Comments on: I’ll have my people pencil this in http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/ Video Games and Music and Other Things Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:26:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Duffman http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-70 Duffman Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:23:31 +0000 http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/index.php/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-70 I like the idea of mainstream photorealism games leaving a gap for others to standout. You can point to things like Wind Waker, Okami, and TF2 and they are apart from other games even within the same genre. This also has something to do with the quality of game play no doubt, but visually they'll never be mistaken for another game. That said, I do believe there is room for more of these games. Sometimes you come across a game these days where the graphics just don't work. I wonder if they had taken a nontraditional style of art direction then you might not have noticed it, or even cared. No More Heroes, I think, is a great example of a developer knowing the hardware limitations of a system and instead of straining to get realistic graphics, went with a stylized approach. So uh, yeah bring on the sketch look, I think it needs it's place in the spotlight for a bit. I like the idea of mainstream photorealism games leaving a gap for others to standout. You can point to things like Wind Waker, Okami, and TF2 and they are apart from other games even within the same genre. This also has something to do with the quality of game play no doubt, but visually they’ll never be mistaken for another game.

That said, I do believe there is room for more of these games. Sometimes you come across a game these days where the graphics just don’t work. I wonder if they had taken a nontraditional style of art direction then you might not have noticed it, or even cared.

No More Heroes, I think, is a great example of a developer knowing the hardware limitations of a system and instead of straining to get realistic graphics, went with a stylized approach.

So uh, yeah bring on the sketch look, I think it needs it’s place in the spotlight for a bit.

]]> By: Chris Makris http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-67 Chris Makris Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:42:15 +0000 http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/index.php/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-67 Mittens, Siw, I agree with you both. It's really a fascinating issue, because for as realistic and detailed as some games strive to be, they are in turn making the carefully stylized game appear more compelling and attractive. Siw, I think you bring up a really good point in how style should embrase the medium. Why are the impressionists generally loved so much? They let the paint be paint. Old arcade games are immortal for this reason. It's sort of comforting to know that as biggers studios are striving for techincal accuracy and, more often than not, realism, they are leaving a gaping hole of creativity for the independents to step in and fill. Mittens, Siw, I agree with you both. It’s really a fascinating issue, because for as realistic and detailed as some games strive to be, they are in turn making the carefully stylized game appear more compelling and attractive.

Siw, I think you bring up a really good point in how style should embrase the medium. Why are the impressionists generally loved so much? They let the paint be paint. Old arcade games are immortal for this reason.

It’s sort of comforting to know that as biggers studios are striving for techincal accuracy and, more often than not, realism, they are leaving a gaping hole of creativity for the independents to step in and fill.

]]> By: SiW http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-66 SiW Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:17:39 +0000 http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/index.php/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-66 Great post mittens. I agree that Reynolds' site mainly focuses on rendering of painterly/traditional styles, and that the abstract designs of the shooters you mention are a legitimate usage of the term "NPR". I've found myself drawn to this style more than emulation of traditional media, due in no small part I'm sure to my age and nostalgia for early arcade games (and early computer graphics themselves), but also because I feel this style embraces the medium. Great post mittens. I agree that Reynolds’ site mainly focuses on rendering of painterly/traditional styles, and that the abstract designs of the shooters you mention are a legitimate usage of the term “NPR”. I’ve found myself drawn to this style more than emulation of traditional media, due in no small part I’m sure to my age and nostalgia for early arcade games (and early computer graphics themselves), but also because I feel this style embraces the medium.

]]> By: marmite http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-65 marmite Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:55:45 +0000 http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/index.php/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-65 http://shackpics.com/files/ico_windmill_2f6jf1f4j1k3s1zx4504.jpg Hey, I made this a while ago. I vectorized the original and touched it up in Photoshop 1680*1050 It's by no means perfect but it's pretty nice http://shackpics.com/files/ico_windmill_2f6jf1f4j1k3s1zx4504.jpg

Hey, I made this a while ago. I vectorized the original and touched it up in Photoshop 1680*1050 It’s by no means perfect but it’s pretty nice

]]> By: chazums http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-64 chazums Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:00:27 +0000 http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/index.php/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-64 Wow those shots look amazing. Japan may not be the power-house it once was it sure can still turn out totally unique games. Wow those shots look amazing. Japan may not be the power-house it once was it sure can still turn out totally unique games.

]]> By: hamachi http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-62 hamachi Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:11:50 +0000 http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/index.php/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-62 I'm surprised more people don't go for this kind of design. I guess it's harder to pull off than it looks. I’m surprised more people don’t go for this kind of design. I guess it’s harder to pull off than it looks.

]]> By: mittens http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-61 mittens Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:52:23 +0000 http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/index.php/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-61 High quality non-photorealistic rendering is a rarity in games not only because it's something difficult to pull off well but, once you have a decent set of techniques envisioned, it can be something difficult to pull off at practical real-time rates. Yes, there are a lot of papers which can get things looking good at 30fps but, typically, these are individual models in simple scenes. The academic settings for a lot of the papers at Reynolds' site don't take into account the absolute insane complexity of modern day game scenes composed of a vast number of textures, polygons, and special effects. The kind of stylized rendering I don't typically see categorized under "non-photorealistic rendering" journals are the kind displayed by games like Rez, Everyday Shooter, and Kenta Cho. These are all examples of minimalistic style paired with excellent aesthetic design instincts. They aren't technologically complex but they can be pulled off so superbly that they make ideal choices for independent developers with little-to-no "artistic talent" in the reign of 3D modeling and texture creation. High quality non-photorealistic rendering is a rarity in games not only because it’s something difficult to pull off well but, once you have a decent set of techniques envisioned, it can be something difficult to pull off at practical real-time rates. Yes, there are a lot of papers which can get things looking good at 30fps but, typically, these are individual models in simple scenes. The academic settings for a lot of the papers at Reynolds’ site don’t take into account the absolute insane complexity of modern day game scenes composed of a vast number of textures, polygons, and special effects.

The kind of stylized rendering I don’t typically see categorized under “non-photorealistic rendering” journals are the kind displayed by games like Rez, Everyday Shooter, and Kenta Cho. These are all examples of minimalistic style paired with excellent aesthetic design instincts. They aren’t technologically complex but they can be pulled off so superbly that they make ideal choices for independent developers with little-to-no “artistic talent” in the reign of 3D modeling and texture creation.

]]> By: SiW http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-59 SiW Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:29:33 +0000 http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/index.php/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-59 I fell in love with this the moment I downloaded the trailer from the Japanese Playstation Store last year. Non-photorealistic rendering was a bit of a passion of mine for a while, personally and professionally (my work was included on one of the main NPR resources online, http://www.red3d.com/cwr/npr/ ) and I still follow developments. NPR is something that's so easy to do, yet so hard to do *well*. I fell in love with this the moment I downloaded the trailer from the Japanese Playstation Store last year.

Non-photorealistic rendering was a bit of a passion of mine for a while, personally and professionally (my work was included on one of the main NPR resources online, http://www.red3d.com/cwr/npr/ ) and I still follow developments. NPR is something that’s so easy to do, yet so hard to do *well*.

]]> By: mittense http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-58 mittense Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:29:58 +0000 http://chrisremo.com/bloggin/index.php/2008/02/25/ill-have-my-people-pencil-this-in/#comment-58 Under the realm of Shoot-Em-Ups (since you mentioned Everyday Shooter), Kenta Cho has always been one of my "inspirations" when I start envisioning a new game: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/index_e.html He's a fairly recognizable entity in the industry, but I still am surprised by the amount of people who don't know about him. His games, for being "simple shoot-em-ups" are generally fun and quirky but, more important than that, the visual style they employ is almost always fantastic. Under the realm of Shoot-Em-Ups (since you mentioned Everyday Shooter), Kenta Cho has always been one of my “inspirations” when I start envisioning a new game: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/index_e.html

He’s a fairly recognizable entity in the industry, but I still am surprised by the amount of people who don’t know about him. His games, for being “simple shoot-em-ups” are generally fun and quirky but, more important than that, the visual style they employ is almost always fantastic.

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