H_Prestige
Banned
Doesn't get much better than this.
Games with amazing art direction
- Thread starter TreasureHunterG
- Start date
Doesn't get much better than this.
Final Fantasy VIII's art direction is my overall favorite for the whole series
although a remake of FFVI using an Amano designed steampunk/NeoVictorian style would likely top it.
Final Fantasy VIII has a ye olde town? Christ, I don't remember that at all. I'm almost tempted to play it again.
Edit:
TreasureHunterG
Banned
Full Throttle
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime
Fuck the toxic headcrabs. They make me jump, every time.
FanTomasas
Banned
League of Legends:
Braid:
Infamous (motion comics):
Braid:
Infamous (motion comics):
AussieGamer
Banned
Final Fantasy VIII's art direction is my overall favorite for the whole series
although a remake of FFVI using an Amano designed steampunk/NeoVictorian style would likely top it.
You just brought back a near heart-inducing amount of nostalgia. Thanks.
RyanReedyMusic
Banned
Easily one of my faves of all time is Otogi 1 and 2. Panzer Dragoon Orta.
Nothing could measure up to Ravenholm's blood-curdling ambience.
TreasureHunterG
Banned
I was waiting for someone to post this, but can't wait anymore.
Comix Zone
Batman: Arkham City
Zone of the Enders 2
Comix Zone
Batman: Arkham City
Zone of the Enders 2
Homeworld 1+2
Grim Fandango
Silent Hill 1-3
Okami
Alice: Madness Returns
Metal Gear Solid 1 (mostly the concept art)
Mass Effect 1
Valkyrie Profile 1+2 (again, concept art)
Bastion
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (again, the concept art)
Journey
Odin Sphere
Oboro Muramasa
Prince of Persia 2008
Tomb Raider games from Crystal Dynamics
Assassin's Creed: Revelations
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
From Dust (hampered by technical limitations though)
Mafia 2
Portal 2
Braid
Puzzle Agent
Shank
Other mentions:
Witcher 2
Mirror's Edge
Killer7
Machinarium
Grim Fandango
Silent Hill 1-3
Okami
Alice: Madness Returns
Metal Gear Solid 1 (mostly the concept art)
Mass Effect 1
Valkyrie Profile 1+2 (again, concept art)
Bastion
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (again, the concept art)
Journey
Odin Sphere
Oboro Muramasa
Prince of Persia 2008
Tomb Raider games from Crystal Dynamics
Assassin's Creed: Revelations
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
From Dust (hampered by technical limitations though)
Mafia 2
Portal 2
Braid
Puzzle Agent
Shank
Other mentions:
Witcher 2
Mirror's Edge
Killer7
Machinarium
Maleficence
Member
Easily one of my faves of all time is Otogi 1 and 2. Panzer Dragoon Orta.
Heeeelll no, the art is awful and overdone.
League of Legends:
LoL is a real mixed bag to me, mainly due to character art. Some are great, others are awful.
The Grim Heaper
Member
I'm personally a huge fan of the art direction in Nier. While the game didn't have graphics that would wow you, I like the character designs and the environments are very nice.
revolverjgw
Member
Killzone 2-3
Littlegator
Banned
Some posts in this thread have cringe-worthy art direction.
sixteen-bit
Member
I guess it goes to show art is truly a subjective thing
LoftyTheMetroid
Member
Jesus guys, Muramasa:
Great to see more fans of FF8's world. I'll never tire of visiting it.
I think this thread should be done backwards, as post 1 game you think has awful art direction. At least there'd be more discussion (and salt) and less dumping of screens of games I like.
Just my 2 cents
I would have enjoyed this, as well.
H_Prestige
Banned
Killzone 2, I love the gritty art direction:
Can't believe I forgot about KZ2. Love the gritty, "aliens" vibe it gives off. The visuals are still some of the best I've ever seen.
WeAreStarStuff
Member
FF8 was my first and still to this day favorite Final Fantasy. So many great memories of that game; those pics really brought them back to my mind.
Littlegator
Banned
No, see, these are just bad. The games might look pretty, but the art direction itself is horrible.
Boring as hell.... everything?
Most generic setting ever?
Bland, boring, all the same.
Seriously? Starcraft?
My eyes! Holy shit does this game look bad.
Herbspiceguy
Member
I haven't even played this, but I really love the art.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Art direction is not just art style. It also involves how the game uses architecture to set an emotional tone, how lighting is used to convey information, camera angles for cutscenes and how space is used to set scope (how small spaces can make you paranoid or claustrophobic, while vistas and skyboxes feel epic and grand in stature), how character clothing conveys a certain style or national background, etc.
There are a lot of people in this thread who are basically posting games strictly because they are pretty. Some games are both pretty and have great art direction, others are ugly but have good art direction, others are pretty but have poor art direction.
Deadly Premonition is an example of a game that doesn't really look that great but that has great art direction. The way things are laid out in the town, the sense of scale, the way all the normal level designs "invert" when you are in the combat scenarios, the biome conveys that sort of mysterious cold foggy great ancient redwood Washington/BC feel, things like the coffee, the flies and beard that follow York around if he's dirty, the day/night cycle. But yeah, it looks like a PS2 game, kind of. But that's okay.
Bully and Mafia II both have great art direction in the way they deal with the passage of time. Zelda and Metroid both have very striking use of biomes and architecture and strongly themed areas to convey certain moods. Assassin's Creed 1 was hideous to me at least in part due to the scorching, bleaching lighting setup, but that did a good job of conveying what I expect the Middle East looks like. Mirror's Edge used really stark, clean environments to set up the theme that the world was safe, secure, and prosperous--by ruled by a panopticon surveillance and censorship regime.
Psychonauts, I thought had strong art design. The Milkman Conspiracy level's dimension bending, the Meat Circus level's clash of realities, the overall design and environment of the summer camp in general, the Fever Dream Neon Mexican Luchadore level. Great choices.
There are a lot of people in this thread who are basically posting games strictly because they are pretty. Some games are both pretty and have great art direction, others are ugly but have good art direction, others are pretty but have poor art direction.
Deadly Premonition is an example of a game that doesn't really look that great but that has great art direction. The way things are laid out in the town, the sense of scale, the way all the normal level designs "invert" when you are in the combat scenarios, the biome conveys that sort of mysterious cold foggy great ancient redwood Washington/BC feel, things like the coffee, the flies and beard that follow York around if he's dirty, the day/night cycle. But yeah, it looks like a PS2 game, kind of. But that's okay.
Bully and Mafia II both have great art direction in the way they deal with the passage of time. Zelda and Metroid both have very striking use of biomes and architecture and strongly themed areas to convey certain moods. Assassin's Creed 1 was hideous to me at least in part due to the scorching, bleaching lighting setup, but that did a good job of conveying what I expect the Middle East looks like. Mirror's Edge used really stark, clean environments to set up the theme that the world was safe, secure, and prosperous--by ruled by a panopticon surveillance and censorship regime.
Psychonauts, I thought had strong art design. The Milkman Conspiracy level's dimension bending, the Meat Circus level's clash of realities, the overall design and environment of the summer camp in general, the Fever Dream Neon Mexican Luchadore level. Great choices.
Metroid-Squadron
Banned
The_Hitcher89
Member
Killzone, inconsistently.
paperboywriter
Member
I haven't even played this, but I really love the art.
What,s the name of this game?
CrazyArcadia
Member
Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES. While already being a great looking NES game, the whole subtle stage/theater design of the world is still pretty cool.
Also liked Catherines style and the metaphor for failing relationships within the nightmarish looking "push and pull" puzzle gameplay.
And while we're at it, seconding Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future. Spraying graffiti in a lovely rough comic style celshading world while listening to an unusual but fitting OST. Win.
Also liked Catherines style and the metaphor for failing relationships within the nightmarish looking "push and pull" puzzle gameplay.
And while we're at it, seconding Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future. Spraying graffiti in a lovely rough comic style celshading world while listening to an unusual but fitting OST. Win.
John Rabbit
Banned
bayonetta has some of the most consistent, detailed, and well-executed art direction this generation.
and i don't even really care for its aesthetic, it's just so well done.
and i don't even really care for its aesthetic, it's just so well done.
What could have been.
The game looks lovely, but unfortunately, it runs at a WILDLY inconsistent framerate (bouncing between 30 and 60 fps constantly) with very poor image quality. It could and should have been able to deliver 60 fps, but the programming team couldn't quite get the job done in the end.
TheJollyCorner
Member
I chose FFVIII because I feel its art direction has a tremendous consistency throughout the fictional world that was created (and, well, because it's wonderfully crafted and pleasant on the eyes ). Things feel connected based on the time period in that world- and even with tremendous amounts of contrast (i.e. the port town of Balamb or the sleepy, middle-of-the-country Winhill) both share subtle similarities that immerse me into the idea that they exist in the same living, breathing world.
Combined with that you have the costume design, both casual and military, that also connect to the world and culture(s).
Granted, entries like FFVII and FFIX have huge waves of cultural variety throughout their respective worlds, I've always loved how closely grounded FFVIII's world feels. Roadways and train systems also help that connect the world, but it a more literal sense.
I guess to summarize: thanks to FFVIII's overall art direction, I felt much more connected to the world. The entire world was a place I would love to visit.
). Things feel connected based on the time period in that world- and even with tremendous amounts of contrast (i.e. the port town of Balamb or the sleepy, middle-of-the-country Winhill) both share subtle similarities that immerse me into the idea that they exist in the same living, breathing world.Combined with that you have the costume design, both casual and military, that also connect to the world and culture(s).
Granted, entries like FFVII and FFIX have huge waves of cultural variety throughout their respective worlds, I've always loved how closely grounded FFVIII's world feels. Roadways and train systems also help that connect the world, but it a more literal sense.
I guess to summarize: thanks to FFVIII's overall art direction, I felt much more connected to the world. The entire world was a place I would love to visit.
Edge_Maverick
Member
Gorgeous corridors...
cpp_is_king
Member
Thanks, you said this better than I was about to.
Art Design != Good Graphics
You can have either one without the other, and a lot of posts in this thread are just "I thought it had good graphics"
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