{"id":23574,"date":"2026-08-20T09:37:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/?p=23574"},"modified":"2026-08-20T09:37:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:37:04","slug":"the-style-art-of-a-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/2026\/08\/20\/the-style-art-of-a-game\/","title":{"rendered":"The Style\/Art of a game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Now, as I’m sure that you are aware, the words video games and art in the same sentence will most likely start some sort of fight between a group of people. And no, I’m not talking about those losers who couldn’t be bothered to create a decent world so they have AI make all of it. That’s just stupid. But we\u2019ll get to the use of AI in gaming in a bit. Before that, let me ask all you people who say video games aren’t art. Isn’t story writing art? Isn’t music art? I mean I think so, it’s been around since cave men could think properly. Is the creation of characters and vast new worlds not art? If you said yes to all of this, then why isn’t combining all of them together to create one thing not art. Anyway, back to design. When it comes to making a game, nowadays, there are lots of different perspectives you can create. Sidescroll 2d (used in games like super mario), first person, third person follow, third person top down (effectively playing like a board game) and so many others. Games also will often switch between different perspectives to better tell the story. But I hear you ask. \u201c What does perspective change in a game?\u201d well much like a painter’s perspective changes who their art will appear to another, the same is said for video games. For 2d games, much of the art will be hidden in the back but still contribute to the relevance of the world. One of my favorite games is <\/span>Hollow Knight<\/span><\/i>, both the first and the second one. In both of these games the written back story is not readily apparent, but is rather told through environmental storytelling and character design as seen in the images below.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Notice how the art tells a story of either what transpired before you got to this land, or how a character will act towards you. Environmental story telling is a really good way to show what happened without it needing to be told. It also allows the players to formulate their own idea of what happened. But where this is a game that relies on its background, limiting what can be seen in the corners behind the characters, other games do it with both scale and the use of 3d elements. In ARC Raider, a game about a robotic apocalypse, you can come across gigantic husks of bots that are from raiders before you.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Every time I load into a match and I see one of these monsters just laying there, I wonder how on earth they were able to take such a beast down. But not all game art is used as a set piece with deeper meaning. <\/span><\/p>\n

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In hollow knight, the art is all around you. Its brush shocked textures of tiles beneath your feet. In the characters you interact with, and even in the abilities you use, all stay within that style of art. Some games though are only art. Take <\/span>Slay the Princess<\/span><\/i> for example, a visual novel game where every decision you make will change the outcome of the end. You play as\u2026 Well, you play as yourself. By your side are a multitude of voices spurred by your subconscious, each one having their own approach to how to deal with the princess. The princess herself also changes depending on which decision you make, whether it be her tone toward the player or her entire design and personality<\/span><\/p>\n

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The game follows a mainly monochrome theme, with most frames being in different shades of black and white, with the use of red for blood or roses as seen in the one image. Most of the style appears to be pencil drawn. The game also moves dynamically, shifting small frames back and forth to give areas where the game might be slow, the feeling that time is still passing. Bear in mind that this game focuses heavily on body horror, a trope that many other horror games follow. Many images depict gory scenes such as decapitation, dismemberment, convulsions, and others that I dare not say. However despite all the fears, all the blood shed, all the fighting, this is in fact a love story. I think. Look it says it is in the beginning so it must be true.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Finally one of the best uses of art in a game is when it is in an ironic manner. The game cult of the lamb perfectly captures this ironic nature of art. In the game you play as a lamb who has to control a cult in order to earn devotion from a chained god waiting to <\/span>be set free by prophecy.\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for how evil you are and for how much demonic rituals and sacrifices you do, you and your followers are nothing but cute little animals. The irony of having a cult that is populated by fuzzy little animals is very funny to me. It really just shows that art can be anything. If you have an idea and you execute on it then it can be a great piece of art. Especially with this which has two ideas that wouldn’t seem to fit together. For the rest of the art style of the game, most of the characters, that are not you or your cult members, follow a design that is like they worship another being than your god. The enemies and bosses are amalgamations of animals and plants. Giant frogs covered in pustules followed up by giant spiders that drop from the sky to attack you are only some of the horrors you will come across on your crusade. And that’s just the normal enemies. The bosses consist of amalgamations with rows upon rows of jagged teeth. All of this while being nothing but a small little lamb<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ok, now I’m aware that was a lot. And for some people I’m aware that visual art is not your forte. I’m also aware that every single word I’m saying can, and probably is, complete and utter nonsense. But hey, it’s just my opinion, it’s just how I feel. Now we get into the middle of this sandwich. The thing that makes a game have purpose. The story and themes.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now, as I’m sure that you are aware, the words video games and art in the same sentence will most likely start some sort of fight between a group of people. And no, I’m not talking about those losers who couldn’t be bothered to create a decent world so they have AI make all of … Continue reading “The Style\/Art of a game”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23574"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23574"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23603,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23574\/revisions\/23603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}