Thomas Mahler's Sein

Assuming you haven't already, you'll probably be hearing a lot about this soon,. Thomas Mahler is a freelance character artist and cinematic artist for Blizzard, currently working on Starcraft II. In the meantime, he has also been developing his own independent title called Sein. Sein, Mahler says, is inspired "heavily" by the works of Team ICO and Eric Chahi (1991's Another World). The above image is a screenshot of Sein, which is pretty darn incredible I must say. You can view all of the screenshots of Sein as well as other work of Thomas Mahler at his official site. Mahler also writes a game design blog called The Banana Place.

Last but not least, Mahler has modeled a gritty version of the Heavy from Team Fortress 2, a game of which lately I am quite obsessed. If you want to play with me on Steam sometime, my username is Gryffin.

Source: Split-Screen

WWII General Commander

Today, a game was announced called World War II General Commander -- Operation: Watch on the Rhine. Watch the video from GameTrailers below.



This is an older trailer, but the newer trailer is bland and really quite unexciting. It was developed by Games GI, based out of Madrid, and published by Stragames.

Watch on the Rhine may not be a big-budget or big-production title, but, the game's got some great stuff going for it. The graphics are beautiful, if you ask me. The presentation is that of commanding an army with a strategic board. As you zoom in, it appears, and switch between view modes, the graphics change to show off the available resources, icon views of the battalions under your control, and "detailed 3D models" fighting in realistic environments. The array of graphical styles is impressive enough as it is and reminds me of both Defcon and Supreme Commander.
And then I went to the main website; the game had caught my eye. Reading through the game tutorial, there is some pretty darn impressive strategy going on in this game. Supplies, efficiency (seems to play a large role), terrain advantages and boons, a large variety of unit types, Watch on the Rhine boasts some impressive intricacies beneath its graphics.Basically, I think this game looks awesome and wanted to share it with my readers. World War II General Commander is available for downloading on the 11th, and Watch on the Rhine seems to be just the first in a series of General Commander titles.

Prince of Persia and Graphics

The above are in-game screenshots. Yes, really. When I first saw them, I almost cried. This game is so unbelievably good looking. This is the new Prince of Persia. Rumor has it the game is called Prodigy, according to a recent trademark filing. According to a press release at Kotaku, Prodigy will be released for PS3, 360, and PC. Another Prince of Persia game is also in the works for the DS. Most importantly, Prodigy is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal, the same studio which developed the Prince of Persia trilogy for the previous generation, and also my favorite developer.

Below is more concept art and renders from Prodigy.

The video game medium is a graphical medium, hence the "video." Our technology, is nearing a peaking point. Thats not to say, however, that in ten years we won't have more realistic graphics; indeed, the potential for realism in ten years will be uncanny. But right now, our present technology allows for a broad range of graphical expression. We can have graphics as realistic as Metal Gear Solid 4, as cartoony as The Simpons Game, or as beautiful as Okami. That said, I think our industry is sometimes afraid to break away from realistic graphics.

There is nothing wrong with emulating reality, if that is what the game calls for. Half-Life 2, in order to relay its story, to convey its message, is best suited with realistic graphics. Using the same engine, Team Fortress 2 possess graphics that represent its own themes explicitly for the purpose of gameplay. Not all games need to be so graphically defined. In fact, we are normally just fine with graphics that fall somewhere in between. And thats a good thing. In the same way that it would be shame if all games featured realistic graphics, it would be sad if games either had to be completely realistic or completely "cartoony."

I think we need to be wary of defining our games by their graphical aspects alone. Okami is downright gorgeous, but its gameplay, its story, and its themes are also commendable elements, to say the least. Part of why Okami succeeds as a game is because each of its elements work copperatively to form a cohesive experience.

That aside, assuming these screenshots are truly representitive, I think that Prince of Persia is the best looking game ever made. Just look at them. When you see these screenshots, I can't help think "what have we been missing." Prodigy continues in the footsteps of The Wind Waker, Okami, and Team Fortress 2 to demonstrate exactly what video games are capable of graphically. Graphics have progressed to a point that allows us to visually express ourselves in nearly any way imagineable. Prodigy looks like a comic book. The fact is even more profound when we consider that Ubisoft Montreal's other two franchises, Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed, are highly realistic graphically. I've already expressed my love for Ubisoft Montreal, but you've got to hand it to them, they are some talented folk.

Screens from Joypad via Pro-Gamers
Character screen from Recenzeher

Wii: Invalid Arguments versus Actuality

OK, so I lied. I'll be posting on Warcraft III this weekend when I have the opportunity to mess with it at home. Today, I post the rant I spoke of earlier in the week. Enjoy.

There are a lot of differing view points on Nintendo's Wii. Some love it, some hate it. Some think Wii innovative, others gimmicky. One of the most controversial issues related to Wii is its lack of graphical prowess or computing horsepower relative to the 360 and PS3. At the same time, many people say graphics are irrelevant when Wii has such an innovative controller, a remote that promotes supposedly more fun and innovative gameplay.

But, you know, people too often mistake Nintendo. Many tout the remote as having massive potential for great gameplay, but what most do not realize is that marketing verboseness and great gameplay potential do not equal great games. In the end what matters is not the potential for gameplay, but the actual gameplay present in the games themselves. People can claim Nintendo to be superior to their competitors in that they are focusing on the supposedly superior aspect of video games (gameplay as opposed to graphics), but what matters most is that the games for Wii, and DS for that matter, play well.

The Wii remote is really quite amazing. But designing games for the remote is not easy by any means. In fact, a large majority of Wii's games, I think, do not play particularly well with the remote. The term “shoehorn” is thrown around a lot concerning Wii games, and much of the time the criticism is valid. Too many Wii games are ports with motion-lite remote implementation. There are a few great games that make fantastic use of Wii's potential, however. Wii Sports in particular is quite awesome, Super Swing Golf is great, and WarioWare: Smooth Moves is like a smorgasbord of fun. The game isn't out yet, but Heatseeker also looks like an interesting use of the remote, the pointing function specifically.

Here is my problem, too many people claim Wii as the king of all game systems because of its innovative remote. Graphics be darned, gameplay is all that matters. But so many of these statements come with conditions. Saying graphics aren't important is a lie. Of course they're important, we are, after all, speaking of video games. Even the most die hard Wii proponents can;t possibly be willing to put up with muddy graphics. Besides, Wii's graphics aren't bad per se, they just can't compare to the competitors'. As a side note, it is for this reason that we will see many cel-shaded or more intentionally unrealistic Wii titles over the consoles' lifespan. It is easier to make them look good on Wii, as opposed to photo-realism. The last thing I wanted to say is about the remote itself. Innovative is how most people define it. While this may be true, a more apt description is different. The remote automatically makes Wii gameplay different from that on 360 and PS3 due to its motion and pointing sensing capabilities. But more importantly, the remote has potential for better gameplay. Therefore, the better-different games will by nature be innovative in their use of the controller. The dichotomy is important; it's not so much the remote that is innovative, it is the use of the remote. Wii is a piece of hardware, a medium defined by its software. Any console is only as good as its games. Wii's power is wasted without games that creatively and effectively use the remote's capabilities.

Heatseeker

The next time someone says to you, “Hey the Wii is so amazing, its really innovative! Who cares about stupid graphics?” Say back, “First of all it's not the Wii, it's just Wii. Secondly, your right, kind of. Wii does have a rather awesome controller, but the console is obsolete without games that fulfill its potential. Thirdly, graphics are super important, and just because Wii's graphics can't compete with the 360 or PS3 doesn't mean they're bad. Don't fall prey to PR speak, kid, and you'll grow up just fine.”

Sources:
Wii logo image from Wiisworld
Controller image from Nintendo
Heatseeker image from IGN

Devil May Cry 4: Graphics

New Devil May Cry 4 screenshots have surfaced. Devil May Cry 4 is in development by Capcom for the PS3 360, and PC. and will be released this fall. These screenshots have proven one point to me though, that graphics really can make a difference. First though, let me say that I am by no means a graphics-nazi of any sort. I love all styles of graphics in video games, cel-shading, realistic, and everything in between. I think the best looking games ever are Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Okami, Super Mario Sunshine, and Half-Life 2. I also am quite fond of Lost Planet, Viva Pinata and Metal Gear Solid 4. Realistic graphics are not the only way to make a game, and do not a good game make. Graphics are only part of the equation, and these days, a big part. However, if a game does not have good gameplay, then in the end the graphics are essentially obsolete.

That said, we have to keep in mind the first half of our favorite past-time, video games. Games are played on screens, which means they have a ver important visual element. We cannot just deny graphics in favor of gameplay, that would be questioning a big part of what video game are. Again though, focusing on graphics exclusively is denying the other part of what makes games so great.

Now that thats over, good graphics can be pretty darn awesome. Especially with how promising Devil May Cry 4 seems to be gameplay-wise. So without further ado.

It's pretty amazing how closely the game resembles its concept art.
The fire effects are incredible, as is the motion blur.
All screenshots, of which there are more, are from GamePlanets. Gameplanets is a blog that posts screenshots and videos exclusively. I'm gonna start heading there more myself, in fact.

I started a big rant about graphics versus gameplay, but figured I'd save it for another post. For now, just enjoy the fricken heavenly screens and ponder the importance (big or small) of graphics in game design.

I have Visual
Graphics versus gameplay is a heated topic in the games industry, especially this generation with Nintendo and Sony and Microsoft at opposite ends. What do you think? Which is more important to you, is either?