New Visual Style in Video Games, "Realism and Darkness"

[hardcore_canadian]

i guess it was bound to happen, seems every game has now turned a corner onto a new street Called "Realism". But the problem I see with this is that it's become a synonym for Gritty, Gray, and Unbearably Dark. Take for Example, Grand Theft Auto, which has been barreling down this hill since Vice City, Which had a Slightly Toon Like Appearance, in San Andreas, it became less so, and in GTA4, it's Dead. The City Is Gray, the People are Gray, and the Sky is.... Gray.

Even Games like Call of Duty (Even during War, there are Sunny Days and Pretty Green Grass etc.) Jericho (Seriously, Everywhere you go, It's a Brown Castle, a Gray Room, or a Grayish-Brown Citadel). It seems more like a Horrid Filter we see the world through rather than something in the Game. Like a game designer let one of their kids go over everything with a mess of Crayons... Daycare being as expensive as it is these days...

My question for all of you, Do you Agree? Disagree? Have another Opinion?

[plowmanjoe]

yeah i have noticed that with a lot of games. i don't really like it.

i always download and play demos and i never could put my finger on what was wrong with a lot of the newer games. it just has a sad depressing feel to it.didn't notice it too much in grand theft auto. but i guess it is night time 50% of the time.

[jmlalit5]

When one of my friends came over to play GTA IV, I looked up at the screen and thought everything had gone black and white. I reconnected the cables and adjusted my TV's color, I even considered I had gone color-blind. It was only when I saw a bright strip club that I saw any noticable color. Hopefully it won't get so bad as to where Mario games will look like that.

[hardcore_canadian]

Yeah, Demoes help out tonnes there, Timeshift looked like the Colour Gray got it's own National Holiday (It's late.... i couldn't think Straight), and then I guess it's really bad in a lot of FPS games, Resistance, my personal Favourite First Person Shooter (I don't play a lot of them) had a green tint to everything, but atleast it wasn't like watching it through a cup of coffee

[sodrock]

This is why Uncharted is So refreshingly fun to play.

[Icemage]

I'm sick to death of horribly gray/brown themed shooters. Even Call of Duty 4 suffers from it.

When I got Unreal Tournament III it was such a breath of fresh air - actual color in my shooters. Amazing.

[david2189]

i think it depends entirely on the theme of the game, for example call of duty is a war game it should be dark and gritty..could you actually imagine call of duty with cartoon like graphics..dont be silly!!

gta is not meant to look like a cartoon its meant to be as realistic as possible not look like something out of a comic book. if its night/raining/windy its dark, if its a sunny day its bright as it would be in real life.

where as if you get a game like uncharted which is set on a tropical island with all the great colours ofcourse youre going to get nice bright colours

so yeh i find it really hard to agree as i depends entirely on the game

[dk3dknight]

Originally Posted by david2189

i think it depends entirely on the theme of the game, for example call of duty is a war game it should be dark and gritty..could you actually imagine call of duty with cartoon like graphics..dont be silly!!

Sure I can its called Team Fortress 2

:runs:

[NARMAK]

I 100% agree with david, if resident evil was bright & had kid friendly graphics it would defeat the original intention to be a survival horror game & it would be a joke

Dark nitty gritty realism is needed sometimes

GTA IV wasn't dark when it was daylight, your TV must be malfunctioning

COD4 had many a bright scene

Jericho was a horror, they're meant to be dark, it jolts you more when something approaches from the dark, you can't see till it is in front of you but hear it

Rule of thumb, don't buy games with dark themes if you can't stand those colours

[dk3dknight]

OMG I can see it now a cartoonish sun with bright green grass almost Crayola and then everything starts to decay... the friendly characters dieing in the most brutastic way with guts and everything going everywhere..

PERFECT WE HAVE DESIGNED THE GREATEST SURVIVAL GAME EVER!!!!

[stockstar1138]

ratchet, uncharted, rock band, grand theft auto 4, mlb 08: the show, hot shots golf 5. Half of my collection is made up of none dark, gritty games.

Heres a little hint: you have to go away from shooters to get a colorful game a lot of times.

[jkwest]

metal gear solid 4 is right up there too....

[groovyone]

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=224

Real is brown.

[hardcore_canadian]

Originally Posted by NARMAK

I 100% agree with david, if resident evil was bright & had kid friendly graphics it would defeat the original intention to be a survival horror game & it would be a joke

Dark nitty gritty realism is needed sometimes

GTA IV wasn't dark when it was daylight, your TV must be malfunctioning

COD4 had many a bright scene

Jericho was a horror, they're meant to be dark, it jolts you more when something approaches from the dark, you can't see till it is in front of you but hear it

Rule of thumb, don't buy games with dark themes if you can't stand those colours

I think you're mistaking what i'm saying with Resident Evil, Resident Evil 4 was dark, not gritty and gray, it wasn't hazy and boring.

And Dark and Dull are two different things, so maybe I should say that everything is really dull and boring to look at, In Jericho, every environment is an indistinct brown blur, you'd often find yourself back tracking and not knowing it.

I don't think I articulated myself Correctly, like when I say that the Language in these games is some times very unnecessary, and then people tell me to not pick up games where they swear... missing the point.

[Mobe1969]

I find Condemned hard to play for the darkness reason. I have my TV calibrated very well (I even use a colorimeter), and I find I can only play it at night. Helps the atmosphere, but sure cuts down the available time I have to play it.

[hardcore_canadian]

Condemned is a dark game, but it does have some colour to it, it's not so Brown and Gritty as it is Dark and Black

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

I'm suprised no one has brought up MGS4. I mean, isn't the game all dark, brown and gritty and stuff?

[WeApOn]

Originally Posted by sodrock

This is why Uncharted is So refreshingly fun to play.

exactly my thoughts. it makes those happy colorful games so much happier and nicer

[hardcore_canadian]

Originally Posted by Nerdkiller likes BD

I'm suprised no one has brought up MGS4. I mean, isn't the game all dark, brown and gritty and stuff?

I hadn't really thought about it much, but to me it looks dirty and dusty, not gritty, but it does seem to have some "bloom" issues, like the cartoon posted above states, looks shimmery

[Mikeblu]

3 of my favourite games arn't dirty/brown/dark

TF2
HAZE
Uncharted: DF