Why is it illegal to have vibrant color in violent games nowadays?

There are color in some of those games, and very little color or bland colors in others (RE5 and GOW3 I'm lookin at you!)

It's rare I see a hyped or well known PS3/360 game with any colors. Maybe I'm missing them all but they all seem to use a bland grey and brown color scheme. The best looking game I've seen on the PS3 is flower, because it's just beautiful.

Pixel-Pirate

Well that's the impression one would get if one just goes off from the videos they see, which tend to show only a small portion rather than the whole anyways. I thought RE5, while industrial-looking in nature, had much more variations of color than RE4, seeing as how the sunlit setting in RE5 seem to make the hues much more apparent. If GOW3 looked like a children's coloring book with highly varying shades of green, orange, and purple, then that would negatively affect the overall mood of the entire game. I think good art should be judged on how well the aesthetic stays cohesive to the overall vibe of the game as opposed to just simply how many colors there are. At any rate, those are just what my feelings are on this subject matter.

I like Naughty Dog's humor with their "Next-Gen Filter" they have with the Uncharted games. It does seem like too many games focus on that gritty grayish brown realistic setting, but aren't most of those games that go that direction usually shooters to begin with? There are plenty of games that are filled with vibrant colors, but it all depends on the game the devs are trying to make. It just looks like the market is more into realism at the moment.

[QUOTE="MadVybz"]Halo is war oriented and it was full of color. Immersion is also determined by the person, not the game.UpInFlames

I doubt that Halo is considered particularly atmospheric and immersive.

What? Than why is it considered to have one of the most euphoric and ambient soundtracks around? Halo's style is original, Killzone is about as generic as it gets. Halo also has undeniably, more atmosphere than Company of Heroes (lol).

I like Naughty Dog's humor with their "Next-Gen Filter" they have with the Uncharted games. It does seem like too many games focus on that gritty grayish brown realistic setting, but aren't most of those games that go that direction usually shooters to begin with? There are plenty of games that are filled with vibrant colors, but it all depends on the game the devs are trying to make. It just looks like the market is more into realism at the moment.

_Dez_

Realism? Did you go through the topic? Please tell me how Fallout 3's (for example) horribly green colored enviroments somehow make a post-nuclear-war D.C. look "realistic". It actually makes the graphics look a whole lot worse, and the contrast is painfully bad. What they should have done, is just desaturated the colors a bit, if anything. A "Flag of our Fathers" type look would have been artistic, yet it would also maintain D.C.'s white colored landmarks, while bringing out the darkness in that future.

I actually like the cinematic color filter effect when it's used right, like in Assassins Creed, and the Darkness, as well as a few others...

Depends on the tone. Dark depressing games are going to have a dark and depressing atmosphere. Other games like say Borderlands that plays mostly on it's humor have bright and pretty colors so all the violence sticks with the humorous aspect.

A dark and gritty war game would look a little silly if it was set in a world that looked like Fable 2.

[QUOTE="UpInFlames"]

[QUOTE="MadVybz"]Halo is war oriented and it was full of color. Immersion is also determined by the person, not the game.TheGrayEye

I doubt that Halo is considered particularly atmospheric and immersive.

What? Than why is it considered to have one of the most euphoric and ambient soundtracks around? Halo's style is original, Killzone is about as generic as it gets. Halo also has undeniably, more atmosphere than Company of Heroes (lol).

We's discussing graphics, not soundtracks.

Also, you're confused. UiF didn't say anthing about the direction of KZ2, I'm the guy who praised KZ2's art direction.

Halo's bright purple vehicles are certainly something no other game has seen fit to replicate or even flatter (say, with bright pink vehicles). If that is the school of design you insist upon, I can see why you have a problem with KZ2. We all have our preferences. Nothing wrong with yours.

You really think you know whats going on don't you? They make everything grey and blury to say they have this great "art direction" when infact it's just regurgitated crap from an actually art directed game that they're too untalented to understand. So they just copy it and say the grey muddy graphics are "art directed"

bad_fur_day

I can totally understand if you find someone's work to be unappealing, but I think it's different matter entirely to insist that they're "untalented". There's much more to being a concept artist then just making things that look pretty.

Well it completely fools people like you, so I guess it works.

bad_fur_day

[QUOTE="Pixel-Pirate"]

And this is why I prefer the Wii. The PS3 and 360 have superior graphics but alot of their games only utilize brown and gray and maybe black. Rarely do you see vibrant colors.

BladesOfAthena

Actually, its not as rare as you think. There are plenty of PS3/X360 games that have lots of colors under the rainbow - R&C: Future, Eternal Sonata, Dead Or Alive, Soul Calibur 4, Tekken 6, Banjo Kazooie, Fable 2, Street Fighter 4, RE5, Prince Of Persia, Assassin's Creed 2, LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles, Uncharted 2, etc. And that's a drop in a bucket.

RE 5 and AC II have only gray and brown.

i think it's a wider problem with assumptions and the collective language structures used by society. people who think for themselves know that dark and colourless does not automatically mean a game is 'mature', and that colour can mean so many things outside a 'kid friendly' spectrum. but most game aesthetics are based on these collective assumptions and old, old historical ideas of good/evil & dark/light, because there is fear on the part of publishers that the masses will not understand what is for 'kids' and what is for 'adults'. it's just a horrible trap people as a society get caught up in... :-( but the flip side is that it allows scope for a definition of 'art', and 'artists', because they think differently. a reward for thinking! how about that?

RE 5 and AC II have only gray and brown.

Zensword

You must be colorblind then because I see much more than a couple of bland-looking shades.

Its called setting atmosphere. I think using a war oriented game is a terrible example. What would Killzone 2 look like with vibrant color? Less immersive.

Blue-Sky

Everything being so close in colour just makes it look fake.

[QUOTE="Blue-Sky"]

Its called setting atmosphere. I think using a war oriented game is a terrible example. What would Killzone 2 look like with vibrant color? Less immersive.

BuryMe

Everything being so close in colour just makes it look fake.

i think it's a wider problem with assumptions and the collective language structures used by society. people who think for themselves know that dark and colourless does not automatically mean a game is 'mature', and that colour can mean so many things outside a 'kid friendly' spectrum. but most game aesthetics are based on these collective assumptions and old, old historical ideas of good/evil & dark/light, because there is fear on the part of publishers that the masses will not understand what is for 'kids' and what is for 'adults'. it's just a horrible trap people as a society get caught up in... :-( but the flip side is that it allows scope for a definition of 'art', and 'artists', because they think differently. a reward for thinking! how about that?

just_nonplussed

*Shakes head* You don't want artists thinking differently, you want them all thinking like you. As many posters have pointed out, there is a vast amount of artistic diversity in the industry on all consoles (somewhat less on the Wii, as one poster proudly mentioned).

On a related note, your claim that mature games don't feature color is completely without merit (GTA4, Uncharted 2, Assassin's Creed, Halo 3 and RE5 are all commercially successful M rated games which feature a lot of color).

Of course there are games where the designers make an artistic choice to mute the color palette, but if the vision is convincing, I have no problem with such a choice. You do and that's fine. Just don't try to support your preference with false claims.

It's a cliché, just like how movies have clichés. War games now are usually really gritty, dull, and hazy. I can't say I mind it too much, though I do prefer sharp, colorful games over hazy, blury games, because you can't see as well. I also find colorful games more interesting, but it's just not something you'll find inmost violent games.

Because a lot of people see violence in colorful places every day of their lives right? War is depressing. That's why developer's use a dark and gritty atmosphere filled with the same depressing colors to give off that sense. You want a colorful and vibrant game with a dark story? Go ahead and play Haze and tell me how that makes you feel.Raikoh_

Agreed. Its interesting that a lot of people want to turn every artistic design into something you see in a children's coloring book. What they fail to realize is that good art isn't all about making things look pretty and interesting, its about conveying the proper mood that stays consistent to the overall theme.

[QUOTE="Zensword"]

RE 5 and AC II have only gray and brown.BladesOfAthena

You must be colorblind then because I see much more than a couple of bland-looking shades.

TBH, I'm not sure about RE5 since I havent played it yet (probably never will), I only watched some shots, but I did play ACII. Yes, the screenshot of ACII you provided above proves that it hasvibrant colors but it mostly have brown/gray, that's why I stopped playing it after a few hrs.

TBH, I'm not sure about RE5 since I havent played it yet (probably never will), I only watched some shots, but I did play ACII. Yes, the screenshot of ACII you provided above proves that it hasvibrant colors but it mostly have brown/gray, that's why I stopped playing it after a few hrs.

Zensword

How can you make an assumption about the entirety of a game when you've only played/seen a small portion of it?

It depends on the location of the battle. If you're in the jungle, then it would be okay to have vibrant colors...or Las Vegas. D3 has a ton of vibrant locations, even the temples aren't grey with a splash of grey like in D2.

[QUOTE="Zensword"]

TBH, I'm not sure about RE5 since I havent played it yet (probably never will), I only watched some shots, but I did play ACII. Yes, the screenshot of ACII you provided above proves that it hasvibrant colors but it mostly have brown/gray, that's why I stopped playing it after a few hrs.

BladesOfAthena

How can you make an assumption about the entirety of a game when you've only played/seen a small portion of it?

The cities' color palattechanged in the later part of the game ? I dont think so. I played AC1, the color scheme remains the same from beginning to the end (actually in the boss fight with Mualim, the only color you see was black).

I think some people like gray/brown, others like me hate the, so that's just a matter of personal taste. That's fine for me. We dont need to convice each other.But please stop saying games have vibrant colors are for kids. Look at GTA IV, a kiddie game ?

But please stop saying games have vibrant colors are for kids. Look at GTA IV, a kiddie game ?Zensword

Grand Theft Auto IV is by far the least colorful entry in the series usually putting an emphasis on grey, dark blue and dark yellow color palettes. Is it a coincidence that it's also easily the most atmospheric Grand Theft Auto game to date?

The cities' color palattechanged in the later part of the game ? I dont think so. I played AC1, the color scheme remains the same from beginning to the end (actually in the boss fight with Mualim, the only color you see was black).

I think some people like gray/brown, others like me hate the, so that's just a matter of personal taste. That's fine for me. We dont need to convice each other.But please stop saying games have vibrant colors are for kids. Look at GTA IV, a kiddie game ?

Zensword

I never said that vibrant color based games are for kids. I'm just making fun of the all-too-popular perception that color usage automatically makes a game look appealing and therefore has great art, which I find to be utterlyshallow and downright juvenile.

All I have to do is go look up videos on Youtube to see whether or not your claims are true. As a matter of fact, this vid right here already proves that you're wrong.

LIES ALL LIES!!!