The Mortal Kombat logo is arguably one of the most recognisable in all of gaming: the silouetted dragon swooping around to resemble the Yin and Yang symbol is stunning in its sheer simplicity.
It almost wasn’t to be, however, if co-creator John Tobias had listened to a comment from his sister, who mistakenly thought that the original sketch of the dragon was actually a seahorse (thanks, IGN).
The amusing bombshell comes as part of a thread recently posted by Tobias as he dives into the creation of the now-iconic Mortal Kombat logo. In it, he remarks on how the logo is representative of both the game itself and the in-game tournament, explaining that the use of the dragon was inspired by the title ‘Dragon Attack’, which was in contention to become the game’s official title before Tobias and Ed Boon settled on ‘Mortal Kombat’.
As for the design of the dragon itself, Tobias recounts a brief story of when Mortal Kombat developer John Vogel noticed a statue of a dragon on the desk of Midway’s general manager, Ken Fedesna. Vogel borrowed the statue for use in the game’s backgrounds, but Tobias also used the dragon as inspiration for the in-game tournament, sketching out cabinet designs before ultimately implementing these into the logo itself.
It’s a fascinating look into the creation of such an incredible logo and how quickly it was almost derailed by one comment! As for the franchise itself, fans are currently speculating on the eventual reveal of Mortal Kombat 12 following the remarkable success of Mortal Kombat 11, which launched on Nintendo Switch back in 2019.
What do you make of John Tobias’s story around the Mortal Kombat logo’s creation? Are you looking forward to a new entry in the franchise? Let us know in the comments below!
Be the first to comment