I wasn’t really thinking about the geography or the architecture so much as a sum total, a common thread along which every element of the game’s design flows perfectly - the design and animations of the Colossi ; the sounds they make ; the way they move and react (or don’t react) to your climbing and stabbing them ; the unusual way the protagonist moves and fights (he’s very nimble and agile and an outsanding horseman, but wields his sword in clumsy ways that suggest he’s no warrior) ; the growing feeling as you progress through the game that maybe, just maybe, you might be the bad guy here (if only out of the pained, perhaps even surprised noises the Colossi make when you off them, and the ObviouslyOminouslyEvil smoke that invades the hero’s body right after) ; the deliberate lack of any context or plot to your actions which reinforces that notion ; even the barrenness of the world plays into this pervasive sense of… weariness I want to say ? Like the protagonist begins the game already at the end of his rope. Like the weight of the world is on his shoulders, and no one can help him on his desperate, possibly nihilistic road. Except for Agro <3 !
In that context, the “bland” and desolate landscape fits perfectly.
I do agree with you on *Skyrim *though. It’s extremely pretty and technically near flawless, and it obviously “works”, but it’s in no way original or striking. In fact, I like to say you pretty much know exactly where you stand from a lore/universe point of view right from the opening scene & tutorial even if you don’t know anything about the Elder’s Scroll series, and exactly what kind of things you’re going to be seeing throughout the rest of the game.
Which admittedly does make the pseudo-Asian temple of the Blades all the more striking and “out of place”. That was a neat touch. But we’re generally nowhere near Morrowind in terms of awe and wonder.
A lot of this was lost on me, and I’m in the small selection of people who apparently thought this game really WASN’T all that (Games in which they try to pull the “You’re doing/going to do something morally questionable and there’s nothing you the player can do about it.” card almost NEVER work for me. I was ANNOYED by the whole thing by about the 5th colossus, and it was a literal effort for me to continue.) but I’m generally willing to concede that it’s a well put together game, but I’m not sure this constitutes “art style” which I tend to think of as a more narrow criteria. A really well put together film would get best picture, or something, whereas a film with a great art style would get a cinematography award or something. Similarly, for games, SotC may (or may not be) a really good, well put together game, but I don’t think the art style is remarkable in and of itself.
+1
That game is intensely atmospheric for a basic platformer. Equal parts creepy, surreal, and chilling. Reminds me alot of the Deathly Hallows story told by Hermoine from HP 7.1.
I’m going to chime in and agree with Kobal2 about Shadow the Colossus. I thought it was a very unique game. It was one of the last great games for PlayStation 2. Had a very unique and artsy feel to it.
Even though I’ve never played any of them (just watched others play), I’ve been very impressed by the stylistic visuals of a lot of independent developer games. Like Limbo, Braid, Fez, even Super Meat Boy.
Gorgeous, gorgeous games with a graffiti-inspired Neo-Tokyo vibe. And the music is J-pop, J-techno and J-hip-hop bliss. Just totally great.
JSR (ca. 2000) was the first game I had ever seen cel-shading in. Unfortunately, this style seemed to get a bit diluted in the early-mid 2000s as it became a trend (I’m looking at you, Cel-da) :rolleyes:
But on the whole, graffiti+great music+neon+Neo-Tokyo - I love the art style of JSR and JSRF so much.
To stick up for Skyrim, style does not always mean stylized, which is a common attribute of many of the games cited so far. “Realistic” and “pretty” are stylistic choices, ones that, IMO, worked well with Skyrim’s theme of gritty fantasy. Borderland’s graphic novel visual style-- although still relatively realistic compared to many games-- similarly lent itself to the game’s over-the-top humor.
Also, style is not just the overall look of the game, but the design of buildings, landscape, and characters. Buildings are typically utilitarian, with some ornate exceptions. I’m fond of Whiterun in particular. Shacks and tumbledown forts are common sights. I’m not as fond of waterfalls as the designers are, and some of the building sites are questionable, but the landscape is impressive, aided particularly well, IMO, in how sunlight looks. As for character design, I think the designers did make some mistakes, sometimes failing to keep realism in mind, particularly with later types of heavy armor, which fell solidly into heavy metal album art country. Still, um… huh. Went and googled images for “skyrim character design” and they’re a bit crap. Even the horned helmet guy looks dorky. Yeah, OK, so that’s not so good, but there’s still a lot to like about Skyrim’s style.
Hmm… Windwaker and Skyward Sword are up there for me. The World Ends With You and Muramasa are pretty good too. But if I had to pick my top three, I’d probably pick Shadow of the Colossus, ICO, and Okami.
I loved the style of Bioshock. The Art Deco thing was really gorgeous and I suspect the upcoming Bioshock: Infinite will be no slouch. Fallout 3 went for a Raygun Gothic/Retro-Futuristic style, but then layered hundreds of years of decay on it , so while it was distinctive, it wasn’t exactly beautiful.
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