// Graphics

 Lets take a quick break into the fine arts. Well, "fine" is very arbitrary. We will be focusing on graphics in game design.

 For starters, what do we consider graphics? Graphics are simply renders created by the game developer to make your game look pretty. This can come in all shapes and sizes. They vary from simple 2D pixel art to breathtaking 3D models and will determine your games immersion. Video Games are a work of art, however a game could have mediocre graphics and still have charm. For instance, Undertale was released all the way in 2015 and has very simple pixel art. It was faced up against giants like Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid 5, and The Witcher 3, yet despite its graphics, the gameplay was just as important making it one of the best hits of 2015.

When you first made your prototype, you made either a 2D game, or a 3D game. Now, there are two options you have with graphics. Hire an artist, or make them yourself. There are plenty of sites like Fiverr.com where you can commission freelanced artists for a (hopefully) reasonable fee for your games. However your millage may vary. These are artists looking for a quick job, not a long term employment contract. Its a great site for small projects and getting some assets but will cost you.

So, I highly recommend making your own graphics.  It determinants what your games identity will be and is almost therapeutic for some. It all depends on what style you want. I will be recommending some sites and styles for you depending on what your prototype looks like.

3D. With 3D games, the only site I recommend is blender. Blender is completely free and an advanced 3D modeling software. It is also pretty hard to get a hang of. This is why I recommend starting with 2D games as making 3D models is an art within itself. There are plenty of tutorials online and I highly recommend taking some time to get the hang of blender before making your first games. But, what should by games look like?
Low Polly- Low Polly is a very basic art style. It means "Low Polygon." To explain, 3D models are made of Polygons. The higher amount of Polygons a model has, the higher resolution it will have. This design was very dominant in the 90's to Early 2000's due to hardware limitations having less power to render advanced 3D models. Low Polly is also easier to make as it requires cutting back on details and simplistic designs. I would highly recommend for starters.

 GTA San Andreas, 2004

Voxel. Voxel is another form of 3D Modeling that has the artists use individual "voxels" to make a model. A Voxel is a simple 3D cube that is colored, or a 3D pixel. Voxels have the advantage of making retro feel modern. The models are extremely simple, even more-so than Low Polly, yet have a very special charm to them. Minecraft definitely helped boost the popularity of Voxel art, with many games trying to look like Minecraft using Voxels as their main models. This is what I 100% reccomend you start your 3D games with as it allows you to not have to worry about more complex models and just make something that resembles what you are trying to make. Nobody expects Vocxel art to look ultra realistic, so dont worry about it.

 Teardown, 2022

Ultra Realistic. Ultra Realistic Graphics are hard to make. These are for games where you want the absolute best graphics in the market. They are very life like and ultra detailed. These win the best awards, and become industry standard. Its for these reasons you must stay away at all costs. If you market your game as ultra realistic, and the graphics dont look like the greatest thing you have ever seen, then the game will flop. This is a rare exception where the graphics will make or break the game. The competition is high, but the output is truly a work of art. These are for the most advanced, hardworking, and serious game developers who want to make their career from game work. You are definitely in the big leagues now, best of luck.

  Cyberpunk 2077, 2020

 

So, maybe 3D isnt all for you. Maybe you just want a simple 2D platformer, and thats perfectly ok! I will be recommending you some of the best 2D graphic techniques to use.

Pixel Art. Remember Voxels? This is just like Voxels but 2D. This is as simple as you can get. A pixel is a simple light on your monitor. You are changing the color that your monitors lights produce and there you go, a dot. Everything is technically made of pixels, Pixel Art back in the day was all you had due to the technical limitations of rendering. A screen back in the 90's would only have about 52,000 pixels compared to today screens display millions. Pixel Art is now used by either artists who are starting out or people looking to get that retro vibe from their projects. There are plenty of ways to make pixel art but I recommend piskel as it has great tools and is pretty simple to use.

 Stardew Valley, 2016

Hand Drawn. Why not just make your own art the old fashoned way. Digital art can be fun. Theres not much to this strategy, you simply draw what graphics you'd like to use. However, the main issue comes with animations.  With Pixel art, if you only have a character with 3 pixels as its legs, you can just create a copy of that sprite, move 3 pixels and you are done, but you would need to draw a whole new frame for each animation. However, what you are left with is literal art that can be better than ultra realism games. If you are highly talented in art, I would recommend this as you can do anything.

 Cuphead, 2016 

Textbased. Lastly, we are left with textbased. Textbased games have next to no graphics. They simply show text on the screen and the player uses their imagination to picture the game. You dont have to make art, just write. However, its very neice and might not draw too much attention. and if you are a bad writer, well tough luck. Text based games can include graphics, but are normally very simple to give a visual aid of whats going on. Visual Novels are an amazing example of textbased games as they are mostly written, but do include some pictures and small animations. They also tend to be chose your own adventure style narratives, allowing the player to see multiple endings to be more fun.

  Ace Attorney, 2001

This is a great breakdown and my personal recommendations of the type of graphics you might see in video games. Next we will focus on the distribution of your video games so other people can play your creations.