# Video games with a clean, bright, modernist aesthetic **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 7, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826 "2010-11-07T22:46:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/1 "2010-11-07T22:46:33Z")
I’m sick of looking at brown, gray, brown, gray, dust, dirt, brown, gray, tan, gray, brown. Contemporary video game designers seem to be, for some odd reason, head-over-heels in love with this ugly color palette. Every game I play nowadays, I’m half expecting to see Viggo Mortensen pushing a shopping cart. I don’t know where this obsession with dull shades of gray and brown came from, but I’m goddamn sick of it. What are some games on the opposite end of the spectrum: bright, clean-looking, with bold colors and a modern or futuristic vibe? [Mirror’s Edge](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1475&bih=800&q=mirror%27s+edge+ps3&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=) is one example. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/2 "2010-11-07T23:07:27Z")
Personally I like the messy post-apocalyptic look. My favourite game of recent years is Fallout 3. A game I bought recently does seem to have the kind of aesthetic you might like though - Mass Effect 2. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/3 "2010-11-07T23:19:41Z")
I can’t actually think of many that fit your particular aesthetic request - though I expect some entries in various Star Wars franchises would do. What about Vanquish? It’s got a shinier art style going on. In fact, most things that are really SCIFI as opposed to this “gritty near future” nonsense that’s all the rage right now, are more likely to put out with some cleaner lines. Of course, that’s still just taking a very limited view of “art styles other than ‘realistic’ greybrown” but…well, answering the question. 😛 Oh, are you interested in game types other than FPS/TPS? That opens up a lot more art too - the FPS/TPS field, being the “genre of the year” more or less, is the most…uhm…creatively barren area of the game industry right now, since most of the entries are all trying to copy a winning formula. ---
**Author:** ![mil0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mil0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mil0)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/4 "2010-11-07T23:28:32Z")
Team Fortress 2, though a bit old, fits the “bright and shiny” category. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FE2BvnUEJug/maxresdefault.jpg "TF2 [HD] - Chargin n Targin on Freight") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE2BvnUEJug) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/5 "2010-11-07T23:54:19Z")
From what I have seen of Alpha Protocol screenshots, that game may also fit the bill. Seems like a unique game. I may get it soon. I wish to hell this obsession with the “realistic” color palette would die a fiery death; that color palette is NOT realistic! The real world _as most people_ experience it looks _nothing_ like that. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/6 "2010-11-08T00:16:27Z")
Final Fantasy VIII fits the bill, but I suppose it’s kind of old by now. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/7 "2010-11-08T00:46:47Z")
Portal! Well, for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/8 "2010-11-08T03:07:16Z")
Hmm. Good question. - Assassin’s Creed 2 - Lots of bright colours. You’re in reneissance Italy, after all. Of course, during some parts you’re in reneissance Italian sewers. Where colour would probably just be disturbing. - Dead Rising 2 - Lots of colours. True fact: It’s entirely possible to beat a zombie to death with a pink handbag. It just takes a _lot_ of patience. - King’s Bounty: The Legend - Often an explosion of colour. Probably the prettiest RTS I’ve played, in terms of the environment coming to life with lots and lots of details. Those are from the games I’ve currently got installed. Dragon Age deserves an honorary mention, but does tend to go on (and on and on) with the dark and dreary dungeons or torch-lit massacres in the night. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/9 "2010-11-08T05:40:44Z")
> [@Gukumatz](#): > > - King’s Bounty: The Legend - Often an explosion of colour. Probably the prettiest RTS I’ve played, in terms of the environment coming to life with lots and lots of details. I can’t help myself - gotta nitpick: it’s not a RTS. It’s completely turn-based, except when you run around the big map, but that’s just moving around and not fighting. Otherwise some RTS-hatin’, turn-based strategy lovin’ guy like me might get the wrong idea from your post. Other than that, it came to my mind as well as a colorful game. It’s not just colorful, it’s also damn good. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/10 "2010-11-08T09:41:25Z")
What sort of games are you after? In any case… [Psychonauts](http://www.theaveragegamer.com/wp-content/Screenshots/Psychonauts/Psychonauts%20-%20Doors.jpg) is all funky-looking and has has you going into other people’s minds, each of which has a unique and clever visual design. [Ico](http://ui22.gamespot.com/1109/ico009_2.jpg) is very, very beautiful. [Here](http://images.trustedreviews.com/images/article/inline/3413-ico2.jpg)’s another screenshot just to convince you. Its spiritual successor Shadow of the Colossus is kind of brown sometimes, but not in a boring way. And, um… anything by [Vasily Zotov](http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/09/nov/spyf.jpg). Your eyes may never be the same. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/11 "2010-11-08T11:12:25Z")
It’s definitely not bright & modernist, but I was immensely impressed by [The Void](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Void_%28video_game%29)’s aesthetics: it’s mostly grey, black, dark, dank and depressing, but the splashes of Colour (and the Sister’s levels) become all the more resplendent, which completely fits with the theme of the game. Really unique game mechanics, too. As for 100% bright & sunny : Heroes of Might & Magic 5. Look it up, play it, love it. Or, you know, don’t. But that would make you a Philistine. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/12 "2010-11-08T16:37:49Z")
- Halo series - anything on the Wii ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/13 "2010-11-08T17:10:57Z")
You don’t say what kind of games you like or what system you have. There’s about a million colorful Wii games, so I’m guessing not that one. If you just want “bright and shiny”, though, your best bet is probably platformers. On the Xbox 360, I’m thinking **Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts** for a start. In the Live Arcade, there are the earlier Banjo-Kazooie games, plus some other colorful ones like **The Maw** and **Splosion Man**. Haven’t played **Comic Jumper** yet, but it looks similar. On the PS3, there’s the Sly Cooper games (collection is coming out tomorrow, as I recall), the Ratchet & Clank games, **Little Big Planet** …shouldn’t be hard to find something there, methinks. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/14 "2010-11-08T17:19:09Z")
Bioshock has a fairly dark palette, but it isn’t gray and brown - it’s underwater, so there’s a lot of blue. It’s a colorful place, the lighting’s just a little iffy. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/15 "2010-11-08T17:21:28Z")
Somehow I think the _Katamari Damacy_ series is not what you’re looking for, although it certainly is clean, bright, and modernist. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/16 "2010-11-08T18:18:49Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Bioshock has a fairly dark palette, but it isn’t gray and brown - it’s underwater, so there’s a lot of blue. It’s a colorful place, the lighting’s just a little iffy. The next bioshock game is set in the sky. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/17 "2010-11-08T21:46:06Z")
And should be quite bright, although not “modern” - it’s going to have more of a turn of the century aesthetic. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/18 "2010-11-08T23:44:33Z")
I don’t know about modernist, but Farcry and Crysis both have tons of bright happy primary colors (well, the beginning of crysis anyway) ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/19 "2010-11-10T23:27:58Z")
For a big-ish game that came out quite recently with a very colorful palette I’d point you towards Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. It’s set in post-apocalyptic New York and the surrounding area, but rather than the standard dull/dark palettes everything has been overgrown by foliage and there are some very pretty vistas. The Halo series, while I harp on how unoriginal it is, is also rather pretty and colorful. ---
**Author:** ![DETXL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/detxl/32/19366_2.png) [@DETXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DETXL)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826/20 "2010-11-11T01:47:31Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I don’t know where this obsession with dull shades of gray and brown came from, but I’m goddamn sick of it. My understanding is that it’s an attempt to get around the limitations of current-gen graphics cards with regards to lighting—an undersaturated brown and grey aesthetic makes this limitation much less glaring, because you’re expecting everything to be dull. Add in some bloom and, hey, you’re done. On the other hand, since even Nintendo felt compelled to ditch their bright-red logo for [that](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nintendo.svg), maybe it’s wider in scope. The fact that this trend warrants [its own page on TV Tropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealIsBrown) and has been mocked everywhere from [_Cracked_ magazine](http://www.cracked.com/article_16196_the-7-commandments-all-video-games-should-obey_p7.html) to [_VG Cats_](http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=222) suggests that you’re not the only one who is “goddamn sick of it” (I am too), but the fact that it sticks around probably suggests that the voices of people who are opposed to the brown-grey palette are in a vocal minority. One game that I think benefits very strongly from a more oversaturated palette, and which is available on the PC, is _Just Cause 2_, which is much closer to the first _Far Cry_ than anything I’ve seen in a long while. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-with-a-clean-bright-modernist-aesthetic/559826.md?page=2)