Arcadetics

Art style and aesthetic within video games have a clear coded influence on consumers. It is crucial that players find immersion and enjoyment in a video game. Where “ A better understanding of traditional art techniques, and video game aesthetics, will lead to richer gaming experiences.”

‘As the narrative and overall story of the world cannot only create structure for the gameplay and enhance the experience, it can impart sense into the game graphics as well’  (Arsenault & Larochelle 2015).  The detail drawn creates synchrony of symbolism, effects and style used to form narrative storytelling, creating a more ‘alive’ experience for the player. 

Chris Solarski, a game art and business blogger, suggests that shapes in gaming contain a psychology, and possess the ability to influence how we perceive entities.

Take the circular shape of Kirby and compare it against the triangular, sharp edges of Bowser. Kirby’s curves invite users to perceive the character and often it’s environment dynamically, akin to Disney aesthetics. Where is, Bowser’s angular features educe aggression, parallel to the “sporty lines of the Lamborghini” (Solarski 2012).

It is important to note the fine detail created through game design and the design principals engaged. Employed to further symbolise and code messaging for audiences, ultimately shaping their gameplay and interaction with character and setting. 

Our digital artefact aims to introduce audiences to a deeper understanding of the psychology and impact of visual game design. 

Hopefully, the outlet acts as a diverse space where people from all levels be it, experienced gamers or people who have a intermediate interest in art style and game aesthetics 

“I think it’s fair to say most video games let players experience only eight emotions: anger, panic, dread, surprise, wonder, satisfaction, joy and disappointment. And some games only disappoint.” (Rogers 2014)

Works cited: 

Cho, H., Donovan, A. and Lee, J.H. (2018). Art in an algorithm: A taxonomy for describing video game visual styles. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 69(5), pp.633–646. 

Hölttä, L., 2018. Effects of Art Styles on Video Game Narratives. 

Utupub.fi. Available at: <https://www.utupub.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/145921/Effects%20of%20Art%20Styles%20on%20Video%20Game%20Narratives.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y> 

Lee, J.H., Clarke, R.I. and Perti, A. (2015). Empirical evaluation of metadata for video games and interactive media. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, [online] 66(12), pp.2609–2625. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.23357/full 

Rogers, S. (2014). Level up : the guide to great video game design. Chichester: Wiley.