Out of every type of media, video games have perhaps advanced the most in recent times. Long gone are the days of pixelated graphics, memory cards, and scart cables, with most new releases feeling like full-fledged works of art – cinematic stories that blur the line between live-action and animation and just happen to let the player take control along the way.
You only need to look at titles like The Last of Us, and God of War to see the dedication that developers have put into the intricate details for characters like Joel and Kratos, showcasing why they remain so iconic years down the line.
No video game is as good as its art style though, and over the years we have seen a number of changes in order to keep up with the new era of players ushered in. The rise of online gaming and the growing influence of social media means that designers always need to be on their toes and look out for trends when it comes to designing cover art and general art styles, with the new wave of players possessing different dopamine receptors and wanting bright colours and attention seeking menus throughout their experience.
But how do the 2D pixels we remember so fondly from years ago transition into the titles we see today? Read on, as we examine some of the best video game art styles from over the years, everything from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras to vector art we see today.
Comic Art style
One of the most popular art styles is the comic book setting we have seen in the likes of Sony’s Spiderman and the Arkham Night trilogy – two examples juxtaposed by the theme of the games. Spiderman is intended at a younger audience and adopts the comic book tropes of the webslinger including a tutorial covered in the reds and blues that adorn Peter Parker’s iconic outfit.
On the other hand, Batman’s Arkham series goes for a comic book art stye with its menu selection, using newspaper clippings as well as batman’s equipment, but with much darker colours to represent the desperation and serious nature of the story, with ironic splatters of colour from the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery of villains including the Joker and Harely Quinn.
Comics utilise panel layouts, composition, and visual effects to convey narrative and emotion, and have done over time, with a golden age of comic book games coming in arcades throughout the 1980s and 1990s, combining Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marvel Super Heroes Vs Street Fighter.
CGI Art style
Realism is a key part of modern video game art styles. Animation studios utilise traditional hand-drawn animation, 3D CGI, and hybrid techniques to create diverse visual experiences, as well as body models to replicate actors.
The Farcry series took this to new extremes, with famous actors like Giancarlo Esposito used for the sixth edition of the game. In years gone by, casinos and arcades would use a poorly pixelated celebrity from a movie series like Rocky or the Terminator to get people to use their coins, and while the top online casino sites offered in the UK have similar games, albeit ones that use better graphics, they still pale in comparison to the character models that Ubisoft have been able to achieve over the years with their use of CGI.
2D is still going
Every gamer loves a vibrant 2D side-scroller and if you look at your video game collection there is every chance you will feel some sense of nostalgia. From iconic beat ‘em up titles like Streets of Rage and the Golden Axd series, the side scroller still exists in the modern day, with the graphics enhanced but a colour palette that still evokes memories of yesteryear.
Perhaps the best example is Cuphead. Known for its challenging levels and retro design, the game is a charming addition to release within the modern era and has won several awards despite its difficulty, with a plethora of boss fights and a creative soundtrack that players will love.
The game uses cutouts. The cutout images remain changed, but movement and positions are altered slightly to show action and motion. State changes are simulated by instantly replacing an image with another cutout. Paper Mario and Cuphead are some other games made with the cutout art style.
Overall, it’s important to recognise how far video games have come in recent years. We are a long way from 8-bit cartridges and clunky machines, and the rise of the metaverse and virtual reality only puts us further away. But with so many exciting titles in production, it will be interesting to see which art styles prove themselves to be popular.
