Cartoon Graphics - The New Trend? (Even though it was the old trend)

Talint · August 2013

Earlier this month I posed these two questions - http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/392626/page/1 and http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/392500/Why-Are-People-Against-the-Holy-Trinity-in-Games.html

Now I pose this question to the community. Are cartoon graphics here to stay? Cartoon graphics bring the immersion and real feeling down for me. I understand that in the earlier times of MMOs, cartoon graphics were a way to make the game look nice with the technology we had then. Now we have unbelievable technology that can make games look close to real-life.

Why then, are these companies still falling back on the cartoon graphics? Is it because it is what they think we like? Is it because it is what has to be done if you want to see hundreds of people on your screen at once without lagging? or is it simply because that is what they have done, and will always do?

I look forward to hearing your reactions,

Talint

Dandalus · August 2013

You say cartoony, when I say "stylized." Very important difference, at least to me. The problem with art is that so much is left up to the person viewing it. I will say, however, that the Kerran could use a bit more work...but that is just my take on an artist's rendition of what THEY wanted them to look like.

If you watch the vids showing the tremendous range of facial expressions available using these "cartoony graphics", then maybe you might see the brilliance in it. If not, not sure what to say to change your mind.

Nadia · August 2013

gameplay matters to me more than any art direction

gameplay determines if I'm having fun

Bigmamajama · August 2013

It worked for WoW and it takes so long to develop an MMO that unless you think ahead instead of just copying what's hot when you started the project, you end up with (for example) an art style that's dated or over used by the time your product ships.

I think Sony copied Disney more than Blizzard but WoW proved to the execs that a cartoony art style can sell big numbers.

donpopuki · August 2013

Well back in the old days (late Middle Ages and early Renaissance) art tried to replicate real life as close as possible. Once the photograph became widely avaible art started to go in the direction of abstraction.

What am I saying? Even once games are indistinguishable from reality there will be a place for non-realistic games as a form of expression.

Bigmamajama · August 2013

Originally posted by Dandalus
You say cartoony, when I say "stylized." Very important difference, at least to me. The problem with art is that so much is left up to the person viewing it. I will say, however, that the Kerran could use a bit more work...but that is just my take on an artist's rendition of what THEY wanted them to look like.

If you watch the vids showing the tremendous range of facial expressions available using these "cartoony graphics", then maybe you might see the brilliance in it. If not, not sure what to say to change your mind.

Brilliance? Looks no different than any Saturday morning cartoon my kids are watching.

Sephastus · August 2013

Originally posted by Bigmamajama
Originally posted by Dandalus
You say cartoony, when I say "stylized." Very important difference, at least to me. The problem with art is that so much is left up to the person viewing it. I will say, however, that the Kerran could use a bit more work...but that is just my take on an artist's rendition of what THEY wanted them to look like.

If you watch the vids showing the tremendous range of facial expressions available using these "cartoony graphics", then maybe you might see the brilliance in it. If not, not sure what to say to change your mind.

Brilliance? Looks no different than any Saturday morning cartoon my kids are watching.

And that is bad why exactly? Art style should take a back seat to gameplay, and if you believe that it is ever more important than gameplay, your prioritizing is not following what the majority of players want, and hence, your opinion is only valid for those with similar thoughts to yours...

Khebeln · August 2013

Originally posted by Talint
Earlier this month I posed these two questions - http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/392626/page/1 and http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/392500/Why-Are-People-Against-the-Holy-Trinity-in-Games.html

Now I pose this question to the community. Are cartoon graphics here to stay? Cartoon graphics bring the immersion and real feeling down for me. I understand that in the earlier times of MMOs, cartoon graphics were a way to make the game look nice with the technology we had then. Now we have unbelievable technology that can make games look close to real-life.

Why then, are these companies still falling back on the cartoon graphics? Is it because it is what they think we like? Is it because it is what has to be done if you want to see hundreds of people on your screen at once without lagging? or is it simply because that is what they have done, and will always do?

I look forward to hearing your reactions,

Talint

The technology for mmorpg games is not even close to single player games, i would not expect the trend to change in next 3-5 years till the technology catches up.

tedgp · August 2013

Graphics in the EQN presentation were placeholder graphics in very late alpha. It would be stupid in the extreme to suggest those are the release graphics.

Bigmamajama · August 2013

Originally posted by Sephastus
Originally posted by Bigmamajama
Originally posted by Dandalus
You say cartoony, when I say "stylized." Very important difference, at least to me. The problem with art is that so much is left up to the person viewing it. I will say, however, that the Kerran could use a bit more work...but that is just my take on an artist's rendition of what THEY wanted them to look like.

If you watch the vids showing the tremendous range of facial expressions available using these "cartoony graphics", then maybe you might see the brilliance in it. If not, not sure what to say to change your mind.

Brilliance? Looks no different than any Saturday morning cartoon my kids are watching.

And that is bad why exactly? Art style should take a back seat to gameplay, and if you believe that it is ever more important than gameplay, your prioritizing is not following what the majority of players want, and hence, your opinion is only valid for those with similar thoughts to yours...

Its not bad, and I didn't mean it that way. But it seems a cop out to really putting some energy behind a living breathing world. Sorry but cartoons are just goofy, I cant take anything seriously that uses that art style.

Its just a let down to me.

Oberholzer · August 2013

As long as they are well done I can play either style graphics. It's sad how I almost feel greedy wanting a great game and great graphics together, but shouldn't it be expected at this point.

Elsabolts · August 2013

Im retired and have the money to spend on games but I will not spend anything on this one because of bad graphics in my opion.

djazzy · August 2013

it's the art style you are complaining about, not the graphics

wizardanim · August 2013

Originally posted by Talint
Earlier this month I posed these two questions - http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/392626/page/1 and http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/392500/Why-Are-People-Against-the-Holy-Trinity-in-Games.html

Now I pose this question to the community. Are cartoon graphics here to stay? Cartoon graphics bring the immersion and real feeling down for me. I understand that in the earlier times of MMOs, cartoon graphics were a way to make the game look nice with the technology we had then. Now we have unbelievable technology that can make games look close to real-life.

Why then, are these companies still falling back on the cartoon graphics? Is it because it is what they think we like? Is it because it is what has to be done if you want to see hundreds of people on your screen at once without lagging? or is it simply because that is what they have done, and will always do?

I look forward to hearing your reactions,

Talint

Please define cartoon, as you say.

Soft shading w/ bloom and specular falloff does not necessarily mean cartoon. In a role playing setting, in a perilous world meant for adventure, i'd argue that this artwork is not cartoony.

Despite the fact that the game postulates around heroic poses and not satire or humor, i'm interested to know your reasoning.

As for the orange text i've highlighted, it does not seem like you understand what is required of a system in an MMO setting. Not mentioning subsystem needs for sound, animation, physics, latency considerations for players, skills, and monsters, resource management, and data streaming, we still need to consider their new technology, voxel->poly conversions. They would be rather dumb to try and achieve a processor intensive look in this setting, as most systems will never achieve the realistic look. Then, your base will differ hugely. Having a game that looks the same everywhere has merit and is desired.

For the image i've posted below, they have done a fantastic job matching the world to the player models. For this game, it seems the world comes first in the design, not the characters. Anyone who thinks they have failed is mis-informed.

Image example:

http://images.eurogamer.net/2013/articles//a/1/6/0/3/8/8/5/1375475281_human_wizard_in_ashfang.jpg.jpg/EG11/resize/890x-1/format/jpg/free-everquest-next-hd-desktop-wallpaper.jpg

Rictis · August 2013

I think gamers need to be more open minded when it comes to aesthetics. Because a lot of these posts coming up have to do with aesthetics moreso then graphics. You would be surprised how many people confuse the two. The game shots and vids for EQN look good. I know for a fact that not all of us can afford brand new toys, at the very least I know I can't. I usually upgrade every 4 years give or take. Sony is making a smart decision on going with this approach as opposed to realism, most of the times games that use realism tend to burden computers a lot more. Add the fact that you have destruction and potentially pvp later and you have a huge issue.

I understand people prefer things a certain way, but at the end of the day you want to make sure your making a game that can work well on older computers and still look good enough maxed out on newer computers. EQ2 is a perfect example of what goes wrong when you try to aim for the high end aesthetic looks.

wizardanim · August 2013

Originally posted by Bigmamajama
Originally posted by Sephastus
Originally posted by Bigmamajama
<snip>

Its not bad, and I didn't mean it that way. But it seems a cop out to really putting some energy behind a living breathing world. Sorry but cartoons are just goofy, I cant take anything seriously that uses that art style.

Its just a let down to me.

Please define "cartoony".

Elsabolts · August 2013

Originally posted by djazzy
it's the art style you are complaining about, not the graphics

The guy with the pony tail said he had to get back to work and put on Oculus Virtual Reality Headset ! Starting at 300.00 bucks when they come out. I would say that is qraphics in my opion.

gylnne · August 2013

Originally posted by Talint

Why then, are these companies still falling back on the cartoon graphics? Is it because it is what they think we like? Is it because it is what has to be done if you want to see hundreds of people on your screen at once without lagging? or is it simply because that is what they have done, and will always do?

This puzzles me greatly. The graphic advancements over the years with vid cards is simply amazing and yet all devs what to give us is Saturday morning cartoons.

gylnne · August 2013

Originally posted by Oberholzer
As long as they are well done I can play either style graphics. It's sad how I almost feel greedy wanting a great game and great graphics together, but shouldn't it be expected at this point.

May I ask why not? The advancements in cpu's and vid cards have come along way even since EQ2. Don't tell me they have to go backwards to make a modern MMO.:)

Derros · August 2013

Originally posted by Bigmamajama
Originally posted by Dandalus
You say cartoony, when I say "stylized." Very important difference, at least to me. The problem with art is that so much is left up to the person viewing it. I will say, however, that the Kerran could use a bit more work...but that is just my take on an artist's rendition of what THEY wanted them to look like.

If you watch the vids showing the tremendous range of facial expressions available using these "cartoony graphics", then maybe you might see the brilliance in it. If not, not sure what to say to change your mind.

Brilliance? Looks no different than any Saturday morning cartoon my kids are watching.

Give me adventure time, the new ninja turtles, fairly odd parents, scooby doo, mystery inc, any day over gritty crime drama #47921

Shadanwolf · August 2013

New Trend ?

I will never have a cartoon character represent me on a mmog.

Or any why weren't their concerns for cartoon characters for Planetside 2..if their is such concern for dated artwork

You don't think the fact SONY owns playstation has anything to do with the EQN downgraded/console graphics do you ?

Jabshakk · August 2013

I think Eqn has done well with the art direction, its not overly cartoony, its like a happy medium.

Fearum · August 2013

HD Video of the EQN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abjAqvdGZgM

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