Art Style
So, I’m debating between two different art styles for my next game.
then tell me whether you like the realistic style (images 1 and 3) or the cartoony style (images 2 and 4) better.
E-mail me at psteinmeyer A T newcrayon . c0m
So, I’m debating between two different art styles for my next game.
then tell me whether you like the realistic style (images 1 and 3) or the cartoony style (images 2 and 4) better.
E-mail me at psteinmeyer A T newcrayon . c0m
March 15th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
I like the realistic backgrounds and the cartoony UI.
March 15th, 2006 at 6:51 pm
They both are very nice. I would go with the cartoon look however.
March 15th, 2006 at 7:33 pm
4-2 meaning of life 😉
March 15th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
I agree with with Timbo. I like the realistic backgrounds with the cartoony UI too.
March 15th, 2006 at 9:26 pm
Definitely go with the cartoony style.
I have a small cell phone game company (Icarus Productions) and I am constantly arguing with my publisher about this topic. He wants “photo-realistic” and I definitely prefer and believe more gamers prefer cartoony and fun.
Andrew
March 15th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
I agree with Timbo and Jon. The cartoony icons make them pop out and are easy to “read”, meanwhile the photo background makes it calming and non-distracting and blend into the background… as it should.
March 15th, 2006 at 11:21 pm
I like the realistic … however after seeing how most people here prefer the cartoony, I went back and had a second look … and still thought the realistic looked more polished.
I’m half-joking here, but why not do both and let the user choose? Kind of like how Chessmaster let you choose what kind of board and pieces you wanted to play with. (Yes, I know it’s more work and money.) 😉
March 16th, 2006 at 1:09 am
I like the realistic ones better. It looks like such a nice beach…
March 16th, 2006 at 2:27 am
I also prefer the photorealistic background with the cartoony dialog.
I think it may be that while the photorealistic background looks good and polished, the dialog in that set doesn’t quite fit the whole theme, it’s too sharp and angular. If you could get a similar ‘natural’ look to what you have on the cartoon dialog, but with a photorealistic shine, that could probably seal the deal for me 😉
March 16th, 2006 at 7:13 am
I would choose the photorealistic background as it emphasizes the playfield better. The cartoony background is imo “too distracting” from the playfield especially with the outlined green leaves.
For the items like the melon, banana etc. I would choose the cartoony look as it brings them out very cleary.
Regarding the photorealistic UI, I would ask the artist to make the bamboo and the ropes slightly more detailed and with an outline, more towards the cartoony look.
Also there’s a small “typo” in the UI dialog box.
In this beach setting I would definitely go with some small animations like a crab crawling on the sand, a boat sailing by, a shark in the water or an airplane in the sky flying over 😉
Overall the design looks good.
March 16th, 2006 at 8:48 am
I’d have to agree with most of the other posts here. The realistic background give the game a nice polished look while calling less attention to itself than the cartoony look, while the cartoony look icons are probably much better “read” by the player.
March 16th, 2006 at 9:25 am
I’d also agree that cartoony UI with the photo-realistic background is the way to go. Keep up the good work.
March 16th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Personally I prefer the cartoon style both in terms of style and in terms of readiability. I personally feel that stylistic/cartoony graphics are the way to go for most smaller budget games. There is a certain threshold, sort of like the uncanny valley, that I think you need to surpass before realistic graphics start to look better than stylized graphics, and that threshold generally takes more of a budget than most casual games are going to have.
March 16th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
I would also say that the background tiles are too dark as in the corner. I would lighten up that gradient quite a bit to make the corner tiles as easy to read as the other tiles.
March 18th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
Cartoony game board and UI both worked best for me.
March 20th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
I like the cartoony game board and UI. They give the effect of a fun puzzler which I think would make it more appealing to the casual gamer.
March 21st, 2006 at 1:16 pm
just to chime in with the choire – I thought the natural game screen and the comic UI looked good too, because both have an organic feel to it. I also agree that emphasizing the game background with outlines puts far too much emphasis on it, The detailed comic-like palm-tree is definitely too much. At second glance – maybe thinner outlines on the comic version and just a slight bit more texture will do too.
March 28th, 2006 at 9:55 am
[…] In regard to the art style for my next game, blogged about here, I decided to go with the cartoony style (tweaked a bit). Thanks for all the comments/feedback. […]