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× Talk about whatever you like related to games that doesn't fit anywhere else.

Let’s Talk About Art and Graphic Design in Games

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16 Nov 2018 22:28 #286307 by ubarose
There is absolutely wonderful art in games. That’s one of the pleasures of playing them, owning them and collecting them. It is particularly impressive when you know the constraints the artists are working with, and how many different artists are sometimes involved.
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17 Nov 2018 00:24 #286314 by Michael Barnes
OMG I forgot about Britannia Man. I just laid into that dude. He was like some old man agonizing over the kids what with their Intendo games and what not.

Games are a visual medium and the way they look is important. Illustrations and graphic design can convey setting, atmosphere, narrative and even meaning.

Mushroom Eaters remains one of the most stunning visual gaming experiences I’ve ever had. It really is art as a game.

Root has the best game art of 2018. As we speak, Game illustrators around the world are ripping it off. It is going to change the trend of game illustration.

Villainous is the best looking mainstream, licensed game I’ve ever seen. It’s so well done- thoughtful and immersive and it also feels like a fresh take on the settings and characters.

I still love Risk: Black Ops but it’s style isn’t as shocking and revolutionary now as it was on 2008.

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17 Nov 2018 00:45 - 17 Nov 2018 00:49 #286316 by Space Ghost
Double post.

EDIT: DAMNIT, not a double post! I am much too lazy to retype everything. Short story: I wish I understood more about the technical aspects of art.
Last edit: 17 Nov 2018 00:49 by Space Ghost.

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17 Nov 2018 15:18 #286324 by SuperflyPete

Josh Look wrote:

SuperflyTNT wrote: “You aren’t allowed to discuss art in games because it hurts someone’s feelings” isn’t a reasonable expectation. The magic is to be objective and civil.


The self-awareness of my hyperbole didn’t really come across, but whatever. Besides, it was less about my feelings and more about saying something I shouldn’t and hurting other people’s feelings.

Or maybe I’m just making this up in an effort to bring back Friday Freakout?


If I didn’t know you personally I might surmise that, but the reality is that you’re a good man who cares deeply about people and how they’re treated. I know why you get triggered when people go off about art, but I think your personality and ability to clearly elucidate fact would be best used in educating people on WHY shit is like it is rather than lashing out and getting angry.

Yes, I am a black as fuck pot calling your kettle black, but we’re both the same in one regard - we care about people. I’m just a much larger cunt when I get triggered. But I’m working on it. The 2008 Pete isn’t the same 2018 Pete.
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17 Nov 2018 15:37 #286328 by repoman

DarthJoJo wrote: Is there good art in games? Is Modern Art ruined by good art? Do we actually mean design when we say art? Were the Legendary licenses so expensive that high schoolers were put in charge of art and design? Do gamers even know good art?

Which artists and designers are overrated? Underrated? Properly rated?

Please, share.


There is artistry in games. It's silly to think otherwise. I think you have to have the right mind set to appreciate it. Just like the beauty of a motorcycle or a custom car may be lost on those that are not interested in such things, so to in gaming.

The map/board in Path's of Glory is beautiful. The recent game of Western Legends is great looking. Fury of Dracula (2nd ed) is great as well. When you couple functionality with a pleasing look you are creating art.

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17 Nov 2018 21:27 #286345 by Robert Facepalmer

hotseatgames wrote: Forgive me, I'm not going to look up names, as I'm a few glasses of wine into my Friday night. Some artists I like, and I'm not commenting on the games at all:
1. Guy who did the art for CMON Godfather
2. Artist for Wasteland Express


1. Karl Kopinski. I have loved his art since he was first doing art in Inferno/Warhammer Monthly. That dude just has such a good grasp of anatomy and motion. He has a series of sketchbooks that are worth tracking down. His color work is good, but there is just something about his b/w art that does it for me.
2. Riccardo Burchielli. He did a comic with Ashley Wood for Vertigo called DMZ that wasn't quite as bugged-out as Wasteland, but still really good with his antsy, frenetic style.
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17 Nov 2018 21:40 #286347 by stoic
I know that I've said this before, but, I dig Bob Pepper's artwork from DarkTower and Dragonmaster. I don't know how they'll do a credible reimplementation of DarkTower, which is supposed to be upcoming, unless they also obtain the rights to Bob Pepper's artwork.








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17 Nov 2018 22:14 #286348 by Sagrilarus

repoman wrote: Just like the beauty of a motorcycle or a custom car may be lost on those that are not interested in such things,


The curve of the hood line on the new Camaro is gorgeous.

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18 Nov 2018 00:14 #286350 by stoic
More of my favorite artwork from board games:

Fortress America






Heroquest



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18 Nov 2018 01:40 #286352 by Michael Barnes
I asked Restoration the Bob Pepper question- not happening.
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18 Nov 2018 06:09 - 18 Nov 2018 06:21 #286354 by Erik Twice
I'm going to go ahead and say that miniatures look wrong in most games because they are realistic depictions, not representations. That is, a cat in Root is not a physical cat, but a picture that represents an army of cats. This works well with the map, which is also not a satellite picture, but a representation with no given scale. On the other hand, a hyper-detailed viking in Blood Rage is not a representation, it's a hyperrealistic depiction placed on top of a map that is not hyperrealistic.

I don't know how to explain it well, but I hope the point gets across.

DarthJoJo wrote: Is Modern Art ruined by good art?

Not Modern Art, but I do remember thinking that the new, actually great art of High Society actually goes against the theme of the game by portraying that society as being tolerant and diverse. The new edition has a black woman on the cover, one of the very few games to do so, cards bend gender roles (eg. Men with perfume) and there's a transexual-looking person on one of the cards. This would be nice in any other game, but here it seems to portray High Society as something good and tolerant, which is very much not the idea behind the game.
Last edit: 18 Nov 2018 06:21 by Erik Twice.
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18 Nov 2018 06:28 #286355 by mc
There's possibly a case to be made that that simply represents the perceived decadence of fast and loose high flyers but my generally liberal head might explode if I keep thinking too hard about it.

Although perfume for a male isn't so weird, is it? Especially not in quasi frenchy belle epoque fantasy land.

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18 Nov 2018 10:03 #286361 by xthexlo
There is a lot that goes on between game concept-concept art-concept lock-final art. In my opinion, it is in the middle two of these four activities where magic happens (if it happens).

If you find a solid partner for concept art, it can influence the game design itself — especially if the art is reflective of mechanisms, characters, or primary entities in the game. A good concept artist can expose a designer’s biases and a design’s structural limitations as swiftly and easily as holding ones art work up to a mirror can’t expose all its flaws and imperfections.

Locking the concept art is an equally magical time, because that’s when the myriad possibilities of expression are eliminated in favor of one. That one lock on form, style, color palate, color temperature, texture, etc. will define the bounds of the final art.

In my opinion, game designers should begin interacting with conceptual artists when they begin to interact with play testers.
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18 Nov 2018 10:10 #286362 by Shellhead

xthexlo wrote: There is a lot that goes on between game concept-concept art-concept lock-final art. In my opinion, it is in the middle two of these four activities where magic happens (if it happens).

If you find a solid partner for concept art, it can influence the game design itself — especially if the art is reflective of mechanisms, characters, or primary entities in the game. A good concept artist can expose a designer’s biases and a design’s structural limitations as swiftly and easily as holding ones art work up to a mirror can’t expose all its flaws and imperfections.

Locking the concept art is an equally magical time, because that’s when the myriad possibilities of expression are eliminated in favor of one. That one lock on form, style, color palate, color temperature, texture, etc. will define the bounds of the final art.

In my opinion, game designers should begin interacting with conceptual artists when they begin to interact with play testers.


This has been happening over the course of 2018 to a friend of mine who is designing a card game. A year ago, the game was about fleets of space ships battling to conquer planets, with cards mostly representing ships or planets. Then he started working with a bunch of artists to do the card art, and he kept seeing fantastic pictures of people. So the game has changed to incorporate a more human dimension, with diplomats, scientists, spies, military commanders, etc. It still has the planets and the fleets, but now it also has the leaders who are driving the conflict.
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18 Nov 2018 10:56 #286364 by Msample
I'm speaking mainly on the wargame side of the business here:


I think when evaluating art there are two components that need to be considered - aesthetics and functionality .

There are maps that are suitable for wall framing, but fail the functionality test, sometimes alarmingly so. Mark Mahaffey is the poster child for this. At times he produces maps that do both, but too many times he "pushes the envelope" for the sake of being different and is notoriously tone deaf to feedback. He gets work both due to the scarcity of people willing to do the work for what it pays and by being cheaper than most other artists .

Mark Simonitch has the advantage of both being a graphics guy as well as an excellent designer and the finished product benefits greatly.


As for artists not being paid living wages...a friend of mine has repeatedly told me that his day job as a graphic designer pays much better than what he would get doing artwork for game companies.
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