Flicking through a gaming magazine the other day, I came across a page featuring a mosaic of images from notable games at this year’s E3 Expo in LA. And something struck me, dear game chums. They all looked the same. It was one homogeneous mass, which led me to think about my general malaise when it comes to current gaming aesthetics. We seem to be stuck in a bit of a rut with one game looking and feeling much like another, especially if they share the same engine.
There are some visual tropes I can handle, but there are those that have been done to death and we need to move on from them.
1) Meathead with a gun – this includes space marines and other alpha male types. While the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger had their day and then their renaissance, the gaming world never seems to let this one go. Maybe it’s time to remove the bandana and get with your inner poet.
Worst culprit: Gears of War
Breaking the mould: Heavy Rain
2) Elves with massive ears – I don’t know where this one came from (Korea I think), but the fashion for ludicrous elf ears has got to stop. Yes WoW, I’m looking at you. The once elegant race has been reduced to the flappy ear brigade.
Worst culprit: World of Warcraft
Breaking the mould: The Witcher 2
Disturbing fact: there is a surgical procedure to make your ears pointy – ouch!
3) Chicks with big guns and massive boobs – This is the female equivalent of the meathead with a gun. Okay, so games aren’t the only culprit here, but they certainly offer up more than their fair share, second only to comics. It’s all in aid of satisfying the male fantasy. Sometimes it may pay of to skip over the default female lead character and go for something more interesting.
Worst culprit: Bayonetta
Breaking the mould: Mirror’s Edge
4) Real life, gritty streets – there’s a newspaper dancing on a petrol-fuelled breeze, cars parked outside smog-stained apartment buildings…blah, blah, snore. Okay, so we can do real life urban, now let’s go all David Lynch and set something in suburbia – let’s find our darkness in more interesting places.
Worst culprit: Grand Theft Auto
Breaking the mould: Jet Grind Radio
5) Pseudo-medieval Europe – now, really we have JRR Tolkien to blame for this. He plundered every European text and mythology going and we’ve never managed to shake it. The castles usually follow the Bavarian style, the villages are also Germanic or sometimes evoke Tudor England and the landscapes follow the same pattern; alpine forest, check, mountains of Mordor, check. Are we bored yet? I am. How about making some new stuff up – I don’t know, purple trees or something.
Worst culprit: every fantasy game ever
Breaking the mould: hmmm
6) Star Trek and Bladerunner-alikes – it seems we have two kinds of future. One is the dream of Gene Roddenberry and the other is a dystopian vision from the likes of Philip K Dick. When it comes to sci-fi, games seem to stick to either of these two. Mass Effect goes for the Star Trek side with white jumpsuits and blue down lights, while many others plump for flying cars, towering skyscrapers and floating advertisements. While they’re both iconic looks and you could do worse for inspiration, but see number 5 for my opinion on the matter.
Worst culprit: Deus Ex
Breaking the mould: ??
7) Rusty Walls – this is the ubiquitous gaming environment when an overwhelming sense of horror and despair are required. It’s the symbol of civilisation at its lowest ebb; everything we know and love is in a state of decay. Even the walls are weeping. And they are rusty. This is a particular favourite of horror games and the dystopian FPS.
Worst culprit: Silent Hill and Fallout
Breaking the mould: Heavy Rain
8) Chainmail bikinis – it’s an obvious one and one that we all laugh at. Despite this derision, the chainmail bikini still makes a regular appearance in games. He gets full plate mail. She gets chainmail nipple tassels and a pair of metal panties.
Worst culprit: Lineage 2, Dungeon Siege III
Breaking the mould: umm
It seems a shame that games artists aren’t given more freedom or choose not to take it. I think games need to be more experimental visually. For instance, L.A. Noire seriously missed an opportunity to bring in some of the expressionist styling of film noir. The art team seemed to mistake period detail for noir. Maybe there need to be more field trips. Instead of looking at what’s popular now and aping it, we need to look beyond.
How about a game that looks like it was drawn by Edward Gorey or Junko Mizuno? There have been games that have taken us to new places, but in general we’re walking the same streets of the same worlds. Let’s go somewhere different.