I don't think Gruesome and Horror go hand in hand.
They can, but then they're two different sensations. Horror is about a certain sense atmosphere (sort of like a feeling that nastiness is going to happen, you are just uncertain when), gruesome is about a sense of revulsion (or hilarity, depends on the game). Really gruesome in a horror game is for when you don't have the imagination to think of something truly horrifying. I don't mind the enemies being more "frightening" but, Metroid doesn't need gruesome, I'm happy with things blowing up when they die.
Why do we want our virtual worlds we dive into to look like our "real world"? Why does Link need to look like a human? Why does Mario need to have a mean streak?
Why do people think video games need that gritty, "mature" edge? The answer is simply conditioning. Go back to the early 90s - Sega marketed their console as the slick, jet black, "cool" and "futuristic" design. All these words in quotations are meaningless, bullpooooooop buzzwords. Sony did the same thing in their advertising. These companies aren't in gaming to create fun games for gamers. They came in to take some of the money Nintendo were reeling in without competition. They just want you to be a customer, they're not a games company like Nintendo. So they have an agenda. They sell you what they've convinced you is cool. You haven't made any decision yourself. They want you to somehow go along with the idea that darker is scarier and scarier is more mature and mature is realistic and realistic is how gaming should be..? The world is depressing and it's only getting worse. Who wouldn't want their video game escape to be filled with fun and brightness? What, you want war and guns in your movies, news, backyard and now on your Nintendo? Imagine how awful the gaming industry would be if Nintendo were replaced with another soulless corporation that don't care about gaming. Having 3 of them would be the end of fun with a controller.
I don't think there is anything wrong with Nintendo's art direction. I can appreciate the craft of realistic graphics, but that's all it is craftsmanship. Graphics like Windwaker I think have more imagination and vision stretching further than what the creator simply sees in front of him.
I never drive faster than I can see. Besides, it's all in the reflexes.
Really gruesome in a horror game is for when you don't have the imagination to think of something truly horrifying.
Gruesome can be used to convey horror very effectively.
Try Dead Space.
It can, but it's not the worst horror imaginable. Played Dead space, it was meh, not very horrific. Now dead space extraction: Having to perform gestures to hack your own arm off, that's a moment of horror, my own arm felt some twinges
Why do we want our virtual worlds we dive into to look like our "real world"? Why does Link need to look like a human? Why does Mario need to have a mean streak?
Why do people think video games need that gritty, "mature" edge? The answer is simply conditioning. Go back to the early 90s - Sega marketed their console as the slick, jet black, "cool" and "futuristic" design. All these words in quotations are meaningless, bullpoooooop buzzwords. Sony did the same thing in their advertising. These companies aren't in gaming to create fun games for gamers. They came in to take some of the money Nintendo were reeling in without competition. They just want you to be a customer, they're not a games company like Nintendo. So they have an agenda. They sell you what they've convinced you is cool. You haven't made any decision yourself. They want you to somehow go along with the idea that darker is scarier and scarier is more mature and mature is realistic and realistic is how gaming should be..? The world is depressing and it's only getting worse. Who wouldn't want their video game escape to be filled with fun and brightness? What, you want war and guns in your movies, news, backyard and now on your Nintendo? Imagine how awful the gaming industry would be if Nintendo were replaced with another soulless corporation that don't care about gaming. Having 3 of them would be the end of fun with a controller.
I agree with a lot of this, but I think if a series is meant to be realistic, they can make it more realistic. They shouldn't try to force it for franchises that wouldn't benefit from the graphical leap though.
I think Nintendo's style helps them on two fronts. Firstly it differentiates them, secondly IMO real time graphics have entered the "uncanny valley" which makes games attempting for a realistic look to actually appear poor if anything due to the models being awesome but not matched with equal shaders/animation making the overall look "off". I've still yet to see anything off PS4/XBONE that has blown me away (this is not the consensus view I expect) and I put it down to this as on a technical level they are great. The cartoony style helps avoid this issue.
Rimmer: "Look, I think we've all got something to bring to this conversation, but I think that from now on the thing you should bring is silence."
Homer: "Oh people can come up with statistics to prove anything Kent. Forfty percent of all people know that."
System limitations help drive these more creative design outlets becuse you might not have the resources to do something more realistic or bypassing "realism" and the overhead that requires can allow you to use system resources to do more interesting things with gameplay. No, I don't think Nintendo is harmed; I think it allows them to put their energy into the quality of the experience working with simpler (not necessarily meaning less-detailed) design.
Otherwise it's down to personal aesthetics. I live in an urban landscape dominated by shades of brown and grey - why would I want to escape to a virtual world that looks the same? No, I want colourful, fantastic landscapes to delight and marvel at in my gaming adventures, thanks.
Forums
Topic: Is there anything wrong with Nintendo using mostly a cartoony style?
Posts 41 to 53 of 53
This topic has been archived, no further posts can be added.