Dissertation and some more dissertation

So for the last two weeks I have stopped doing any art and just concentrated on writing my dissertation. It is a very slow going process since English is not my first language so I often spend time looking at thesaurus trying to find that 'right' word that would describe better what I am trying to communicate.
I have changed a few bits in the overall layout of the paper.

I have also created an updated my project plan (Old one can be found in this blog post  here)showing the areas that I am looking at and how it all ties together (see image below).

I have added an area where I do traditional art and game art analysis; looking at Emotionalism aesthetic theory and how it ties together with brushstrokes visible on a canvas and how these marks not only connects the viewer and the artist but at the same time can contribute to the overall composition of the image. For example like guide the viewer’s eye around the canvas (see image below).

Van Gogh, V. 1889. Starry night. [online image]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VanGogh-starry_night_ballance1.jpg [Accessed 19 April 2014]

Also been looking about composition in games and so far Botanicula (2012) seem to be performing best (see image below).

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

A spore is spawned repeatedly on the top left-hand corner and is used to deliver a golden key (seen in the picture) to a spot in front of the characters on the bottom right-hand corner. Also the big brown mushroom on the top left-hand corner seems to 'balance' the characters standing at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. There is also a light coloured white mushroom mirroring the big dark one.

Machinarium (2009) also have some composition elements. It seem to use primarily Golden Cut (see image below).

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

There is a lot action happening around the Golden Cut intersection. For example in this scene the main character Josef is in fiddling with the ventilation system/fan. Also tone wise the dark left-hand side is balanced by the light sky area on the right-hand side. The tower seen in the background is also going straight through the middle of screen.

Another area I am investigating is colour and I think there are some interesting examples how colour can make an asset stand out from the background (see image below).

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

I think in Braid (2008) World 1, the clouds stand out well from the background because of the complementary colour use: yellow-orange (sky, background) is an opposite of blue-green (the interactable cloud platforms).


My supervisor has also suggested that in my dissertation I should talk about the experience of digital painting and how it is different from traditional painting.
I had also had a look at Walter Benjamin book 'The work of art in the age of its technological reproducibility'* as well as Grahame Sullivan book 'Art Practice As Research'**.
B. Walters although talks about printing of artworks and other ways of their mechanical reproduction do related to the Emotionalism aesthetics theory. G. Sullivan’s book was not as useful as I have thought. I did not have too much time to have a really close look at it so perhaps I have missed something. Sadly time is running out fast and I still have many things left to complete before submissions.
I really want to have my dissertation finished by 24th of April because that day I will be going to a library to get help with formatting, referencing and some other things related to dealing with long documents.


On a side note, this Thursday I have went to the Pixel Pushers exhibition at Hannah Maclure Centre and then attended Ian McQue's Masterclass. It was really interesting and I was hoping to get some insights or something really relevant to my project but I feel it was not worth the time as much as I have hoped. I think Jolomo Awards exhibition at HMC earlier this year was more useful.

* Benjamin, W.2008.The work of art in the age of its technological reproducibility and other writings on media.London: The Belknap Press

** Sullivan, G. 2010. Art practice as research : inquiry in visual arts. 2nd ed. London : SAGE

Progress evaluation so far and next steps for Semester 2

This week is an official Semester 2 start and on Monday I have met with my current supervisor Lynn. During this meeting we were discussing my project; all the work I have done so far as well as talked about my plans for Semester 2.


At the moment I am considering interviewing some local videogame industry professionals about the art for 2D games as well as UI design. I think I could learn some things about it that would help me with my own designs since this is one of my weak areas. Mainly because I am not a game designer and coming up with game mechanics which of course, have a major part in UI design requirements is really hard for me.

However, what this idea means is: if I do decide to seek advice from industry people I will have to reapply to the universities ethic committee for a new approval for my project as well as have to do a lot more paperwork which includes transcribing and analysing recorded interviews. So the question is: is it worth to undertake it considering the results that I’m most likely to get out of it?


I have also been toying with an idea of collaborating with other people. Possibly programmers or game designers to get help with my project as I do realise that my main weaknesses in this project are lack of knowledge about game asset implementation in to a game as well as game design and game mechanics. Last year I did not get lucky to be assigned on to a game design brief and ended up working on an animation brief instead, so the only game developing experience I have so far is from my year two Entertainment Design module which involved a group work on a small Flash game, some projects I have collaborated on as a member of Abertay Game  Developing Society and as a team 'Tartan Paint' member for last years Dare to be Digital competition entry (Can watch pitch video here.) as well as Ludum Dare entry (Can watch project video here and  read development process posts by Stewart Leadingham here.).
I think working with others would help me with the whole development process for this project as the technical or design input would be very beneficial. My supervisor also thought collaboration was a good idea if I felt it would benefit my project. I will look now for some opportunities to see if there is anyone I could collaborate with.


There have also been some changes regarding case studies for my dissertation. So far I have been given advice that Braid (2008)* may not be the most suitable choice as the art style was not the main concern of the Braid designer Jonathan Blow and perhaps Ōkami (2006)* is a much better choice. Since I have never played the game I will be borrowing a copy of it from the universities library to try it out. (Info about these two games you can find in my week 3 blog post.)

Also, this week I need to make a list of questions I would ask about game UI if I was going to interview someone working in the industry as next week I will discuss it with my supervisor to see if the information I am likely to get from it is worth the whole paperwork trouble.

Lynn has also suggested I play some games on a tablet to see how the UI and interaction differs from PC or console games. This would provide me with some information on UI and perhaps help me decide if I want my game (whatever that game will be) be for mobile device or PC or console. Also, study how interaction within games works and how interactive objects are presented on screen. In addition, I should also have a look what other, perhaps similar games to mine are already out there.

Overall, at the moment I feel really stressed and worried as I think I am still lacking knowledge in game design as well as some practical skills. On top of that, all the literature that I feel I need to go through to feel ready for my project seems to look more like a Mount Everest.

I am still making some media tests as I go along with my project as I want to try experimenting more with visual styles to help me decide what I really want my game art to look like.



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

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

Inspiration

Traditional Art and Media

Because the aim of this project is to try and reproduce qualities found in traditional art (general aesthetics, media texture/look, composition etc.) it is inspired an influenced by traditional paintings and drawings. Also, because traditional art is considered as having cultural value of meaning, it is in my opinion the most appropriate area to look for inspiration and learn from.

Oil/Acrylic painting

I really like oil paintings by Russian landscape artist Alexander Zavarin. Especially the impressionist alike ones, done using wide and bold brush strokes which ‘suggests’ objects within the painting but does not show any of the detail and that way leaving it to the viewer to figure out  what it actually is. A.Zavarin manages to capture soft light within the scenes but at the same time creates illusion of space where colour either brings objects forward or moves them ‘deeper’ in to the canvas space. Paintings look chaotic yet manage to capture the actual mood of the scene. The artists’ brush strokes are very visible on the canvas and not only contribute towards the paintings mood but also emanates ‘personal touch’ energy from the work. This artist work is relevant to the project by providing not only inspiration for oil/acrylic paint look within digital medium, but also a possible solution to a problem where interactive objects should stand out from a background. Possible use of bold ‘brush’ strokes to only suggest some of the background objects can be the key. Also, keeping things interesting and letting viewers mind interpret some of the things that are happening on canvas can be used to bring more interest towards the game art. This traditional oil painting effect can be seen implemented as a 3D model texture in a ‘Damocles’ trailer for a new Crytec video game called Ryse: Son of Rome ( Trailer available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czXJeJ9I2Us). (can see another post where I mention 'Damocles' trailer here.)

Zavarin, A. [no date]. [online image]. Available from: http://allday2.com/index.php?newsid=470467 [Accessed: 19 December 2013]

Zavarin, A. [no date]. [online image]. Available from: http://artbook.oo.gd/en/alexander-zavarin/ [Accessed: 19 December  2013]

Zavarin, A. [no date]. [online image]. Available from: http://artbook.oo.gd/en/alexander-zavarin/ [Accessed: 19 December  2013]

Watercolour

Z.L.Feng is an international award winning Chinese artist living in U.S.  Many of his watercolour landscape compositions can strike one as being rather dark and fairly minimalist at first however further inspection reveals an array of colours that have been achieved by the watercolour pigments blending together on paper. Intricate and dark tree branches are ‘set on fire’ by a multitude of colour dabs. Balanced compositions achieved by use of light and shadow as well as colours. This artists’ work is great as an inspiration as well as an example of watercolour media look: where every brush stroke leaves a permanent mark on canvas and the actual media has ‘luminosity’ unlike a heavy oil paint on canvas. This type of medium, if implemented successfully, has a possibility to help with keeping backgrounds simple and uncluttered and that way to help emphasize foreground and interactive objects. And just like in oil painting example mentioned above this media look can be used to bring more interest to the game art.

Feng, Z.L. [no date]. [online image]. Image #:1: LImited Edition Giclee Print. Available from: http://zlfeng.com/landscape.html [Accessed 19 December 2013]

You can see one more image of  of his painting in my week 4 blog post.

Collage

Collage is another interesting and widely used traditional art technique and a piece of art done by Nancy Standlee (see image below) is a fine example of this art style. This painting somewhat reminds an impressionist oil paintings with an explosion of bright colours and an array of bits of paper that resemble broad brush strokes on canvas. It is a nice colourful composition that conveys lively mood using ‘bold’ blocks of colour and at the same time have textural interest in each single piece of coloured paper that has been placed on the canvas. This technique can be recreated well in digital media if one wishes and can serve as a general motivation to perhaps be braver while exploring unusual places/arts/ art styles etc. for inspiration.  In a certain way, collage is similar to what Amanita Design has done with their video game Botanicula (2012)* art direction.  more info in my week 3 post.

Standlee, N. [no date]. Feed the Birds. [online image]. Available from: http://nancystandlee.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/rooster-and-bird-torn-paper-collage.html [Accessed 21 December 2013]

Digital Art

One of the most inspirational current ink artists that manage to almost flawlessly merge traditional ink medium with a digital Photoshop painting is Taiwanese artist Jung Shan. Rough paper texture and flowing ink is visible from his scanned/photographed ink paintings that are used as background for his final images. This gives an authentic, ‘personal touch’ to the digital drawing which is created using digital Photoshop brushes. Some of the paintings are made even more interesting by photographing ink painting while it is still damp (see image below). This artist work is a great example of how to blend traditional and digital media. Use of specific digital brushes that imitate traditional media techniques can be a great advantage in trying to recreate traditional media look in Photoshop.

Jung Shan. 2013. Silence power. [online image]. Available from: http://jungshan.deviantart.com/art/Silence-Power-338758654 [Accessed 22 December 2013]

Jung Shan. 2013. Wuxia Magazine cover. [online image]. Available from: http://jungshan.deviantart.com/art/Wuxia-Magazine-cover-441137422 [Accessed 22 December 2013]

Jung Shan. Ink Samurai. [online image]. Available from: http://jungshan.deviantart.com/art/Ink-Samurai-193699240 [Accessed 22 December 2013]

I think this guy is absolutely amazing. Love the way he combines the traditional with the digital. It all looks so light and easy, done with a few brushstrokes. Amazing skills.

Videogames

Some videogame developers already tried to mimic traditional art styles and media within their games.  It is good to see what has already been done and perhaps find out how.

Braid

One of the greatest inspirations to this project has been a video game called Braid (2008)**, created by Jonathan Blow. Braid is one of the important works in the video game industry because this game is a very first well known computer game that has been inspired by and tried to reproduce traditional art style. Game artist David Hellman’s (who is also a comic and graphic novel artist) inspiration has come from traditional art movements such as abstract art, impressionism, and surrealism. 

Can read a bit about the game in my week 3 post. 

Even though all the art assets had been digitally painted, on a closer inspection, while playing the game, one can easily see David Hillmans’ brush strokes throughout the painted backgrounds (see first image below) just like in all impressionist paintings done by famous artists. (see 2 bottom images by Claude Monet)

Monet,C. 1882. Clifftop Walk at Pourville. [online image]. Available from: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/claude-monet/clifftop-walk-at-pourville [Accessed 23 December 2013]

David Hillman chosen colours to create appropriate moods within the game that support the story and environment. Each of the game Worlds has its own colour palette. For example, within World 1 which is an introduction of the story, warm colours such as greens and yellows dominate the screen, while World 4 is a much more ‘cold’ looking environment with dominant blues and browns. Additionally, some of the elements within the game background where broken apart and implemented in to a particle system to create movement and dreamlike feeling similar to surrealistic paintings.

Also some of the background elements ended resembling watercolour or coloured ink painting on paper. (see image below)

Braid world has been crafted with a vision  as well care towards the actual game player. One of the most inspirational quotes that also strongly relates to the idea and vision of this project is a quote by Braid developer Jonathan Blow has said: “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” (Dennis, R., 2012) (Can find a link to the article in my week 3 blog post). 

In my opinion, the subliminal things within this videogame are not only previously mentioned images inspired by traditional art movements or visible brush strokes that reminds us of traditional paintings done on canvas (e.g. Zavarin A. or Monet C.) but also some of the remainders of digital paint that can still be visible on some of the asset edges (see image below).

These left over ‘flaws’ or imperfections created by a human hand are picked up by the viewer irrelevant if the art is created on a real or a digital canvas and becomes part of the artwork that contributes to its aesthetics and in this case makes game art more personal.

I think this game is important to my project because it is a great example that traditional art can work in video games. In addition, the creation process through which David Hillman went while designing the art for this game is very informative and contributes a lot of knowledge towards this honours year project. (Can read David Hillman s blog here.)

The Bridge

The Bridge (2013)*** is an only black and white 2D logic based puzzle game that is inspired by Maurits Cornelis Eschers’ (Dutch graphic artist) work; game play and art style (see images below). 

Escher, M.C. 1958. Belvedere. [online image] Available from: http://www.mcescher.com/gallery/lithograph/belvedere/ [Accessed 21 December 2013]

Escher, M.C. 1955. Convex and Concave. [online image] Available from: http://www.mcescher.com/gallery/lithograph/convex-and-concave/ [Accessed 21 December 2013]

This game can be also considered 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. Ty Taylors’ (game designer) and Mario Castanedas’ (artist) goal for games art style was to attempt to replicate black-and-white lithograph style seen in majority of M.C. Eschers’ work. Therefore, even though art for the game has been produced digitally, it does have a traditional lithograph, mezzotint media look (see images below).

The Bridge game level art

Mario Castaneda. 2012. [online image]. Quantum Astrophysicists Guild. Available from: http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-BRIDGE/the-bridge [Accessed 26 December 2013]

In addition, game artwork somewhat reminds of Chinese ink painting (also mentioned in  week 5 blog post) as well as graphite pencil drawing (see images below).

The house

Mario Castaneda. 2012. [online image]. Quantum Astrophysicists Guild. Available from: http://calmdowntom.com/2013/03/the-bridge-review-pc/ [Accessed 26 December 2013]

The tree

Mario Castaneda. 2012. [online image]. Quantum Astrophysicists Guild. Available from: http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-BRIDGE/the-bridge [Accessed 26 December 2013]

This game in my opinion is a great example where traditional art was used as inspiration and then was successfully transferred in to a digital medium.

Botanicula

Botanicula (2012)* by Amanita Design games, stands out with its unique artistic style: very graphic and stylised look. I think this game project shows that inspiration can be found anywhere and merging different things, can result in some unique and fascinating design results (see Standlee, N. Feed the Birds image or even Jung Shan Wuxia Magazine cover image above). 

Amanita design. 2012. [online image]. Amanita Design. Available from: http://games.tiscali.cz/recenze/botanicula-recenze-59212 [Accessed 26 December 2013]

Photography was used not only for preproduction phase as a material for character and environment design, but also as a texture material for both (see images below).

Amanita design. 2012. Botanicula: art book. p. 14. Amanita Design.

Amanita design. 2012. Botanicula: art book. p. 15. Amanita Design.

Game designers sought inspiration from nature. By blending it all together in a really creative way within game environment it resulted in a truly unique art style for a video game. 

Amanita Design. 2012. [online image]. Available from: http://amanita-design.net/games/botanicula.html [Accessed 26 December 2013]

This example relates to honours year project by inspiring one to look ‘outside the box’ rather than drawing inspiration only from existing games/art.

I think it is important to get inspired by many different things because, in my opinion it is the best way to go about it while trying to create something interesting and unique not only from a game artist view but also a game players view. Since traditional art undoubtedly holds a key to aesthetics and 3D art nowadays has taken over in realistic representation, going back to the origins of traditional 2D art seems to make sense while looking for answers of a question ‘what else can be one with this medium?’

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

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

*** GameStop Corp. 2012. The Bridge. [online]. Available from: http://www.indiegamechallenge.com/2012-finalists/the-bridge/ [Accessed 27 December 2013]

Dennis, R. 2012. Games take on another dimension. Financial Times.

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