Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Video Games are Toys
Iridianny
Member
I have been seeing people did not like the looks of the animation in this update. Personally, I was very pleased with this update and the way things are looking. I want to play!
However, I think this brings up something I addressed months ago: stylization in art style is key to success.
The more realistic you go, the higher the expectations of realistic animation becomes. Noticing tiny details of unrealism in animation becomes greater when you are setting the expectation of an appearance that replicates "real life." It's uncanny valley!
Not only that, frankly, it's a boring art style. Picasso mastered realism until he realized it was BORING. Now, what paintings do you think of when you think of that name?
The creativity that opens when a game becomes more stylized is immense. Every "problem" with the animation in a realistic art style becomes part of the style in a stylized one. It is what gives a game it's character and those nostalgic feelings that we all enjoy from our mmos of the past.
Let's not forget that the more realistic a game looks, the harder it is to run on the average computer, thus limiting the player base. Also, who doesn't want their fantasy world to look magical and different from the real boring world? Lastly, video games are a way to play pretend, which essentially just makes it a toy... toys are made colorful, stylized, and silly because it evokes their imagination.
So, I think that instead of refining the animations, that already look good, to try to make them meet the expectations of realism... just stylize the art style more.
However, I think this brings up something I addressed months ago: stylization in art style is key to success.
The more realistic you go, the higher the expectations of realistic animation becomes. Noticing tiny details of unrealism in animation becomes greater when you are setting the expectation of an appearance that replicates "real life." It's uncanny valley!
Not only that, frankly, it's a boring art style. Picasso mastered realism until he realized it was BORING. Now, what paintings do you think of when you think of that name?
The creativity that opens when a game becomes more stylized is immense. Every "problem" with the animation in a realistic art style becomes part of the style in a stylized one. It is what gives a game it's character and those nostalgic feelings that we all enjoy from our mmos of the past.
Let's not forget that the more realistic a game looks, the harder it is to run on the average computer, thus limiting the player base. Also, who doesn't want their fantasy world to look magical and different from the real boring world? Lastly, video games are a way to play pretend, which essentially just makes it a toy... toys are made colorful, stylized, and silly because it evokes their imagination.
So, I think that instead of refining the animations, that already look good, to try to make them meet the expectations of realism... just stylize the art style more.
3
Comments
It is a video game at the end of the day and personally I think it looks incredible. I just want to game to be fun and engaging, I am hoping that the servers remain full and the game finds legs.
"colorful, stylized, and silly because it evokes their imagination." this is purely a subjective opinion.
I worked on every major horror film that has come out the past five years. None of them were colorful, like recently, The Exorcist: Believer, SAW 10 etc. I had a crazy amount of imagination working on them. Just like Intrepid has on this game.
Ooooh, you know of any good ones coming out soon that you're allowed to tell us about?
Only upcoming film linedup i'm working on as of right now is Night Swim with Blumhouse
You've got the point that video games are essentially a form of play and should embrace their toy-like nature. Toys are colorful, stylized, and silly because they ignite the imagination, and video games are no different.
Since we're discussing gaming, I'm a big fan of Counter-Strike. Recently, I found https://bitskins.com, where you can discover CS:GO skins. It's a neat way to add some flair to your in-game weapons.