Nice, thanks for sharing!

I would follow that quote up with the rest of the paragraph, too:

If the content is valuable, it should provide entertainment by itself. Interaction shouldn’t lock away content. It should allow them to get more from it.

Been looking around a bit more.

Here's an interesting article on Lost Garden, which you would probably hate, since it is written from a gameplay-centric, pro-retro viewpoint: The Neo-Retro Art Style: Savior of the game industry? I can see how it might not be applicable to the notgames movement, but it's good to know why.

And another article by the same guy, about pixel art and how it's weird that it's now retro-fashionable and that people still use it, so you might like the article this time: Lessons from the Land of Pixel Art. But the discussion in the comments is perhaps more interesting here.

Like this comment, by CosMind:

Psychochild and dave both hit on some very important points - the iconography and language of a visual art. as they both mentioned, pixel art is very strong in both of these areas. in relation, pixel art is also super powerful when it comes to expressing character emotion. just the sublest of tweaks to a pixels existence/color/position in something like a characters eyes creates a profound change in its attitude. i haven't really seen such powerful conveyance of emotion in 3d character art, yet. with a focus on photo-matching visuals, emotion becomes more subtle (like real life). the viewer must look harder to read a character's expression. in most cases (unfortunately), devers don't seem to be even striving to convey this emotion, but even when they do i've yet to see it measure up to the emotion that some masterful pixelled characters have transferred to me as i watch them animate/pose. no, i'm not holding on to the past. i love great art period - 2d, 3d, whatever. i just really haven't seen 3d art that has been able to achieve some of the things that pixel art has and still does (this holds true vica-versa, of course).

And an article, by Psychochild, in response to the one above: The programmer talks about art. In particular, this quote:

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, 2D art is more iconic. While there's something to be said for lush, detailed 3D graphics, it is very specific. Any good artist knows that the more iconic art can involve the viewer more. I have to supply a bit of the personality to that "mess of pixels" on the screen representing the hero. Whereas the modern games all have very distinct characters that you control, because they have to be very detailed to fit in with the rest of the game.

These quotes do a better job of explaining why I like pixel art. But obviously sharing quotes is not going to make my game look any less like an art game. We'll see. I might end up using pixels or I might not.

As for inspiration, I found another style that could be interesting to explore, though it might be too sterile and game-y. It's a sort of pseudo-3D effect with layered 2D shapes, something that I could probably do even with Flash. You can read about it at the end of this blog post: Some random artwork



Here it's used for very abstract and symbolic graphics, but maybe the approach could be used for more representational art as well. Even photographs?

And another inspiration source, at Cambrian Games. The art there is procedural, sort of a combination of vector and non-pixelated bitmap manipulations. I could do that.











Reminds me of the artificial life stuff that I was interested in before I started making games. Maybe I could incorporate some of that as well...

I think you should choose an art style that is appropriate for the content that you're working with. Or adapt your content to the style you're comfortable with. A graphic style is not just a layer you put on top of things. It is an essential part of the work. We should use it to help express the things we're trying to get across.

I agree. And in the past, this is how I would approach the choice of art style. For something new like these notgames, pixel art seemed to me like it would be the most versatile, a common choice for art games, as you indicate. But I will make an effort to create something distinct and different from art games, and pick an art style that is appropriately different.

I do really like the variety of styles seen in the Flight comics anthologies, for example here and here. I'll take a look through those and see if I can draw any connections between the message or theme of each comic and its visual style.

Since you're comfortable with pixel graphics, maybe you should tune your story so it fits. Maybe the story takes place in the past, or inside of a computer or on an old technological device. Maybe the characters in your game are squares and they join together to make shapes.

Thanks for the suggestion. I may do something like this, depending on which idea I go with. I could see it making sense for an old technological device. Or who knows, maybe I'll end up making something with a focus on the natural world, using sketchy digital art and pieces of photographs...

Many games have personification of characters, but they treat the character as we would treat a car: we accept a digital body, but rarely have digital emotions.

Wow. This is quite eye-opening. The way you think about emotions and player identification and immersion...

Have you read the article Constructing Artificial Emotions? I wonder if it might have some relevance to putting this idea into practice.

[The Scale of the Universe]

I just saw this on Newgrounds today: The Scale of the Universe

It is definitely not a game, yet it captivates and touches people, judging by the comments and the extremely high score (4.7/5 on Newgrounds??!).

"Zoom from the edge of the universe to the quantum foam of spacetime and learn the scale of things along the way! Learn the size of the Pillars of Creation and marvel at the minuscule scale of a neutrino!"

That's what it is. Let me quote some review comments so you can get an idea of the reaction that many people have had to this simple, interactive non-game:

"I don't know any words in the english language that can explain how amazing this is! It goes all the way from the Fabric of the Universe, to the estimated size of the universe, including almost everything! If I wasn't already a nerd in science, I would always come to this whenever I have to study physics or space or something like that."

"This is so COOL
You can see the whole Universe from here
YOU ARE THE BEST
YOUR GAME MAKING SKILLS ARE EXCELLENT
THANKS FOR THIS COOL GAME!!!"

"I've read a lot about things like this before, galactic distance comparisons and such, but this makes it so fascinating. This is a work of art and would introduce it into any classroom.
This is gonna go down as one of the greatest flash works on NG history. You are an artist and keep up the good work."

"This was epicly EPIC!
this actually made me think about how lil we are..
dude, you are AWESOME!"

"This is a masterpiece! I don't think people understand it when scientists say that to grasp the size of the universe is incomprehensable. This should be used by teachers everywhere! Never before have I seen the Universe put into that kind of perspective. It's amazing. I'll bet you, that if every person in the world, looked at this at the same time, like really LOOKED at it, all wars would cease. It's... It's beautiful."

"I started off small and worked my way to the entirety of the universe, and I've never had thoughts of such pristine beauty or size until I started playing this. Artwork was good but the true meaning of this piece is unimaginably cool. Thank you very much for giving us all something of this great value."

"This is great it made me feel so very big then so very very very small"

"I just realized how big the universe is, this is awesome."

"It was kinda surreal when you zoom in at a decent rate from the universe to the string theory. Gave me goose bumps almost for some reason."

"I am nothing, I am insignificant."

More reviews...

If something as simple as this can evoke such strong feelings and such a strong sense of scale, then imagine what could be done with more sophisticated pieces! And it's all about the interactivity - it couldn't have been done without it.

[Here are the non-pixel styles available to me, currently:]

Yes, I saw that. And yes, she is right.

And I'm using pixels for much the same reasons that so many other indies are using pixels. Because it's a lot easier on the game engine, the art pipeline, and the artist (or lack thereof). If I have only four weeks to make something, it will probably require that I use pixels.

I can see your concern about notgames being equated with art games.

Given that, what alternative art styles would you suggest? And how would these art styles be implemented?

Perhaps we could use this thread to discuss the possibilities...

I will begin.

Here are the non-pixel styles available to me, currently:

Simple stick-figure vector with bitmap effects:


Slightly more complex procedural vector art:


Hand-drawn digital painting: (I suck at this)


Hand-drawn formline art: (very time-consuming)


Photographs: (hard to use interactively)

So, which will it be? What do you want to see?

Perhaps "kinesthetic" or "tactile" would be more what you had in mind? I think I see what you mean. Kinesthetic feel is very important to me in games, and I find it easiest to achieve that with 2D physics and a vector art style, as opposed to pixel art or polygonal 3D. However it seems that you are referring to something a bit different, though maybe related. Experiences that "embrace" you. I will think about that.

I think we should learn to understand why Tomb Raider 1 looks and feels better than all its sequels. Not to imitate its graphic style but to find an equivalent in contemporary technology that has the same effect, or even improves on it.

I agree, similarly for pixel art. The old retro games of the NES era do not appeal to me visually. I have no nostalgia for them. But I like pixels, and I like doing interesting things with them, like combining chunky pixels with realistic materials:



Good point about the uncanny valley, too. It is a powerful effect that need not be shied away from. I'll think about that more.

[I Fell in Love with the Majesty of Colors]

All right.

I Fell in Love with the Majesty of Colors
http://www.kongregate.com/games/GregoryWeir/the-majesty-of-colors
This is barely a game - the only goal is optional, to find all the different endings for this linear interactive story. The experience is compelling not because of gameplay (of which there is little) but because of roleplay - you get to be a giant undersea leviathan, in your first encounter with the surface world. One of my favorite Flash (not)games. Its favorable reception on popular game portals like Kongregate and Newgrounds was very encouraging to me.

I just looked at the comments for this game and here's a recent one that I liked:

Really opened up my mind, of what it may be like to creatures unlike us. I feel quite sorry for dem whales. XD

Storyteller
http://www.kongregate.com/games/danielben/storyteller
Here's another (not)game by the creator of Today I Die. This one is definitely not a game. It's just a minimal interactive toy where you get to create your own story, interacting with a simple simulation (if you can even call it that) of a formulaic fairy tale. Again, I can see a ton of potential here. People like playing with story systems like this. It's not a sandbox - the system and possibilities are definitely authored - but at the same time it is a system that allows the (not)player to create their own story.

The archetype of a "narrative environment" for me is a traditional catholic cathedral. These are places that are filled with paintings and sculptures and ornaments that all refer to different parts of the stories that underlie the religion. Depending on the visitor's knowledge of the Bible, they will recognize elements or not. But many of the decorations and elements are not explained in the Bible. To really know what they mean, you often need thorough historic knowledge.
But what's interesting to me is not to discover what things really mean. When you enter a nice cathedral, you are overwhelmed with the sensation of richness of narrative. And as you look around, you can't help but feel things and imagine things. And since everything in the place was created from the same conviction, from the same passion (even if it wasn't created by the same person), there is a strong sense of coherence, even if you don't literally understand everything. In the end, you feel the story instead of hearing it, you become embedded in it, you feel connected to it. Those gothic and baroque church designers really knew a thing or two about designing immersive environments!

I really like that you bring up this comparison, because I've noticed the same thing (though in this case it was visiting a Hindu temple under construction - I'll have to go visit a real cathedral sometime). On a smaller scale, you can see the same thing in household altars - often there are images, carvings, symbols that reference stories and worlds specific to the religion in question and may evoke these associations in someone who is familiar with them.

I don't know what the connection is exactly, but I'm pretty sure there's a lot that notgames can learn here...

Yes, I have found this one very intriguing, though I haven't yet figured out what it is that I am so intrigued by. But I think there is a hint of something with a lot of potential here. I just don't know what it is yet.

I've always had a fascination for the victims in shooter games. Has there ever been a game where you play the bad guy and you simply get shot as soon as the hero appears on the scene?

Not that I know of. But perhaps there should be. It could be pretty easy to make, though it might be harder to make it more than just a one-off joke.

Do you have any playable prototypes to share? I'm intrigued by the idea, but I'm not sure that I understand it just from the blog post...

I hear that Virtual Families took a more casual, less game-y approach to the virtual dollhouse idea, though I've never played it. Might be worth looking at.

Another technique could be unveiling a new clue immediately before/after examining the first clue.  Has anyone tried this?  That could keep you examining the world out of sheer curiosity.

Yes, interesting idea! It could be procedural, so no matter where you are or what is happening when you examine the first clue, the second clue will be generated and put just where you can see it at that moment.

[Easy Fun]

I'm all for shedding triviality and creating shorter experiences. It seems that's all I have time for these days, anyway. I've never liked the triviality in game design, either - while I tend to be very result-oriented in real life, I am very process-oriented in games and I tend to focus heavily on moment-to-moment feel and overriding purpose rather than points and achievements and such.

In the game I'm working on now, in fact, I'm still trying to defend my choice (to myself) to keep the game-ness simple and not to add things like achievements, points, upgrades and all that stuff that I find pointless but that I know will increase the ratings on Flash game portals...

What captures a notplayer - also captures a player, but through the fog of microgoal-feedback loops - is a world to wander, an atmosphere. In a way, this is an advantage the notgame has, as it ditches or reduces these loops, allowing space for other experiences and reactions to breathe and grow. We can wander. For me, this was what I liked best about The Path, not Grandma's house (the most plot-like element, I guess) but the forest itself, where the connections were neither fixed nor obvious, but the conjured world was dense and rich and intriguing. Which is a lot like travel, but unlike game travel, where it is all about both the destination, and the struggle (realised in short, short bursts), but the meandering and pseudo-aimlessness.

This is what I like too, but I don't know that this is all there is to notgames. It is certainly not all there is to games, since it's one of many gameplay types in several classification systems:

Easy Fun in Nicole Lazzaro's Four Fun Keys,
Explorer play in Richard Bartle's player suits,
Wanderer play in Chris Bateman's DGD1,and
Seeker play in Chris Bateman's more recent BrainHex model

Of course, it is my preferred play mode, generally speaking, but I wouldn't assume that that's all notgames can be. Certainly a fruitful starting point though.

And walking through a forest, yes. I have to say, playing The Path was an experience that came closest to that of walking through a real forest, more than any other game, though it was more like a hint of the experience than the actual thing. (So many of these games and things I admire are like hints rather than the real thing, really.) But I've had some thoughts about what that would have to look like, for me. Maybe I'll write more about it in another forum thread.