What kind of computer graphics do you prefer in cRPGs?
I'm interested, what type of graphics/art do you prefer in RPG games. Of course, there's the modern "realistic/3D rendered" approach and there's the old-school "art/comic" style approach.
Now, in RPGs, we are more inclined to tolerate unrealistic movement/graphics style or sketchy-artsy graphics..but how much?
What is your preferred graphic style?
1) 3D rendered style, even when the realism and overall atmosphere come short. Very good looking games like Skyrim aren't really the case, but some others are (see example of a very botched game below)
2) hand-drawn art/comic-style 3D render, but the player has to accept lower level of "realism". These games usually use 2D sprites or less flashy/moving backgrounds and focus on drawn art on interface/sprites...
A comparing of games and some examples are in the spoiler below:
Examples of games (type):
1) Skyrim, Realms of Arkania remastered (see below), Dungeon Siege, System Shock, Shadowrun, new HOMAM games...
2) Might and Magic X, BG/IWD i guess, The Banner Saga, lots of old games...
Some of them could be in both of course, like the below-mentioned Drakensang, which is mostly rendered, but overlay-ed with lots of hand-drawn graphics.
Pretty bad example I patched together in the spoiler (with a picture)
Old Realms of Arkania games got remastered last year with pretty badly looking 3D graphics. Few years earlier, another developer has created their own off-spin Drakensang which looks much better, but the old games are still attractive in this regard.
Higher ress - http://i.imgur.com/nponK9h.jpg
Please express your preference and/or add details of art style that you like.
Thanks.
Now, in RPGs, we are more inclined to tolerate unrealistic movement/graphics style or sketchy-artsy graphics..but how much?
What is your preferred graphic style?
1) 3D rendered style, even when the realism and overall atmosphere come short. Very good looking games like Skyrim aren't really the case, but some others are (see example of a very botched game below)
2) hand-drawn art/comic-style 3D render, but the player has to accept lower level of "realism". These games usually use 2D sprites or less flashy/moving backgrounds and focus on drawn art on interface/sprites...
A comparing of games and some examples are in the spoiler below:
Examples of games (type):
1) Skyrim, Realms of Arkania remastered (see below), Dungeon Siege, System Shock, Shadowrun, new HOMAM games...
2) Might and Magic X, BG/IWD i guess, The Banner Saga, lots of old games...
Some of them could be in both of course, like the below-mentioned Drakensang, which is mostly rendered, but overlay-ed with lots of hand-drawn graphics.
Pretty bad example I patched together in the spoiler (with a picture)
Old Realms of Arkania games got remastered last year with pretty badly looking 3D graphics. Few years earlier, another developer has created their own off-spin Drakensang which looks much better, but the old games are still attractive in this regard.
Higher ress - http://i.imgur.com/nponK9h.jpg
Please express your preference and/or add details of art style that you like.
Thanks.
- What kind of computer graphics do you prefer in cRPGs?29 votes
- I prefer 3D rendered graphics17.24%
- I prefer hand-drawn art and/or slightly comicky-style48.28%
- Other (please speak your opinion) / I just want to see the results34.48%
4
Comments
I would like to know, why some devs go for ugly 3D-rendered engines even if they look bad, clunky and the figure movement looks terrible.
Also - I like the BGEE cinematics much more than the old rendered ones.
But personally graphics aren't high on my list of what I look for in a game, so whatever.
On a less sci-fi note I'm fond of a healthy mix between 1D, 2D, 3D and 4D.
Let's be honest, most of the avatari for the IE games were horrible! Male fighters had to wear a short skirt and a sleeveless doublet that doesn't fit them, and female fighters had to wear some weird leotard style thing. We generally came to accept them as part of the game, but I'm not going to pretend they were good. :-P
But in modern time. The witcher 1, TOEE and IWD i would say as a guide.
Still, my favorite type of graphics are ASCII graphics, specially when they are limited to the original ANSI characters. They leave a good place for the player's imagination and huge text descriptions.
Look at games like Chrono Trigger and BG and then at Morrowind, NwN1 or whatever.
But, depending on the game and what you want to achieve, you have to choose one or the other.
I don't have an issue with one or the other, but I would rather play an old 2D game than an old 3D game.
Old 2D games still look beautiful today. While old 3D games make my eyes hurt and I usually have to install model/texture packs.
I can play Genesis/SNES/GBA games just fine but please don't make me play some early Playstation/3D PC games.
And I am a blasphemer here for some, but damn some DOS RPGs look AWFUL. Incredibly pixelated and clunky-looking.
The way I see it, games with today's technology will never look exactly like real life. They will just look like cheap imitations. The little details that differentiate a 3D character from a real person will just be highlighted by the fact that they are "almost real". For example, NWN2 attempted to do this but your character just ends up looking like a wide eyed idiot with his mouth open... 24/7! Close your mouth dude, you look like an idiot!
The only way I've seen this problem circumvented is by making a more "cartoony" 2D animated game. By creating something else entirely, the characters do not look incongruous with what you would expect. For example:
When I play Baldur's Gate I expect to see characters in a two dimensional plane looking like people walking across an oil painting... and that is what I get.
When see someone play a game like Dragon Age I expect to see something that looks like real life... except what I end up seeing is this
Art isn't always about imitating reality... it can be about creating a new reality.
I think of it like Impressionism: recreating visual sensations without trying to duplicate reality. We intuitively *know* (Dak'kon voice) what things are supposed to look like, you don't need to spell it all out for us.
From a Play-doh.
Brown one only.
That's what I meant by the hand-draw art style - to make it a bit more cartoony.
My idea of perfect graphics would be an extremely high definition Baldur's Gate.
However, if you want true fantasy, unencumbered by the limitations of a dimensional universe it has to be drawn by an artist (not necessarily with a pen or in a comic style) with a creative, mistake addled, stressed, loved, loathed brain behind it.
Shaun Tan is a favourite of mine...