The Design Discussion
December 26th, 2008
Talk to any true film aficionado and you’ll find the conversation straying from the simple topics of starring roles and who’s directing to who the set designer is and the last project the head tailor worked on. Most of us don’t realize it, but the great majority of what you see on the screen, the overall feel of a well done film is due largely in part to the art direction teams. It’s not just the talking heads or storyline that rivet us, but the feeling that this world is real, believable and , most importantly, consistent.
Why, then, is it so few video game aficionados spend as much time talking about the same topics in regard to their medium of choice? So much ink is spilled about graphics engines, poly pushing, lens flares and the like without actually taking the time to wonder if these technical toys are being used to their fullest extent. Take the screen shot below, for example. Is that a shot from Mass Effect, Too Human or Fracture?
Specifically when we approach lead character designs, gamers are mostly saddled with the no neck marine looking guy with slightly non-threatening facial features and segmented armor. Top it off with a massive gun/sword/vehicle and you have most of the protagonists on the market. The most heartbreaking thing is what I like to refer to as Mace Griffin Syndrome, where a character starts out with an interesting character design (as the original, wide brimmed hat wearing Mace Griffin did) only to be focus grouped into oblivion.
The original design for Mace
So, is anyone out there doing it right? Actually, yes, lots of studios are and half the time we dont even realize it. Video games are one of the only mediums where art design is both about form and function. On a movie set it’s only about form, how it looks at a controlled camera angle. With video games it’s not just about creating a consistantly beautiful experience, but also making sure that your design does not hamper how the game functions. How many times have we been crippled by slowdown, bad cameras and janky controls? For a game to succeed on an artistic level it must both create a cohesive tone and feel while also playing to the strengths of game play mechanics. One of the best examples of this is in the original Silent Hill for PS1. The PS1 had a famously bad draw distance, but the team at Konami wanted to make a fairly expansive experience. To achieve this they only let you see about two feet before fog takes over. Where this would drive us nuts in another game, in Silent Hill it perfectly complimented the oppressive nature of the 
psychological horror they were creating.
Another example that most people may have missed is in Gears of War two. While playing, any weapon or vehicle controlled by an enemy (and the enemies themselves for that matter) had red glowing trim to help differentiate targets from the blue trimmed COG soldiers. Pick up an enemy gun, though, and the trim immediately turns to blue. It’s a little touch, but it’s a great example of form and function. Oh, and next time you’re playing any co-op mode, you might notice that in the distance your allies armor is glowing fairly bright so that you can tell whose who, and dims as they get closer and you can I.D. them based on character models. Again, a very little thing, but it helps really cement the sense of cohesive visual design while also being useful to gameplay.
So, do we see any games that lean heavily on artistic design to create a unique v
isual fingerprint? Actually yeah, and it’s becoming more and more commonplace. ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are games that, once you play them, you forever recognize them. Not only do the games stay unique in our minds eye, but other projects from the same teams will have an immediate sense of familiarity. Take one look at a Suda 51 game or one of the many entries in the Shin Megami series from Atlus and you know which teams had a hand in them.
The good news is that with technical powerhouses like Bioshock and the sleek, clean design of nintendo Miis bringing attention to this aspect of video games, more developers are realizing that it’s not enough to have the latest artistict tools. A hi-res world of brown is still a world of brown, so we are seeing more and more games coming down the pipe, such as Madworld, which embraces a Sin City aesthetic that also plays to the strength of the Wii as a platform. Heres hoping that the criminal ignoring of Mirror’s Edge (this years best offering in terms of art design) wont have developers shying away from more risky projects.
-Mike Amari
Tags: Game Design
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