Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Here's a good rule of thumb for determining the level of detail your game will con-
tain: Include as much detail as you can to help the game's immersiveness,
up to
the
point at which it begins to harm the gameplay. If the player must struggle to look
after everything you've given him, the game probably has too much detail. (This
is one of the reasons war games tend to have hundreds rather than hundreds of
thousands of units. The player in a war game can't delegate tasks to intelligent sub-
ordinates, so the numbers have to be kept down to a size that he can reasonably
manage.) A spectacularly detailed game that's no fun to play doesn't sell many copies.
DEFINING A STYLE
In describing how your world is going to look, you are defining a visual style for
your game that will influence a great many other things as well: the character
design, the user interface, perhaps the manual, and even the design of the box and
the advertising. You actually have two tasks to take on here: defining the style of
things
in
your world (that is, its intrinsic style), and also defining the style of the
artwork that will
depict
your world. They aren't the same. For example, you can
describe a world whose architectural style is inspired by Buddhist temples but draw
it to look like a
film noir
movie. Or you could have medieval towns with half-tim-
bered houses but depict them in a slightly fuzzy, Impressionistic style. You must
choose both your content and the way in which you will present that content.
Both decisions will significantly influence the player's experience of the game,
jointly creating a distinct atmosphere. In general, the style of depiction tends to
superimpose its mood on the style of the object depicted. For example, a Greek
temple might be architecturally elegant, but if its style of drawing suggests a
Looney Tunes cartoon, players will expect something wacky and outrageous to take
place there. The drawing style imposes its own atmosphere over the temple, no
matter how majestic it is. For one example, take a look at
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja
Storm
(see
Figure 4.11
). All the locations in Naruto are rendered in a flat-shaded
style reminiscent of the comic book that inspired the game.
Unless you're the lead artist for your game as well as its designer, you probably
shouldn't—or won't be allowed to—define the style by yourself. Your art team will
have ideas of its own, and you should listen to those suggestions. The marketing
department might insist on having a say as well. It's important, however, that you
try to keep the style harmonious and consistent throughout your game. Too many
games have been published in which different sections had wildly differing art
styles because no one held and enforced a single overall vision.
