TOL - Are Certain Art Styles Timeless

Hey it’s Tarrmu and welcome to Thinking out loud, and today’s video we’ll be discussing an interesting topic, that I feel is always something that is front of mind when we’re talking video games, and that is the discussion of graphics, but something more deeper than that and that is a games artstyle, art direction, and overall aesthetic and what makes a particular artstyle feel timeless.

What Makes something Age?

The first major question is what causes a games presentation to feel dated? Why is it that I can look at the visuals for Max Payne seeing Sam Lake’s smirky grin and feel the charm, or replay the ps1 era Final Fantasy’s or MGS games and still love the atmosphere. But on the flipside load up some games from the ps3 era like as much as I love the series looking back at the first Uncharted it doesn't look like fate has been as kind to as it as other games.

My first thought is the over commitment to visuals and high fidelity over a particular art style. I feel like there’s a reason why Wind Waker’s aesthetic has held up and still looks as gorgeous today as it did the day it released. It is crazy to consider that back when Wind Waker was revealed that many were shocked and enraged (play the I’m shocked and enraged b99 clip) at the choice to go for what people would claim to be a childish presentation.

Of course it was because they had a glimpse at what was considered an epic cutting edge realistic approach to Zelda which eventuated in being Twilight Princess. But if we now objectively look back at the two games, I feel time whilst Twilight Princess still holds up nicely, there is something timeless about Wind Waker, where in the department of its visual’s it holds up stylistically and visually by comparison.

What Makes something Timeless?

So I guess the core question at the heart of this discussion is what does make an art style feel timeless and for me I believe that in many ways it is the understanding of simplicity, there is something about older games where particular techniques, colors and the lack of technology we have now, which in a sense sparked creative methods to depict a particular environment.

The flipside of this is a game that releases with cutting edge visuals, cutscenes and effects, but an overall tone atmosphere and feeling that can feel dampened with time. This is exclusive to video games by the way, think of movies like Psycho and how they depict horror, and how it is still something highly regarded to this day.

I think the overarching goal, it to have a style but more importantly one that serves to invoke feeling, feels believable within the context of its world, and doesn't feel disconnected from what they game is trying to be. To me it's ultimately the tonal feeling the spaces created that provide memorability and more importantly provide a timeless quality to them.

I've used a game like Wind Waker as an example of this with its cartoony art style, but there are games that invoke this same feeling in their visual style, world design, and how the players role within it takes place, and one of the best examples I can think of is Dark Souls. Yes, Dark Souls isn't the prettiest game on the market, but even to this day walking the steps of Anor Londo, traversing Sen's Fortress or the Darkroot Garden. There are definitely areas like Lost Izalith which were unfinished in their prime and time hasn't been favorable too, but overall Dark Souls visual style and feeling feels preserved. There is a sense of feeling and intention nature in the games construction, environments and memorability that derives from one how it makes you feel, and two how it is constructed and designed.

The last point that I will make is that I don't believe that games of high fidelity and cutting edge graphics can't age like wine, I feel like Cyberpunk 2077 even in 10 to 15 years when technology has advanced will still be considered a visually appealing game, due to how its world does pop to life and the atmosphere it invokes. Whilst it a gorgeous game now due to fidelity, it will sustain it due its stylistic nature in the future.

But in conclusion, visual styles, how well they hold up and how much they resonate with people does also come down to a person’s preference, but recently I’ve been considering what separates the games of old that stylistically and visually still look nice, and those that’re showing their age. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts and comments below, because these are obviously my thoughts and opinions,