It's just my opinion bro. I don't mind having human characters and realistic looking clouds. I think people generally agree with me when the architecture and fauna of the game is better when it's bizarre instead of a copypaste of the deli shop down the street.Deshara said:
Maximum Color
- Thread starter Shamus Young
- Start date
Yeah... those too... well...draythefingerless said:
Alraight, okay, those game do have more variety in their color schemes, I know, first hand, that they all look great (except Mirrors Edge wich I haven't played it yet and American McGee's wich, well, hasn't been released yet) and I may add Arkham Asylum to that list of yours. Maybe I overreacted saying UE3 in every sentence I wrote, but that wasn't the point, heck, I'm learning how to use the UE3.
I was just saying that we need more color in our gaming lives, not more shades of grey and brown. And for the record, I can't wait for Brink to get released and that game looks like it's going to have some impressive and colorful art assets.
No quite directly on topic, but I am kind of amused that he speaks really highly of crytek throughout the article, how good of a job they did with the visuals of the game, and then ends by strongly suggesting that other companies not give them money.
You did have a point, though. Most UE3 games have this almost "neon glow" post-process effect that gets a little tiring to look at for extended periods of time, at least for me. However, I'll admit it really suits sci-fi games like Mass Effect.SupahGamuh said:
I could see it in Batman: Arkham Asylum too. It was tolerable, but it didn't "feel" quite right to me.
Of course there are games where it is either not present or not noticeable (again, to me) - Mirror's Edge, Borderlands - but sadly, they are in the minority.
Also, FYI, Bioshock uses UE2.
I have yet to play Crysis 2, but the original certainly had great use of colour, too; and while the screenshots of Crysis 2 seem to show less colour in some areas (it's in a city, of course there's going to be concrete, rocks and asphalt everywhere), they don't seem to have changed their use of colour significantly (this is a good thing); the grey and brown parts only serve to make the brighter colours, where they are used, stand out even more.
Not to be picky, but isn't the overwhelming trend of modern video games to have that washed out brown and grey color pallet almost entirely the fault of the same guys that just made crysis 2 and developed the new Crytek engine? I thought that so many modern games used those monotone washed out color pallets in large part because that was part of how the licensed Unreal or Crytek engine, that they used to build them, worked. You could increase the colors in the engine, but it was awfully time consuming and expensive, so few did it. The only major exception in modern FPS's is TF2, who's cartoony style uses its own engine and color mechanisms.
I mean it's fantastic that their new engine so clearly permits a much broader pallet to be used without major reworking. That is fantastic and I hope all of the development houses jump on it with the next generation of games. But praising them while deriding other games maker over a percieved problem that they in fact caused seems just a tad unsporting.
Or did I misunderstand what I read about this issue?
I mean it's fantastic that their new engine so clearly permits a much broader pallet to be used without major reworking. That is fantastic and I hope all of the development houses jump on it with the next generation of games. But praising them while deriding other games maker over a percieved problem that they in fact caused seems just a tad unsporting.
Or did I misunderstand what I read about this issue?
Oh my god. I never noticed this before, but the minute I read it I instantly thought back to the movie and realized it was true. Mind is blown.
I always give Fallout a break since the depressing brown is supposed to be a part of a post apocalyptic world. They still could do a better job of mixing it up a little, but for the most part I understand why it's that way.James Charles said:
Sadly it gets thrown in with so many other games that do the same thing, and it doesn't really fit the mood of the games.
The CryEngines (1 and 2) were not used by many games outside of Crysis and Far Cry games. The other handful of games were not that popular or are still in development (Aion being the exception).faefrost said:
The Unreal engine, on the other hand, has been a part of a ton of games. Many of them pretty big titles.
I am not sure the two engines are connected in any way since the Unreal engine is done by US developer Epic, and the Cryengine was developed by Crytek in Germany (there is a modified Cryengine 1 done by Ubisoft Montreal which is used for the more recent Far Cry games).
That's because they usually were relaxing. Green was for elevators, or puzzle areas with no enemies around - places where you could relax and take a breather. The colour-coding in Mirror's Edge is really strong, brilliantly designed to let you keep running full speed and still take in the cues you needed from the environment.ryo02 said:
Apropos of which, I just love The Runner's post on the use of colour in Mirror's Edge - not least for its spectacular collection of screenshots. Reading it after I finished playing Mirror's Edge gave me a whole new appreciation for the game's craft.
I agree, whats the point of spending millions on a new game engine that can render the most beautiful 16.7 million colours the human eye can perceive if all its going to render is grey and brown?Shamus Young said:
Not saying Crysis 2 is grey and brown, just all the other multi million dollar games out there that are.
I think this is a valid argument, but I wish people would stop framing it in terms of 'color.' Games with bland environments aren't bland because they "don't use enough color," they're bland because they're bland. Desaturation is a stylistic decision, and while it's true most "realistic" games tend to abuse it, it's not necessarily awful for a game to be brown and gray. The real reason we dislike "brown-and-gray shooters" is that they're all designed that way on account of being uninspired, grimdark facsimiles of reality, which is something that we've been overexposed to in recent years.
This would not be improved by bringing out the greens and purples.
This would not be improved by bringing out the greens and purples.
This is a quite common indicator that reality isn't exactly right in the scene. Green isn't noticeable enough, but it subconsciously lets you know something is off. You can spot it in films like Fight Club.Stevepinto3 said:
Then again, film post-production has that annoying habit of colouring everything cyan + orange because it creates the biggest possible contrast between human skin and the background. But it makes everyone in the film look like they have spray-on tan. You can spot that in stuff like Transformers.
I loved this!
Although I agree a good game needs a compeling story with interesting characters but this idea tends to over shadow the art itself. People think that as long as the things under it are good then they dont have to worry about what goes on top but artwork in itself can be deeper. Contrast, shading, subtle hints of colour or shape, they can all make for great experiences. My favourite games are ones with not JUST interesting story, characters and enjoyable gameplay but ones that ALSO use their art style to push these other things even higher.
This may be the most ive ever agreed with an article on the Escapist.
People might think im shallow but I think that why look at it as style over substance when the style ITSELF can be substance... if that makes sense.
Although I agree a good game needs a compeling story with interesting characters but this idea tends to over shadow the art itself. People think that as long as the things under it are good then they dont have to worry about what goes on top but artwork in itself can be deeper. Contrast, shading, subtle hints of colour or shape, they can all make for great experiences. My favourite games are ones with not JUST interesting story, characters and enjoyable gameplay but ones that ALSO use their art style to push these other things even higher.
This may be the most ive ever agreed with an article on the Escapist.
People might think im shallow but I think that why look at it as style over substance when the style ITSELF can be substance... if that makes sense.
I think it is good that a new engine is able to deliver visual effects that are nice to see. It would be interesting to see what the engine would do for a 3rd person game or a sand box world.