Game Style

*put notes here about style (e.g. graphics, plot, gameplay isn't mandatory)*

Artistic Style in Video Games is important. It can define the mood of the entire game. For example, let's compare Graphics and Plot. A game such as Super Mario would feature vibrant, colourful, cartoony graphics in contrast with it's plot and setting in a fantasy world. For example, areas like The Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser's Castle are both fantasy settings and the game features many Anthropomorphic characters such as the Toads and Goombas. It's true that good graphics don't make a good game, but in commercial games, if the graphics aren't up to par with other games in the same generation, the consumer may look past this game and of course the more consumers who do this, the smaller the sales there will be for the game.

New Super Mario Bros U

Take for example, a game like Uncharted. It's stunning visuals are one of the big selling points of this game as well as the amazing soundtrack and hollywood-style voice acting. With all this combined it feels like you're playing a movie. But it's not just that, it has really solid gameplay (critics describe it as a mixture between Tomb Raider and Gears of War). There are many problems to solve, and many parts of the game with exciting action.. Especially for the more thrilling parts of the game, visuals enhance the experience. Like in fight scenes where there are many explosions as well as in Uncharted 2 when you are on top of the ongoing train with detailed scenery surrounding. Visuals and great gameplay make the perfect combination for an overall good game.


Uncharted 2

Plot is a very important aspect if you want a deep game. Deep plots are generally found within RPG games. A personal favorite of mine, Square-Enix/Disney's series Kingdom Hearts, in my opinion has an amazing storyline. The mix of Final Fantasy character with Disney Characters as well as new characters original to the game may sound rather silly at first, but soon after you start playing it, you lose yourself in the epic storyline and other sub-plots which occur in many sidequests you do in the different worlds you visit. Along with all these sub plots are the main plot, which mainly focuses on Sora (not in all games though) and his companions, Donald Duck and Goofy aswell as other friends Riku, Kairi and King Mickey (Mickey Mouse) The concept of classic Disney characters may make this game sound childish, but it actually has a very big plot with many serious moments.

Kingdom Hearts

DVD Game Cover

We had a task to create boxart for an an already existing game based for a modern platform. The game I chose was LSD: Dream Emulator. This is an obscure PlayStation game which was released only in Japan in 1998. I chose this game as I found it to be very intriguing and an overall good choice to make box art of.

Box art I created for LSD: Dream Emulator

We were given a template for the DVD case. I decided for banners, I'll use PlayStation 3 banners. As there is already box art for LSD: Dream Emulator of the original PlayStation, I thought why not make box art for the PS3?
Onto the creation of the box art itself..
I got images of box art of already existing Ps3 games and the screenshots on the back are screenshots from the actual game. The LSD logo was taken from the original game cover aswell as the four icons surrounding it. It was relatively simple cutting and pasting the logo onto my box art. I used the magnetic lasso tool to rip the logos and icons onto my cover. I then pasted it as a new layer onto the cover.
Everything else, like the PEGI logos,developer logos etc were taken from the internet and I just pated and resised the so they would necessarily fit onto the box art. The man on the cover (he is known as the grey man), was a little more complex to put onto the cover.
I got a screenshot of the game online of the scene featuring the grey man, and I used the magnetic lasso tool to cut the grey man out of the scene. I made a silhouette of the grey man.
To create the silhouette, I made a new layer above the image, then I used the paint bucket tool on the new layer so it covered up the entire image. I then held the 'alt' key and chose the coloured layer which put that and my image together, making a black silhouette.
The rest of it (like the text on the back and the side of the case) I created myself using the text tool. And the background for nthe front cover, I blended different shades of dark blue which got darker at the bottom which ultimately ended up being black, which is where the silhouette of the grey man rises.