Are you curious to know how to choose the best video game art styles? Do you want to integrate the top art styles in your games to enhance graphics and game mechanics? Don’t fret! In this blog, you will get detailed information on selecting the same for video games.
Artistic video games are a blend of graphics and game mechanics. The art styles define the true essence of the game. From cartoon-style visuals to the user-friendly interface and out-of-the-box characters; art styles are something that should be prioritised. There are art styles for video games available out there in the market, and choosing an ideal one can be overwhelming!
Let’s get started by knowing what a virtual art style is all about followed by the importance and issues of selecting art styles for video games.
The best video game art style is the combination of the visual elements of the game that deliver a perfect gaming environment to the players. They play a vital role in making the game successful. In simple words, it is a visual representation of the game concept and storyline that narrates the true essence of a particular game. These video game graphic styles are particularly made according to the target audience, genre and the type of gaming project you are currently working on.
It is important that the visual elements of the game like characters and environments match with the game concept. Elements like assets, background, design, animation and colour palette are some of the most essential parts of the game. As it takes a lot of effort, time and energy to create an unmatched and attractive video game, it is necessary to select the best art styles that suit your game type, genre and target audience.
Market Stats of the Video Game Industry:
The global video game market was measured at USD 217.1 billion in the year 2022, which is expected to rise at a CAGR of 12.9% from the year 2022 to 2030.
Importance of Choosing the Right Art Styles for Games
It is very crucial to choose the unique video game art styles 3D and aesthetics that suit your game type, genre and target audience. It is that component that can make or break the overall performance of the game. Here is the list of factors that show the importance of choosing the best art style for video games:
Video game styles completely change the interaction between a player and the game.
It decides the screen time of the players. If graphics match the concept and genre, it will increase user engagement in the game.
Perfect game art styles are capable of attracting new gamers and keeping them hooked on the platform for long hours.
Best art games create a community and increase user retention.
Irrespective of game type. choosing the right art style for the game helps you match the theme, concept and mechanics of the game all at one time.
It makes your game much more streamlined, attractive, user-oriented and contributes to the success of the game and helps increase the revenue ratio of your game.
Games with unique art styles stand out in the Market. From 2D game art styles to 3D game art styles; there are different video game art styles available out there in the market. But if there is too much variety it causes problems in defining ideal art styles for games. It is even more complex when you come across it for the first time.
Here is a list of three major issues that come across while defining art styles for games.
1. Running Into Extremes
People often run into extremes and just focus on the visual appearance and game layout except the game mechanics. This is the point where they lose. Therefore, it is important to believe in consistency and harmonized approaches that rise from the core art of the game. So instead of running into extremes, you should look for cohesive and well-integrated artistic video games that promise the users an all-inclusive gaming experience.
2. Falling Into the Trap of Subjectivism
One must avoid falling into the trap of subjectivism, which means avoiding the things that you can’t control. You must know what you are doing and for whom you are doing it. It is impossible to balance out all the objective and subjective aspects of artistic video games. Make sure to stick to the main idea, and video game style and provide your audience with the same without losing the true essence of your video game.
3. Confused About Selected Art Styles
It is natural to get confused with selected art styles. You might be stressing over selecting the suitable styles for your game. However, you must be very clear to match the video game graphic styles the game. The synergy of all the gaming components is crucial and once you have selected an art style there is no going back. It must be well aligned with the game theme, concept and genre.
Here is the list of things that you must check out when selecting an ideal game set style:
1. Research Different Types of Game Art Styles
There are different art styles for video games available out there in the market ranging from hand-drawn art to 3D rendered art styles. Make sure to know the features and technical aspects of each of the potential art styles associated with your video game The art style depends on different aspects like budget, needs and specifications of your project.
2. Identify The Right Art Style
After researching thoroughly, it is time to select the right and ideal art style that fits your business needs, requirements and budget. It should blend well with the concept and storyline of the game to keep the players hooked to the game.
3. Aligning the Art Style with Player’s Experiences
You need to align the best video game art style with the player’s experience. Also, make sure to focus on improving the player experience by providing them with a hint of playfulness and user-friendliness. The game consists of immersive and stylized drawings that look appealing to children, creating a solid bond between the players and the game.
4. Mixing of Art with Myth and Narrative
The mythology of the game should highly align with the art and narrative of the game. People would find the game boring if the storyline didn’t set an atmosphere for the gameplay. Therefore, the unique video game art styles 3D must have accurate lore and narrative so that players feel the storyline and concept as they play the game.
5. Make a Balance Between Budget and Quality
Budget is the main constraint when it comes to quality over quantity. In general, it is difficult but not impossible to create a balance between these two to provide users with convenient and good-enough gameplay. Even if you don’t have the budget to create expensive high-definition games, you can develop top-level games with significant visual elements and optimum graphics.
6. Formulating A Style Guide
A dedicated guide for art style for video gamesis necessary when it comes to game development with unique art styles. It clearly defines the in-game characters, elements, environments and other elements. The guide in general also consists of crucial information such as colour palette, animation, typography, layout, etc. In a Nutshell, game assets should look cohesive and must have synergy to offer users an engaging and interactive experience.
List of Different Video Game Art Styles
As there are different types of game art styles available in the market, here are some of the common art styles based on their characteristics, use cases, genres, etc.
1. 2D Video Game Art Styles
Do you remember the time when we played our first computer game made of poor detail, graphics and simple shapes? We all have been there! However, today the advent of technology and rising capabilities of software and hardware, has resulted in a large multitude of game art styles 2D, including
2D Pixel Art
Vector Art
Cutout Art
Cel shading Art
Monochromatic Art
Doodle Art Styles
2. How To Create 2D Game Art?
2D video game art styles are not everyone’s cup of tea. Some games take inspiration from notebook-based drawings or real-life characters that are popular among people across the globe. Thus, anyone who wants to create 2D game art must have to spend a lot of time brainstorming and researching the game concept, elements and characters of the game that offer users enhanced experiences.
You will require the most crucial 2D game art software to design creative character models, interfaces, and backgrounds.
Here is the top 2D game design software you can use to create the best video game graphics:
They are the most common game styles, used for many projects from animation, and architectural design to cartoon design, and interior design. There are a lot of 3D games which appeal to a broad audience and generate a high level of revenue. Video game art styles 3D create an immersive world within the game environment, offering users thrilling and unmatched experiences. Here are some of the most popular types of 3d game art styles that are used in most of the complex and high-value visual video games:
Low Poly
Realism
Fantasy Realism
Hand Painted
Photorealism
Stylized
Anime
Cartoon: Voxel Art Style, Mixed style, The Plasticine Style
Collage 3D Art Style
4. How to Create 3D Game Art?
As we have earlier mentioned, creating the most realistic video game graphics in 3D is quite a time-consuming, lengthy, and complex task, which requires a lot of effort from the artist’s end. To create thrilling, unmatched and realistic user experiences, one must use top-notch software and technologies.
There are different software and technologies available out there in the market, but make sure to choose wisely according to the game type, genre, features, and game art objective.
Here is the list of 3D game art style software that you can use to create 3D graphics video games:
The art plays an important role in video games. There are a plethora of games available out there with attractive and unique art styles that are unmatched and differentiated. The top 10 games with unique art styles are:
Why Choose BR Softech For Video Game Art Style Design Services?
As a leading videogame development company, we develop the best-in-class and creative art style that matches the type, genre and specification of your game. We create games with unique art styles that can keep players engaged and hooked to the platform for long hours. This ultimately increases the screen time of the users, increases the reach of the video game applications and generates maximised revenue.
If you are looking for the best video game art style design services look no further than BR Softech. Hire us and get:
Affordable design services
Technical Support on Demand
On-Time Project Delivery
Highly Skilled Artists
Personalized Approach
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.1 What are the Benefits of developing games with unique art styles?
1. An eye-catching art style for games not only makes it engaging but also keeps players engaged on the platform for a longer duration. 2. Unique game styles also increase revenue generation by enhancing the reach. 3. It augments the brand visibility of the game app.
Q.2 How much does it cost for video game style design services?
On average, it costs around $15k to $20k for simple features, design and functionalities. However, the cost can go as high as $25k and even more depending on various factors like the complexity of the features, graphics, sound effects, and animation.
Q.3 What is the game art style called?
The art style of the game is all the visual art we see while playing a game. Mainly, there are two types of video game art styles: 2D and 3D art styles.
Q.4 What is the most popular game art style?
Realism, Fantasy Realism, 2D Pixel, Vector, and Low Poly are some of the most popular art styles used to create immersive two-dimensional and three-dimensional immersive video games.
Q.5 What are the trends in game art?
Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Extended Reality (XR) are the trending technologies in the development of game art styles.
I am Nitin Garg, founder of BR Softech PVT LTD - an award-winning mobile game development company known for its excellence in the gaming domain. We have a team of 180+ exceptional professionals & we have a satisfied clientele of 2.7k+ globally. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, I aim to elevate BR Softech to a billion-dollar company.