I noticed some folks were commenting on different forums across the net that they want some more cartoon stuff in mature themed games made for advlts. I don't agree with that idea. And here's my personal thoughts:

I don't play Japanese games because I can't stand the current mainstream direction of cartoony crap like(Insert any JRPG here). And I can't stand the fact that there's virtually no way to tell if the characters are chicks or tyranny's.. Final Fantasy used to be cool on the original Playstation(Well, 7 and 8 anyways.) and then everything else is like any recent film by M. Night Shyamalan. Just.... Disgustingly awful. If a guy is supposed to be tough, he should first look like a guy(Like Dovahkiin from the Skyrim trailers) and second look like a tough guy(Again, still Dovahkiin from the Skyrim trailers). Not some anorexic, cross dressing, make up wearing, effeminate, wannabe-post-op-girl (Nearly every depiction of a "dude" in nearly every Japanese game ever made.) And If your character is female and an adventurer/warrior/mage/etc., she shouldn't be depicted as a fragile, quiet, damsel in distress or a transient hoker who's best magic power is keeping her disproportionate briasts from flapping out of her bra. She should look like a damn heroine, capable, strong and nimble. -More realistic and more believable. Skyrim is the way a game should be made.

I mean, does anybody want to see more cartoon crap in a mature game meant for advlts? How do you want your games to grow through the times? I'll give two examples of evolution in gaming:

The first is Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. Diablo 2 was gothic and cool and badass, which fits exactly the tone of the plot of the game. Diablo 3 looks like it was developed by the Teletubbies and Dora the Explorer. More cartoon garbage in a mature games for an advlt. Now, I don't care what peoples kids play... But if a game is made for a person 17+, and is not a comedic game but instead a serious toned game it should damn well look that way on screen.

The second example is Oblivion and Skyrim. Oblivion was AMAZING for it's time. Still is if you ask my personal thoughts. Oblivion only appears to be somewhat cartoony(look close and you might see what I mean) because it was made for systems that weren't even finished the development process yet. Bethesda would have made Oblivion as realistic as possible, but they didn't know what was possible yet, and I absolutely love what they've done with what they had. Skyrim is everything I ever wished for and then some. It's mind boggling how perfect, how absolutely PERFECT this next chapter in the elder scrolls is shaping up to be. What is on screen should match the tone of the story and the feeling it gives you. It should build on the story, not distract.

I am eternally grateful that Todd Howard and Bethesda for having decided to go with a more realistic and savage environment. That's the direction The Elder Scrolls always must go. I want to be fully immersed in my games. I want to live in this brutal time. Sure it's got magicka, dragons, vampires, zombies, Kahjiit and Argonians.... But they look realistic. They look believable. They look the way the should look. It's PERFECT. This game is the reason I've always played video games in the first place. It's going to go down in history as one of the most important games. And the defining game of the current generation of consoles(Sorry PC guys, I'd like to give props and say it'll define your computers as well, but such a comment would have already become as obsolete as last years technology -like you're always saying about our consoles.)

You can have things that would never exist in our real world in video games. And it will be more enjoyable if it appears and feels as though it could be real. The more realistic, the more immersive and enjoyable the games will be. Which will in turn lead us to suspend our disbelief; and, for a short while live in an authentic and different world where we can be who we choose. That's why I play video games. 11.11.11

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and [I hope], comment with your own thoughts and ideas.

-Uhlan

ITT: OP who hates pretty boys.

I love the new gritty look. But also I don't mind if a game has a certain art style. I am a fan of cartoony, but I mean over-the-top art styles like Bioshock and Gears of War.

Sometime I don't want realistic, I want emulated realism.

Like I said though, I love how skyrim looks

I agree, they nailed the art style right on the head in Skyrim. Not that its enough to stop the column of whiners who tell us how terrible the graphics look. Apparently they don't realize that there are technical limitations when making a game for a console.

Your use of Diablo as an example is a poor choice.
A) It's a Blizzard game, and what of their recent titles ISN'T at least mildly cartoon-ish?
and B) DIablo has always had that background humor, it's just more forward now. It's intended to be rediculous and over the top as an art style.

However! I do agree for the most part with what you said. Considering the entire reason for the advancement of computer technology is to do better things with it, why should develpoers take a step "backwards" if it isn't needed?

I quite like a cartoony graphics style, it adds a certain character and charm to a game. Concepts like immersion, realism and suspension of disbelief have no bearing on why I play games. I'm much more interested in something that is clearly a game than an alternative reality.

I didnt find any ES game "cartoony" for its time. Not really sure what your talking about. Gameplay>Graphics.

I don't really see the problem here. Simply just don't by those types of games.
As far as I remember there have always been pretty big distinctions in these games, so its hard to get confused to whether you're buying a cartoony game or a more mature one.

I can however see the problem when a game like this starts to get too cartoony, but, if anything that just represents what the people want. Sure I love a dark gritty advlt game. But I also love a game with a bit of a zany side too it (Bulletstorm was hilarious) so as long as the devs don't try and deceive their audience to much the fault can only be held with the consumer.

A great post from a passionate gamer, I completely agree.

None of what you say is "cartoony". Anime is not a definition of cartoony. Anime is...anime.

Somebody who says they wuld not agree to cartoony graphics in mature games, obviously never played The Mark of Kri. Shame on you.

Its all about aesthetics, a little concept people that have seconded your rant probably dont know about. You are all probably 10 year olds and you just want all of us to think you are "big bad advlts that want blood and gritty graphics, because we are advlts and thats what we like".

Or you are probably emo: "life is sad and depressing and graphics should mirror the absurdity of life and how all your dreams are crushed".

Give me a break...

Any art style can be used in a mature game ranging from the grittiest real to the more abstract and artsy style isn't a determination of content, but I will say that a cartoonish style doesn't really fit with TES probably because its alread an established series that stick pretty closely to realism.

I'm not quite sure what your point is as a concern for TES "direction". The series has never been campy or over the top artistically.

http://oi56.tinypic.com/10p1qxi.jpg, but

http://oi52.tinypic.com/2wf6453.jpg

http://oi56.tinypic.com/1z18g37.jpg

http://oi55.tinypic.com/k0pwtl.jpg

http://oi52.tinypic.com/mifksn.jpg

http://oi55.tinypic.com/rsf04k.jpg

http://oi56.tinypic.com/2v19p8x.jpg

btw, image four is of King Osric, played by Max Von Sydow, the voice actor for Esbern.

Screencaps complement of Conan the Barbarian.

Read your post and i agree with everything you've said. jRPGs disgust me aswel. A friend of mine brought some popular jRPG game over a while ago and i thought i'd give it a try. Turned out to be the worst piece of [censored] i've ever seen, especially about getting turned on by every guy in the game.

I just can't respect anyone that even enjoys playing games like that.

As for Skyrim, it's not perfection, but it's pretty damn close to it.

I think what you're trying to say is that you don't like the asian art style. I like video game men to actually seem like men, not like they woke up and straightened their hair and did their eyelashes before coming outside...they don't have to eat nails and petrified wood for breakfast but at least let me know what gender they are without having to hear them speak.

I agree 100% with the original post...I just posted in a thread about deal breakers, a cartoony art style would be close to being a deal breaker

I also dislike the over the top brightly coloured excessively decorative armor and weapons in stuff like dragon age..(although the environments look pretty good in that game, and the characters weren't cartoony)

give me a gritty and realistic look any day, I actually prefer the low poly, graphically inferior armors and weapons of mount and blade over the armor and weapons on dragon age because of the more realistic art style

The weaboos will be crawling into the fetal position and crying themselves to sleep after reading your post, OP. But I agree completely. I don't understand the need of flamboyant armour on male characters and the lack of it on female ones. I also don't understand the need for males to be as feminine as possible. It totally destroys any immersion in a game. I want my men to be men, not women, dammit!

I %100 agree with the OP, jRPG's fail :icecream:

WRPGs: Games that attract consumers for their substance. They give us means of roleplaying a character the way we want, and throw us everything we need wrapped up in tight, refined gameplay.

JRPGs: Games that attract consumers for their visual appeal due to the lack of substance. Linearity, cliche characters, and stagnant 1990's gameplay ahoy!

this besides the emo part
and
wow im surprised by the ignorance in this thread

This, times ten. Though I do like some really cartoony styles, like the graphics in the Wind Waker and in that Prince of Persia game (that did not feature the "normal" prince).

If my reading comprehension has not failed me, the word you want is Bishonen/Bishie, instead of cantoony.

I completely and whole-heartily agree, that male characters in jRPGs look like effeminate pansies.
Doesn't stop me from playing some games, but they definately look like pansies (hell I love Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and that has possibly the most pansy-ish, effeminate male protaginst of them all).

As long as you can look at the character and not say 'I want to look just like them', you are not a [censored]. :thumbsup:

You should rethink your definition of cartoony, sir, because there's a lot of different kinds of "cartoony."

Okami, Conker's Bad Fur Day (several things by Rareware, actually), Dark Cloud and Dark Cloud 2, and plenty of other games are "cartoony" without falling into the anime category. Their art styles add flavor to the game. I don't think it would work so well with ES games, but as an avid and long time gamer over a LOT of different consoles (for my time and age, anyway), I'm going to ask you to rethink your narrow-minded idea of what is "cartoony." Because I guarentee you, Conker's Bad Fur Day, if you haven't played it, is definitely toony but DEFINITELY not meant for kids. Okami is kind of toony, but also artsy in it's style, but has several suggestive themes and isn't really meant for kids either.

Not everything that has a cartoon feel has to be in anime style, and there's plenty of games out there that are very good and incredibly successful that have a toony feeling which just adds to their flavour while you play. :shrug:

Edit: I also realize that the games I listed aren't RPGs, really. This is more commentary toward the tunnel vision'd opinion of "cartoony" feeling games. :ninja: