Uninspiring Art Design in Modern Games

Sometimes it amazes me just how much fan art there is online for the games that I played both as a child, preteen, and teenager. There are still people making fan doodles of Mario or any number of characters that Capcom has came up with. There have also been a few art exhibits dedicated and/or inspired by these old games.

However, I'm seeing less and less of this for newer games. When a new game comes out there is usually a few months of fan art (if there is any) and then almost nothing.

It has been argued in the past that the cause of this is the current trend of ultra realism in video games. Others have argued it is because the art design is trying to mimic block buster movies, which are also uninspiring recently.

Each year we do get a few games with an interesting art design. But not many have inspired others like past titles. Why is that?

Click for full size


Click for full size


Click for full size

Because the kids who are growing up with today's games aren't adults yet trying to recapture their youth.

That might be part of it. But if I recall, there was a lot of fan art being made in the early Saturn and PlayStation period of gaming, AS those games were being released. All of the dark stalkers art was not made ten years after. No, it has been made consistently since the very first one game out.

You're argument also ignores all the art being made off of modern kid's books and TV. Those people are not trying to recapture their youth. That stuff is being made for shows that are currently in syndication or a series of books still being written for.

Um no. There's plenty of fan art out there for recent games. I've attached some from just one recent series in order to prove you wrong.

But keep in mind that nostalgia is a heavy driving factor in fan art. You aren't likely to see any fan art of The Glob, My Hero, or Below The Root, simply because that's not what people remember. Most games don't become cultural phenomenons like Mario, Pac-Man, or Bubble Bobble.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1259567109

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1259567109

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1259567109

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1259567109

you've attached nothing.

p.s. blockbuster movies inspire tons of fanart but I doubt you're googling twilight pictures.

Another thing is, you can't compare the amount of fanart for a character like Mario to a character like, say, Assassin's Creed man above. How many games has Mario been in? The reason there's still plenty of fanart for him, or Samus, or Link, or whomever is because they've been in countless games, so the characters are still "active" in the minds of people.

I will say, however, that I'm sure part of it also has do to with which characters lend themselves better to fanart. Mario makes a better fanart subject than Bald Space Marine because he was a character made to be visually appealing in a more drawn/cartoonish sort of way. (Current idea of Mario, not the "Jumpman" sprite.)

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/pho...75-900-719.jpg

Oh, the sweet fruits of nostalgia

nah, the hormones of stupid 14 year old girls

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shidoshi

Another thing is, you can't compare the amount of fanart for a character like Mario to a character like, say, Assassin's Creed man above. How many games has Mario been in? The reason there's still plenty of fanart for him, or Samus, or Link, or whomever is because they've been in countless games, so the characters are still "active" in the minds of people.

---

well, what about the Darkstalkers example? When was the last time they put out a new game? That pile of shit on the PSP that no one got? The third game was released in like 97 and then the psp version in 05. That is a 8 year span. In that time period people never stopped drawing those characters.

Ignoring the fan-art aspect for a minute, very few games have anything approaching an art style. They've got the pseudo-realism look that paints entire levels in grey, brown, or maybe for variety a dark blue-green, but that's just boring. Then there are enemies that are endless varieties of human, with an occasional nifty suit of armor thrown in for good measure. There's the stupidly over-designed stuff that Square has inflicted on the world, or the bland soldiers of endless military shooters.

And then something like World of Goo or even Mirror's Edge comes along and I know that art design in games isn't completely dead.

James

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cowutopia

p.s. blockbuster movies inspire tons of fanart but I doubt you're googling twilight pictures.

---

Don't lie like this. You know he totally is.

Go back to 4chan, buttplant.

This says more about the mind-set of someone who draws fan art and their inability to go outside of their comfort zone of classic 2D, rather than the "uninspiring" state of gaming design.

Most game concept art nowadays follows two rules: 1) Google Image Search, 2) Mash ideas together and make them BROWN.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

Because the kids who are growing up with today's games aren't adults yet trying to recapture their youth.

---

/thread

Earlier games necessitated simpler designs, and simpler designs are more appealing to play with, artistically. The room for interpretation is less obvious with a character assembled from 6,000 polygons as it is with one made up of 100 pixels.

Not that I disagree that characters have been less visually interesting on the whole.

But, well, this gen really fostered a much broader capability to create realistic graphics than in previous gens, I don't really blame devs for being caught up in it for a bit. One could wager that they'll never turn back since their ability to portray realism will only increase, but honestly I think it may be the opposite. That whole uncanny valley thing is no joke, every bit of shoddy animation or clipping or bad lipsync is going to be magnified the more realistic we get. Not only will it take much more effort to craft the models, it'll take a lot more effort to make them not look retarded.

We're already at a point where a lion's share of retail games are struggling to earn their costs back, and if the realism trend continues on as large a scale as it is now, it's simply not conducive to devs' survival. A return to stylization and a sense of uniqueness will become less a choice and more a necessity for lower-tier releases.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Go back to 4chan, buttplant.

---

IAWTP

I dunno - there are a lot of games that buck the trend coming out these days from a visual standpoint. You have games like Muramasa, A Boy and His Blob, World of Goo, Henry Hatsworth...these all go against the "space marine" grain. When you look back to the late 80s through 90s, hyper-vibrant mascot-driven cartoony romps were more the norm. So sure, we can look back at Mario, Zelda, Darkstalkers, et al with fondness and claim they're more inspired than what's coming out today but they were kinda on par for what came out in their respective times.

The only difference is that Darkstalkers retains a fan following while World Heroes fades into history. Mario continues to be a driving franchise while very few know of Bubsy, or why Earthworm Jim deserves a second chance. So they trudge on, born in the day where that sort of off-kilter wacky design was the trend, and seem original in a world where the trend is proving how much more badass you are than anyone else.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Go back to 4chan, buttplant.

---

oh if I'd posted things from 4chan...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hero

The only difference is that Darkstalkers retains a fan following while World Heroes fades into history. .

---

Attachment 50263

Take it back, cock-gobbler

Dude, as much as anyone may dig World Heroes, you can't say it enjoys the same fan following Darkstalkers has. Hell, in terms of SNK-based fighters, it doesn't have the same fan following KoF has, whereas DS has as much (if not moreso) an active fanbase as Street Fighter.

serious reply.

The amount of Intendo Power envelope fanart a game generates is a really awesome standard by which to evaluate something's artistic merit!

Don't all you kids a-hoot and a-holler over Ico and SotC and Rez? When was the last time you saw any of that on an envelope or Geocities page? They must be pretty uninspiring or at least not as inspiring as Jigglypuff.

I've seen a decent bit of SotC fanart. I actually have a particularly nice one that I got framed.

NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDS

Also, I forgot to add the most obvious answer to this: Most good games this gen are from the west, and most decent fanartists tend to either be from countries that don't care about western games, or weeaboos who wish they were.

and a fanartist who does care about western games? Well, then they're probably getting paid to be an actual game artist.

Is some one honestly asking why there isn't more fan art? Am I missing something important here?

Darkstalkers has always had some balls-out awesome character art/design. Possibly the best out of any game I've ever played. I'd kill for a new game.

BTW, that pic 'cheeks posted of Samus climbing out of her suit is pretty cool.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bojack

Is some one honestly asking why there isn't more fan art? Am I missing something important here?

---

Not really. Fan art was just an easy term to use.

To be more precise, I'm asking "why do some games have this certain something that makes artist both young and old want to create when they see and play it while other titles do not do this?" or "why do some games inspire creativity while others do not?" and "Is the lack of creativity in a decline?"

I didn't write all that however, because the original post was already long and I know how much ADD most of you have.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fe 26

Not really. Fan art was just an easy term to use.

To be more precise, I'm asking "why do some games have this certain something that makes artist both young and old want to create when they see and play it while other titles do not do this?" or "why do some games inspire creativity while others do not?" and "Is the lack of creativity in a decline?"

I didn't write all that however, because the original post was already long and I know how much ADD most of you have.

---

And let's be honest - while the pics you posted are cool to look at, requisitioning old mascots and mainstays isn't "inspired creativity" per se. Sure you can take old monikers and apply new perspective, style, or narrative to it all (and it's fun to boot!) but it really isn't as creative as say, doing your own thing.

I'd argue that Scott Pilgrim is a better example of a creative work inspired by videogames, than any of those fanart examples. Not to say one is better than another wholesale, but to put in proper context what it means to be creative and/or inspired by something.

I hate when people filter their perception like this. Shin Johnpv is right, but even further, every generation thinks "our music was better, our movies had more soul, our shows were more original," and they are all full of shit. Try replaying some of those games you love so much and tell us there wasn't some formula at work there, or rewatch some of your favorite shows, still think the Go-Bots were cool? Just accept that you're getting old and you're out of touch.

From an artistic standpoint I can see his claim, or at least a sample of it. That games today are getting pretty derivative of each other. However that sort of thing existed even Back Then, it's just the aesthetics have inverted. So instead of crazy nonsensical character designs with Saturday Morning appeal the norm, we get the Badass Gruff Oh Please Take Us Serious Because We Swear We're Mature Adolescent lot. The latter wasn't seen as frequent Back Then and the former is a harder lot to come by now.

That said, the quality of art assets, artistic production, aesthetics, and world building are done with much more care and deliberation today. Maybe that's part in parcel why they don't inspire (if they don't that is)? Many games today are visually defined to such a degree there's small room for interpretation - older games had small sprites, ugly polys, and smatterings of concept art to go off of for player visual cues.

For all I know though there are just as many (if not more) people creating as much fan art for God of War, Gears of War, Modern Warfare, Halo, et al as anything from Back Then. I know there's no shortage of fan lovin' for WoW and that isn't as ancient as say, the original SMB.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hero

Dude, as much as anyone may dig World Heroes, you can't say it enjoys the same fan following Darkstalkers has. Hell, in terms of SNK-based fighters, it doesn't have the same fan following KoF has, whereas DS has as much (if not moreso) an active fanbase as Street Fighter.

---

I was joking. World Heroes was shit, but sometimes I'm fond of shit just for its shittiness. Dig ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shine

I hate when people filter their perception like this. Shin Johnpv is right, but even further, every generation thinks "our music was better, our movies had more soul, our shows were more original," and they are all full of shit. Try replaying some of those games you love so much and tell us there wasn't some formula at work there, or rewatch some of your favorite shows, still think the Go-Bots were cool? Just accept that you're getting old and you're out of touch.

---

I think our generation was shit and the previous generation was where it was at, music wise. In fact a ton of people think that.

On topic, when a character is drawn with 20 pixels, it leaves alot more to the imagination.

Edit: Didn't notice hero said it way better than me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Destin

I think our generation was shit and the previous generation was where it was at, music wise. In fact a ton of people think that.

---

I think we already have a thread about that very topic (I may have even made it).

Yeah, the music is pretty different. I think it has a lot to do with modern games trying to copy film and produce soundtracks that don't distract from the game, as compared to previous games that wanted to pull gamers into a game with music. One is trying to not run you off, while the other wants to bring you in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fe 26

Not really. Fan art was just an easy term to use.

To be more precise, I'm asking "why do some games have this certain something that makes artist both young and old want to create when they see and play it while other titles do not do this?" or "why do some games inspire creativity while others do not?" and "Is the lack of creativity in a decline?"

I didn't write all that however, because the original post was already long and I know how much ADD most of you have.

---

A certain amount of whimsy that was common in games back in the day when coloful mascots and vibrant pallette searing environments were the norm? One can only get so worked up about another generic war sim that's all the rage.

Perhaps games just take much less imagination than they used to in order to get full enjoyment?

People just play the wrong games. At least Buttcheeks does.