Analyze a Chapter of The Art of Game Design: Chapter 20 – The Look and Feel of a World is Defined by Its Aesthetics

Positives:
+ Good aesthetics enhance the gameplay experience by making it more enjoyable and immersive.
+ Involving an artist in a game project from the beginning can help the group visualize the game design highlighting strengths and weaknesses.
+ Audio is just as important as the art. It is important to develop the project’s audio at the same time as the art so that the styles complement each other.
+ Detail is very important. Properly placed details can highlight an idea and help enhance context.

Negatives:
- Some game designers hold aesthetics in disdain considering them “eye candy” that contribute nothing to game mechanics.
- Some game designers have nonexistent drawing abilities. This can make it difficult to get a visual idea across to a group when you only have words to describe it.
- Even though the developers understand the technology, they don’t understand the artistic vision of a game. Don’t let the developers decide on the artistic vision for the game as they are unable to see the world from an artist’s viewpoint.
- Conflict between the artists and developers can cause the game to feel unbalanced. It will either feel restrained by the tech or restrained by the art.

Thoughts:
~ I find it interesting that the chapter states a player is more likely to overlook gameplay flaws if the game is very aesthetically pleasing. I’m not sure I agree with this. Age of Conan is one of the most aesthetically pleasing games I’ve ever experienced but that doesn’t blind me to the game’s flaws. If anything it seems to magnify them.
~ When thinking about the aesthetics of a game I never thought to include music in the mix before. This is quite strange because the music in Age of Conan is quite beautiful and it perfectly complements the artwork and gameplay.
~ Finding balance between the artists and technology is a sweet spot every game designer should strive to achieve. The game should be aesthetically pleasing yet fun to play.
~ I like the idea of presenting half-finished art with a design idea. It shows concept, general style, and details that the simple design write up can’t.

Would Like:
* The chapter was so well thought out that I can’t think of anything I would like to add to it.
* I would like some of the game developers and designers that work on a few of the games I play to read this chapter and apply its lessons.

Credit where credit is due:
Schell, Jesse. (2008). The art of game design, a book of lenses (VitalSource Bookshelf Edition), Retrieved from http://artofgamedesign.com/book/ doi: 9780123694966