The style of a game’s art not only defines its aesthetics, but also helps to express its atmosphere, mood, and character. In this article, we dive into what art styles are, what kinds are out there, and how to pick the right style for you.
Defining Video Game Art Style
A video game’s art style is all about how it looks. There’s a whole host of visual elements that go into this:
- The characters
- The world of the game
- The menu and interface
- The colors
- The animations
- The special effects
These elements all work together to create a video game’s particular mood and experience. The art style helps tell the story without any words.
For example, horror games are best suited to dark colors and scary imagery. Children’s games are bright and colorful. Fantasy games might utilize magical and unusual elements. A game’s art should correspond to its genre and story. It influences players’ perception of the game and how much they feel like playing it.
Why games need special styles
There’s more in a game’s art style than just looking pretty. It helps the project stand out and leave a lasting impression. Here are the perks that come with having a unique style:
- Immersion in the game’s world
Gamers don’t simply stare at their screens—video games transport us to a new world.
Example: In Ori and the Blind Forest, the glowing, magical woodland is alive. Players feel like they’re part of the story.
The game’s art. Source
- Memorable Characters
Having a distinctive style makes characters recognizable, memorable, and endearing.
Example: The heroes in Psychonauts look strange, but very charming. Among hundreds of other characters, they’re instantly identifiable.
The game’s art. Source
- Supporting the Narrative
Visual styles can convey the intended mood, highlight important plot points, or reveal characters’ personalities without a single word.
Example: The black and white world of Limbo creates a mysterious and dangerous atmosphere. This strengthens the game’s impact.
The game’s art. Source
- Impactful Impressions
Video games with a notable artistic style are not easily forgotten. They become visual icons that players remember for years to come.
Take the imagery in Journey, for example, which has remained a talking point to this day with its sand dunes and flowing scarves.
The game’s art. Source
What Styles Are Out There
Videogame graphics can be 3D or 2D, and both of these categories include multiple visual styles.
Styles for 3D Graphics
Realism
With highly detailed textures, complex lighting systems, and physically accurate models, realism art strives to come as close to depicting the real world as possible. To do this, developers:
- Use very detailed textures
- Create complex 3D models for characters and items
- Add realistic lighting and shadows
This art style is often used in big-budget (AAA) projects of numerous genres, from shooters to role-playing games. Here are a few examples:
- Red Dead Redemption 2 The plot of this open-world western unfolds in the American Old West. After a botched ferry heist, Dutch van der Linde’s gang of outlaws is forced to go on the run from agents and the best bounty hunters in the country.
The game’s art. Source
- The Last of Us Part II In this post-apocalyptic action title, you have to employ firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth to fend off zombie-like creatures as well as human enemies.
The game’s art. Source
- Microsoft Flight Simulator A flight simulation game that allows you to pilot a variety of aircrafts, ranging from light to widebody.
The game’s art. Source
Fantasy Realism
Fantasy realism combines a realistic approach to graphics with touches of imagination. Using the real world as a foundation, artists add fantastical elements such as magic, strange creatures, and so on.
This style is often used in role-playing, action, and adventure video games that take place in a fantasy or science-fiction setting:
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt A role-playing game set in a fantasy world, where medieval landscapes are interwoven with monsters and sorcery.
The game’s art. Source
- Horizon Zero Dawn An action RPG set in a post-apocalyptic future.
The game’s art. Source
- Skyrim A realistic world, but with dragons and magic.
The game’s art. Source
Low Poly
Low poly is an art style characterized by the use of models with a modest amount of polygons. This approach creates an aesthetic that’s reminiscent of origami or abstract art.
Low poly is often used in indie games, mobile projects, and games which prioritize performance or stylization:
- Virginia The events of this detective adventure take place in a fictional town in the real-world state of Virginia. The plot centers around an FBI agent who is investigating the case of a child’s disappearance.
The game’s art. Source
- Monument Valley An indie puzzle game with whimsical and unique levels created in the low poly style.
The game’s art. Source
- Untitled Goose Game A humorous game in which you play as a goose who makes life difficult for the low-poly population of a low-poly town.
The game’s art. Source
Hand-drawn
Games in this style look as though they were painted or sketched. Each element could have been lifted from the pages of a book. The shadows, highlights, and details are often drawn directly on the texture instead of being machine-generated.
This style is generally used in fantasy games, and can evoke comic books, cartoons, or even realism:
- Northgard This real-time strategy about Vikings has a grotesque fantasy setting. The developers mindfully chose its stylization and hand-painted textures.
The game’s art. Source
- The Borderlands Series The developers wanted this game’s world to look like an animated illustration or comic. To do so, they took inspiration from comic book artists and implemented the manual cross-hatching technique to their work on the game’s textures.
The game’s art. Source
- Slice of Sea A peaceful puzzle game with hand-drawn art. The player controls Seaweed, a sea creature who explores a desolate world of dust in order to gather items and solve puzzles to help find his way back home.
The game’s art. Source
Cartoon
This art style makes games look like animated movies. It’s bright and cheerful, with exaggerated proportions and expressive animation.
This style is a great fit for family games, platformers, and projects aimed at a wide audience:
- Fortnite A popular battle royale set in a vibrant cartoon world.
The game’s art. Source
- Tinykin This game is reminiscent of ’90s Nickelodeon cartoons. The protagonist, a time traveler, is looking for a way to return home from the past.
The game’s art. Source
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart A platform adventure with high-quality cartoon graphics. This game challenges players to combine attacks, think up combat tactics, and level up their weaponry.
The game’s art. Source
Styles for 2D Graphics
Flat Style
This style is set apart by its simple shapes and color blocking—without shadows, complex textures, or 3D effects. The visual elements look as though they were cut out of paper.
When minimalism, simplicity, and an intuitive interface and gameplay are the name of the game, this art style is the way to go. It’s often found in mobile games and casual projects:
- Alto’s Adventure is an endless runner with flat backdrops and characters.
The game’s art. Source
- Forager A sandbox game in which the player explores a vibrant world, gathers resources, creates items, hunts, finds secrets, builds bases, and cultivates vegetables.
The game’s art. Source
- Astroneer A sandbox project dedicated to space exploration. This game sees players collect resources, craft the items they need, build their own base, and even alter the planet’s landscape.
The game’s art. Source
Pixelated Graphics
Pixels are the small, colored squares that give this art style its name. Evoking a sense of nostalgia for the classic games of the ’80s and ’90s, this style is a popular choice for indie games, retro projects, and platformers.
- Celeste A pixel platformer from indie studio Maddy Makes Games. The player controls Madeline, a girl who battles anxiety and depression, as she journeys to the top of Celeste Mountain.
The game’s art. Source
- Undertale An isometric, pixelated role-playing game. The protagonist finds themselves in a subterranean world where they have to fight monsters as well as try to befriend and win them over.
The game’s art. Source
- Inmost A touching story about love and family. At first, the author drew everything in shades of gray, before painting the art using a complicated system of colored layers on top of the images.
The game’s art. Source
Vector Graphics
Based on mathematical formulas, vector graphics stand out for their smooth, sharp lines. Vector art can easily be scaled without losing quality, which makes it an ideal choice for cartoon styles and games with bright colors and minimalistic shapes. See these examples:
- Asteroids A classic Atari game from 1979. It’s about shooting asteroids to prevent them from hitting your spaceship.
The game’s art. Source
- Gravitar In this 1982 vector video game by Atari, players navigate different solar systems and stop at various planets to destroy bunkers (and the planets themselves).
The game’s art. Source
- Moving Out A joint venture from SMG Studio and Devm Games. Its unusual gameplay is based around the physical interaction with your environment.
The game’s art. Source
2D Realism
2D realism aims to portray the surrounding world as accurately as possible. This style is characterized by its detailed textures, use of light and shade, and 3D effects, which all come together to create a sense of depth and realism. It’s often used in more serious and atmospheric games, where the player’s immersion in the story takes center stage.
Take This War of Mine, for instance. It’s a survival simulator with elements of stealth action that takes place in a fictional city in the midst of a civil war. The whole game looks like pencil sketches come to life, against which the animated characters stand out.
Cel Shading
Cel shading is a rendering technique that gives three-dimensional objects a hand-drawn look, as though they were taken from sketches or comics.
With its dynamic use of light and shade, artwork in this style has crisp and contrasting contours that bring to mind hand-drawn animations. Thanks to this style, players feel as though they’re watching a real animated movie while playing a video game. Cel shading is often utilized to stylize characters and the world around them. Take a look at these examples:
- Jet Set Radio Future Players dash around on rollerblades and spray walls with graffiti to express themselves and strengthen the influence of their group in the neighborhood.
The game’s art. Source
- Rogue Galaxy An RPG for PS2 in which players are tasked with conquering the endless expanses of space as they encounter new races and battle for their lives.
The game’s art. Source
Monochromatic
Monochromatic styles are characterized by their use of a restricted color palette that consists of just one or two colors and their tones, such as black and white.
This approach builds a unique atmosphere and places an emphasis on contrast. Monochrome is often used to create a mysterious, tense, and somewhat frightening atmosphere. Examples:
- Inside An adventure platform game about a boy with no name who explores a surreal black and white environment. The game is dark and employs a limited use of color to highlight the character and his surroundings. Only rarely do flashes of color highlight parts of the environment. With its non-stop rain, abandoned houses, and wastelands, the world of Inside conjures up a sense of longing and reflects the protagonist’s loneliness.
The game’s art. Source
- Limbo A two-in-one platformer and puzzle game in which the entire world is depicted in black and white. The player controls a boy who has found himself in a dark forest.
The game’s art. Source
- TOEM An indie game that incorporates photography into its hidden object gameplay. The player follows an inquisitive photographer who heads out on an adventure to discover a wealth of wonders and creatures who inhabit a black and white, hand-drawn world.
The game’s art. Source
These styles all have their own merits and suit different types of games. Your style of choice will depend on what kind of game you want to make, who it is aimed at, and the resources at your disposal.
How to choose a style for your game
Picking a style for a video game can be disorienting, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. Here are a few tips to help you out:
Answer these three questions
- What can you do?
Start by evaluating your capabilities:
- What’s your budget?
- What kinds of specialists are on your team?
- How much time are you prepared to spend?
Be honest with yourself. There’s no use planning ultra-realistic graphics styles if you have a small team and limited finances. You’d be better of opting for simple but vibrant art that you can pull off to a high standard.
- What’s your video game about?
Think about the story you want to tell:
- Is it set in a gloomy post-apocalyptic world?
- Or is it a cheerful, wonderland adventure?
- Perhaps your narrative unfolds in the mysterious depths of the cosmos?
The design should highlight the essence of your game. For instance, a game about eking out a survival in a post-apocalyptic world would suit a rough, “dirty” style. A puzzle game for kids, on the other hand, calls for bright, cartoonish colors.
- Who’s going to play it?
Find out more about your future players:
- How old are they?
- What types of games are they into?
- What do they play on—their phones, PCs, or consoles?
Put yourself in their shoes. How would you want the game to look?
Don’t try to compete, and don’t reinvent the wheel
Developers often want to either perfectly emulate the styles of popular projects or create something totally new. Both of these approaches can lead to issues:
- If you copy somebody else, your game won’t have its own personal spark.
- If you think up something completely new for your game, players might not get your vision.
Instead, try to find a happy medium. Take what you know, and then give it your own spin. What matters is finding a style that suits your game and helps players instead of hindering them.
Bear in mind that taste is subjective
The styles that appeal to you might not appeal to others. That’s fine, but don’t forget to bear this in mind when creating your project.
Find out who your audience is and what they like. Conduct surveys and show different style options to a small group of people. Their feedback will help you make the right call.
Experiment
Don’t be afraid to try out different options. You might stumble upon the best style by accident.
Create a few prototypes in different art styles. Play them yourself, and let other people take them for a spin as well. That way, you’ll understand what works and what doesn’t.
Consider the technical aspect
It’s great to have a good-looking design, but it needs to work on your equipment. Bear in mind your team’s capabilities and technical limitations. Simple styles that work well are better than complex ones that make games lag.
Above all, remember that there’s no such thing as “the best style”
Every project is unique. Your optimal style depends on:
- The game’s ideas
- Your capabilities
- Players’ preferences
It’s all about striking a balance between what you want to make and what’s technically achievable.
If you need help, then we’re here for you. When it comes to gaming, choosing styles can be tricky. So if you have any questions or are looking for advice, reach out to the Inlingo team. We know everything about modern styles in games and are happy to help.
Here’s what we can do:
- Create 2D and 3D art
- Design and draw characters, backgrounds, and objects
- Create animations
- Develop user-friendly interfaces
Tell us about your project, and we’ll suggest the best solution.
