Video games: an art analysis

All art by Jarisse Nabung

Art takes shape in many ways: paintings, writing, music, film, and many more. While you usually just look at art and call it a day, there is one form of art that stands out among them all– video games. Why? Interactivity. Most see video games as just some fun with friends after school when you don’t want to do your homework. However, there is so much thought put into them beyond being fun to play. There’s many things to take into account for visuals– graphics, character design, and UI. Most of the time, the reason why you gain interest in a game is probably because of the visuals. 

Graphics

Either a game looks ripped out of someone’s camera or a Ghibli animation, and personally, I prefer the latter. In recent years, most game developers have been racing to see how many pores they can fit on their protagonist’s face or how many pieces of clutter they can cram in to make your device sound like a fighter jet, but there’s beauty in the more stylistic, animated approaches. 

 Game: Breath of the Wild (2017), developed & published by Nintendo

Take Nintendo’s Breath of the Wild, for example; despite the game being made in 2017 for the Nintendo Switch, the graphics still hold up to even the present day. Rather than following the trend of hyper-realistic graphics, Nintendo does what they do best; they create beautiful scenes using simple, pure artistry. With cartoony, cel-shaded figures and brightly colored landscapes, Breath of the Wild uses its simpler graphics to its advantage. 

 Game: Ghost of Tsushima (2020), developed by Sucker Punch Productions, published by Sony

However, that doesn’t mean I hate all realistic media… just the ones that aren’t creative with it. Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima is a great example. While its realistic graphics alone are enough to make the gameplay look stunning, the game’s duels feature takes it to the next level. Beyond the strategic gameplay, the cinematography used during the battles is just so fun to watch and play. 

Character Design

 Pikachu, Sonic, & Mario (left to right

If it’s not graphics that hook you, it’s the characters. And before you know a character, you see them. Character design is as, if not more, important than a game’s graphics. Though the reasoning behind that is a bit … superficial (people just want characters that look good), it's a fact that most popular games have protagonists you can recognize off of silhouettes or singular features alone. And that’s because of character design. 

 Hades (2020), developed & published by Supergiant Games 

Another key part of character design is, obviously, making your characters’ roles known. Who cares if they look good if you can’t tell the doctor is a doctor? Half of what makes a villain “villainous” is that they have to look the part. Supergiant’s Hades takes figures from Greek mythology and not only do the characters look stunning, but it's easy to tell who’s who. Zeus in particular, with his lightning bolt and clouds for a beard. Or Aphrodite, the signature pink for love and how her hair curls into hearts, or similarly with Poseidon, wielding his trident and his hair flowing like water. Despite being unique, innovative interpretations of these gods, it's those little details that remind you that, “Oh, this is so-and-so!” 

Persona 3 Reload (2024), developed by Atlus & published by SEGA 

User Interface (UI)

Probably one of the more underappreciated elements of a game is the UI. For those not aware of what UI exactly is, think menus. While not being the only instance of UI in a game, it is where the element is most prevalent. In a menu, the interface is the display of every prompt, item, or text you’re pulling up. Maybe an example would be better. Persona 3 Reload by Atlus, as well as the company itself, is well-known for its striking and unique UI. Navigating through the menus is an experience of its own with its perfect combination of aesthetics and readability. Each screen beautifully transitions to the next with 3D animated visuals that look 2D. Photos alone don’t do this menu justice. 

NieR: Automata (2017), developed by Platinum Games & published by Square Enix

Another game, NieR: Automata, by Platinum Games has the perfect combination of aesthetics and practicality with its UI. One of the most important things when it comes to UI is making sure it’s readable and doesn’t clash with the game itself. Nier’s UI in and out of menus is sleek, you’re never getting bombarded with information. It’s concise, it tells you what you need to know without the unnecessary clutter.