"comicsforlife;c-16398548" wrote:
isn't mainstream appeal a good thing I mean their trying to make money not be really cool and hipster like
I don't necessarily disagree with the money part, but mainstream appeal these days means watering and dumbing down things to make everyone and their grandma able to understand and play it. It means taking out anything that might just rub anyone the wrong way a.k.a. making things so safe that you don't get decent entertainment out of it because it can't challenge you emotionally or mentally.
And especially for games that's a huge issue because games are supposed to be a challenge. Of course not every game has to be a Dark Souls, but we play games ( not just video games ) to overcome challenges ( big or small ) and feel good about it.
What does this have to do with art style you ask ? Well if everything already looks like a very family friendly and safe environment for your 3yr old, then chances are you're not gonna find any challenge in the content. The visuals support the narrative they're trying to tell.
Quirky/"weird" style = mainly humerous, exaggeration of life, might fail at delivering a serious atmosphere
Overly realistic style = serious tone, something out of real life, might try too hard if the rest of the product doesn't support it
dark, desaturated color palettes = sad, creepy, etc.
bright, colorful color palettes = cheerful, upbeat, etc.
Of course there's exceptions to this, people use these principles to reflect the change of tone in the story or highlight a particular moment all the time. That doesn't make them perfect but it makes them more believable for the audience.
I think everyone here can see that TS4's visuals pretty much stay on the cheerful happy oversatured side for about 90% of the game unless you enter Forgotten Hollow and that was a narrative decision because TS4's vampires were supposed to be a ( mostly ) serious version of these creatures.
Personally I'd like to see them strike a good middle ground because that's what The Sims is about for me. You can have heartbreaking slice of life stories, you can have over the top silliness, you can have fantasy, you can have realism. Or you can combine it all. But for that to be possible the current Sims style would definitely have to change. The gameplay and what you're trying to tell with it influence the game's visuals and vice versa.
