Eye Candy

As a child of the 70's and 80's I was around for the first generation of 'electronic' games that are laughably primitive and unappealing by the standards of today. So what was it that really inspired us buy and play them? 

I believe it wasn't just the novelty of the new experience (PacMan in our living rooms with no quarters- totally awesome!) but rather it was the artwork. Not the graphics of the game itself but rather the posters and box art that made us part with our allowance. Advertisements promised adventure beyond our imaginations for only $15.95!

Now you're probably thinking "Thanks Gramps, did you walk uphill to school both ways too?" but that point I'm trying to make here is that good games require good art! The visual design of a games is often central to games success. My generation watched year after year games became more and more awe-inspiring in their graphics.

Games can be almost photo-realistic to downright absurd in design but the single thread remains: if it's ugly, nobody wants to play it.

Think about it- what games to you enjoy playing that are just fun to look at too? The dreamy quality of 'Trine'? The cartoon fun of 'Psychonauts'? The gritty realism of 'Last of Us'?

PS- keep an eye on this blog and our FB page to see concept art of 'Of Mages and Pages'

~Mutz