While art is subjective and a variety of game styles exist to justify the fact that taste evidently differs, there’s no denying that the choice of which art style to go with in your game is essential. It could potentially save or ruin the chances of a title’s success, and the choice weighs heavily on knowing your audience as a developer.

How good game art attracts players

Art is a game’s first visual impression and it needs to be something the viewer likes in order to draw their attention – whereas game play and other aspects can keep people playing, art is what initially sells your game. In competitive genres, art representation can really differentiate you from others.

Some developers often make grave mistakes when it comes to choice of art. There’s no stressing enough how important it is to go for the right theme to fit with your target audience and their preferred game play mechanics, for example: an audience fond of an anime styled world would often not be too interested in a heavy military first person shooter games, and Call of Duty fans would probably be discouraged to pick up a game full of saturated colors and cute characters.

The impact bad art choices have on good games

Some people might argue that even a decent color palette is just as important as great animations and can take away from the player’s overall experience. While games like Stardew Valley appeal to the majority of players game play wise, there’s also a large amount of people that are deterred by the heavy pixelated visuals.

A common mistake developers make is chasing after nostalgia and creating flash video style games with amazing mechanics and systems, while not realizing that the gritty appearance of the art will completely dissuade most people from even trying it.

Games recognized for their amazing art

Games like The Last of Us, Disco Elysium and Red Dead Redemption 2 are all examples of games with fantastic art that drew people in with visual representation and kept players interested with equally good story and game play.

Numerous other titles with masterful aesthetics have continued to inspire us to keep creating art ourselves. If you’re interested in seeing some of our work or looking to have designs made for your own game, don’t hesitate to write to us on the contact form below or reach out via X.

There needs to be a balance between art and game play

Every game has a duty to fulfill a fantasy and the art needs to match the theme of the fantasy that the game fulfills. Although various aspects constitute an award-winning game, art is what determines the immersive qualities. It’s the core reason why people enjoy playing games – to be immersed in another universe and escape the bonds of reality.