Weekend Debate: Your favourite video game art style

Hey there fellow bloggers hello again Fred
I thought I’d say this I seen this in sony news section on Internet apparently a ratings agency known as Fitch has said that Panasonic will last longer than sony will in the electronics business saying that sonys biggest problem is trying to persuade customers to buy sony tv. I am shocked at this Fitch company they have no right to say that on the Internet and people do but sony tv, they have miles better technology built into them for eg blu ray and also the first 4k tv in the world was just released by sony last week. They also say something that Panasonic will be able to pay off their debt than sony will I think this is false things being put on the Internet. Sony are a way better company than Panasonic is. Anyway hope you all have a nice weekend thanks for your time. LongLivePlay Sony Make.Believe

i really like the style in Street fighter X Tekken. its really cool how the transformed the tekken characters into cartoon like fighters

Hello again
Forgot to mention the ratings agency also said that they cut sony and Panasonic debts to junk ratings. I think this company is not a great company for saying that its not right sony are way better than Panasonic I don’t mean to be rude but it is the truth. Anyway thanks ill see you again. LongLivePlay Sony Make.Believe

hello i think phantasy star universe with its robotech and cyberpunk style art and nice futuristic grafitti style logos, deserves a mention. First time i played it it was like walking into a ps home space i almost expected the characters come to live. Nice 80´s style manga storyline too.

Mine has to be Flower.

The whole concept of Flower is mind-blowing. I mean, thatgamecompany used art to tell a story; a very emotional one. The game revolves fully around the tone and the art direction, no speech bubbles, no interactions between characters, nothing.

The game just tells a story through art, and thatgamecompany nailed it. It is truly astonishing to see gaming from such a creative angle, and I’m so glad they’re continuing in that direction with the recently released Journey.

JET SET RADIOOOOOOO!

The best art style i think would go to ratchet and clank
the art style i think was genius all its characters how creative all the gadgets and weapons are and all the envirments too
like iciy to the tropical planets

As stated in the OP, Ni No Kuni. Utterly beautiful not just in the way it looks, but in the way it moves. Dark Chronicle was also way ahead of it’s time as was Dragon Quest VIII. Cel shading suits JRPGs to a tee.

I also imagine that if we were ever fortunate enough to get a sequel to Vagrant Story with Akihiko Yoshida once again at the helm, it would be a sight to behold.

Oh and a massive shout out to TRINE. Stunning!

One of my favourites would have to be LittleBigPlanet.

I love the way everything looks like it has been built using various materials with glue, bolts and string to hold it all together. It makes it look like some children’s arts and craft project.

I like how the scenery is just giant stickers of buildings, how the clouds are held up with string or how the enemies are just little blocks with googly eyes. It really gives it a certain special charm and the style really lends itself to the user-created aspect.

If only I was any good at making a half-decent level!

Hello,

For me it would be Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm & Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2.

Simply because it feels like your watching the anime and playing the game at the same time! :O

Second place would go to Kingdom hearts 1 & 2 on the playstation 2

My favourite art style for game has to be Deus Ex: Human Revolution. the cyber-punk theme is so cool! the atmosphere and look of the game is so epic i hope thats what the future looks like and maybe cybernetics will be come a reality as quick as 2027, but thats just wishful thinking. the way the world is portrayed in Deus Ex is what appeals to me the most. cyber-prosthetics are the norm super citys look immense and the colour pallet is perfect and gives you a buzz inside while playing the game.

if you have never played Deus Ex i highly recommend playing it as it was one of a few games that has genuinly surprised me in its style, story and gameplay.

Definitely Okami.
It was such a stunning game when it came out on the PS2, and considering it came out at roughly the same time as FF12, it had some pretty stiff competition when it comes to graphics.
Having got the HD version off of PSN, I can safely say that it is still incredible to look at, art style has carried it a long way. While it may not have all of the fancy tech improvements that current gen games have, I’d say it is still the second prettiest game out this year, with only Journey coming higher.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

This game really did it for me. Beautifully, handdrawn 2D graphics. As someone who started gaming in the 80′s, early 90′s, I find it incredibly satisfying to see how in this day and age, 2D graphics can still be top of the line.

Just look at these:

http://i.imgur.com/O3DJh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/y913u.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Ips5A.jpg

Not many developers dare take this approach nowadays. And although it was already mentioned, Okami definitely deserves a mention for recreating this effect fairly well by it’s awesome artsyle.

Many people keep babbling about high-res graphics, but with a great art-style, all the polygons in the world mean nothing.

Ico for me, I believe it was one of the first games to use a specific lighting effect…”Bloom” which made the environments realistic for their time, and very textured, in a visceral sense.

I also love the whimsical watercoloured style in general, it really added to the game, but in keeping the art style quite simplistic and not flashy, it kept the emphasis on the story and simple gameplay mechanics.

I love styles that are both distinctive and atmospheric, and feel Team Ico got it just right.

It has to be okami. Gorgeous hand painted environments in fact the game itself is the pinnacle of art. Using pastille colors, defining hues and helping define warm colors and cold by use of gaming. also a game that uses a brush along with the above is now the pinnacle of art direction.

If all games took the direction of art of the okami team (not the Japanese style but use of colors and adding mechanics to the game that encourages the colors then we’d be really happy gamers.

Well I used to hate idea of Cell Shaded games and cartoon styles and that cartoon style however since Borderlands, Prince of Persia and more recently gravity rush and Rayman:Origins and the new family guy game.I’ve reconsidered that attitude and I love the styles. They have a really vibrant and fun glow to them and it I really like the way everything looks detailed and has nice textures and the animations are just as good as the more conventional and common approaches to graphics,also the style seems to accompany more wacky abstract structures full of detail (the gravity storms in gravity rush and any one of numerous areas in both prince of persia and borderlands). I think they are really under-used art styles however really vibrant colours and attention to detail in any game will mean I’m happy no matter the art style a recent game to really nail this is Rayman:origins, god I love the variety of enviroments and the vibrant colours in that game. But Cell Shaded and cartoon games are really one that I used to think was a stupid art style but now realise is a great approach to an art in games and although it wouldn’t suit every game I think it could do with being used more.

*can I just add to my post above as i accidentally deleted it that as the first Cell Shaded game I played, prince of persia has to be my favorite for it’s art style; I prefer the gameplay of borderlands or rayman but PoP is the one that convinced me to change my mind about the style. Character Count was too large apparently to fit it all together.

Without hesitation – Bioshock. I may suck in FPS, i may have played on normaln and had great difficulties – but this game is THE THING. Absolutely stunning setting and climate of this adventure makes it one of the best experiences entertaiment has to offer.

It depends entirely on how well the game itself is made, you can have the most quirky or stand out art style imaginable but that only helps if there is a good game to back it up.

That being said I do have a tendency to like the cell shaded art style, a specific game for this would be the first person XIII.

Not only was this a good art style, it was new to the genre and was well polished, it also got me interested in FPS games (to a certain degree) making a move from that to borderlands seemed like a no brainer and it’s that choice of art style that makes borderlands what it is today.

I already posted earlier, but I feel like adding Patapon. All 3 of those games were downright gorgeous and cute. The art was created by the French artist Rolito who has a very fun style to his work.

Lots of good art styles like cel-shaded ones are already defined by others beautifully. But for me, anime and japanese styles like chibi art in games like thearhythm final fantasy. Small cute doll like depictions of characters are pleasing to eyes and are adorable too.

Another game that deserves mention is tokitowa (an amazing game from imageepoch), a absolutely beautiful anime style game. The way the art style creates a fantastic 2.5D fighting game that truly feels like you are playing an anime is downright amazing.

Last game I would like to mention is corpse party, the 8-bit style of the game makes me nostalgic. It also does the game justice by making players feel lonely in an old rusty school from yesteryear. And anime style art inserted in the middle of game to show the most gruesome sights just ups the ante.

While the game hasn’t been released yet, I instantly fell in love with the art style of ‘Puppeteer’! Can’t wait to play this beauty.

A similar game is probably Trine 1 & 2. Absolutely beautiful.

Hi all,

For me the best game art comes from Ratchet & Clank games. The game art is great. Bright colors in a cartoony environment. Also a lot of details in textures and characters. A good example are the facial expressions of the characters.

The best part. Ratchet & Clank games looks great for everyone playing games. From kids to grandparents. The quality of the game art is so high, it can easily match the film art if blockbuster movies from Disney and Pixar.

For me it just HAS to be the amazing cutscenes in Infamous and moreso in Infamous 2 & FOB. The cartoon with a modern twist really helped to set the game’s scene for the new, inexperienced super-hero character of Cole McGrath. The ink splodges (havent got a proper word) around all the edges show that the story is just a draft and is still to be smoothed and finally told to the gamer, as if they are the reader of a work in progress comicbook.

Hello Fred!,Ive always loved the mario games,it brings back memories when i was always trying to save princess Peach. Same for pokemon but that doesn’t matter now, Litle big planet 2 is a very creative game,you can prety much do everything in it, I’m a big fan of it I always made and still make amazing costumes, logos and art.The Hitman game series have also been amazing blood money was great even if the graphics weren’t that great it still had that Fun I’m looking forward to Hitman Absolution, it’s not that known, but it should be You can distract victims and kill your targets. The elder scrolls series have also been great Skyrim was great but it’s a shame that they don’t release the dawnguard DLC, I was looking forward to it,I really hope they release it. Assassin’s creed 3 looks Good too but i think that they should give it more a year or two to update it, And who didn’t lived their life playing Final Fntasy?

I’m another one who loves cel shaded graphics like what The Wind Waker and upcoming Ni no Kuni have. Not just the actual graphics but the animation that goes along with them makes them look fantastic.

Perhaps its only related to art style but I think art direction and the overall feel of the game can really make any kind of graphic style shine. For example Red Dead Redemption isn’t really stylised at all, it just has a wild west theme like many other games, but the way they put so much detail into everything to make it feel like the wild west really stood out to me and helped me enjoy it all the more for it.

Another example is Dark Souls. I’m not a big fan of dark and dingy worlds in general but the way they designed it all from a visual perspective really made it memorable, especially many of the bosses. Who’s gonna forget what Gaping Dragon or Ornestein & Smough look like anytime soon?

It was very addictiv the overal was AMAZING! And the Dragon ball games always had that amusing addictive thing.Ah I just remembered the good times I had playing Shadow of the colossus killing all of those Monsters.Sweet memories. Not even to mention Crash bandicoot,that fox with shorts I Always loved all of this games, Classic. This games are True games, Where imagination coms from a deep painful place in our creative mind.And POKEMON! the last one i have in mind, Pikachu was my favourite one he was a cute yellow eletric cat.He is everyones favourite I think,always winning and use powerful attacks and use pokeballs to catch rare pokemons.. Ahh How amazing games can be! This is my answer Hope you like it. I’m sorry if theres words missing in some places my keyboard is failing

Art in games has evolved as the technology behind them has become more complex and capable, something no more apparent than in the current generation. We see hyper-realism in GT5, technical brilliance in MGS4 and cinematic storytelling which is now a Naughty Dog trademark. However, these are more “state of the art” than outright artistic style. Approaches such as cel-shading are always popular but do they really show much originality now?

More thoughtfully artistic games like Journey and Unfinished Swan obviously deserve recognition as genuine art in game form but we should look at how the art of games can become enduring images in their own right. In much the same way that great works of art are recognisable across the world, certain games have produced imagery which is instantly recognisable even to non-gamers.

Such prestige often befalls more classic titles and this is there where we finally reach my nomination, Pacman.

It might not be the most visually flamboyant or artistically innovative game but the simple images of a yellow circle with a triangular cut-out or a pink frilly ghost evoke recognition and amusement the world over with popularity such that they are used in all manner of media and THAT is real art.

Uncharted 2 looks like paint in movement, the first time I was watching and playing it directly on my TV I got really amazed, especially at Nepal stage, where I stopped in every corner of the level looking and enjoying all these details that the level contains, is such my admiration that I was afraid of breaking any sculture or plate placed on shelfs around there.

For me – my favourite game art style would have to be Comic Book style.

Not to be confused with cel-shaded – the comic book style takes everything that’s loved about comics/graphic novels and animates it into an interactive story.

But the ‘art’ style goes far beyond the crafting of the visual. It’s an integration of player control, immersion, story telling, and (almost most importantly) humour.

Stand out examples include Sam and Max, XIII (13), and Monkey Island.

But the top spot favourite award goes to Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.

A superb Comic Book style game series.

My first thought goes out to Toonstruck! A game that combines classic cartoons and real life characters is just my cup of tea! The whole game feels like you’re in some sort of twisted dream! And with actors like Christopher Lloyd (Back to the future) and voices by Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson) it just becomes a classic! Would really like to see this game in a remake on the PSVita. A point-and-click adventure game that really boasts quality and that should have set the standard back in 1996!

Who else loved this classic?

this is such a tricky question, as gaming is advancing so much that every year the quality of the graphics stuns you over and over.

i think all games have their own styles and they are all beautiful.

that being said, one of my favourites has to go to those that are different, many PSN games achieve this such as Limbo and Flower which have already been mentioned.

if i had to pick one, though, id have to say i really love the looks of Outland. sometimes simple is better and the simplicity of the art in this game makes it seem even more appealing than even the highest quality drawing seen in games such as Final Fantasy. changing your “alignment” in response to blue/red obstacles just added a little something extra to do in the game, and just the whole blackness of the game highlighted by vivid bright colours just adds so much more to the enjoyment of playing.

I’m going to go for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It may not be the prettiest game, but it certainly has one of the most amazing art styles. The art style is perfect for the game as it creates a future you could imagine, even though it keeps reminding you that it’s a game. The different augmentations, the orange tint, the futuristic cars and the amazing buildings all make this my contender in this contest. I loved the enemy styles, the themes of the game and the great consistency when it came to introducing new elements in the game. For example going from a believable Detroit to a believable Shanghai.

I really love Deus Ex: Human Revolution for everything it did, and I’m looking more forward to a sequel of that game than any other.

I like for games to have an unrealistic color to the world or a unique art style. I like realism, but too much realism and the game looks bland. We already have realism in real life its nothing unique to see in a game. The same can be said for games with little color. I HATE the overly brown, grey practices that seem to be popular this gen.

I like for games to have worlds that can’t be replicated on Earth (on different planets it might a different story we’ll never know )

I’m gonna go for two different “themes” – the first being the wonderful cel shaded cartoon world of Sly Cooper. Looking forward to the last installment in march! Secondly I really enjoyed the use of historical detailed architecture in Assassins Creed. Running around on the rooftops of Jerusalem with the golden Dome of the Rock in the background was great, and I just loved to sit on top of a high tower in Acre and enjoy the view. Come to think of it, both games could be viewed as “sneaky” games, albeit two quite different types of sneaky…

As for games, my favorite art style is FF X.

Hopefully my comment gets read all the way back here.

Avoiding some of the more obvious examples I think Bioshock was the first game this generation to really grab me with it’s art direction. The way that game could turn from beautiful to desolate at the drop of a hat was nothing short of amazing. The combination of architectural design, water and lighting all came together to make something pretty special. The really impressive thing about it was how it could create an atmosphere of beauty and horror while keeping the location feeling like one connected whole. I think it’s very different to a game like Half Life 2 where the ‘horror’ are felt relatively isolated from other locations in the game.

While I’ll keep it to one example for space (and time I’m sure) I’d just like to say that the level and environmental design in Uncharted has always been outstanding. It put’s many other ‘AAA’ titles to shame.

I’m not sure it can be classified as art style ’cause it’s not technically visible through the whole game, but the first Max Payne game’s Graphic Novel is to me the most unique way of delivering the story and really showed a younger generation that comic books can still tell mature stories, and still retain the ironic distance. Words in air bubbles, sound words like “KRAK!” “KlIK” “BLAM” really spoke to an inner child in us all.
I could really go on, as also the eternal winter & darkness visual design carried through the whole game and its levels and added to that Noir fiction atmosphere.
the FPS “XIII” also deserves a notion as THAT was basically like playing through a comic book. The golden age of Franco-Belgian comic books really looked amazing in motion

Favorite art style? It’s hard to choose because for me art isn’t limited to graphics alone. Anyway.
First, there are those beuatifully animated games from 90s, like Cool Spot or Super Frog.
Then we have 3D life-like games-but I think “uncanny” fits nicely here. Still I’d say Black (PS2) is worth mentioning.
Of course there is cel shading. Curiously for me they feel more realistic and truly 3D than anything else – Claptraps from Borderlands being best example.
Yet isometric view is something I enjoy the most. It allows to feel the world like it’s all around. There are many games, but Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is worth playing.
But-here goes the winner. Final Fantasy 7. Why? I don’t like much this part of the series, due all the hype around it I had quite bad attitude towards it. But when I started playing-I got fascinated. Mako reactors, Kalm and Rocket Town, Cosmo Canyon… I simply love all those places, the way they are are drawn and presented, the feeling of them, which with accompanying music creates atmosphere that rests in heart and mind, and must be experienced personally. It changed the way I look at FF7 as a game, and it’s one of a few games I play and re-play simply to enjoy the art.

Mirrors Edge, Playstation All Star Battle Royale, Abes Oddyssy, WWF In Your House. Sorry had to write a few more after reading through comments ppl have already saif ones i said ah well if all else fails best one i will be playing in the future *im psychic i hope* is Borderlands 2 which i won from the amazing Playstation blog.

Not sure if I can go with “favorite” on this one. There are many art styles to enjoy out there, each one of them with a different feel.

Journey is definitely special, probably one of the most relaxing games visually, if I had to make a characterization of the art style I’d say “smooth as silk” and also something I haven’t seen before.

ODDWORLD! Abes Oddysee, Abes Exoduss especially get my vote here.
From the moment Abe pops his head out of a trapdoor on the menu screen, you know you’re in for something kinda special.
Every screen had beautiful artwork lavished upon it, even the screens that only flickered on the screen for a matter of seconds, while you ran through them being chased by the weird and wonderful imaginatively created creatures to be found.
It went to show the skill of the artist when the opening movie flowed so smoothly into the start of the game, that you sat there waiting for Abe to do something else, not realising that the game itself had begun.
In my opinion, as well as being highly playable, it was the best looking game on the psone, and it still stands the test of time, as it looks gorgeous on my vita too!
Definitely my first visual taste of ‘eye candy’, and I’m hungry for more. Bring on Strangers wrath and Munches oddysee for the vita please. I wanna get lost in Oddworld again!

hard one to choose. For me it is GTA:Vice City.
Love how the style grabbed that 80′s style perfectly with it’s retro look and Neon everywhere. Classy stuff.

what style is singspam?? cos its certainly not that!

This one has stuck with me all weekend Fred, well done…

After much thinking, it’s gonna have to be Bioshock for me…

From the minute the opening cinematic started you knew you were in a different era, oh my god what? smoking on a plane?!? What’s going on…

Then the plane crashes and you swim towards the lighthouse, a single beacon of light that holds hope but leads into an utter unknown twisted world of corruption and utter beauty.

The submarine journey looks stunning and shows off a great engine being put to great use, you see the neon lights the signs and you feel almost Hollywood 1940′s and glamour and new agey…. It’s wonderful, exciting…. Oh my god that was a whale….

Where am I?

Then you get to explore Rapture, the Art Deco capital the world will never know, because it is at the bottom of the ocean (a beautiful location in itself) and you are taken on a journey both physically and mentally (story wise) wrapped in an utterly gorgeous clash of two worlds. 

Wonderfully rendered water effects coupled with curves and the grand majesty of rapture’s art deco era   styling gelled so well… one a showcase of technology the other a showcase of a talented art team… Absolutely wonderful!

After thinking about this for most of the weekend, I realised most people will say the sumi-e ink style of Okami. Yes, Okami is one of the most gorgeous games to ever grace any console but its not because of its art style. It’s perfect because of the way it made me feel while playing it. Okami was an emotional experience.

I could say Fallout 3’s rusted sepia tones that made the environment look like an apocalyptic wasteland. Yes Bioshock had Art Deco design. Okabu has a bright energetic colourful Kandinskyesque world.

The art style that wins for me is from The Saboteur. The reason is no game has ever made such a powerful statement with the use of colour. When you first venture out into Nazi occupied Paris, it’s a black & white world. The only bits of colour are the red arm bands, insignias & flags of the Nazis. With the first mission I brought some colour back to Paris & this propelled me throughout the game to bring colour back to this darkness.

The Saboteur is Rothko & Anselm Kiefer. Peel back the texture of The Saboteur& staring in our face is the darkness & insanity that humanity can be. Okami made me cry but by bringing colour & light back to Paris I was a hero.

Lume wins it hands down for me. Lume is a 2D platformer with some puzzles thrown into the mix,It’s made entirely out of paper and cardboard.It has a style like no other game I’ve ever seen. Not many people have heard of it but it’s amazing.Maybe that’s where the guys over at media molecule got their idea Tearaway from.Only joking.The game isn’t very long but it doesn’t need to be,This game show that games don’t need photorealistic graphics to be a great game. Something as simple as paper and cardboard is all that is needed.

The best artwork for any game is Skyrrim Elder scrolls. A totally immersive game, imense in size but with incredible attention to detail.

When you kill someone and steal all their gear, the corpse is left in its underwear – how realistic is this.

The game in its entirety is so realistic, but also imaginative. The dragons look like dragons, and the grass responds to the weather and lighting conditions. A perfect game, which never dissappoints everytime you turn it on….

Machinarium, because the art style is so personal and consistant through-out the entire game that it feels like i’m exploring one man’s doodles in his personal notepad.