Finding an artstyle for my game leaves many questions. The most obvious choice would be pixel art, as it’s very retro and old-school, perfect for nostalgia. However, the version of nostalgia I want to explore and emulate is the warm 2000s childhood nostalgia, this is also when I was a child.
As seen in my moodboard. This is very different from 80s retro nostalgia. I also feel that there are a lot of small indie games using pixel graphics already.
I also have a preference for adventure games to have a more personable style. Seen in games like:
- Sally Face –
- Goodbye Sweet Carol –
- Little Misfortune –
These games are all eye catching and memorable, the artstyles distinct and fitting for the world these characters inhabit. A grungy barebones style for sally face’s grim apartment block, Disney inspired illustrations for Goodbye Sweet Carol as the real and fantastical world combine and overlap, and for Little Misfortune a wonky world that looks like it was drawn by a child to put the players inot the titular characters point of view.
Lucasarts Remasters –
A large part of my childhood was Lucasarts games, specifically the remasters. These were wildly more accessible not only to play but to understand as a child. They all also had a strong digital style
These are examples from Monkey Island 2, The Day of the Tentacle and Full Throttle. The wackier games artsyle’s are more severe and cartoony whereas FT’s style is slightly more realistic to fit the tone of the game
What I like about this style are the bold shapes and the use of layers to create dimension is also something I will be pursuing.
Characters
I also really like the simple designs of The Day of the Tentacle’s characters I want to emulate this in my designs, specifically the coloured line art and quirky designs.
Visually Representing Nostalgia
This is a hard task but I know how I would like to attempt it. After looking at images that feel nostalgic to me I have found some common features that I want to show in the game.
- Warm muted colours
- Bright lights
- Vague fuzziness
- Soft shading
I decided to find artists that have these in their artworks to use as inspiration.
Maxine Vee
Her work focuses on snapshots in time, exploring whimsical worls and quiet moments, as described on her website. I chose her as Her illustrations create a warm feeling when looking at them and her use of texture to soften everything is something I want to use.
RaidesArt
What I love about Raidesart is her use of lighting to bring a scene to life. This similar to how I envision my game using lighting.
How Will I Implement This Research into my Work?
I now need to take this research forward and begin creating concept art for my environments and characters while referring back to the styles I have defined here as well as styles I do not want to use.
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