The Art of Damocles Trailer for Ryce: Son of Rome videogame

A couple of weeks ago a trailer video for a new 3D game came to my attention. Although it has not got much to do with 2D games  it does have a lot to do with the art style in video games.

The game is called Ryce: Son of Rome. It is a third person action-adventure that has been developed by Crytek (using CryEngine) and is about to get released in November for Xbox One.

The main developers goal for this videogame was to merge story and action  and to improve the emotional quality of the game. They have used many film techniques like building of a character, Imaginarium motion capture for capturing full actor performances (face and body at the same time). However, what I want to talk about is 'Damocles' trailer video created by Jakub Jabłoński and Platige.


Watch trailer here:

I think this trailer demonstrates an outstanding creativity. The idea of using painted textures for 3D models is a great idea in my opinion and shows that game developers becoming braver in exploring possibilities of applying traditional art within games.

The art within the trailer reminds me somewhat concept art for Guild Wars 2.

Here are some examples of Guild Wars 2 art:

ArenaNet. 2011. [online image]. ArenaNet. Available from: http://gw2guides.blogspot.co.uk/ [Accessed 30 October 2013]

ArenaNet. 2011. [online image]. ArenaNet. Available from: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=166738&page=4#.Uvoixvl_t8E [Accessed 30 October 2013]

Some of the viewers’ response in comments sections on YouTube and other websites seem to be mainly positive. Quite a few people seem to express a whish of having the whole game art looking like it does in this trailer. Game audiences seem to be maturing and looking for new ways to enjoy videogames. Hopefully in the near future some game developers will take on this idea.


For more information on making of the Damocles trailer:

More about the developing process:
http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/ryse-son-of-rome-the-legend-of-damocles-by-platige-image/
More still images showing development process:
http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/making-of-ryse-son-of-rome-the-legend-of-damocles-by-platige-image/

Platige http://www.platige.com/en/


Also a short video developed by Glasgow’s Axis animation studio for MTV awards. It also has 3D models textured using hand painted/drawn textures:  http://vimeo.com/7432584

Child of Light

This week I've found out about a new game named 'Child of Light' that is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal.

Here is a link to their website: http://childoflight-game.com/

Watch trailer on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXBbB4sfEpQ
YouTube video of Child of Light Walkthrough Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkljZTI2ryA

Developers Tumblr blog: http://childoflightgame.tumblr.com/


What is known so far about the game:

It is a platforming role-playing genre game with a strong focus on narrative and atmosphere. Art style draws inspiration from artists from golden age of illustration, art nouveau as well as Studio Ghibli and Yoshitaka Amano.

Available modes: single as well as multiplayer.
Developer team is using UbiArt Framework engine (used for another Ubisoft game: 'Rayman').
Expected release date is sometime  2014.


‘Child of Light’ game is about a child called Aurora who falls asleep and in her dream visits mythical world of Lemuria. There she must bring back the sun, the moon and the stars from 'Queen of the Night' captivity to be able to return to her home located somewhere in 1895's Austria and her duke father.

I think the most amazing thing about it is the fact that this type of art style game is being developed by big game development studio. In my opinion, if Ubisoft will manage to make it a really good game (gameplay and story wise) it’s going to be a major step towards 'art house' games taking their place in mainstream game development field. Possibly, it will fully open doors to a 'traditional art' inspired art games because so far we have only seen only very few indie companies dabble in this kind of art style for games. I think it certainly shows that game development industry is maturing and especially 2D game developers, starting to explore 2D game potential: looking at more interesting ways how it can be presented to their player base.

My favourite quote that came from the blog:
‘Video games are cultural products as much as movies or music. We have the opportunity to bring to life content that enriches people’s lives and is as diverse as the reality we all live in.  We must seize this opportunity! ‘ by Mélissa Cazzaro

Some  game screenshots


Ubisoft. 2013. [online image]. Available from: http://www.xb1.co.uk/features/child-of-light-hands-on-with-xbox-ones-first-jrpg-like-game/ [Accessed 30 October 2013]


Ubisoft. 2013. [online image]. Available from: http://www.writeca.com/2013/09/14/child-of-light-ubisoft-montreal/ [Accessed 30 October 2013]



Ubisoft. 2013. [online image]. Available from: http://www.writeca.com/2013/09/14/child-of-light-ubisoft-montreal/ [Accessed 30 October 2013]

Online article 'Discover “Child of Light”, the Playable Poemabout' the game  can be found here: http://www.writeca.com/2013/09/14/child-of-light-ubisoft-montreal/

Look at traditional art

Still can not quite work around my head on describing what I am doing for my project this year.

As suggested during my Pitch presentation, I have started looking at some of the traditioanl art and artists that can be relevant on serve as inspiration to my project.

I think one of the things that inspires me is Traditional Chinese ink painting. Mainly because this medium has similar properties to watercolour with which I'm quite familiar. It can have the same minimalistic and ‘translucent’ feel as the watercolour and if successfully used adds the same translucent and ‘flowing’ property to an artwork. Chinese painting seem to have sprung up from calligraphy and is one of the oldest artistic traditions in the world. One of the nice examples of ink and wash painting techniques can be Liang Kai painting Immortal. 

Liang Kai. 1140 - 1210. Immortal in Splashed Ink. [online image]. National Palace Museum, Taipei. Available from: http://www.chinaonlinemuseum.com/painting-liang-kai-immortal-in-splashed-ink.php [Accessed 25 October 2013]

Only few spontaneous brush strokes on paper can give a hint on the texture of fabric folds (light vs. heavy or smooth vs. rough), persons weight  as well as convey mood of the painting.

This type of artwork reminds me somewhat Ōkami (2006) game art.


Joseph Mallord William Turner works are really interesting because of the way he uses colour and light in his paintings. I do like the blurriness of the objects. He manages to convey the atmosphere of the scene.

Turner, J.M.W., 1819. Naples and Vesuvius, from the Hill beneath Certosa di San Martino and Castel Sant'Elmo. [online image] Tate. Available from: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-naples-and-vesuvius-from-the-hill-beneath-certosa-di-san-martino-and-castel-d16101. [Accessed 25 October 2013]

Turner, J.M.W., 1841. View of Venice - Ducal Palace, Dogana, and San Giorgio. [online image]. Available from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_of_Venice_-_Ducal_Palace,_Dogana,_and_San_Giorgio,_by_J._M._W._Turner.jpg. [Accessed 25 October 2013]

Turner, J.M.W., 1844. Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway. [online image]. Available from: http://pictify.com/424553/jmw-turner-rain-steam-and-speed-the-great-western-railway. [Accessed 25 October 2013]


I also like the texture of the paintings and find that some of the Braid (2008) backgrounds have that same washed out, quality. I think Turners painting style (oils as well as watercolours) can work really well for game backgrounds: provide enough interests but not overwhelm the foreground game action.


Claude Monet works have a lot of very visible loose brush strokes: typical of impressionist art. What I like about it is the atmosphere that is created by the colour as well as those individual brushstrokes that manage to define things on a canvas without the need for all the detail. This type of painting technique leaves 'space' for the viewers’ interpretation which I think is a nice thing to have. Also brush strokes become individual lines on a canvas that can serve many purposes at the same time: help create mood (flowing lines vs. angled ones), contribute to overall composition as well as serve as an artist signature.

Monet, C. 1897. Arm of the Seine near Giverny. [online image]. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. Available from: http://www.claudemonetgallery.org/Arm-Of-The-Seine-Near-Giverny-In-The-Fog2-large.html . [Accessed 25 October 2013]

Monet, C. 1872. Impression, Sunrise. [online image]. Musée Marmottan, Paris, France. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression,_Sunrise . [Accessed 25 October 2013]

David Hellman, Braid (2008) artist, in his blog ( http://www.davidhellman.net/blog/the-art-of-braid-index ) mentioned that he was inspired by impressionists art/artists. I think it is quite evident in final game art style that he created for Braid.


Some of the Isaac Ilyich Levitan landscape paintings are not really done in impressionist style however they seem to convey an impression of him trying to capture nature in a moment.

Isaac Ilyich Levitan. 1898. Sunlit Day a Small Village. [online image]. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia. Available from: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sunlit-day-a-small-village-isaak-ilyich-levitan.html [Accessed 25 October 2013]

Levitan, I. I. 1885. Snowbound Garden 1885. [online image]. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia. Available from: http://www.oceansbridge.com/oil-paintings/product/81161/snowboundgarden1885 [Accessed 25 October 2013]


Vincent Van Gogh post-impressionist painter is known for his bold colours, rough and daring brush strokes.

Van Gogh, V. 1889. Starry Night. [online image]. Museum of Modern Art, New York. Available from:  http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starry-night.html [Accessed 25 October 2013]
Technical practise research some videos some of the painters books

In his Starry Night painting swirling brush strokes in the night sky creates motion and keeps viewers eyes moving around the canvas. Also, yellow stars and their halos are juxtaposed against the blueness of the sky.
I think Van Gogh painting style is very tactile, painterly like and it would be very interesting to try and reproduce this traditional art feeling/look in to 2D game art.



Although there are some digital artists/art out there that try to imitate the oils or the watercolours, or some other traditional media, somehow hardly any of it has actually made it in to video games yet. And if this kind of art has a cultural value why not take it and try to apply it somewhere else, especially if it lets people enjoy it more easily and excites their imagination?..


Clover Studio. 2006. Ōkami. PS2. Capcom

Number None, Inc. 2008. Braid. Microsoft Windows. Number None, Inc

I have also started reading Punch, K. P. book  Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative & Qualitative Approaches because I need to find out more about research practises for my proposal document and overall project structure. basically, what I can/need to do to satisfy the research project convention.

* Punch, K. P. 1998. Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative & Qualitative Approaches. London: Sage.

Pitch presentation and feedback

My pitch consisted of presenting my project idea as well as discussion about all the information I have manged to acquire so far (mainly to support my idea for this project). With my presentation I have tried answering these questions: 'why I want to do this project and what evidence is out there that supports my idea', 'how I think I want my outcome to look' as well as tried to highlight the fact that I was unsuccessful in finding much literature that discussed in detail 2D art in games. I guess it does show that some of the book authors ( see 'Literature struggle' post) where right, there is a noticeable lack of information about the game art aesthetics not only in academic circles but also in general.

Here are some of the example of art that I was showing as my inspiration:

Alexander Dzivnel. 2012. [online image]. Available at: http://artodyssey1.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/alexander-dzivnel.html [Accessed 2 October 2013]

Jon Klassen. [online image]. Available from: http://kgavenda.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/jon-klassen/ [Accessed 2 October 2013]

Pashk Pervathi. 2010. [online image]. Available from: http://www.aa-artgallery.com/?_escaped_fragment_=__pashk-pervathi  [Accessed 5 October 2013]

Rusudan Gobejishvili. [online image]. Available from: http://vk.com/wall-22548395_235 [Accessed 6 October 2013]



Vered Gersztenkorn. [online image]. Available from: http://deconstructing-aesthetic-forms.weebly.com/vered-gersztenkorn.html [Accessed 8 October 2013]


Studebekker Pushkindt. [online image]. Available from: http://0.static.wix.com/media/9968b8_c0b850d3c0d469e8a59ff620a5c3c68a.jpg_1024 [Accessed 10 October 2013]


Z.L.Feng. Image #:10. [online image]. Available from: http://zlfeng.com/landscape.html [Accessed 14 October 2013]

I have chosen these images (and a number of other ones) to illustrate that I would like the game art I would create for this project to have a look/feel of traditional media. Hopefully this way making videogame more interesting to look at and hopefully player having a more rewarding experiences while playing it.

I have also spent time thinking about the ways I could tackle the main problem of being too little information on 2D game art. So far the only solution I could come up with that will allow me to continue working on this project is to try and do research and work on this project in 'up side down' manner: by looking in to traditional art and trying to apply my findings towards digital art in 2D games.


Pitch feedback

I would say Thursdays pitch went relatively well. I did receive a positive feedback regarding my choice of project. Lecturers as well as other students seemed to find my project interesting and voiced their support on my choice of topic. I have also received some advice and reassurance regarding changing the point of view of my research and looking at traditional art first of all and trying to fit information i will find towards the game assets production.

Things to do next

Finish dealing with the current books about game development and digital media and start looking in to traditional art and art aesthetics.
Also need to start doing more practical work because Crit week is in another 2 weeks time and I will  need to show my advance in this area.

Literature struggle

On Thursday I will have a Pitch presentation and I am struggling with my  project. I do like the idea for  my project  and I knew it is probably not going to be an easy one, considering there arent that many people creating so called 'art house' games, but I was expecting a bit more literature on the actual 2D art in games. Sadly I am finding it really hard to find relevant literature. Most of the books I've looked so far* tend to talk about aesthetics of the games as a whole and primamrily consentrate on gameplay  and hardly mention the actual art part of game development and what role it plays in user experience. At the moment there is a lot of information about 'whether games are art' in general and very little about the actual art in games. Also, a little bit of more relevant information can be found on the web but even there information is very sparse therefore at the moment I am trying to salvage all the info I can just to have something useful for my Pitch this Thusrsday and see how it goes and what feedback I'll get because now at the particular moment I am feeling really desperate. Even contemplating if deciding to do this particular project was a good idea after all. The main concern is: what I am going to write about when there is hardly any literature on this topic and if there is more information, then where I can find it.


* - Kirkpatrick, G. 2011. Aesthetic theory and the video game. Manchester : Manchester University Press

Talks about gameplay aesthetics and audience as well as place of videogame as an aesthetic object within the art and culture itself. Most interesting bits of  information that are related to my project are:

• lack of knowledge in visual aesthetics by theorists as well as gamers themselves.
• findings that players do enjoy gameplay as well as visuals and are appreciative of visual styles.
• claim that art itself is becoming game like with a lot of interaction, however digital culture has changed/been changing it and seem to move art further towards entertainment that way distancing it from  aesthetic. p.109
• claim that “Players do not approach games with anything like the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ that applies to theatre goers or even modern film audiences.” p.41  with whitch I would like to disagree personally and found some information to support it.

Tavinor, G. 2009. The art of videogames. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell

In this book author tackles topic of videogames becoming a new form of represeantational art.  He points out that recent games have seen growth  not only technical but also artistic sofistication while developers are exploring artistic potential and new ways of engaging and  influencing players aesthetically.
Information related to my project that I have found within the book:

• author points out that games seem to raise the same issues and concerns  as traditional arts: aesthetics, narratives, emotional engagement. p.13 and can be considered as art if we apply 'cluster' theory. p.172, p.194 and p.195
• people working ing game development (e.g. artist) need great amounts of skill to create games and therefore are silmilar to artists placticing traditional arts. p.172
• evolution of graphical representation in videogames is one of the most important  aesthetic achievements. p.69-70
• agrees that suspention of disbelief is part of the gamepaly if one is to experience game emotionally:   games draw players in to imaginary worlds and stories. p.133 p.183-184
• claims that gamers do apreciate the art withn games. p.174, p.175, and p.180
• also points out the lack of visual literracy between players and theorists while discussing games therefore makes it harder when taling about videogames within a wider understanding of culture and arts. p. 186

Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S. Et al. 2008. Understanding video games: the essential introduction. London: Routledge

This book did not contain much of really useful information that can be relevant to my project. A few related peaces of information were:

• the book author claims that games influences players in a number as ways. For example: communicates values and ideas p.25 therefore contributes to culture as well as reflects it. p.28
• author also supports idea that games are popular art. p.31
•  mentions Aki Järvinen who identified 3 graphical styles that dominated video game design:  photorealism, caricaturism and abstractionism. p.122 

Newman,J. 2004. Videogames. London : Routledge

Another book that I have found to contain hardly any relevant information.  He points out that video games have been largely ignored by academics and reason for it in his opinion is, games so far has been considered childs play in spite of their maturing audience.


Bentkowska-Kafel, A., Cashen, T. and Gardiner, H. 2009. Digital Visual Culture: Theory and Practice. Bristol: Intellect

Another book that I have felt continued little information that would help me with my project. I was expecting to find more data relating to actual art in digital media but did not. However, some of the essays did support idea that some art aesthetic theories may need change somewhat to be able to include visual art produced digitally. I have also found myself agreeing with a claim that "...new media art seems to be the only sphere of artistic activity in which there is any hope of realising the goal of overcoming the elitism of fine art." p.64 I think video games is/can be a great medium for that.

Reworking old game art ideas 1

Since I seem to have made up my mind on what I want to create during my honours year I’ve decided to rework some of my old projects.  I think it's a good starting point  since I have an understanding about the project/game  as well as the actual gameplay.

Here are the projects:

First game I want to get back to is my last years Dare to be Digital attempt as part of a 'Tartan Paint' team: Fianna.

The idea behind the story and the artwork is to use Celtic influence. Inspiration for the actual artwork was The Book of Kells as well an animation 'The Secret of Kells'.
I would like to go back to the original stylised artwork but possibly change reasonably bright and unrealistic colours to something more real as the bright colours in my opinion might distract the player. Also having a more subdued colour palette would make it look more mature audience orientated.

The Secret of Kells. 2009.[animated film]. directed by Tomm Moore. France: Les Armateurs, Celluloid Dreams et al.

Here are some new quick sketches for this game:

Another project is a game developed for Samsung Challenge 2013: Dragonfly Dash. (As part of a team: 'Rose Petal Tearooms')

Gameplay consisted of controlling dragonfly's flight path using pen and directing it towards other insects that must be consumed while avoiding flowers. Art was done mostly in Flash and Photoshop.

Below is a sketch that I'm planing to try and make it look as if the final art was done using watercolours.

Third  project is my 2nd year  Entertainment Design module game to which I had to write a Game Concept document. Story is based on a peace of Lithuanian poetry created by Sigitas Geda and in original document was supposed to be a 3D game rather than 2D one. It was inspired by thatgamecompany games.

Below is a 'screenshot' idea from my original concept document.

I would like to rework the same idea but make it a 2D game. I think the fact that original idea came from a peace of poetry can work to its advantage in a way that it can be made to look as a book  illustration.

In addition to my honours year work I'm also taking part again in an Abertay Game Developers Society and this semester I'm responsible for character design and animation for 'Gravity Men' team game project. Here are some initial sketches for our main character- robot.

I would like apply some of my honours year ideas and give robot more aesthetic/artistic look; preferably somehow remind of sketch done using traditional art media.

List of games that might be relevant to my project 1

I’ve decided to make a post on games that I’ve looked at and considered as being relevant to my project.

I will try and keep this post updated throughout the year.



2D games:


Braid
Number None, Inc. 2009. Braid. Microsoft Windows. Number None, Inc


David Hellman. 2009. [online image]. Available from: http://www.impulsedriven.com/braid


Platform puzzle game developed by Jonatan Blow. Some of the best things about it that it’s not only contain an interesting narrative but also characters (Tim) contemplations as he progresses throughout the story but Jonatan Blow got an webcomic artist David Hellman to do the art for the game. Final game art resulted in being influenced by traditional art movements such as abstract art, impressionism, and surrealism. David Hellman has talked about his creative process in detail in his The Art of Braid blog.

Hellman,D. 2008. The Art of Braid Index. [online]. Available at: http://www.davidhellman.net/blog/the-art-of-braid-index



Bastion
Supergiant Games. 2011. Bastion. Microsoft Windows. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment


Supergiant Games: Jen Zee. 2011. [online image]. Available from:
http://supergiantgames.com/index.php/2012/08/out-now-bastion-for-ipad/

Action role-playing video game with hand painted art style done by Jen Zee. Similarly to David Hellman she was influenced by traditional art and impressionism art style, but took slightly different approach: slightly less complex ideas behind the art production but still very colourful and beautifully looking. Jen Zee talks about inspiration and Bastion art in her interview videos.

Padinga. 2013. Jen Zee (Bastion artist). [online]. YouTube. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOcxTrKcW0Y

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. 2013. Into the Pixel Game Artist Interview w/ Supergiant Games' Jen Zee. [online]. YouTube. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h237TlHs5PY



The Bridge
Taylor, T. and Castañeda,M. 2013. The Bridge. Microsoft Windows. The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild


Mario Castaneda. 2012. [online image]. Quantum Astrophysicists Guild. Available from: http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-BRIDGE/the-bridge

Logic puzzle video game developed for Indie Game Challenge 2012 competition. It features black and white art that draws inspiration from Dutch graphic artist M.C. Eschers’ work. I would consider this game as an important step in game design style because it picked a single artist as an inspiration and successfully created artwork that closely resembles the original. Even though art for the game has been produced digitally, it does have a traditional lithograph, mezzotint media look to it.
Their interview/game description can be found on Indie Game Challenge 2012 page.

GameStop Corp. 2012. The Bridge. [online]. Available from: http://www.indiegamechallenge.com/2012-finalists/the-bridge/



Machinarium
Amanita Design. 2009. Machinarium. Microsoft Windows. Amanita Design & Daedalic Entertainment


Amanita Design. 2009.[online image]. Available from:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/05/11/new-game-machinarium-combines-puzzles-mini-games-and-a-beautiful-award-winning-art-style/

Puzzle point-and-click adventure video game developed by Amanita Design. They have received Aesthetics Award at IndieCade 2008 and Excellence in Visual Art award at the Independent Games Festival 2009. Artwork in this game is fully hand drawn, based on pencil drawing style and immitates traditional Chech cutout animation.



Botanicula
Amanita Design. 2012. Botanicula. Microsoft Windows. Amanita Design & Daedalic Entertainment


Amanita Design. 2012. [online image]. Available from: http://amanita-design.net/games/botanicula.html

Another point-and-click adventure from Amanita Design. This game won a number of awards and one of them is the Story/World Design at IndieCade. Amanita Design keeps standing out with their artistic style every time they release a game. This particular game has a very graphic and stylised look with some fascinating, funny  and 'cute'character designs. Game designers and artists sought inspiration from nature. By using photography not only for reference images but also 'textures' within game environment showed  that experimenting with different media and art can produce some really creative results.



Ballpoint Universe - Infinite

Arachnid Games. 2013. Ballpoint Universe. Microsoft Windows.Arachnid Games


Arachnid Games: Leo Dasso. 2013. [online image]. Available from: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/01/06/wot-i-think-ballpoint-universe-infinite/

It is a shoot-em-up adventure game designed and created by artist Leo Dasso. All art is drawn using ballpoint pen. Ballpoint Universe - Infinite game certainly stands out with its artistic style. I would say, a very unique style. I think Leo Dassos' creativity does remind me some what Amabita Design approach, when inspiration is drawn from something very simple: in this case - ballpoint drawings.



Cosmic Couch
Lunavark Studio.Cosmic Couch. Developed during Dare To Be Digital 2013 competition


Lunavark Studio.2013. [online image]. Available from: http://epiclone.blogspot.co.uk/

I decided to mention this game because I really liked it and I think it certainly stood out from the rest of the teams. Game style reminded a book illustration or an animated movie. Lunavark team consisted  of 4 students from Norwich University of Arts and a single programmer student from Abertay University. They have won an Artistic Achievement Award during the Dare ProtoPlay competion. You can see their game trailer video here.

Luna Vark.2013.Cosmic Couch Trailer (Dare To Be Digital 2013). [online].YouTube. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db2NANqp_IM [Accessed 10 August 2013]



Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor
Tiger Style. 2009. Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor. iOS.Tiger Style


Tiger Style. 2009. [online image]. Available from: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/118056-aotd-spider-secret-bryce-manor/gallery

It is a side-scrolling action puzzle video game developed for iOS and Android platforms by American indie game developing company Tiger Style. Randy Smith and David Kalina try to produce quality and original games. Hand drawn artwork tries to create mystical atmosphere of the game. I think this games artwork is nice and sites well the story an possibly the game play however Machinarium (which seem to have a similar art style) looks much better. I do not think developers of this game put as much effort in to the artwork production as the  Amanita Design guys.


The Howler
Antanas Marcelionis and Rene Petruliene. 2013. The Howler. Android.


Rene Petruliene. 2013. [online image]. Available from: http://www.desura.com/games/the-howler/images/screenshots-of-the-howler7#gallerylist

The Howler is a game released by a Lithuanian indie game developer for  iOS, Android, PC and Mac. It features simple had drawn art created created by Renė Petrulienė. Since this game has been inspired by a novel 'Hour of The Wolf' by Andrius Tapinas it is not surprising that the art style looks very steampunk. Story takes place in 1905 in imaginary Vilnius (capital of Lithuania). I love this games art style. It is simple, has a somewhat rustic feel to it that complements the game idea. It also stands out from majority of the games out there and the combnation of gameplay, sound and art style gives a nice feeling of satisifaction when playing it.



About Love, Hate and the other ones
Black Pants Game Studios. 2012. About Love, Hate and the other ones. iOS/Android. Black Pants Game Studios
























Tobias Bilgeri, Black Pants Game Studios. 2012. [online image]. Black Pants Game Studios. Available at: http://blackpants.de/about-love-and-hate/ [Accessed: 19 January 2014]


This is a game for mobile devices developed by Tobias Bilgeri (works at Black pants Studios, Germany) as part of his graduation project at the School of Fine Arts Kassel. In this game you play 2 characters at the same time: Love and Hate and use their abilities to navigate through different maze worlds. One of the main reasons why I have decided to mention it here is because this game is fully hand drawn. I would probably say that it may not be as artistically accomplished as some of the previously mentioned games, however there is that undeniable 'rustic' hand painted feel to it which make this game to stand out from the crowd.

Game play trailer can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG0IVLlCrJU

3D games:


Ōkami
Clover studio. 2006. Ōkami. Play Station 2. Capcom


Clover studio. 2006. [onilne image]. Available from: http://i.imgur.com/vx9tN6V.jpg

Ōkami is an action-adventure video game. It combines Japanese myths, legends and folklore. Game art style is inspired by traditional ink wash painting technique using watercolour cel-shaded visual style. Although first release version has suffered from poor sales it received critical acclaim. This game was able to show in 2006 that games can be more: they can also be art. In my opinion, considering technology that was available at the time It was a great achievement. One of the reasons why it became a success, in my opinion, is the point that game designers did not copy other games or other popular art forms at the time, they  drew their inspiration from their own culture: story telling and traditional art and that way attempted and succeeded in creating something new and of cultural importance within video game genre.


Journey
Thatgamecompany. 2012. Journey. Playstation 3. Sony Computer Entertainment.


Thatgamecompany. 2012. [online image]. Available from:
http://media.edge-online.com/wp-content/uploads/edgeonline/2012/04/journey-game-screenshot-8-b.jpg

This is a 4th game created by Thatgamecompany. It is an adventure art game and a fruit of Jenova Chen's imagination. His idea was to try and evoke a sense of smallness and wonder within the game player. Aesthetic art in this game contributes to creation of a certain mood. Its minimalistic design was chosen to make the actual gameplay intuitive without any major directions. It received critical acclaim not only from critics but also from players. Some video game writers compared it more to art rather then a video game. It certainly have a great visuals and picturesque environment full. and just like in the movies colour within the game is used to convey the changing mood of the story.

Nice article about the game and the art within the game can be found here.
Kevin Ohannessian. 2013. Game Designer Jenova Chen on The Art Behind His "Journey".[online]. Fast Company. Available from: http://www.fastcocreate.com/1680062/game-designer-jenova-chen-on-the-art-behind-his-journey [Accessed  28 September 2013]


Tiny & Big: Grandpas Leftovers
Black Pants Game Studios. 2012. Tiny & Big Grandpas Leftovers. Microsoft Windows. Black Pants Game Studios

Black Pants Game Studios. 2012. [online image]. Black Pants Game Studios. Available at: http://games.softpedia.com/progScreenshots/Tiny-and-Big-Grandpas-Leftovers-Screenshot-127654.html [Accessed: 19 January 2014]

Tiny & Big: Grandpas Leftovers is another game from Black Pants Game Studios. It is a jump and slice platformer with hand-crafted textures. It received an impressive array of awards for creativity, sound and visual style: a combination of 2D and 3D art that is not seen that often on the games market.  In my opinion it certainly has a unique art style that is representative of this developer company. It somewhat reminds Okami in my opinion.


Love
Eskil Steenberg. 2010. Love. Windows.


Eskil Steenberg. 2013. [online image]. Available from: http://www.quelsolaar.com/love/screen_shots.html

Love is a MMORPG created by a Swedish developer and game critic Eskil Steenberg. Most of the game environment is procedurally generated. It reminds some what Journey since there is no predetermined gameplay. actual gameplay evolves during interaction with other players, NPC's and the game world. Although its a 3D game, it certainly has it own visual style that very much reminds of impressionistic art style. Its painterly look really stands out from the rest of the 3D games. Very innovative.

Can read more about the game here: http://www.quelsolaar.com/love/index.html

Videogames and Aesthetics

This week I’ve been looking at some games and game art. Additionally, I’ve also started to look for some serious relevant literature. By’s serious’ I mean something that can be used as a reference for my research proposal document) Took a couple of books on games and video game aesthetics. Hoping to find something useful and relevant to my project. In any case first glimpse at academic literature is not looking great. Either I don’t know how to look for relevant info or it’s just not there. In any case it’s quite early on and I hope that things will become more clear and therefore and information easier to find.

Happiest find so far is a quote from article ‘Games take on another dimension’ published by Financial Times:

‘In the modern gaming era, there will always be a battle between interesting art design and the other considerations that go into making a game. But the bolder the art design, the more players will feel they have escaped reality and visited another place. For Blow, “There’s a message in the visuals, and the effort that’s been put into the graphics. It’s a subliminal thing, a message which says that somebody really cared about putting this experience together ... it says you’re in good hands.”’


I think Jonathan Blow has been spot on with it, because it seems to describe very well what I like to create. I want to create art for games that matter, which looks like they’ve been created by people for people: games that have some personal touch and are interesting to look at.

Dennis, R. 2012. Games take on another dimension. Available from: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/9b08c878-2cbf-11e2-9211-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2nGj0OVpc
Here is David  Hellman (Braid) artist webpage: http://www.davidhellman.net/
and his blog on  Braid game art: http://www.davidhellman.net/blog/the-art-of-braid-index


GAMASUTRA article : Videogame Aesthetics: The Future!

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130840/videogame_aesthetics_the_future.php?print=1

Article mentioned Orisinal webpage with some free to play games. http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/
Games are really simple, but some of them look quite nice. I might use some of the game ideas for my projects game assets production. Also, since the games look very simple I could possibly try and attempt to write the code in Flash to make a game.


Also came across a page Buzz Feed Geeky  page '36 Beautiful Landscapes That Prove That Video Games Are Art'. Not all of the artwork would be relevant to my project but there are a few that would be relevant to my honours project:

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Skyloft from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The desert and mountain from Journey
The planet Pandora from Borderlands 2
The planes of Telara from Rift.

Drawing a map of a scary honours year forest.

Since the academic year already started and most of the necessary information had been passed on to us I decided to read through it all so I know what is expected of me. As I was going through all of the requirements and things to do it all started to get jumbled up in my brain. By the time have reached the end of it I have already forgotten what I read at the start. It seemed to be just a huge pile of information that was not helping me in any way. Rather the opposite, it was scaring me off.

Me and my honour year

Leaving it as it is and waiting until all of it going to start making sense was not the best idea in my opinion. Also from my previous experience I knew that going back to re-read 'to do' things was just a big waste of time. So I have created a mind map of all the honours year and a plan that I could try and follow to make sure that things get done and hopefully on time. (Sadly ‘on time' statement being open for interpretation since I tend to suffer a bit from a time optimism illness. I swear, I am working on it and it is getting better but I still have a fair way to go.)

So here I'm sharing my fruits of planning labour:

A mind map of honours year and an approximate project plan made up of things I know so far. Latter one is more of a work in progress as my project becomes clearer.

• Mind map

• Learning plan-Timetable

• Week Planner template

Now that I have all lined up like that and placed on my wall at home, I feel much more at ease since I can see and keep track on things I need to do and when are hand in dates. Feels like I have a map of a forest I am going in. Nevertheless, it is still a very scary experience.

Handcrafting time

Since I will be using my graphics tablet a lot I have been experimenting a little.

I really don’t like plastic feel of the tablet when using standard plastic nibs on my wacom pen. I do like felt tip nibs but they are quite expensive to buy in my opinion. Also, I feel like my hand does often not slide well on the tablet surface. Two years ago I've started using paper to cover tablet surface and I really liked it. It made it feel like I was drawing/painting on paper which to me feels much more natural. Plastic nibs work well on it and although may wear off a little bit faster and does not feel as good as felt tip ones they are much cheaper to buy in the long run. Also my hand is not getting 'stuck' while using paper.

However, I've heard that some people use medical cotton gloves instead of special SmudgeGuard gloves, especially while using Cintiq tablets. Even though I don’t have Cintiq I thought I will try as that would hopefully eliminate hand friction while using felt tip nibs. So I went to a local Bodycare shop and bought a pair for less than a pound.

Unboxed

Using it straight from a box was not great as I do like to feel the pen in my hand and I thought wearing a glove was getting in a way: didn’t have a good control/feel. So to remedy this issue I cut the top three fingers to be able to grasp pen better.

Cut: palm view

Cut: top hand view

 It definitely improved things, so I have tidied up the edges and started using it. It was all good: hand was sliding well on tablet (no friction) and using felt tip nib at the same time was also nice. However after about less than a week glove started getting dirty and annoying friction was back. So I've washed it and used it again. At the end of the day, I did get annoyed as it was getting dirty often and I had to keep washing it. Conclusion went back to using paper. I think overall it is best feel and a cheapest option in one.