Art - The Importance of Art in Games

     Since the near beginning of game creation, art has been a significant factor, of course, some games are text based; most games require a graphical interface. All graphical games have backgrounds and characters. Without sketches, the games of today would be non-existent.
     I'm not here to talk about text-based games, I'm here to talk about games with graphical interfaces. From the original Frogger on Atari, to Halo on the xbox 360, we know that graphics are as significant as the game-play and storyline. Though the graphics of Frogger have long since been passed by games like Gears of War and Call of Duty, for it's time it was something amazing. Graphics are constantly getting better; vast landscaping and character stylizing has revolutionized gaming. For many years I'd fought the gaming graphic transition; I was stuck with my love of 2d gaming, but find I am now succumbing to the transition.
     Without extensive backgrounds and character skins, games would be nothing but dialog. We've been able to see the graphical change in games over the past 20 or so years. From the basic graphics of pong, to the intense graphics contained in Halo. We can see that backgrounds have more significance than before. Landscapes make up a good majority in games these days, especially with how we interact with the surroundings. The designs have gone from black and white to a vast array of colors. Graphics have gone from the flat 1d and 2d landscapes to landscapes in 3d. Though we still have a long way to go, we can see that gaming will eventually reach full 3d realism. Games like World of Warcraft have shown us that we desire more options, clothing, weapons and landscapes, it's what keeps us entertained.
     Without the the artists and design teams creating the conceptual drawings for the new games, we wouldn't have them. I've always been a fan of art, from comics to the latest in games. I feel that the conceptual artists behind the creation of games don't get nearly enough credit for the many long hours they put into the creation of landscapes and character designs. I doubt most of the people playing the hot new games care, or even take the time to think for a second, how much work goes into the design of those games. Even many of my friends feel that the designers are lazy, but they seem to forget how much work goes into the creation of games. I once recall watching something about the conceptual designs that went into Megaman, also widely known as Rockman. Without the first sketches for Megaman, he wouldn't look as he does, and wouldn't play the same either. Even the design teams for standalone games, should be recognized for their efforts, even if their games weren't so successful.
     Without the efforts of the design teams, I wouldn't have played as many games as I have. I'm thankful for all of you amazing artists out there who took the time of your lives to create games, regardless of how well they've sold. Keep up the good work guys and gals!

Video Games

I guess it's a good time for me to talk about video games since I've been playing them a lot lately. Does anyone else notice how addicting some games are?

I've been playing the first Halo game again and I find no matter how many times I beat it, I still love slaughtering those Covenant! Even on Legendary it's still fun to play through, though a bit more difficult. I can go on and on about FPS that I enjoy. Tribes, Tribes Vengeance, UT, UT 2k4, Half-life, Wolf Team....Yeah lets just say I like FPS. Nothing is more satisfactory than blowing shit up in a FPS. Not to mention headshots. Boom. ;)

I've been playing a lot of Dungeon Fighter Online(which is a game run by Nexon). I did take some breaks in between for a couple of days to get some other stuff done but I started playing again yesterday. A new patch for the game is going to come out on the 15th and I discovered I have a lot of work to do before it does. For those of you who don't know, DFO is a side scrolling MMORPG and it's freaking awesome. This game is so addicting, that if I open the game with the intent of only checking my auctions, I just have to play it. The urge just takes me.

Are games good? I hear they aren't the worst thing ever, though I guess if all you do is sit on your butt and play them, it could be bad for your health...They've been telling us these days it's not good to sit all day, it can cause heart attacks. How am I going to play my games if I'm not sitting all day? Haha. I love games too much when I get into them. I get lost in them and forget the world, I guess that's when it's a matter of addiction.

Have you guys ever gotten addicted to a game? I know a lot of people who've gotten addicted to WOW. I played it until my trial ran out, and I played it all day everyday. It wasn't really that the games addictive, it's more or less that I wanted to feel like I accomplished some goals in the game, completing quests. That's the part that's most addictive in MMORPG'S.

It's not as if I'm playing by myself either. I can't stand to play games by myself unless it's something like Halo on Single-Player mode(even then I'd prefer Co-op if I could get it)...But as far as online games go, I always play with my best friend. Without him, I don't think I could tolerate most games for very long. It's a nice way to connect with someone.

That's all I can really think of, to say about games at this time. If you have any comments, questions, something else you'd like to know as far as games are related, please comment!