Which Art Style?

[Snapwalk]

Howdy, folks. I've been lurking for a while, finally decided to create an account and post. I've made two different art styles for my game, and I just can't decide which one I want to go with. I was hoping that you guys could help break this little debate, so that I can finally get to actual development. All I'm sure of at this point is that I want the graphics to be fairly low-color and abstract (I'm not an especially good artist/spriter, so the more room for error I have the better), past that it's open season. To demonstrate what I have already, I've put together two identical scenes, with the only difference being art style.



Here's the first style - there are two independent 8-color palettes going on here (the reddish palette for the background and the blue-red-yellow palette for the character and the lamp), as well as a lighting overlay which adds a bit of depth to the whole thing. (As a sidenote, the PixelFor.me color ramp creator was a huge help creating the palettes for this. A very useful tool!)



And here's the second style. I used the 16-color ZX Spectrum color palette for this, giving it a nice retro feel. Quite simple graphics, but I think that lends a bit of charm. Besides - everyone does 8-bit graphics. Why not 4-bit instead?

Well, what do you think? Should I go with the first one, second one, a different style all together, or just pack up and go home?

[SilverSpook]

Being deep into neonification of my setpieces of late myself, I say go with style #2. 

Although story and atmosphere you're going for in the game are probably pretty important. 

Looks good though, good luck either way!

[Cassiebsg]

I like the first better. :-)

[SilverSpook]

The second one looks like the ASSEMBLY art I was forced to generate in COMP SCI 301 in college in a language once removed from binary.  I may be slightly biased.

[Retro Wolf]

They're both good, but I'd go for the first one!

[Blondbraid]

The art in a game can really make or break the mood, so I say that you should make
your decision based on what kind of feelings you wish to evoke. The first picture
shows rust and cracks and colors while the second picture feels more bright and
clean but also more artificial.What kind of story do you want to tell?
While the first picture is more atmospheric the second one is
more unique and might make the game stand out in the crowd.

[Mouth for war]

I like the first more. The other almost gave me instant headache :-)

[vertigoaddict]

I'd go with the first, the second one feels like it might hurt my eyes if I were to look at it for too long, then again my eyes are sensetive.

[SilverSpook]

Go with the second if you have a short game with a highly specific theme.  It will stand out, due to, as mentioned, it HURTS to play.

Maybe make the game a rumination on living with fibromyalgia and/or synethesia.

[Snapwalk]

Okay - I slept on it, thought about the feedback you guys gave me, and did a little bit more research, and I've decided to give the PICO-8 palette a go. It's 16 colors (fairly bright and neon-y but not so eye-killingly so as the ZX Spectrum palette) so I think it would be a nice middle-ground between the two styles.



I've only done a quick repaint of the character so far - thoughts?

[Blondbraid]

It looks pretty neat though the repaint makes for a pretty different character interpretation,
in the top image the character was wearing what looked like a black shirt and red tie like some
kind of emo/punk-rock look, but in the new image the character seems dressed up for a white collar job.
What's the story of the game?

[selmiak]

first one all the way!

[AnasAbdin]

I think both art styles are gorgeous. You could mainly use the first one in most of the parts of the game (if the story allows) and then use the second in little parts (e.g the character enters cyberspace...)

[Cassiebsg]

Like Blondbraid said, the type of game you are making also influences how it should look. I like your 3rd one too (post them all as small versions with the imgzoom tag instead, so we can better compare them). However they translate into different game atmosphere.
The first one would fit great in a mysterious/darker game, the 2nd so cyberspace like AnasAbdin pointed, and the 3rd I would probably expect it to not have a so dark story.

[Monsieur OUXX]

the PixelFor.me color ramp creator was a huge help creating the palettes for this.

OoooooOOOoooooh! That's pretty! *_*

[Snapwalk]

Hey there! Sorry for the somewhat late reply - I've been busy as hell as of late. Anyways, I've thought about all the feedback you guys have given me, and experimented with the various palettes. I discovered a few things along the way:

• Working with the first palette in the original post is actually really time consuming because each item needs its own 8-color palette.
• Working with the PICO-8 palette is both fun and challenging, and takes a lot less time to create.

Therefore, I think I'm going to use the latter. Anyways, I played around with a scene and UI mockup. I haven't animated it, but I probably could quite easily. What do you folks think?




Also:

It looks pretty neat though the repaint makes for a pretty different character interpretation,
in the top image the character was wearing what looked like a black shirt and red tie like some
kind of emo/punk-rock look, but in the new image the character seems dressed up for a white collar job.

That's because for the moment I'm just experimenting with graphics styles - not trying to make any sort of consistent characters, although I am reusing the same basic one each time at the moment.

[Sektor 13]

First things firts: I like first one better (first post)

For current pictures i have two suggestions:
1. Red hair on character looks like blood to me (like her head is badly damaged ?) Not sure how to fix that with this pallete.
2. Perspective of the bed and curtain on the left is wrong. Bed looks like a flipper. The front part should be wider than the far part.
Also i wouldn't go with white background for the GUI, but that could be just me

But i like the style and the simplicity. Looks really well.

[loganworsley]

I love the reddish one. It's very stylish and draws you in. Like I really want to know what's going to happen in that strange room.