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What is it that initially sparks your interest in a game? - Well, there can be many reasons. Perhaps it's the development team behind the game? Perhaps it's the hype surrounding its forthcoming release? Perhaps it's just simply that it's an update of one of your favourite titles? I suppose the reasons can be wide and varied. But for me personally, the major element that sparks my interest in a new game is the visual style.
When you think about it, how many games just look the same as other previous releases? The typical FPS graphics for instance: the clinical facility, the gloomly sewer, the plush skyscraper - it's all been seen many times before. The same can be said of Racers, Beat-Em-Ups, RPGs, platformers - in fact, any genre you care to mention.
Of course a unique approach to the style of a game's graphics does not mean the result will be any good - gameplay, sound, music, plot, etc are just as important, that goes without saying - but in a time when graphics are generally of an excellent standard, it is the originality of the overall visual look that can really make a new game stand out from the crowd. Just think about how the cel-shaded graphics of Jet Set Radio have influenced the games industry - even Miyamoto has adopted this technique for the new Zelda game on the GameCube.
In this day and age we are all probably a little guilty of taking good graphics for granted. In the PSone and N64 era, graphics swayed from being half decent to really poor, but with the arrival of the next-gen consoles, the fear of aweful graphics has been almost completely dispelled. So in the here and now, what are our expectations when it comes to graphics?
Obviously we want them to be of a certain quality, but I think we also want them to have style and charisma, a unique twist beyond the normal: something we haven't really seen before - something that will make us really sit up and take notice. Yet when I try to imagine "new & different" visual styles, the sound of my head hitting a brick wall can be heard. Beyond the general cartoony & realistic looks, what really is there?
>pause<
......I tell you what I would like to see: I'd like it if developers based the overall look of certain games on famous works of art. It sounds a bit mushy, but just imagine an adventure set in a gameworld which had the dreamy appearance of a Monet painting, or a First Person Shooter staged in a place which looks like the stark and forceful painting style of a Van Gogh landscape, or the setting of a platformer based on the vivid and colourful artwork of eastern religions, or - I think you get the picture.
Yet beyond basing the design of a game's graphics on renowned works of art, it's difficult to think of anything else [specifically], but it could be said that there is surely enough diverse material in this field to inspire unique game environments.
So, graphical originality: Is it important? Is it important to you? And if so, where's the inspiration for new visual styles coming from?
When you think about it, how many games just look the same as other previous releases? The typical FPS graphics for instance: the clinical facility, the gloomly sewer, the plush skyscraper - it's all been seen many times before. The same can be said of Racers, Beat-Em-Ups, RPGs, platformers - in fact, any genre you care to mention.
Of course a unique approach to the style of a game's graphics does not mean the result will be any good - gameplay, sound, music, plot, etc are just as important, that goes without saying - but in a time when graphics are generally of an excellent standard, it is the originality of the overall visual look that can really make a new game stand out from the crowd. Just think about how the cel-shaded graphics of Jet Set Radio have influenced the games industry - even Miyamoto has adopted this technique for the new Zelda game on the GameCube.
In this day and age we are all probably a little guilty of taking good graphics for granted. In the PSone and N64 era, graphics swayed from being half decent to really poor, but with the arrival of the next-gen consoles, the fear of aweful graphics has been almost completely dispelled. So in the here and now, what are our expectations when it comes to graphics?
Obviously we want them to be of a certain quality, but I think we also want them to have style and charisma, a unique twist beyond the normal: something we haven't really seen before - something that will make us really sit up and take notice. Yet when I try to imagine "new & different" visual styles, the sound of my head hitting a brick wall can be heard. Beyond the general cartoony & realistic looks, what really is there?
>pause<
......I tell you what I would like to see: I'd like it if developers based the overall look of certain games on famous works of art. It sounds a bit mushy, but just imagine an adventure set in a gameworld which had the dreamy appearance of a Monet painting, or a First Person Shooter staged in a place which looks like the stark and forceful painting style of a Van Gogh landscape, or the setting of a platformer based on the vivid and colourful artwork of eastern religions, or - I think you get the picture.
Yet beyond basing the design of a game's graphics on renowned works of art, it's difficult to think of anything else [specifically], but it could be said that there is surely enough diverse material in this field to inspire unique game environments.
So, graphical originality: Is it important? Is it important to you? And if so, where's the inspiration for new visual styles coming from?
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What is it that initially sparks your interest in a game? - Well, there can be many reasons. Perhaps it's the development team behind the game? Perhaps it's the hype surrounding its forthcoming release? Perhaps it's just simply that it's an update of one of your favourite titles? I suppose the reasons can be wide and varied. But for me personally, the major element that sparks my interest in a new game is the visual style.
When you think about it, how many games just look the same as other previous releases? The typical FPS graphics for instance: the clinical facility, the gloomly sewer, the plush skyscraper - it's all been seen many times before. The same can be said of Racers, Beat-Em-Ups, RPGs, platformers - in fact, any genre you care to mention.
Of course a unique approach to the style of a game's graphics does not mean the result will be any good - gameplay, sound, music, plot, etc are just as important, that goes without saying - but in a time when graphics are generally of an excellent standard, it is the originality of the overall visual look that can really make a new game stand out from the crowd. Just think about how the cel-shaded graphics of Jet Set Radio have influenced the games industry - even Miyamoto has adopted this technique for the new Zelda game on the GameCube.
In this day and age we are all probably a little guilty of taking good graphics for granted. In the PSone and N64 era, graphics swayed from being half decent to really poor, but with the arrival of the next-gen consoles, the fear of aweful graphics has been almost completely dispelled. So in the here and now, what are our expectations when it comes to graphics?
Obviously we want them to be of a certain quality, but I think we also want them to have style and charisma, a unique twist beyond the normal: something we haven't really seen before - something that will make us really sit up and take notice. Yet when I try to imagine "new & different" visual styles, the sound of my head hitting a brick wall can be heard. Beyond the general cartoony & realistic looks, what really is there?
>pause<
......I tell you what I would like to see: I'd like it if developers based the overall look of certain games on famous works of art. It sounds a bit mushy, but just imagine an adventure set in a gameworld which had the dreamy appearance of a Monet painting, or a First Person Shooter staged in a place which looks like the stark and forceful painting style of a Van Gogh landscape, or the setting of a platformer based on the vivid and colourful artwork of eastern religions, or - I think you get the picture.
Yet beyond basing the design of a game's graphics on renowned works of art, it's difficult to think of anything else [specifically], but it could be said that there is surely enough diverse material in this field to inspire unique game environments.
So, graphical originality: Is it important? Is it important to you? And if so, where's the inspiration for new visual styles coming from?
When you think about it, how many games just look the same as other previous releases? The typical FPS graphics for instance: the clinical facility, the gloomly sewer, the plush skyscraper - it's all been seen many times before. The same can be said of Racers, Beat-Em-Ups, RPGs, platformers - in fact, any genre you care to mention.
Of course a unique approach to the style of a game's graphics does not mean the result will be any good - gameplay, sound, music, plot, etc are just as important, that goes without saying - but in a time when graphics are generally of an excellent standard, it is the originality of the overall visual look that can really make a new game stand out from the crowd. Just think about how the cel-shaded graphics of Jet Set Radio have influenced the games industry - even Miyamoto has adopted this technique for the new Zelda game on the GameCube.
In this day and age we are all probably a little guilty of taking good graphics for granted. In the PSone and N64 era, graphics swayed from being half decent to really poor, but with the arrival of the next-gen consoles, the fear of aweful graphics has been almost completely dispelled. So in the here and now, what are our expectations when it comes to graphics?
Obviously we want them to be of a certain quality, but I think we also want them to have style and charisma, a unique twist beyond the normal: something we haven't really seen before - something that will make us really sit up and take notice. Yet when I try to imagine "new & different" visual styles, the sound of my head hitting a brick wall can be heard. Beyond the general cartoony & realistic looks, what really is there?
>pause<
......I tell you what I would like to see: I'd like it if developers based the overall look of certain games on famous works of art. It sounds a bit mushy, but just imagine an adventure set in a gameworld which had the dreamy appearance of a Monet painting, or a First Person Shooter staged in a place which looks like the stark and forceful painting style of a Van Gogh landscape, or the setting of a platformer based on the vivid and colourful artwork of eastern religions, or - I think you get the picture.
Yet beyond basing the design of a game's graphics on renowned works of art, it's difficult to think of anything else [specifically], but it could be said that there is surely enough diverse material in this field to inspire unique game environments.
So, graphical originality: Is it important? Is it important to you? And if so, where's the inspiration for new visual styles coming from?