"LiELF;c-16400257" wrote:
"Yoko2112;c-16399962" wrote:
"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.
I think you have a lot of good points and I agree with these general principles.
I'd like to chime in that I think a great example of having that balance between quirky/funny and dark/realistic, can be found in Anime. I'm not saying that I think the devs should go and design the next Sims game in Anime style, but they could use to take some of the flavors of creative balance from that genre. I'll use Black Butler as an example:
Black Butler is a well known and much loved anime that is basically about a demon who offers his loyalty in exchange for the soul of a very young (13 year old), influential noble who seeks to avenge his family's death, and the demon serves as his master's butler. The premise sounds silly and lighthearted, and there are certainly many funny and ridiculous moments throughout the series, but it also has its fair share of moments where it gets so dark and creepy that it borders on horror. Its episodes can contain serial killers and creepy animated dolls, but then suddenly turn about and have the butler cuddling a cat and gushing over how "perfect" a creature it is. The series is a very strange and interesting journey, but it doesn't limit itself to the confines of a genre; instead, keeping itself open to a variety of story opportunities in each episode.
I'll also point out that this show is rated TV14, which is very close to the same target age group as Sims 4 (and has a very strong female following), but it doesn't compromise itself by babying its audience. So when we hear the excuse that the devs are trying to stay within the ESRB rating, I just have difficulty accepting that.
I guess my point is that we can have a stylized art that generally lightens the mood, but it is still no excuse for dumbing down the darker aspects of life, like fear, calamity, death, or crime. In fact, I feel that because the art style is more "cartoony", it should give leeway to be able to put more of those things into the game without having to coat it with silliness, and it still wouldn't risk being too horribly realistic. Just look at how Vampires came out.
I sometimes wonder if it's actually the Disney influence over EA that is destroying the Sims as we knew and loved it. :/
I think they should have room to do things as well even even clue has murder and its for nine yearolds
I think the reason they have to be so careful is because sims 4 is world wide and the ratings are different in other places
the rating system in Australia was really bad a few years ago they band a painting game because it had graffiti art
I hope sims 4 last longer and they give them the freedom that the other sims games have
