Author Topic: Artsy games (Read 905 times)

nstgc · « **on:** June 12, 2012, 09:14:05 PM »

I thought it may be good to start a thread on artsy games from the thread about how games these games are lacking.

I mentioned in that thread Tale of Tales. Their "games" tend to be artsy. In fact one game involved you simply visiting your dead husbands grave and leaving. Sometimes, at random, you will die afterwards. In either case the game in completed by leaving. Perhaps one of my favorite art games is Trauma. Its a really good game albeit short. I bought it, but you can play it for free on the website.

Takeshi · « **Reply #1 on:** June 12, 2012, 09:30:19 PM »

Reading your thread title makes me think of Journey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_%282012_video_game%29

I haven't tried it yet, but will definitely at some point, it's only £10 on the PSN store.

TMRNetShark · « **Reply #2 on:** June 13, 2012, 12:29:15 AM »

The appeal of Journey was to play it straight through with no breaks (it's only a 2 hour game). So that's what I did... afterwards, I thought it was some of the most artsy gameplay I have ever seen. The music and visuals definitely blend well together. I recommend the game to anyone who likes artsy/inner meaning games.

As for other artsy games... Heavy Rain is definitely unconventional. Super Brothers Swords and Sorcery is also very good at blending music and visuals (I was shocked at how well square pixels made a game so pretty!).

FlyinPenguin · « **Reply #3 on:** June 13, 2012, 01:01:01 AM »

Artsy?

I think Catherine had quite a unique look and flavor to it compared to most video games. It's certainly one of my favorite games.

Nikkoru · « **Reply #4 on:** June 13, 2012, 01:55:28 AM »

I couldn't help thinking while playing them, that Odin Sphere, Okami, ICO, and Shadow of the Colossus were primarily art pieces before they were video games.Limbo and Trine on PSN/XBLA were outstandingly beautiful. Well, lots of games are, and perhaps we take game art for granted as players. But, when you're willing to just look around to see more, you know there's something special about it.

I spent hours just... walking... around the world of SotC. It's the only game I've ever bought twice just for the HD experience.

Zen games like Flight of the Fireflies or Undergarden give new credence for video games as a popular art medium.

FeatherFang · « **Reply #5 on:** June 13, 2012, 04:11:46 AM »

I love how Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 look (and it's music as well). I might as well throw in Kirby's Epic Yarn and The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker and Skyward Sword. Muramasa The Demon Blade (same developers as Odin Sphere).
There is Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch coming out next year (Studio Ghibli+Level 5 ftw). Also Dragon Quest VIII and Valkyria Chronicles are real beautiful games. The only game on this list that isn't out is Ni no Kuni.

EDIT: Terribly sorry, I didn't know you wanted a discussion.
Muramasa The Demon Blade and Odin Sphere are really beautiful 2D games. Vanillaware makes them at a higher resolution than the PS2 or Wii (I don't know the exact resolution, but I know it's at least HD quality, so you can expect their PS3 or Vita games to be real nice). These 2D games are really beautiful. In Muramasa you get to travel around in (fuedal?) Japan. Examples are like the beaches, mountains, heaven, hell, desolate battlefields, ricefields, farmland, wilderness. It real beautiful. I didn't get to finish Odin Sphere (didn't get far either) but expect some Norse mythology related art.
Muramasa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKl0o3B4Sr4
Odin Sphere http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI-V3Uw1b3U

The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker and Skyward Sword are real nice cel-shaded games. Skyward Sword was going for an impressionist approach, where they weren't going for detailed graphics, but the overall feeling and atmosphere of the environment/view. The other cel-shaded games I mentioned were Ni no Kuni, Valkyria Chronicles and Dragon Quest VIII. I can't really explain how magnificent these games look. You need to see and play for yourself (also all the games in this post have great music as well). Akira Toriyama for Dragon Quest, Studio Ghibli for Ni no Kuni and Raita Honjou for Valkyria Chronicles. These artists have done their job with these games and it looks great.
Kirby's Epic Yarn is done real well too. The little details like yarn falling apart or pulling zippers can be really appreciated.

Wind Waker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYfZ_aLsW90
Skyward Sword http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zm1tLH1Oks
Valkyria Chronicles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bceYkhQjxGY
Dragon Quest VIII http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--2Z82WJD7c
Kibry's Epic Yarn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK4gKc9OuTk

SirSkyRider · « **Reply #6 on:** June 13, 2012, 05:43:29 AM »

Like I mentioned in the other thread... it's all about Tetsuya Mizuguchi for me. Rez, Lumines and Child of Eden took their basic genres (Shoot'em'Up and Puzzle) and intertwined them with rhythm game aspects. Take the stunning visuals and the nicely done soundtrack and you get a really great conceptual game.

nstgc · « **Reply #7 on:** June 13, 2012, 01:42:33 PM »

I was actually hoping this would turn out to be a discussion thread instead of a recommendation thread, but whatever. I'm not good at starting discussion threads.

vicious796 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 13, 2012, 01:56:04 PM »

I've never much cared for artsy games - I'm not an artsy person. Don't get me wrong - musically I'm very artsy - but the whole music flowing with visuals is not what drives games for me. I appreciate it but would never actually buy something like Journey or Blossom - just not my thing.

I'm surprised Lumines isn't mentioned or the Alice games.

SirSkyRider · « **Reply #9 on:** June 13, 2012, 02:26:33 PM »

Quote from: vicious796 on June 13, 2012, 01:56:04 PM

I'm surprised Lumines isn't mentioned or the Alice games.

* SirSkyRider slaps vicious796 so that he wakes up

Quote from: SirSkyRider on June 13, 2012, 05:43:29 AM

Like I mentioned in the other thread... it's all about Tetsuya Mizuguchi for me. Rez, Lumines and Child of Eden took their basic genres (Shoot'em'Up and Puzzle) and intertwined them with rhythm game aspects. Take the stunning visuals and the nicely done soundtrack and you get a really great conceptual game.

@nstgc: Oh well. I think it depends on how you define "artsy", since the making of a game already involves a number of artistic processes.

As far as the Encyclopedia Britannica goes, video games as a whole can be indeed seen as a form of art since they are an expression of skills (programming) and imagination (concept) – combined with the ideas of level design (=architecture), scripts (=literature), concept art (=drawing/painting), modeling (=sculpting), soundtrack (=music) and recently also (voice) acting they can be seen as a modern, interactive form of operas (which were seen as the combination of all branches of what we call "art").

So the ultimate question would be how you define "art" because then you can define what makes a game really "artsy". That being said, I would never call "production line games" like Call of Duty "art".

A whole different question is how artsy a game should be, since some (indie) games tend to put the idea of being a work of art before their existence as a game – something that can well be appreciated, but those games tend to lose their replay value rather quickly. I've finished Braid once – probably will never get around to play it again...

vicious796 · « **Reply #10 on:** June 13, 2012, 03:11:25 PM »

It was only bolded and mentioned in 2 threads, Sky. Seriously, anyone would have missed it...

SirSkyRider · « **Reply #11 on:** June 13, 2012, 03:54:02 PM »

Huh. Then maybe I shall make a Lumines sig for the rotation.

vicious796 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 13, 2012, 04:07:26 PM »

Quote from: SirSkyRider on June 13, 2012, 03:54:02 PM

Huh. Then maybe I shall make a Lumines sig for the rotation.

Make sure it says 'THIS IS AN ARTSY GAME' in giant, obnoxious, flashing lettings.

SirSkyRider · « **Reply #13 on:** June 13, 2012, 04:30:30 PM »

Quote from: vicious796 on June 13, 2012, 04:07:26 PM

Quote from: SirSkyRider on June 13, 2012, 03:54:02 PM
Huh. Then maybe I shall make a Lumines sig for the rotation.

Make sure it says 'THIS IS AN ARTSY GAME' in giant, obnoxious, flashing lettings.

Will do.

deadskin · « **Reply #14 on:** June 13, 2012, 06:47:07 PM »

Preferably in Comic Sans

SirSkyRider · « **Reply #15 on:** June 13, 2012, 07:11:52 PM »

No. Too un-hipsterish. Let's use Helvetica.

Saras · « **Reply #16 on:** June 13, 2012, 07:59:34 PM »

I greatly enjoy art. However, I see it more as a thing that "helps the medicine go down". Art for the purpose of art on the other hand is something loathe.

shabutie · « **Reply #17 on:** June 13, 2012, 11:59:00 PM »

Most of the one's I've played have been mentioned, but I enjoyed them.

I'd go as far as to say Amnesia was an 'artsy' game. Though not the most beautiful game to look at, it created an atmosphere that pulls you in and doesn't let go.

Dear Ester was decent, but not really a game. More like an interactive narrative, which made it somewhat unique in it's own light. Enjoyable, but not for everyone.

Mainly, I'd see an 'artsy' game as a game that incorporates it's visual and audio style above and beyond other games. Usually they end up being indie/stand alone titles. Okami is a big one to come to mind. The visuals weren't just used to be pretty, they were actually a part of the game play. Viewtiful Joe also did this, but in a more limited fashion.

Yeah, this could get twisted to say shit like "OMG BUT BF3 Has DIRT on your eyes when you get blown up", but it's not really a part of the gameplay.

(click to show/hide)

~ I honestly don't think this post made all that much sense, but I hope it does, at least, a little.

FeatherFang · « **Reply #18 on:** June 15, 2012, 03:24:43 AM »

Since Ni no Kuni isn't out yet in America, I couldn't really describe how beautiful it is (I've also added more detail to my previous post for the other games). This trailer really shows the detail in graphics, music and heart put into the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm7NtrPmpq4

Triltaison · « **Reply #19 on:** June 18, 2012, 02:45:54 AM »

Lost in Shadow (AKA A Shadow's Tale) for Wii was kind of neat. For those who haven't heard of it, it's an action platformer where your character is a shadow on a quest to find his missing body and lost memories. There's a foreground (the actual world) and background (the shadow of the foreground), and your shadow can only run along the shadows of the background. You have to find ways to manipulate the foreground's light sources in order to move the shadows and change the background so your own shadow can progress.

The whole Katamari franchise is artsy. It's so stylized, with such a strange concept. I remember playing the original when it first came out and just going "Huh?" a lot. Who knew rolling up everything into a big ball would be so addicting?

Platypus. Haven't played it, but it's a game with claymation graphics on the PSP. -Which of course reminds me to mention The Neverhood, another claymation game.

The Cat and the Coup. I've just seen screens and some clips of this, but it is definitely artsy. It's like an interactive pop-up book mixed with an acid trip.

Rock of Ages. This thing is pretty hard to describe, so just do a Google search for it. The paper dolls and puppets mixed with works of art and a vaguely Grecian and Medieval style is just gorgeous. -With a bit of Super Monkey Ball, Marble Madness, and Terry Gilliams' drawings from Monty Python thrown in, for good measure.

Dark Meadow. I don't have an iPad, so can't play this. It looks really neat, though. Has anyone here given it a try?