Wow, there is so much artwork out there on the internet! I've been recently looking at John Hathway's artwork, and it's absolutely stunning, you should check out the link! Absolutely gorgeous, and did give me a little inspiration for some interesting artwork. Nothing to show you yet on that front. However, it did make me want to talk a but about digital artwork and how it's being used in games, and where I think the future of game art is going, based on some indie trends rather than the AAA trends.
Game artwork is an EXPANSIVE universe, where anything is possible, from the silly to the extraordinarily detailed. But, often we hear people talk about how amazing the graphics are. Stop that. Stop that right now.
Graphics is actually just a technical term for the rendering of triangles, boxes, and other misc shapes, and how much can be rendered at once. We don't actually need this to improve, really. It's about as good as necessary for ultra-realistic art, with the current screens at least. What do we need to improve? The answer might surprise you.
Nothing.
That's right. Game art actually just needs people to explore and try new things. And they are starting to! And it's AWESOME! Right now, we run the gamut fully between 2D art, 2.5D art, and 3D art. And really, we should be jumping for joy. Why? I can't believe that question needs to be asked. Because we can do almost anything!
What we need to see in game art, which is forgotten in some indie titles, is a sense of comfort. That's a strange term, but I don't really have a better one. I've seen people reach for aesthetic, but it goes beyond that. If you are in a dingy, dirty hallway, but the carpet is spotless, (seriously, vacuumed yesterday), then it stands out like a really badly set broken thumb. Ouch. And this can instantly pull a player from their immersion. But, if you can make every aspect a comfort to every other aspect, (lighting, music, textures, camera effects, movement, etc), then you find yourself believing that this place could totally exist, and the player will be sucked in.
SUCKING THE PLAYER IN IS THE GOAL! FORGET MAKING COOL FEATURES, COOL ART, COOL ANYTHING. IF YOU CANNOT IMMERSE THE PLAYER IN THE STORY AND GAMEPLAY, YOU HAVE FAILED. But, don't worry, failure is how we learn, and really, there is a lot to learn here. This post is just about artwork, but there is very likely going to come story, etc.
Back to art, and thanks for sticking around this long.
How can we suck the player in more? That's a great question, and I wish I could give you a magic formula, but there isn't one, and there never will be. Because it's all about your game. Think about what you want your player to see and feel as they walk, run, drive, fly, or ooze about your world. What comes to mind? Now, the hard part is deciding what aspects of that are the most important.
Lights, Camera, Action. Not just for movies anymore, and your camera is one of the most important pieces of video game equipment you'll forget about. (It's not just you, everyone does it from time to time). How can we possibly make this thing work for us? Give it the same treatment hollywood does. Make the camera angles work for you. Here is a website with a bunch of camera angles, and what they are used for. Read it, and think of how to make this work.
Wow, this was not meant to be this long...I think I'll have to make this a two-parter. Sorry about that, but come back in a few days, I should have more ready for you.
Bye! <3
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