After thinking about this a bit more, I think more than anything the thing that really resonates with me in this type of CRPG is when there is a distinct overall color and/or chroma contrast between the environment and everything character/npc related; e.g. clothing/spell effects.
When this contrast does not exist, then the characters/npc's in the world just seem to become just another wave in the ocean that is the scene. They need that little bit of contrast that allows them to stand out from their environment which in a way artificially raises their significance.
Mind you this contrast need only be just enough to achieve the effect and not something so garish that it becomes jarring to the eye.
It's also worth noting that this contrast isn't always present, as there are the obvious (at rest) chamouflage skills that while in use, temporarily negate the effect.
I like to leave graphical decisions to others that know better than I do. But I will try to give an opinion. I lean towards realism but there have been games that I liked the graphics in that were far from realistic. So far, the newer graphics in Pantheon I would be happy with. For some examples in other games I liked the graphics in Vanguard, Skyrim, Dark souls to name a few. I really disliked the graphics for WoW, and well most Warhammer games.
bigdogchris said:I enjoy the 80's/early 90's D&D art you saw a lot on covers and associated materials. Also of course Keith Parkinson.
I would have loved to see his take on the Pantheon art.
Pressing F for a top tier artist.
Budok said:Pada said:I prefer realism, I love fantastic beasts and characters but prefer them to look organic, not like a cartoon, if that makes sense. I really like the art style used in Faerthale.
I agree with Pada on both points.
These are my preferences as well. Can't stand cartoonish or anime art styles personally.
I prefer my fantasy art to be fantasy like. THe armors and weapons should be fantasy looking not Earth mideval ages looking. The woold has giant monsters and magic. There is no need to have plain looking gear unless you're fighting rats in a newbie area. You're realistic plate armor isn't going to stop a dragon claw anymore then the wizard robe is.
Realistic for sure.
But just as important imo is that the world feel realistic.
By that i mean i can vividly remember in EQ when zones were “hunting grounds” and you would only occasionally come across an interesting/beautiful easter egg location within a zone.
I don’t see that happening at all here.
They are attempting to make a world where every zone is “beautiful” over every square inch. Conversely nothing is beautiful and unique now.
I think this type of art direction is very important for enjoying and Respecting the virtual world.
You should be able to see far into the distance from most locations without art assets cluttering the view in every direction in an attempt to make the zone appear gorgeous. You Kill any sense of grandness of the world when you do that.
Leave that for dungeons. Let the open world be open.
I miss the Planes of Karana, Lake Rathetear, Steamfont Mountains etc.
The current state of the game looks like a collection of overly art’ed-up zones that could have come from literally any other MMO out there.
I prefer more eastern styles, I think Black Desert Online is one of the best looking games on the market. I don't typically like the monetization of eastern games though. I can play pretty much everything except dated character models. I couldn't get into ESO because their character models just looked too chunky and dated.
Fluent lines where every element in the world really fits within the chosen style.
I'm struggling with the goblin currently in pantheon as it seems too cartoonish in comparison to the races.
But I enjoyed eqnext art style, although very different and more cartoon oriented, easier on the eyes kind of deal. It all seemed to fit together. So it didn't feel awkward. I enjoyed playing a slim athletic ogre.
Art styles that are more oriented towards cubism are not to my taste. I've done Doss-games, no I don't want to go back to that time. I think the tech has gone so far and improved so much since then, that I just can't enjoy that style.
Oriental games tend to be too flashy for me. They can be pretty on the eyes and as cutscenes between chapters, but to actually play it, it doesn't feel solidified/grounded enough for me. If that expression makes sense.
Nothing matters unless the artsyle is cohesive within itself and in terms of the gameplay / story. I could never get into Wildstar because it felt like my actions didn't matter much. It was too cartoony for me. WoW was always a nice mix of realism / bubbly.
EQ was more a product of its time. The blocky nature to everything with great animations gave it more life than it should have had really. I don't think that's just nostalgia either.
Realism ages SO much faster so the artstyle needs to go for something timeless, I think too realistic ruins old games for me. Realism needs a touch of the dramatic IMO
I like multiple different styles, for sure, but I find the approach most lacking in the industry is what's often called stylized realism. EverQuest did something wonderful with such limited tech, relatively better than Vanguard did, in my opinion.
EQ > FFXIV > ESO > Vanguard > LotRO > WAR > EQ2 > WoW > BDO > DAOC > Neverwinter > GW2 > Crowfall > [most South Korean stuff] > Rift > Shadowbane > Mortal > Gorgon
Grymmlocke said:Budok said:Pada said:I prefer realism, I love fantastic beasts and characters but prefer them to look organic, not like a cartoon, if that makes sense. I really like the art style used in Faerthale.
I agree with Pada on both points.
These are my preferences as well. Can't stand cartoonish or anime art styles personally.
Ditto
I've been trying to come up with a word, or words, that describes the art style I want. The best I can do is 'logical realism'. By this I do not mean photo realism, that is an ever changing pursuit and I'm not interested in that. Rather I want an art style where you can look at an item, any item, and its design logically follows its function, its purpose and it's size follows the realism of a mass and inertia. So the overblown and utterly ridiculously sized shoulder pads prevalent in WoW would not exist, neither would swords many times the length of your own body covered in pointed spiky bits. This extends into the color palette as well. Fully enameled armor just wouldn't exist, rather armor would have enameled highlights, filligree, etc.
So far, from what I've seen, the Pantheon art style does follow a logical realism...so far.
Vandraad said:I've been trying to come up with a word, or words, that describes the art style I want. The best I can do is 'logical realism'. By this I do not mean photo realism, that is an ever changing pursuit and I'm not interested in that. Rather I want an art style where you can look at an item, any item, and its design logically follows its function, its purpose and it's size follows the realism of a mass and inertia. So the overblown and utterly ridiculously sized shoulder pads prevalent in WoW would not exist, neither would swords many times the length of your own body covered in pointed spiky bits. This extends into the color palette as well. Fully enameled armor just wouldn't exist, rather armor would have enameled highlights, filligree, etc.
So far, from what I've seen, the Pantheon art style does follow a logical realism...so far.
I am impressed how well you managed to put in words how I feel.
