Artistic Styles in Video Games

Artistic Styles in Video Games

Pixel Art / Retro

Pixel art, also referred to as 8-bit is an artistic style that is used mainly in video games in the 1990s, due to the technology in that time was limited and some games now. Some games that have been recently been produced use this art style. I think this art style is particularly effective because for older users, this art style may bring them nostalgia, and I think that the art style may bring a comedy aspect. This specific art style uses raster graphics. An example of a recent release is ‘Starbound’.

Photo-realism

Photo-realism is an art style that focuses on creating a realistic world in video games, as similar to the real world as possible. This art style continues to advance due to the higher grade equipment being created. Lots of photo-realism games recreate real places. A good example of this is ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘Battlefield’. These games are about wars and they take the character to many different real locations such as London, Berlin, Afghanistan and many more. These 2 different games also almost compete to be the more realistic looking video game. Some people view a game’s quality by how good it looks, which is why these companies try to make the most realistic environment.

Cell Shaded

The art style of Cell shading is used to create a comic themed world and is used to create images that look almost hand drawn. This art style uses realistic features and mechanics, but does not exaggerate the looks to the extent of the photo-realism art style. This art style may be used in highly story driven games, because the cell shaded environments may make the user feel as if they reading a comic. A good example of this art style is ‘The Walking Dead’. This game is very story driven, with each character having a very distinct backstory and emotions for each other. This game in particular is a horror. Successful horrors have to display all types of different emotions very well, otherwise the characters seem uninteresting and not life-like to the users.

Abstract

The abstract art style uses geometry and vibrant colours to produce a colourful and interesting result. This art style is said to be the opposite of photo realism because it does not use any realistic features. It instead involves unrealistic shapes colours and settings to provide a fun and interesting feel. The game ‘Geometry Wars’ uses various shapes to create the player and the enemies in the game, and uses lines to create the playable area.

Exaggerated

This art style makes the characters seem somewhat realistic but they also include lots of unrealistic features. This art style is used in many anime or manga shows and games due to its high popularity in japan. Games that usually have this art style are Role Playing Games. Usually, the characters have exaggerated features such as huge eyes, huge hair or muscles.