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Helm
Maybe on Luna
Falsetodd: I played some Guild Wars back in the day and it struck me as amazing how every character was modelled as if he was a collection of fashion statements. Almost all the male characters in the game were tall lanky metrosexual pale boys, all the girls overbloomed perpetually 16 supermodels in leather armor custom fitted to accentuate their earrings and so on. It's this recent 'deviantart cool' type of aesthetic (very much inspired by the japanese game/anime design of the last dozen years) where even the sword your character is holding is a costume and even when you're idling in the town square your character is posing.
Compared to that stuff, WoW is simply brilliant.
But still, I think most of the computer aesthetic I've held on to was either the byproduct of machine limitations of the times, or fueled by nostalgia. For example, a screen out of Police Quest 1 with the EGA palette and the wide pixels might very well have been made in a purely utilitarian fashion ("these are the tools we have, this is the art that comes out, and it must convey the meaning we need it to") but even inspite of this, there's so much beauty in game art and computer art sometimes. Just as long (I find) as it doesn't try to immitate reality too closely, there's so much space for interesting stylization.
Compared to that stuff, WoW is simply brilliant.
But still, I think most of the computer aesthetic I've held on to was either the byproduct of machine limitations of the times, or fueled by nostalgia. For example, a screen out of Police Quest 1 with the EGA palette and the wide pixels might very well have been made in a purely utilitarian fashion ("these are the tools we have, this is the art that comes out, and it must convey the meaning we need it to") but even inspite of this, there's so much beauty in game art and computer art sometimes. Just as long (I find) as it doesn't try to immitate reality too closely, there's so much space for interesting stylization.
FalseTodd
Skirt Wizard
Yeah the deviantart thing is a good descriptor 
I love the concept behind WoW's design but there are certain areas where it gets, well, kind of garrish.
Video games focus too much now on being other types of media, imo. Shooters that want to be movies/photography, fantasy games that want to be cartoon animation. I think what I love about some old school video game art is that it is largely its own thing, even where it strives to be something else. This is a problem that pervades more than the visuals of course - and while Half Life was absolutely mindblowing when it came out, I think there's a fundamental problem with shoe-horning video games into a straight, filmic, narrative structure, being as how that is pretty much the antithesis of interactivity...
I love the concept behind WoW's design but there are certain areas where it gets, well, kind of garrish.
Video games focus too much now on being other types of media, imo. Shooters that want to be movies/photography, fantasy games that want to be cartoon animation. I think what I love about some old school video game art is that it is largely its own thing, even where it strives to be something else. This is a problem that pervades more than the visuals of course - and while Half Life was absolutely mindblowing when it came out, I think there's a fundamental problem with shoe-horning video games into a straight, filmic, narrative structure, being as how that is pretty much the antithesis of interactivity...
Helm
Maybe on Luna
falsetodd: agree
I was gonna make a big post about a piece of oldschool videogame art that explains aspects of the topic, but that would probably not matter for the purposes of this discussion as we agree and I plainly see what you're talking about. I do strongly second the 'interactivity' as the aspect of gaming as art that makes it distinct, and therefore narrative devices and of course, art direction should wield to that end.
I do comics for a living and I seem to be in constant debate with academics and readers and other artists about the specifics of comic art and sadly the seem to suffer from the same traits. They spend too much time trying to emulate, no, ape other mediums. I call them 'movie comics'. where the intention of the writer to do a comic strip that can easily be then bought out and made into a movie is sickeningly apparent. Comics carry the stigma of being an escapist naive medium for kids, and wish to be validated by shedding that for either the 'graphic novel' (if there ever was an asinine term) approach or the 'it's like a movie!' approach. In the same way, Computer games apparently, will only be validated when the stigma of interactivity is gone and they're so much like movies that dude, even grown ups can feel ok playing them.
I was gonna make a big post about a piece of oldschool videogame art that explains aspects of the topic, but that would probably not matter for the purposes of this discussion as we agree and I plainly see what you're talking about. I do strongly second the 'interactivity' as the aspect of gaming as art that makes it distinct, and therefore narrative devices and of course, art direction should wield to that end.
I do comics for a living and I seem to be in constant debate with academics and readers and other artists about the specifics of comic art and sadly the seem to suffer from the same traits. They spend too much time trying to emulate, no, ape other mediums. I call them 'movie comics'. where the intention of the writer to do a comic strip that can easily be then bought out and made into a movie is sickeningly apparent. Comics carry the stigma of being an escapist naive medium for kids, and wish to be validated by shedding that for either the 'graphic novel' (if there ever was an asinine term) approach or the 'it's like a movie!' approach. In the same way, Computer games apparently, will only be validated when the stigma of interactivity is gone and they're so much like movies that dude, even grown ups can feel ok playing them.
ChromeLife
askew
When I started taking art classes and such at school I was pretty much instructed NOT to make any sort of comic art... because at least in that situation comic art always meant you were basicly copying someone elses style. Then after a couple of years of studying and such one of my professors was like "what about making comics" when I brought up that they told me not to before I was told that they hope I know better than to copy someone elses style now... I never did make work in that vein (though I may at some point) but I thought it was sort of a funny way to teach me that lesson.
As far as video game style goes I like WoW quite a bit. I played all the RTS games and such and like Samwise's character design. I tend to play horde cause I think their designs are more interesting than alliance.
As far as video game style goes I like WoW quite a bit. I played all the RTS games and such and like Samwise's character design. I tend to play horde cause I think their designs are more interesting than alliance.
goatschool
Member
i guess i haven't seen the garishness yet, FT, but the seamless blending of environments appears to have been a trick to pull off. that's what i find most impressive - but again, i'm only kernoodling in the basic locales, which obviously came to be sooner than what you might be referring to?
Josh Seipp
Member
FrostGiant
Mr. Pibb > Dr. Pepper
Josh Seipp
Member
FalseTodd
Skirt Wizard
nothing. mini's rule.
back to wow.
honestly i think the UI can end up being the most garrish thing. most of the scenery is really quite well done - although you will find the occasional low-polygon model or poor texture. and the "exploded bag of skittles" effect with mismatched armor can be a bit of an eyesore - but that's really up to the players, isn't it
back to wow.
honestly i think the UI can end up being the most garrish thing. most of the scenery is really quite well done - although you will find the occasional low-polygon model or poor texture. and the "exploded bag of skittles" effect with mismatched armor can be a bit of an eyesore - but that's really up to the players, isn't it
Josh Seipp
Member
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