Art, Areas, and Effects Feedback Forum

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bbuns wrote:

The game needs more non-neon effects.

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074 wrote:

I think this thread raises a very good question, perhaps this even deserves a topic on it's own - art direction. What exactly defines the art direction of this game? What are the qualities that make this game indefinable, unique and attractive?

To me it has always been a good successor of D1 D2's aesthetics, a grim, dark world, mysterious, subtlety, filled with things invisible, metaphysical forces, things in the shadows. This adds to the realisticity and make it more believable, and is actually key to deliver the "scary", not just because of the dark, but because the suggested evils and mysterious forces can communicate and feed into the real-world view of the player. What if this invisible forces is real? Or what if this magic is actually coming from a real event? In short, the more subtle and invisible something is presented, it is more relatable to real life thus making it more immersive and engaging.

I would like to think the "town portal" should be something of a magical wonder to behold, not a "lolmagic blue circle thing". And that means basically, in my ideal art direction, most of the "visual effects" should be gone, and leaving only the "animation" behind. For example, the melee skill sweep shouldn't show a "sweeping light of sword travelling through air". This applies to other skills as well. You shouldn't have a "spiral thingy" when you are shooting fast arrows. Etc etc. Things like these should be delivered in animation only. They are nothing magical, and should stay that way.

For the elements, they shouldn't look "magical". Fire should look like fire, which is actually not that bright, and is very hot so it distorts the surrounding (hot air). Lightning is relatively well done in my opinion, or maybe it is just more true to real lightnings, but still they should be toned down a lot, and, lightning isn't a "plasma ball energy thingy", but should be more about a bright/loud flashing arc of bolts, and the invisible statics that creates sparks and flashes, not "blue ball things". Ice is more about frosty surfaces and transparent icy blocks, not "bright white things". Chaos should be invisible and "metaphysical", not "purple things".

I can probably make a whole entire database of these changes if I were to direct the art of this game. Because to be, PoE is about IMPROVING the subtlety and mysterious and metaphysical qualities of the "originals". The improvement is about the delivery of things you cannot see. "Brighter and more colorful" is in fact a corruption that plagues the current "consensus" of how games should look.

I thought PoE was championing the direction of the art of subtlety and dark mysterious forces when I was in Act I normal. I was delighted. But then act 2 came and so on and so fourth, all I see was more and more colours, brighter and brighter "magics". I am disappoint.

So please, whoever is directing the art, PLEASE change the course of your ship. I like this game, but I want to love this game more.

TLDR: The magic is invisible.

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074 wrote:

No, I don't listen to podcasts. I don't even know there is a PoE podcast and what even it talks about.

If the issue is the difference of the game's art direction and the game's art direction executed, I think the problem actually lies in the execution part.

The game took off in one direction, things inconsistent to this established direction should be discarded. If it is something planned before closed beta, it means it is outdated material. I can't imagine being an "old concept art" amounts to any merit, in fact, in a creative process you should throw away more rubbish then stuff you actually want to use, and in this game, the entire bright-colourful-wonderful-magical-neon-show should be considered rubbish, because it completely destroys and contradicts the dark grim atmosphere (this word gets thrown around a lot I believe).

The problem is we have two distinct styles that don't mix at all. To be "atmospheric" you need to throw away the "cartoon".