Reflection & What I will be experimenting with to create unique visual identity
- Looking at art styles that exist
- Game examples
- Moodboards for the same idea with different styles
- Favourite choice + reason why + feedback from outside people
Art Style Examples:
| Style | Main Features | Example Games |
| Pixel Art | Blocky, retro, stylized or realistic | Papers, Please,Celeste,Stardew Valley,Please, Don’t Touch Anything,Uplink |
| Hand-Drawn | Painterly, animated, expressive lines | Cuphead,Hollow Knight,Child of Light,In Other Waters |
| Cartoon/Anime | Bold lines, saturated color, exaggerated | Pokémonseries,The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker,Hearthstone,Fortnite |
| Realism | Lifelike textures, complex lighting | Red Dead Redemption 2,The Last of Us Part II,Witcher 3,Fallout 2 |
| Low Poly/Minimalist | Simple geometric models, bold colors | Journey,Firewatch,Mu Cartographer,Superhot |
| Cel-Shaded | Strong outlines, flat colors | Borderlands,Okami,Jet Set Radio |
| Flat/Geometric | Minimal shapes, graphic design look | Monument Valley,Thomas Was Alone,Highfleet,Nauticrawl |
| Monochrome/Limited | Single or few colors, mood-focused | Limbo,Downwell,Duskers,Return of the Obra Dinn |
| Desktop/OS Simulation | Faux desktop/OS, menu-driven, data-rich | Hypnospace Outlaw,Orwell,Her Story,Not for Broadcast |
Game Examples Images:
Pixel Art – Stardew Valley:
Hand-Drawn – Cuphead:
Cartoon / Anime style – Hearthstone:
Realism – Fallout 2:
Low Poly / Minimalist:
Cel-Shaded – Jet Set Radio:
Flat / Geometric:
Monochrome/Limited:
Desktop/OS Simulation – Her Story:
What art style do educational games currently use:
The closest thing to my game idea in both gameplay design and game intent is a BBC bitesize game called planet planner. It tackles the issue of trying to educate students on all things geography which does include both tectonic hazards and extreme weather and it is a series of micro-games that make up planet planner. However, these micro-games tend to be just read, click, read, click and its meant to imitate a resource management gameplay however, it lacks true player decisions and only allows for two choices, one that is correct and one that is wrong, so it becomes less of a game and more of a quiz. I found myself just clicking through the dialogue as I found myself constantly bored, whilst noticing it doesn’t really help educate students on the true impacts / prevention of these disasters and this alone wouldn’t help students answer the easiest questions on a GCSE geography paper.
However, this game does have similar foundations to my game idea, the execution and game design just isn’t enough to truly immerse or intrigue students or even me as a player. The visuals do match the educational theme and make things very clear, and i might experiment with a similar cartoonish style of art.