Stylized Graphics - The War Against the Graphics War
Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 8:07 pm
Certainly there are countless threads on how people debate what game has the best graphics, or even debates about how you don't need good graphics to have a good game. This thread is a bit different. This thread is about how some types of graphics have reached their peak, and probably will not get much better in the coming years.
Part 1: Graphics wars
Certainly there will always be games that vie for the best graphics ever. The Doom 3's and Half-Life 2's. Those type of games will get more and more realistic, up to photorealism in the next 5 to 10 years. Bump mapping improves, textures improve, models get more detailed, etc. Even now, the cutting edge are getting ready to be replaced by tomorrows even more cutting edge.
This is natural progression, and people will always want to purchase these type of games, if for little more reason than to show off how powerful their computer is.
However, there are even today (even 3 years ago) types of games that are at the peak of how good they will look. These games are what I would call stylized games.
Part 2: Early stylized graphics
The earliest example of excellent stylized graphics I can find is Worms 2. Look at the screenshot, and try say it doesn't still look good today.
Worms was an early example of a game that didn't need what is commonly known as "cutting-edge graphics" to look good. It had a style to it, and that style has not improved through any of the sequels (and in fact, I'd argue that Worms3D was a major step down for the graphics)
Much later, a few more games began to show up that, while never really recognised as cutting-edge, have held up in a way that no bleeding edge games at the time could even hope to achieve.
One of the easiest examples of a genre that is looking about as good as it can look is 2D fighting games. These types of games have mostly reached the climax of how good they can look. And, they do indeed look good. A person can easily go back and play the original Street Fighter and have relatively few complaints about the graphics.
Then, about the time that the Dreamcast was ending its life, a few new games truly locked in places as the first 3D games to have such a style as to transcend time.
The first was Rez. Rez did indeed push the system pretty hard, but what made it different was that made the world it wanted to make. Even if it were to be remade today, it would look the same as it did then. You could not improve upon the look, because they had gotten exactly the look they wanted.
The next was Ico. I did not play Ico until 3 years after it was released, and upon playing it I was amazed at its simple sense of style, and the soft, washed out look that it used. Rarely has a game left me in such awe. Sure, you could make the models more detailed, but that is not what made the game look so great. What made it great was the soft style that the game was completely soaked in.
Part 3: Modern stylized games
This game leads us up to modern games. There are very few games right now that truly have a style of their own, but there are a few. Unfortunately, much of the current styles of games is resulting from cel-shading, which does have a look which lasts longer than realistic games, but it does not guarantee that it truly breaks into a perfect style of its own. Games like Tales of Symponia or Jet Set Radio Future will continue to look better, because they still have room to cram things onto the screen.
One cel-shaded game, however, has perfected its look. Viewtiful Joe. This game provides a stunning use of cel-shading, and by placing it against the movie backdrop has made a very unique style. This game will continue to look great even 10 years from now, and that is something special.
Of modern games, only one 3D game has gotten very close to being able to transcent time with its artwork, and that game is Beyond Good and Evil. What sets this game apart is its truly interesting character designs which clearly are not meant to be realistic. The game has a very smooth look, and by not attempting to give many of the settings and creatures realism, it has helped define itself. Granted, this game would look better with better technology, but it still has enough elements of style to help prolong its life as a "Good looking game."
Part 4: What is the point of this?
In the modern gaming world, it is easy to get caught up in waiting for the next big graphics game to come out. But there will always be the next Doom 3, or Far Cry. To make a cutting edge engine does help move the industry foward, but at the same time that game sets itself up to become obsolete. Only when game developers (and the public) stop focusing on "how realistic" the graphics are will we begin to see more developers taking chances and begining to make their games unique. In my opinion, these are the type of games that define what gaming is all about. Not cookie-cutter "photorealism" tests.
Part 1: Graphics wars
Certainly there will always be games that vie for the best graphics ever. The Doom 3's and Half-Life 2's. Those type of games will get more and more realistic, up to photorealism in the next 5 to 10 years. Bump mapping improves, textures improve, models get more detailed, etc. Even now, the cutting edge are getting ready to be replaced by tomorrows even more cutting edge.
This is natural progression, and people will always want to purchase these type of games, if for little more reason than to show off how powerful their computer is.
However, there are even today (even 3 years ago) types of games that are at the peak of how good they will look. These games are what I would call stylized games.
Part 2: Early stylized graphics
The earliest example of excellent stylized graphics I can find is Worms 2. Look at the screenshot, and try say it doesn't still look good today.
Worms was an early example of a game that didn't need what is commonly known as "cutting-edge graphics" to look good. It had a style to it, and that style has not improved through any of the sequels (and in fact, I'd argue that Worms3D was a major step down for the graphics)
Much later, a few more games began to show up that, while never really recognised as cutting-edge, have held up in a way that no bleeding edge games at the time could even hope to achieve.
One of the easiest examples of a genre that is looking about as good as it can look is 2D fighting games. These types of games have mostly reached the climax of how good they can look. And, they do indeed look good. A person can easily go back and play the original Street Fighter and have relatively few complaints about the graphics.
Then, about the time that the Dreamcast was ending its life, a few new games truly locked in places as the first 3D games to have such a style as to transcend time.
The first was Rez. Rez did indeed push the system pretty hard, but what made it different was that made the world it wanted to make. Even if it were to be remade today, it would look the same as it did then. You could not improve upon the look, because they had gotten exactly the look they wanted.
The next was Ico. I did not play Ico until 3 years after it was released, and upon playing it I was amazed at its simple sense of style, and the soft, washed out look that it used. Rarely has a game left me in such awe. Sure, you could make the models more detailed, but that is not what made the game look so great. What made it great was the soft style that the game was completely soaked in.
Part 3: Modern stylized games
This game leads us up to modern games. There are very few games right now that truly have a style of their own, but there are a few. Unfortunately, much of the current styles of games is resulting from cel-shading, which does have a look which lasts longer than realistic games, but it does not guarantee that it truly breaks into a perfect style of its own. Games like Tales of Symponia or Jet Set Radio Future will continue to look better, because they still have room to cram things onto the screen.
One cel-shaded game, however, has perfected its look. Viewtiful Joe. This game provides a stunning use of cel-shading, and by placing it against the movie backdrop has made a very unique style. This game will continue to look great even 10 years from now, and that is something special.
Of modern games, only one 3D game has gotten very close to being able to transcent time with its artwork, and that game is Beyond Good and Evil. What sets this game apart is its truly interesting character designs which clearly are not meant to be realistic. The game has a very smooth look, and by not attempting to give many of the settings and creatures realism, it has helped define itself. Granted, this game would look better with better technology, but it still has enough elements of style to help prolong its life as a "Good looking game."
Part 4: What is the point of this?
In the modern gaming world, it is easy to get caught up in waiting for the next big graphics game to come out. But there will always be the next Doom 3, or Far Cry. To make a cutting edge engine does help move the industry foward, but at the same time that game sets itself up to become obsolete. Only when game developers (and the public) stop focusing on "how realistic" the graphics are will we begin to see more developers taking chances and begining to make their games unique. In my opinion, these are the type of games that define what gaming is all about. Not cookie-cutter "photorealism" tests.