5.25" floppy disk template (Commodore, Atari, Apple, IBM) for Mediasafe cases

[Timstuff]

**UPDATE** The template is ready for use! https://drive.google.com/file/d/14gO5N4fJ7O0OhbhltkIVl78fIb5Pn-C0/view?usp=sharing

After being inspired by Scarmullet's attempt at making DVD-style cases for old computer games that use 5.25" floppy disks, I was inspired to seek out a source for cases that would fit 5.25" floppy disks and I found these cases from Mediasafe. They are cheap, and in less than a minute they can be modified to securely hold 5.25" floppy disks or other paperwork / feelies you might want in there.

That gets to the important part, which is that I am working on a template for retro computers that will hopefully work across all the major retro computer systems, starting with Commodore 64 since that's my personal favorite.







I did my best to make the packaging look "period correct" without any photoshop-era effects like drop shadows and the like. The other computers will have more or less the same layout except tailored to the aesthetics around that particular platform, which is going to take me a bit of research to nail down just right. I tried to leave enough room for different blurbs and widgets that people might need to add for specific games, and I also want to have a "slim" version of the front side banner for games like the EA ones that already had very square-shaped covers. Commando is my favorite C64 game though, so that's the one I built the initial proof of concept around. There's also space in the border for the screenshots for additional system requirement info and the like, especially since there will be an IBM compatible version of this template. I want to do templates for the Commodore 64/128, Atari 400/800, Apple 2, and MS-DOS / IBM Compatible. I know there are a few other niche systems that used 5.25" disks but I think the aforementioned systems covers all the major bases.

If anyone's got feedback about improvements I could make or features that I should add before finishing up the template file, let me know. Another thing is that the proof of concept that I printed out was done on cheap thin paper and cut with scissors (also some of the details / graphics were different at the time I printed it). When I eventually do a high quality one I will need better quality paper, and I'll use a paper cutter. I should also note that these cases require BIG paper since they are very wide. I used 11x17" paper although you might be able to get away with just legal-size paper. These cases are a bit wider than DVD cases after all, since floppy 5.25" disks are pretty big.

[robbievgb]

This is great! Are you still working on it?

[Timstuff]

This is great! Are you still working on it?

Yeah, I was taking a minor break from it for a few days to work on some more projects but I should have a PSD available soon. I am trying to decide if it's worth trying to have all the major formats in one PSD template, since there are a lot of multi-format games out there and that would make it very easy to crank out multiple versions of the same game (C64, Atari, Apple II, DOS, etc.)

[Timstuff]

I'm very pleased to announce that the template .PSD file is ready for use! I was able to get all the systems I wanted done: C64, Atari 8-bit, Apple II, and MS-DOS all in one PSD file. This is a 1.0 release so there might be some things that still need fixing and stuff that can get added. Get it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14gO5N4fJ7O0OhbhltkIVl78fIb5Pn-C0/view?usp=sharing

I've got a stack of loose C64 game disks that I'd like to take a crack at making covers for, I don't currently have any game disks for any platforms except C64 although if any of the games I do are multi-platform I'll try to make the other versions too (assuming they were released on 5.25" floppy, and it's not an extremely rare and crummy release, although I can add those on request). I particularly want to try making a cover for Wasteland since I have the original cover that I can scan, and I want to see how those more squarish boxes look when they fill up the cover.

I might be able to do some requests once I've got some more free time!

I also have a final version of the Commando box art. I made both NTSC and PAL versions of it, with their respective publisher logos. Hopefully this gives people some ideas for how to get creative with the format (click them to get the print-res ones).




And without further ado, here's some preview images of the templates in the PSD file above:

[Timstuff]

The Last Ninja for C64, Apple 2 and DOS.

[Timstuff]

Another old favorite, Boot Camp and its PAL counterpart Combat School.

[Timstuff]

California Games for C64, Apple II and MS DOS.

There's more titles I'm planning on making up some covers for. I gotta take a little break and catch up on some other stuff for now, but hopefully this project earns some interest and support.