don't even have a cover because you've downloaded them from an online "shop".

Admittedly, it's fair to say that there were a lot of terrible games covers back in the day, but the truth is I'd still take one bad 1980s cover over 90% of modern ones. 

Roger Tissyman - ha ha, funny name - worked on somewhere between 20 and 30 game covers back in the 1980s, yet his name is barely known. This is despite the fact he was responsible for one of the most iconic game covers of all time; Jet Set Willy.

Sadly, Roger is no longer with us, having passed away in 1991, but his artwork lives on. Here is a brief celebration of the idiosyncratic work he did as house artist for Software Projects.
JET SET WILLY
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For me, the Jet Set Willy cover is the perfect confluence of game and art. It's not a literal representation  - but it perfectly captures the feel of Matthew Smith's opus. Reportedly, Tissyman was - like Smith - a Monty Python fan, and you can see the Terry Gilliam influence in his chunky figures and airbrushing.

I also love the mundane detail of the newspaper toilet paper, and general lack of good taste; Tissyman always kept Miner Willy's face hidden, and here chooses to have the character's head shoved down a toilet bowl, presumably "doing a Ralph".

I'd always believed that the penguin and the heavy work boots were a reference to the game... but no; in researching Tissyman, they're something of a hallmark of the artist, appearing again and again on his covers.
JET SET WILLY 2
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I loved that Tissyman's work was a mix of mediums; a combination of airbrushing, and thick brush work. There was something brilliantly gonzo about it - a feel of underground comics, which gave the games an edgy feel. 
THE PERILS OF WILLY
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There was also a brilliant sense of humour at play with Tissyman's covers. The Perils of Willy might not be the greatest game in the series, but I love wit on the cover; especially the mouse popping out of the champagne bottle, giving its own toast.

​Mice often appeared on Tissyman's covers. He never signed his work, but there were always these little overt clues as to who was responsible. 

According to his daughter Susan: "Nearly all his artwork would have been copyrighted, I suppose, so he couldn’t sign it. But if you look closely you might find his trade mark of a mouse. For example in ‘Lode Runner’ the mouse is in the satchel round the penguins neck, in ‘Hunchback At The Olympics’ he’s in a cup being thrown from the crowd."
DINKY DOO
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Note the boots: they're the same ones Miner Willy was wearing on the Jet Set Willy cover. Get used to them. The Dinky Doo cover also showcases another of Tissyman's obsessions; weird creatures who look like giant germs. You know: like Michael Gove.
TRIBBLE TRUBBLE
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Tissyman didn't only work for Software Projects. He was a self-employed graphic artist, who joined an advertising agency after art college, before setting up on his own. It's unknown whether he insisted on placing penguins, mice, and workman's boots into his other commercial work...

Nevertheless, there's a distinct R.Crumb influence at work on the lawsuit-baiting Tribble Trubble cover. 
LODE RUNNER
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Boots: check. Penguin: check. What I love most about this cover is that despite clearly having been based upon the image below, Tissyman chose to go his own way:
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GALACTIC GARDENER
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It didn't matter to Roger Tissyman whether a game featured a work boots-wearing penguin or not: he was going to draw one on the cover regardless. The Galactic Gardener cover also showcased another of his obsessions; monsters with vaguely phallic eyes on stalks.
PUSH OFF
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A rare Roger Tissyman cover which features neither penguins nor workman's boots. The design for the daredevil rollerskating ladybird is glorious however. 
PROJECT GRAPHICS LANGUAGE
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Even when called upon to illustrate something as dull as a graphics program, Tissyman still deployed his trademark boot-wearing penguin. It's a bit weird now I come to think of it. Can you imagine him in meetings for his other work?

"Roger, thanks for illustrating our advert for our new women's underwear range. We'd like to suggest a few changes, however."

"Sure. No problem."

"We'd like you to do it again, but without the penguin."

"...Can I leave the work boots in?"

"No, Roger. Just want a picture of a bra and some knickers, like we asked."

​"What if the penguin was wearing a bra?"

MCKENSIE
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It's worth noting that beyond the Miner Willy games, most Software Projects titles have been lost and forgotten. A good example of this is McKensie - a straight-laced text adventure starring a space explorer called Vito. So, of course the game was called McKensie, and the cover featured a whimsical Scottish astronaut.

Indeed, according to reviews at the time, there is no reference to a "McKensie" anywhere in the game - and I've just sat through an entire YouTube walkthrough to confirm this fact.

You have to wonder whether Software Projects just had the Tissyman artwork lying around and decided to make use of it, regardless of whether it was appropriate or not. Still, nice cover.
17 Comments
Craig from the 80s link
19/2/2019 01:34:56 pm

What lovely, lovely artwork. Genuinely smiled at each and every picture.

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B3tan_Tyronne
19/2/2019 01:45:19 pm

I really do miss the covers of the past as to young eyes they gave you a glimpse of new gaming worlds that the covers of todays games simply cannot replicate. Back then the games could never match the cover art and they gave you an idea of what they could be, where as now you can get exactly what you see on the covers - the imagination no longer needs to be used.
I need to look into what other titles Software Projects did as I only recall a few of these shown above.

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Col. Asdasd
19/2/2019 02:14:02 pm

He's like a reverse Rob Liefield, he can't stop drawing feet!

There's something remarkable about every one of these images. Placed one after another it almost seems like there's nothing weird going on at all, that they're the product of a world where such branding would be considered straightforwardly sensible.

I guess it has something to do with how abstract games of the time were, graphically and conceptually. Technical limitations combined with the youth of the medium left a lot of space for imaginations to run riot.

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DEAN
19/2/2019 08:28:52 pm

I love Liefeld - pouches and all!

Not really a fan of this guy, though - it's great that it has so much character and I love how it captures that point in time :)

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Dowser00
19/2/2019 06:47:12 pm

That Jet Set Willy cover is actually depicting the end of the game isn't it? I always thought that amazing that he gave away the ending but nobody twigged cos the game was so hard - it was years later watching a run through that I realised the ending had been hidden in plain sight on the cover all along. Shame you can't get these as posters. Or can you?

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The Porridge Master
19/2/2019 10:36:55 pm

His cover art has stuck with me as being the most iconic of the 80s. I remember buying Jet Set Willy 2 The Final Frontier with my own money for the first time and the cover art is what drew me in and made me buy it. Manic Miner also was such an iconic cover from him and really stood out.

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Marro
19/2/2019 11:59:34 pm

As a Scotsman I believe McKensie is the truest representation of my people I have ever seen. He seems to be fighting sentient teeth in a loch full of Irn Bru. His nemesis is surely Jamie Oliver and the sugar tax.
Passers-by yell:
"Go yersel McKensie, ya glakit auld baw-bag, get 'em telt!"

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Old kibble
20/2/2019 08:55:42 am

Good article, enjoyable read, some games should definitely re-adopt this classic style for the box art. First game should be: 'Revenge of the tradespenguins, with the help of their little mouse friends, and all that revenge entails

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Amaebatron
20/2/2019 11:28:06 pm

Roger Tissyman and Bob Wakelin define the cover art of the 80s to me. I remember my mates uncle (Alan Maton) being a director of Software Projects and giving us Jet Set Willy posters. My mum wouldn't let me hang it up on my bedroom wall as it was too rude.

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POOTERMAN link
21/2/2019 09:21:21 pm

Thanks Biffo for a beautifully put together article, especially highlighting Roger's huge contribution to the world of video game artwork. I'm so pleased to know that their are others out there that both greatly appreciate and miss video game related artwork. From the days of the old arcade flyers to the small tape inlays to the big cardboard box covers I miss the artwork so much as it was always such an important part of the package. A nice cover would sometimes make you buy a game you knew nothing about if you were lucky enough to have had some spare cash in your pocket and I'm pretty sure the games companies knew this and invested in finding talented artists to help sell their products. Today the whole ethos of game artwork seems somewhat redundant and even now developers aren't even making any attempt to put a nice shiny desktop icon on their product when you install it on your system. I've spent years making close to 10,000 high quality desktop icons for all the video games on every known system as it helps me relive the times I spent playing them. Please check them out and if you need anything made then just send me a message on my DeviantArt page :) https://www.deviantart.com/pooterman/gallery/

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Dasse link
21/2/2019 11:13:07 pm

LOVE!.. I really love your article about Tissyman because his artwork was really something special for me!
I also found his daughter and if here is the interview I got with her :)
Cheers from Sweden!

http://www.dasse.se/interview(s)-10763411

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Cat Mara
24/2/2019 09:03:21 pm

I loved this bloke's art back in the day but never knew his name. Thanks for this.

I remember making a poster of the Jet Set Willy map for a friend's bedroom wall in an art style heavily inspired by Tissyman's cover for the game, or at least the best my 12yo self was capable of knocking off...

(Tribble Trubble was bloody hard)

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Jon link
4/3/2019 11:34:34 pm

These blew my mind as a kind, especially the Manic Miner one, and three of us drew it at Primary School and put our versions on the wall. Mine was rubbish sadly, but thanks for the lovely tribute.

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peter dudley link
9/3/2019 12:41:15 pm

i new roger very well. i went to school with him and sat next to him in class. we used to go to his house to watch the goons show on tv . he was a recluse in later years.

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Nicola Penny
15/2/2020 11:53:52 pm

Hi roger tissyman was my dad. My dad wasn't a recluse but a very busy man with work and looking after his family. Unfortunately his passed away when I was 18 ( 29 years ago)

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Ingrid Henry
10/12/2022 12:42:32 am

Hi Nicola, Did your dad work at Ashley Grosart Design back in 1972? If he is the same graphic artist I remember he was a lovely man. Very kind and supportive of me as a dumb 16yr old office junior. Very sad to hear of his early demise.

Bob Star
12/5/2019 03:41:38 pm

I wonder where are the original artworks now, so many good covers have been lost over the years

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