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Main Body of Text
Is video game visual art important?
It is because the function of video games decides that the design for video games has to be highly interactive, and its primary focus, the art aesthetic for a game, sometimes is overlooked. Through research on the history of video games and debates on whether video games are art, it is clear that for the past fifty years, video games have achieved recognition in the world of popular art for their significant developments. MoMA announced in 2012 to set video games as a new category of artworks with a selection of video games and the intention to grow the number of their collection in the future (Antonelli, 2012). Though academic study usually focuses on technical issues in games. The art design in video games should be addressed.
Why is stylized graphics widely used?
Though not all video games are art, all of them are a business. And business requires efficiency. From the perspective of traditional art, stylization of art makes it easier for humans to observe the intention and emotion in an artwork. The common application of stylized art in this field may be that it has more advantages when it tells a story and conveys emotions to the players. Another reason is that video games usually have a fantasy or sci-fi background, such as Legend of Zelda (1986) and Final Fantasy 14 (2010). It is easier to use stylization to process a setting in a non-realistic sense. In this sense, the realism style may limit the approaches to mise-en-scene.
What are the key aspects of stylized art?
Modern real-time render games have a very complicated look. Players found themselves entering a new virtual space with an unfamiliar body in a digital environment with plants, water, and light. It seems that there are numerous factors that influence the visual aesthetic of video games. However, similar to the creation of traditional art, video game art can be broken down into simpler aspects to study. Various experiments have shown that shape and material are the primal factors that define how stylized artwork in the game looks. Studies from the game graphic production inspired the experiment methods will be conducted in this research.
Conclusion
The application of stylized art in video games is considerably wide and common. Stylized artworks enhance a game’s aesthetic value, narrative, emotional involvement, virtuosity, and interactivity. With the development of technology, there are infinite possibilities to be explored in this field. Maybe in the future, it is through the art design of video games a new and distinctive kind of art will be born.