The Future of Videogame Aesthetics

daniil writes "Here's another look at the 'Realism vs Style' debate. David Hayward, a level designer involved with UT2004 mod Alien Swarm, among others, has written an interesting essay on the aesthetics of videogames, suggesting that, similar to other art forms, the peak of realism in computer games might also be a plateau that acts as precursor to wider experimentation: "We've come a long way since the flint-carved figures of early 3D games, but there's still progress to make before we're producing the game equivalent of sixteenth century marbles. Though it makes for a myopic obsession when compared to the vastness of the picture plane, photo-realism is nonetheless a worthwhile technological achievement to aim for, because it is through this that games will attain the sensation of a lucid dream.""

Comments

Nintendo, Cel Shading, and the Caricature

[7Prime]

Nintendo, cel shaded? I'm curious of exactly what games you're talking about, since I've had a GC for a few years now and I've only played one cel shaded game, and that was Wind Waker, the only other one I can think of is Paper Mario 2. I've honestly played far more cel shaded games on the PS2 then on the GameCube. Sure, first party Nintendo games are meant to be "comic" in style, but very very few of them use cel shading. Then there's the discussion of what "cel shading" is, cel shading is just a graphic technique, and it's probably as widely varied as traditional textured polygon graphics. It can be used in a variety of ways and achieve numerous effects. Just compare the cell shading of Wind Waker (which, I might add, is probably the most unique use of cell shading I've yet to see) with Wild Arms 3 or Dark Cloud. Sure, they both may look cartoony, but similarly, I don't see anyone complaining that Cowboy Bebop is trying to look anything like Mickey Mouse.

I just think you're falling victim to your own arguement (of which I agree with). Instead of sticking with and examining the nuances of a certain graphical style, most companies tend to shift to extremes of realism to surrealism, when they've hammered one particular style to death. Nintendo, on the other hand, has been one of the only game companies that has not been wildly influenced by the latest trend, and tends to have a consistant aesthetic. When other companies were making Golden Eye, Unreal Tournament, Final Fantasy VII, and Half-life, they were doing Starfox 64, Mario 64, F-Zero X, and Majora's Mask. You have to remember that Nintendo is, and always has been, primarily a cartoon and comic based game company, in the same way that Pixar doesn't make realistic films. Sure, there's always Nintendogs and a few others that break the mould, but they're few and far between (and I wouldn't exactly put Nintendogs in the same genre as Halo 2). Their primary audiences are <12 and >20, children who either innocently accept the surealistic cartoon, and adults who are eager to retain some of that "lost" innocence. When I was little, I had trouble accepting it, but now I realize that my parents really did enjoy taking me to see a good cartoon at the movie theater, not just because I wanted to see it, but because they wanted to as well. Cel shading is a technique that "draws" objects in a way similar to traditional cartoons. If you're trying to make a game that draws on the feel of hand drawn caracatures, it's a pretty good way of doing it. I'm surprised that Nintendo hasn't done it more. Remember Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island? They developed some new advanced graphical techniques specifically designed to make the game world more hand drawn and innoncent looking in a very similar way that cel shading is used for Wind Waker today. Their aesthetic has changed very little over the years, as neither have many historic film and cartoon companies.

The teenage years aren't good for Nintendo, many mainstreem teens are likely to avoid cartoony looking things for fear that they may be seen as immature at a time of life when the most important thing is gaining independance and the recognition of being a mature "adult". At this time, "tastes" tend to swing wildly as far away from the caricaturistic as possible, which is why "ultra-realism", depicting all that was forbodden to them as children (violence, sex, language, etc.), is the style of choice. Teens have something to prove to the world, as they should, it's their time to gain self-recognition as an individual. But it's for this reason that the game industry has "turned" to ultra-realism. It's actually always been there, but it's hard for us to look back on the 8-bit era and see anything as "realistic", as we'll probably look back at the 2000's as an "age of innocence" come 2020.

I hate to come across looking like a fanboy of any company (who does?) but more and more Nintendo is emerging, in my mind, as the most cohesive and steady company in the industry. I watch as these Halos and Maddens come