CATMITTS'S PROFILE

post=124900
thoughts on aesthetics/visual first impressions, y'all?

not trying to be catty but i dunno if 'aesthetics' is even the right word in the context of rpg maker games, since to me the word suggests a consistent and deliberate design style chosen to enhance some aspect of the game and really I don't think many of them get beyond throwing meaningless layers of detail around. Most of the RM games that've been praised for their graphics I find incredibly ugly and disjointed, and I think it's because rather than put thought into the overall impression of the screen and composition etc it's easier to just throw detailed rips everywhere and obey some three tile rule and lump in a bunch of lighting effects and overlays (which incidentally usually looks pretty ridiculous for blocky pixellated snes-era games, but whatever). There's honestly been a bunch of times I've quite liked a thumbnail image and then hated the full one, because the thumbnail was more about the overall impression and mood than detail whereas the full screen just drops extremely detailed rips everywhere, losing the overall effect in meaningless distraction and visual noise.

Leaving aside the whole debate about overusage etc this is why I find the 2k3 RTP a lot more interesting visually than a lot of ripped stuff: because of the cartoonish 'light' lack of detail that makes it easier to get drawn in. Obviously I'm not saying that all detail etc is bad and that everyone should just stick to cartoonish stuff but I do think theres kind of a dickwaving attitude to maps etc here that misses the point a lot. It's like a game where everyone just tries to cram the most detail into the smallest space in the name of 'realism' etc and end up with a kind of visually unreadable mess that entirely loses the overall mood or impact.
Like this was posted to the GW screenshot thread recently as an example of MAP IMPROVEMENT:



The first one is kind of boring but the second is hideous. heh three tile rule bich *throws in a bunch of meaningless shit dumps some awful overlay on top*. It's grotesque and if I was smarter or had the energy I might start talking about you know how visual immersion is aided by losing meaningless detail (perfect example: those photorealist comics which completely lose the visual flow and always seem very stiff and false, precisely because of the very detail and realism of them) but I don't think I'm qualified.

that wasnt me that was radnen! also white people hair

political analysts put the success of Worlds Oldest President b 'methuselah' obama down to a tightly-run campaign focused on family values and the promise of werthers originals to those who are good

"these kids and their crazy pants. stay off my lawn" - barack 'gramps' obama

whether i could get wip to change my username to 'buck wilde'