Totally disagree. Card games need some kind of floor for art quality. You have more fun playing minis games, whether 40K or Blood Rage, with cool-looking minis, right? Same thing here. Even in a game where you're drawing and dumping your hand every turn, if it's based on an IP, then it helps if what you're drawing and playing every turn actually looks like the property in question. If it's a bunch of half-assed representations of it, then a lot of the shine comes off. I know I was fairly disappointed in LE Predator's artwork. If' I'm drawing cards from Dutch's deck, it'd be cool if the guy on the cards looked even vaguely similar to Ahnold. Otherwise, my immersion, which is pretty good from the game mechanics, takes a step back.
Also, part of the appeal of a lot of games is how they look on the table. I've converted a couple people into Modern Art fans just based on what the game looks like. One of the greatest triumphs of Chaos in the Old World was its art design, with the map of the Old World stitched into a piece of skin. One of the most appealing things about Big Trouble in Little China (the board game; not the card game) are the visuals, with the excellent miniatures and the green mist and the neon of the mid-80s film. You can't overlook the art design of modern games. We've come a long way since hex-and-counter stuff and I think it's only been for the better.
Jackwraith wrote: I know I was fairly disappointed in LE Predator's artwork. If' I'm drawing cards from Dutch's deck, it'd be cool if the guy on the cards looked even vaguely similar to Ahnold.
Pretty sure Schwarzenegger owns the rights to his likeness. Artist legally couldn’t make it look like him.
Josh Look wrote: I think the hobby needs to hurry up and admit that none of this is about the art and stop damning/praising games for art. It’s clear that the majority of gamers dont know shit about it and if they did, they’d still throw money by the bucketload at games for a myriad of different reasons. Nothing would change.
My favorite and still go to game on my tablet is Dream Quest. The art is just garbage, and it is part of the charm.
Another game on my computer, Slay the Spire, has damn good art. However early in the beta the cards were very rough. Now that it is finally coming out of early access this week, one of the prizes for winning is to be able to use the ugly art instead.
DREAM QUEST is unfair. It's not that the art is bad; it's like there was no attempt. It's disqualifying.
Contrast to ASCENSION, which, uh, has a look. It grew on me, but was it because I liked the game so much? It's hard to say.
I have a couple of games I like more than I should, because they look so good. CARCASSONE: THE CASTLE is one. It's goddamned cool looking on the table. CONFLICT OF HEROES is another. Other hex-and-chit wargames are better but they look like magazine inserts.
I'm surprised you like the art for Slay the Spire, Mtagge. I like the gameplay, but I find the art really amateurish and off-putting. Sometimes it can be charming though, like the shape bosses (one looks like a donut).
Hmm, difference of taste I guess. For me the art style is good. I instantly recognize all the cards without garishness to clutter it up.
Compare it to Ascencion which I don't particularly care for the art. Too over the top. Now that the art swaps depending on what expansion I am playing it takes longer to recognize even basic cards like Mystic, Heavy Infantry, and Cultist. That was fine when gameplay was great, but now that they swapped out the engine underneath and it is much slower I won't even load it up despite getting beta keys from Asmodee's website.
It's not that I like or dislike art in these games, but they are secondary to gameplay and function. I haven't played Legendary past the Marvel ones, but I am intrigued by the gameplay changes in some of the others. The art wouldn't make a lick of difference to me in which one hits the table if I owned multiple. However I have kids and Marvel is a big draw and they know nothing about the other licenses.
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