A New Art Direction And A Larger Focus In Physics

[Assault_machine]

We need to see more new artistic styles with video games and I must say that I wouldn't mind Driver to take a new approach. Maybe we can see graphics like Initial D (the anime and manga) or something even more unique. Too many artistic styles are about looking completely real and pretty soon, I think that these graphics will make games grow old. The games like Okami, Team Fortress 2, Bioshock, and a few others, implemented such unique visual styles that I'm instantly forced to believe, especially with a member of Valve who worked on Team Fortress 2, that games are still in their infancy of art. They are not considered as art, partly because they all look the same.

As for physics, we need to see this because it can bring a lot of new challenges and ways for both players and NPCs (non-player characters) to interact in the game. A unique example of physics includes games like Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3. We definitely need to see more interesting ideas with physics. And to be honest with you, I find ragdoll physics as a bit silly, for this is not exactly how human beings fall over. Something needs to be done to make it more realistic. Because too many games are using the same engine for ragdoll physics, I have to say that it's not creative enough, nor is it very amusing.

Therefore, Driver can really use a new artistic style (between realism and fiction) as well as incredible physics, partly to help drive the Driver franchise forward. Already GTA IV has some incredible physics, so Reflections must have Driver attain that as well.

[lb003g0676]

WOW

I agree completely.


I even mentioned I think the art style should be changed to less gritty to avoid GTA's style. less moody and more colourful to refelct the financially stable times we are in, when car scams can flourish and add to the beauitful backgroudn wiht colourful fast cars, beauitful women, and happy sunny places.

Not cartoony though so I disagree in that way, but the world needs to be less gritty, it needs to be more colourful and perfect. I mgiht do some pieces of art to show what I mean, and the settigns need to reflect that. (colourful prstine cities and great countryside/beahces/deserts.

[PennySillin]

Gritty isn't just GTA's style you know. Gritty is everywhere, even real life, which you guys crave so much of in a game.

Leave happy to the happy areas of the cities, theres always down-trodden sections that should be represented as so. Deteriorating structures, roads, rusty old cars, unkempt lawns, homeless people, addicts, drug dealers (not saying use drugs in the game). Just because TV is so flashy doesn't mean everything is.

Flashy does belong somewhere as well though, beaches, clubs, bars to name a few

[lb003g0676]

Yes gritty is everywhere, but sometimes we don't need to portray that, it doesn't even realy detract from realism, it's just portrayed differently, and it's all part of the art style.

I ahev been edging away from gritty for a logn while, and I woudl lvoe to see this with a real art direction, not just photorealism. (althoguh that woudl be nice mixed in)

[Assault_machine]

Personally, as I've made clear I don't want a realistic look for Driver. I'd want something in between real and fictional, or more specifically, something like Initial D. Too many games of genres including fighting, FPS, action-adventure (this is essentially Driver and GTA's category), survival horror, stealth, racing, simulation, sports, and all else that exist, are so similar in their artistic styles.

If we only look towards the PS3 and Xbox 360, for those who are about graphics, of having realistic graphics and not to have these machines push the graphics to even new but very well done artistic styles (just as Team Fortress 2), the industry will grow old.

GTA is somewhat drawing nearer towards realism, so I think that Driver will need something like Initial D's graphics or even Auto Modellista. About Auto Modellista, it wasn't considered a very good game, but its visuals were outstanding, so either Initial D, Auto Modellista, or even some entirely new and not "I want to look real" artistic style for the graphics would fit Driver well.

[InsaneDriver06]

If a game features a city, it should feel like a city. Steam vents, hundreds of crowds wandering the sidewalks, vendors selling food, parking lots packed with cars, traffic at stop lights, taxi's, trucks, honking horns, buses picking people up, lots of activity. Play Driv3r, and something's missing. It feels like 6 AM on a Sunday morning the entire game. The streets are nearly empty. That's fine once in awhile, but I want to see more traffic and a lot more crowds to consider.

As far as visual style, GTA featured cartoony visuals with cartoony car controls. I want realism first, to reflect Driver's semi-realistic driving physics.

[Assault_machine]

No, you misunderstood what I meant when I said that the visual style needs to be something like Initial D or Auto Modellista. I said this for only the graphics and the physics are much different. Definitely, it can be said, that I want the best physics ever yet imaginable in a driving game. As long as the graphics are spectacular and something that hasn't been used before, while the game adds much realism to the vehicles, I'm glad with what Reflections will do for its Driver franchise.

[InsaneDriver06]

Originally posted by Assault_machine:
No, you misunderstood what I meant when I said that the visual style needs to be something like Initial D or Auto Modellista. I said this for only the graphics and the physics are much different. Definitely, it can be said, that I want the best physics ever yet imaginable in a driving game. As long as the graphics are spectacular and something that hasn't been used before, while the game adds much realism to the vehicles, I'm glad with what Reflections will do for its Driver franchise.

Are you suggesting more anime styled graphics? Was Auto Modelista a Capcom game? I'm thinking back to the PS2 days, when they released a driving game with cel shaded graphics. To me, the goal games has to achieve is photo realism, only in game form. I think that's been something they've been trying to do since the early days of gaming. Better graphics for a more realistic gaming experience. I don't grow tired of the look of our detailed reality, so I doubt I'd grow tired of realistic games, which I actually prefer over cartoony games like "The Simpsons Movie".

[Assault_machine]

Yes, I was talking about Capcom's game called Auto Modellista.

If you played a game like Okami, I think that you'd think wrongly of what point you've just made. It is wrong to think that, with so many other artistic styles out there, only one of them, the realistic one, is the only one acceptable. Team Fortress 2, a game made by Valve, creators of the Half-Life franchise, made such a unique representation for the artistic style. It was graphics that were much like Disney's Pixar's movies and the detail was just so astounding. Just take a look at Team Fortress 2 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=pPoKaoJu0m4), and Okami (http://youtube.com/watch?v=oGb71mUlgr8) and you'll see what I mean by the need for more artistic styles. The same goes for Bioshock (http://youtube.com/watch?v=MFRw259ci5I) and Jet Set Radio Future (http://youtube.com/watch?v=HvdxnpR2i3s)(a Dreamcast game)

[JacksonL2007]

I dont think those graphics fit in with the cinematic theme driver has, However the in-game mod in Driver dosnt look to good I did like the in-game graphics for Driv3r tho.

Team Fortress 2 has nice graphics a bit like XIII's graphics. I'd have no problem with that if it wasnt for then having ****y looking cars.

[PennySillin]

I don't want cell shading. It might not be right for the game, but I like how MGS2 (haven't played the latter 2) and the newest Metroids graphics look. I don't know how to describe it other than the graphics look really smooth, the colors (mainly Metroid) are bright and poppy, and in both games, the colors are very deep looking. Thats the style I like.

[Assault_machine]

Cel-shaded animation is actually not such a bad idea. Why should Driver be realistic? To have a dark mood and feeling? With cel-shaded animation, it is a wonderful way to help make up all kinds of moods and settings within games. Just take a look at these pictures of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Zelda_Wind_Waker_Deku_Leaf_float.jpg) (a very good example) and Okami (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Okamiscreen1.jpg). By the looks of Okami, it
uses cel-shading to give the impression of a world inside a painting. And if Auto Modellista can portray vehicles so well, I'm sure that Reflections could do so for Driver too.

Cel-shading is truly a unique and different artistic style for video games. Just look at the list of the many games that have implemented this (copied & pasted from Wikipedia):

- .hack//G.U. series
- Auto Modellista
- Bleach video games
- Bomberman Generation
- Bomberman Jetters
- Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
- Cel Damage
- Crackdown
- Crazyracing Kartrider
- Dark Cloud 2
- Dragon Ball Z Budokai series
- Dragon Quest VIII
- Dragon Quest IX
- Dragon Quest Monsters Joker
- Drift City
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
- FreeSpace 2 Open (the option is still a work-in-progress)
- Gekitou Pro Yakyuu
- Gungrave series
- Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland
- Jackie Chan Adventures
- Jet Set Radio
- Jet Set Radio Future
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Whirlwind
- Killer7
- Klonoa 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Mega Man X7
- Mega Man X Command Mission
- Metal Gear Acid 2
- Monster Rancher 3
- Naruto video games
- No More Heroes
- ÅŒkami
- Power Rangers: Super Legends
- Robotech: Battlecry
- Rogue Galaxy
- Runaway: A Road Adventure
- Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
- Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga and - Digital Devil Saga 2
- Silverfall
- Sly Cooper series
- Sonic Shuffle
- Street Fighter IV (in development)
- Super Mario Sunshine
- Ultimate Spider-Man
- Tales of Symphonia
- Team Fortress 2
- Tony Hawk's American Sk8land
- Viewtiful Joe series
- Wacky Races for Dreamcast
- War§ow
- Wild Arms 3
- XIII
- X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
- Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
- Eternal Sonata



Even though you guys don't agree that such a different style (one that is away from the realistic approach) should be made, do you still believe that games haven't gone too far with the artistic style and that more games should look towards new ways of art? I do. It is very important to have the video game industry go forward and grow with such changes for many of its games, to the art, physics, and gameplay (ridding games of cutscenes, adding more non-linearity, etc.). Otherwise, I see nothing of interest to the video game industry anymore. And most importantly, more systems need to be made with innovations, such like the Wii, except in their own ways. There is a lot of things that need to be improved and changed for the better. I certainly want more genres to be born and for certain games to start mixing many elements from multiple genres, as opposed to only using one genre.

[JacksonL2007]

Multiple genre lol and you dont like GTA clones. GTA has just about every genre.

And about the graphics i thinkthat realism suuits some games and should continue to look as real as possible, sometimes i find ur attitude all about being very obscure and different which is good but you seem to want to make things boring.

[PennySillin]

I'm no supporter of realism, but I don't think cell shading is right for Driver. Take a look at DPL, for example. That looked cartoony enough, and that just made the game even worse, lack of detail in the environment made it look generic and boring. D3 and Stuntman at least looked interesting, which helped a lot.

Not that it couldn't be done with cell-shading, but when you have a lot of stuff on screen with those thick black outlines, it would start to look like a screen window

[InsaneDriver06]

AM1, I agree that great art style is welcome in video games (not just realistic graphics), but Driver doesn't fall into that category from how most fans see it. It is an interesting way to consider the game even so.
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Though DPL was cartoon-like, I still ended up playing it just as much as GTASA if not more, thanks to the less saturated colors, but mostly the solid vehicle/sportbike handling for a more realistic driving experience compared to GTA's cartoon vehicle controls.