I agree completely. In some ways, almost every XBox 360 game looks the same. Hazy and grey.

CGA had only 4 simultaneous colors. Your bottom palette is a glorious EGA 16 color palette.

Alternatively, it's also the set of colors you can conjure with ANSI escape sequences in a text terminal.

amen. every goddamn game these days looks the same.

When I get hammered, All I want to do is play some mario. It's fun shit.

Fun shit.

___Fun___

I agree completely,

and i wish to add my personal opinion:

This is the result of a study concerning human-robot interaction:

if you see a robot that looks like a robot you feel it to be a robot and that's it;

if you see a robot that looks almost like a human you perceive it like a zombie, and that's not a good sensation at all.

I think realism of the modern game graphics is not good enough to be felt as real, but is good enough to be perceived a zombie world. When you were interacting with the poor 3d graphic of such an old game as w3d or doom your mind was aware that you were gaming and your imagination had the ability to let you feel immersed in that imaginary world. Now the graphic part is too good to let your imagination run, but not good enough to perceive it as real, with the result that you feel less immersed in the game world.

In some way i imagine this to be comparable to the book/film relation, it is not only a my personal opinion that a book is more immersive than a film.

my 2¢ :)

It is amazing how little I want to play today's video games. I love gaming. I can play the original playstation or Playstation 2 RPG's for hours on end. But I cannot play these new war and depression games for more that a couple of missions at a time because I feel like if I fail... I actually am failing. I think because they look so realistic we associate failing in the game to failing in life. Who gave a shit if mario died, he was a cartoon, but these are realistic looking people that are dying because we fail. So fuck that.

I agree fully. All these games are breaking new ground everywhere but like you said depressing. Assassin's Creed uses 20 millions shades of white and the odd splash of blue. It seems like space invaders had more colours. (er.. colors)

<a href="http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2005/11/blue-sky-in-games-campaign-launched.html">Blue Sky in Games Campaign</a>

Buy a Wii. It has colors.

I've heard this complaint a million times, but it's just not true. I can easily pick natural ("brown") colored games from the NES days just like you did from recent games.

Here, Metal Gear, which we all love: www.virginmedia.com/.../img_1.jpg

Remember this classic? www.gamasutra.com/.../castlevania-sot

And you've said it yourself, today's games use MORE colors, not less. We have a much broader palette now. We had sunsets then, too, but they were crude, 2-color sunsets.

But isn't there less variety in today's games? Absolutely not! There's so much more. Even if you hate realism, there's Okami, Wind Waker, Psychonauts, Beyond Good & Evil, Odin Sphere, Ico, etc.

But what about next generation games?

Little Big Planet. www.ooaki.com/.../20070820_little

Valkyria Chronicles. ps3media.ign.com/.../valkyria-chroni

Team Fortress 2. games.rapidshare.com/.../1.jpg

Brutal Legend. www.ryansgoblog.com/.../brutal_legend_m

Prince of Persia Prodigy. games.tiscali.cz/.../bog2.jpg

Street Fighter 4. xbox360media.ign.com/.../street-fighter-

I could easily think of more examples, but I think you probably just haven't been paying attention. Stop complaining. We are all spoiled. If we saw today's games when we were younger, we'd faint from amazement.

This is the reason I bought a Wii instead of the 360. Look at the games we have. Warioware, Mario Kart, Elebits, etc. All of which have brilliant colors that evoke happiness. Yeah, you may get pissed off when you get hit by that damn blue shell, but you are still having fun. I gave Bioshock a shot, and I just couldn't sit through it. I finished playing feeling dejected, and that is not the way it should be.

Oh the blue shell.. noooooo.

*quivers*

To "it's not true":

In its time, Metal Gear was the exception, not the standard. Now, those images you linked to are the exception. While I'm impressed you found such a large sample of bright, colorful games from this decade, it'd still be much easier to find a sample four times that size of dark, depressing screenshots.

Also, that Castlevania screenshot, though littered with browns, uses beautiful bright browns instead of the dull, desaturated crap in most recent games.

Agreed. Desaturation is the key problem here. No vibrancy.

Wow, really quit crying all of you. kameo.com/.../regionselector.

Pretty colors for a 360, it's all in the games you wanna play. I mean its a video game, and blowing someone's head off, that looks not like a cartoon, is extremely satisfying. You all just sound like nintendo fan boys. I have a ps3 and 360 as the graphics a far superior than the wii, but like you have said, if you play for the pretty colors than a wii is what you want.

And you sound like a "graphics are the only things that matter in a game" fag.

Whine all you want it won't change things. The games convey a story and the color sets the mood. You can have all the beautiful colors you want but I guarantee the story won't feel the same. Argue, bitch, moan, and blog about it till your little bleeding emo heart's content but it won't change anything. If you want unfiltered un-desaturated color, stick with your Mario and your simplistic NES games. And then go out and get a life.

lol. Graphics and game play (storyline) are what makes a game. Fag. Wow sounds like you have a problem telling reality from a video game there erik, if you feel dejected from playing a game, go outside and get some friends to play with then.

There's no rule except one you make up. There are so many games out now that have brilliant colors and a unique art style. If you don't want to play them, that's your problem, but don't then complain that all games these days are too dark and depressing.

I was just discussing this with a friend and he sent me this, which I didn't even think of:

www.videogamesblogger.com/.../ratchet-and-cla

Games in the past couldn't dream of being that colorful due to technological limitations. Like it or not, games are a technology-driven medium, and we have it better today than ever.

Buy a Wii...

Ohhh I also would like to add, games are meant to be more than button mashers.

HL2 does the color thing perfectly. All other games are washed out and look pale in comparison. Check out Episode 1 with the HDR lighting... The colors are beautiful in that game.

Consoles suck though so you get crap from crap systems.

EDIT: check this out for an example: www.wireless-life.de/.../hf2-lc1.jpg

I agree fully. Some games have great color, but they lack in quality too. I think Nintendo has stayed pretty true to their base, which has been a fluctuating niche' over the years- but it is much appreciated once again. My gaming experience should be an acid trip, not a hazy supra-realistic prozac.

I hated the high contrast colors on ps1, it was a lil better on n64. desaturation is OK if the environment isn't dirty looking.

Hell yeah! This article is Right on. Wow. The emotional lift from the last few mario screenshots was the strongest proof for this theory. Wow!

Have you seen Team Fortress 2? It's such an amazing game, its so colorful and it truly does relieve stress. I haven't played that game a single time and not laughed my ass off at some of the random shit that happens. Like for instance, a demoman planting some stickies and then an enemy sniper running next to them, looking at them for a few seconds, and then trying to shoot at them as the demoman detonates them and blow his ass up...

Ok, I've been around gaming for quite a while now(being 35) and I totally feel where you are coming from about todays games. Granted some of the apocalypse them horror games look nice and all... but then I keep finding that instead of blowing 500 or so on a new gaming system, I go online and play games like B.O.T.S. Yeah looks like a kid game... maybe it is, but the colors, the sounds, the music... just awesome. And I'm seriously addicted.

I disagree.

One of the key aspects that makes GTA3 a better game than any of its predecessors is the way that that he city was so grey and dreary.

It almost justified the mindless killing sprees you got up to because you feel more like a victim than a player.

But in GTA:VC, SA, and GTAIV, the city is too bright and cheerful, and you start to think that the problem is not the city - its you. As a result you do less to harm the city, and the game suffers.

That's why Fallout 3 will be such an amazing game.

you my friend, are an idiot

As Your God I must say I am completely disappointed in how you are so unappreciative of all the new and fun games I have provided. I have given my servants the programs countless and better tools over time to not just make better games but propel them from a hobby to an art form. I have given those who want to contemplate and have a thought provoking experience games like Bioshock, for those wishing to escape their pitiful lives, I gave them WOW and now Conan (both have very bright colors by the way). For those who just need a quick break from reality there's Mario Galaxy or as previously mentioned Kameo. Stop whining and enjoy whatever games you enjoy, let others enjoy it without having to hear your whining and complaining.

The Video Game God

what it's not true said has some merits, the whole brown and black pallette outcry may have been exaggerated, but there's some truth to your argument I think. Frankly, I've held off from buying many of today's latest games because of the overall feel. I tried Gears of War but was soon put off by the grunge and depressing art direction. Same goes with Bioshock. Perhaps it was a phase, but the past several months I refrained from playing any of these "dark" games (read: most modern games, especially those based on Unreal engine 3 ;p)

There are, of course, several which doesn't follow the trend, which is nice. I highly enjoyed how colorful and cheerful Viva Pinata is -- I'm also addicted to the cartooney Team Fortress 2 and it's whimsical cast of characters. Lost Planet is another honorable mention. While not as fanciful or colorful as the previous two games I've mentioned, it does manage to be stylish with its various shades of white and blue.

I do believe this "grunge" color pallette used in many games nowadays, especially those sthriving for realism, is almost overused. I wish more developers would experiment a tad bit more with their art design. I still respect Battlefield Heroes which many people bash as Team Fortress 2-esque, and I hope the upcoming Prince of Persia would be an enjoyable experience.

oh and couldn't wait for Spore either :D

(fable 2 for PC pleeez!)

Totally agree. I mean, I'll play a dark next-gen game pretty regularly. But sometimes I just need to sit down and get my Star Fox 64 on. That game's in space and it's more colorful.

Something's wrong with the G-Diffuser.

There will always be colorful games. But in the past, "reality" didn't look... realistic. So they emphasized diversity of color--to the point of occasionally being vomitous.

Now, colorful games are--in fact--BETTER colorful games (just look at the likes of Little Big Planet and what's been seen of Banjo Threeie so far). And games that are supposed to reflect reality... can.

I'd say "SUAD," but that's a little rude. ;-) It is safe to say, however, that it's not going anywhere. And it is--in fact--better.

You guys can cry about how depressing these games are, and I'm gonna go kill a hooker with a baseball bat.

I would write what I think about this debate, but it would only be that: what I think. I would have no more meaning, no more than that, unless someone agreed with me, then it would make us both feel good.

But no-one can be "right" or "wrong" here, so stop debating it and go play games that you LIKE, not what's right or wrong.

The only thing that's wrong here is that "it's not true"s list of games is not from the last decade, its from the last YEAR and upcoming games. Oh, and you forgot Spore. And Bioshock is colorful, its the story and setting that's depressing.

Why not do some real work, and compile all of the games that have that "ugly" color palatte, and all the games that don't, and actually see if there are more or less games like that? What you've done on this page is nothing more than an unjustified observation, based on your own personal biases. I think you would find that it is NOT a majority of games that are like that. (one should also include all of Square's RPGs, which have been consistanly colorful, minus FFVIII--a PS1 game I might add--and should include racing games such as GT5, Burnout Paradise, Project Gotham). Nothing like picking out a genre of games that IS dark and violent (shooters) and noticing that all the games are dark and violent (Gears, Fallout, GTA IV [which has dynamic lighting and various locations, so the palette of the game actually CHANGES--the whole games does not look like that one screenie]). You know what I'm sick of? All those first person shooters with guns...

Also, check out Mirror's Edge.

Nothing like an article about games by one who professes that they don't really play contemporary games. That's like saying no good movies have come out since Casablanca--I know because all the new movies are too stupid to even watch!

This is why I can't wait for Spore. It looks as about cartoonish as you can get

have you ever played viva pinata on xbox? i'm 33 and my nephew got me hooked one day when i was particularly stressed out. and it is definitely fun because of the colors.

I agree completely. I've been trying to figure out why I don't enjoy new games so much anymore, and it's because all the settings look the same because they are basically black and white.. and I'm only 18.

And people are talking about the colorful games out there- most of those suck. Not all, of course, but the colorful games these day tend to be made for kids or casual adult gamers. They are short and repetitive, and not worth buying or even playing.

I have to disagree with the writer. Sure there are dark, dreary games with dark, dreary environments, but if that isn't your bag, then you have a ton of awesome games with more colorful environs. (I won't bother with examples, because apparently everyone else already beat me to it.) In my opinion, if you take away the nostalgia factor, this is the greatest generation to be a gamer. (Followed closely by the 5th.)

while i understand and agree with your basic premise, i couldnt agree less with your assessment of mario64 as a model scheme.

a fan of the mario series, i have always thought mario64 had the single worst environment texturing ever to appear in a game, especially one of the tradition and stature of mario. yes the colors are bright, but the patterns and combinations have nothing to do with each other and do not integrate into a compelling whole.

i couldnt tell if they were high or what, but the level of obtuse was off the charts. they spent so much time on the new 3d environment that they completely ignored the asthetics of the thing.

super mario galaxy for the wii is much better designed, with colors and textures that dont clash and produce migraines.

primary colors can eat my fuck

This article is correct in saying that newer games today use less bright, vivid colors than games of the past. In a search for realism, developers choose to blend in more greys and browns and shades of everything.

Hence, MORE colors.

But only colors women can actually perceive. I mean who knows what fuschia looks like? Who cares?

I personally own a Wii for multiple reasons. Having the weakest hardware of the next-gen consoles was NOT a reason.

This article basically says the author (Smakus) likes video games that look good when you are tripping shrooms or acid. Basically.

For you Smakus: play Crysis. Beautiful graphics. Vivid colors. Very hard when shrooming (FPSes not recommended when tripping).

LOL, thanks for the suggestions ;-)

Well I do agree with almost everything you have brought up in this article. Actually it is kinda funny to see that a game like skate is kinda Depressing. But I think it is important for us to understand why games are headed in this dismal, piss yellow-poo brown, sad kind of game atmosphere. Because it is what makes way for bigger developments in not only realism but in video games as art. Honestly, I think Video game hav ealways been art but most people are just realizing it. Art over time reflects realism more and more.

Using a terrible analogy: Cavemen would've made Mario and those artist in the renaissance era would have made Grand Theft Auto IV. It is merely an attempt to represent reality as the author stated and lighting and color is just one way to reach that goal.

Games, as every other form of art, have been used as a means to escape reality and games, as every other form of art, are now being used to give a glimpse into our reality. This dismal color phase is just another important stage in video game development. Soon games will be showing how terrible real life is....Just joking.

As One Important Person said:

"You're Robots must look like zombies before they look like Vin Diesel."

Theres plenty of new games that dont use colors the way you describe. Team Fortress2 being the best example. The whole point of skate looking real is because it based on something real so people want to see realism. If people wanted to play a skate game where the person looked like a cartoon im sure they would make it. I know many people who didnt pick up Wind Waker just because of its stupid ass cell shading. People want realistic things so they can feel like its them actually there blasting some fucking aliens in the face.

en.wikipedia.org/.../Uncanny_Valley

So if you want cartoony games there are still plenty being made, buy a Wii or join a Team Fortress 2 clan.

I think this is nostalgic BS. If you're going to compare "happy" games such as Mario 64 to a modern game, at least pick a game that matches the attitude. You're picking a realistic skating game instead of Mario Galaxy, which is just wrong.

If you want to talk about the change in color, you have to compare the themes of the games.

Word!

Colors Rule!

*COUGH*

Look out for Starcraft II, they seem to be going a little bit cartoony (though this is one of the few games that I wish would be very dimly colored, as it should have that lonely feel to it).

These days game developers want everything so realistic that it cant be all colorful. The only colorful games you will see are on the Wii basically.

I personally find the bright color palettes annoying and unrealistic. I GREATLY prefer more subdued or desaturated color schemes. You act like the bright, extremely annoying colors of Mario64 were "refreshing" when I almost immediately got a headache.

hey, this game was fun, and didn't make me feel depressed. zip-zapgames.com/.../pong.png AND IT HAS NO COLOR!

take that you whiners

gta iv has saturation adjusment if you were to just look in the options menu.. failing that adjust your tv saturation up...

go buy your nintendo and shut your mouth, sick of the wining

The real world has more hues than just brown and grey. I have a 360 and I enjoy playing it, but some of the games I have no real desire to play because the "amazing graphics" don't impress me at all. I don't need an acid trip to enjoy a game, but I would like some eye candy.

lol totaly true :P every console as there own positive and negative feature. color sucks more cock than realism, great gameplay and graphic

This is a well written article meant to stir a logical debate, and some of you are capable of such. Others of you are showing your age and saying really annoying tripe, like how you're sick of whining and such. The author isn't whining... he made his case and expects as much.

Ok, enough harping on the children, I'll chip in my humble 2 cents.

I'm 34 and I've been gaming on everything from an Apple IIe, Atari 2600, to my super PC now. I think there's several reasons why new games feel depressing... which I don't completely agree with.

1) You're probably seeing a lot of popular FPS's and not looking at all the genres. I still occasionally play Oblivion, which is amazingly colorful and not at all drab. By comparison, Morrowind was a bit less colorful, but was way more immersive.

2) Older games were hit and miss too, but storyline and atmosphere HAD to be taken into consideration. Now it's much easier to rely on graphics and leave the content short.

3) One of the more interesting theories that sadly nobody has mentioned aside from the author is "Uncanny Valley". en.wikipedia.org/.../Uncanny_Valley I think we're over that hump now (especially in movies) as the quality of cutscenes and the ability to incorporate more visual styles has gotten tolerable now, as opposed to throwing in every new effect that was coming out there for a while at every turn. I remember playing old RPG's like Bard's Tale or Ultima, and I was more connected to characters that were shown as crude squares than many of today's animated ones.

4) Someone mentioned nostalgia, and I think he's partially right. I have such amazing memories of great games when I was younger, and I think as I get older I still hold those up over newer games. Of course if you actually go back and play these on an emulator you get bored of them fairly quick. I can't imagine why I spent so many quarters in the arcade on games like Tron or Marble Madness, when now I can only play them for a few minutes before tiring of them. It's a very sentimental ideal I hold, but I also lack the imagination I once had as well. I'm older and a bit more jaded... I almost need a toke to get back into the right mindset to play some games without thinking about work, bills etc.

That's all I can think of. I'm playing Witcher currently and enjoying it immensely. The story is great, and it's the story and the characters that outweigh they depressing (but fitting) landscape. That and you get to bang every other woman in the game.

While you make a lot of sense, I don't see a problem with the colors. I actually DEPEND on the graphics, I love for it to be so realistic and beautiful. Even though games are for pushing away from the reality, it is really for CREATING a different world than the reality.

It's not about how the game looks (even though I depend on the graphics), its the story and the atmosphere.

Shooters aren't supposed to be bright and happy like Gears. GTA however . . .

RPG have plenty of different landscapes at night. Like pokemon! aha (totally irrevelant but you get my point).

But good article and thinking.

Ok, Im gonna clear up a few discrepancies i have with all of this feedback, for one, whoever wrote this, props because in my mind you brought up a really good point that alot of games do have negative lighting and imagery, but so do hundreds of movies, tv shows, the works to say the least... but theres just about as many games on the market that are as brightly colored or "happy" but they dont sell as well because for one.. most of them truly suck.. theres just a huge variance in all video games for all of time the same way there is with music, movies, and tv.

Sorry for ranting, but do some research on older games too, some SNES story lines were pretty emo ( i dont have the exact titles with me at the moment so dont bash me for that) but you never notice the emo storyline cause youre busy flying through what you think is a happy game because of the colors...

"Cant judge a book by its cover" the same way you cant judge a video game by its highly technologically advanced lighting schematics... that just doesnt have as good of a ring to it...

I have 12 words for you: Na na, na na na na na na na, na Katamari Damacy.

Glad somebody said it besides me! I've been saying this for years! Games are so depressing I have no enthusiasm for turning on my PS3.

It's not just color either, look at the amount of FPS / kill / destruction type of games. They take about the least amount of thought to make, maybe that is why they are so popular. Where are the creative constructive colorful games that all ages can really enjoy?

I have to give Nintendo more credit than the rest for sticking to this a bit more.

I for the most part agree with what you wrote but I disagree that old games were less "stressful" than the newer games out today.

I mean have you ever played games like Bionic Commando, Ninja Turtles or the original Contra? How about Battletoads? Are you going to tell me that losing eighteen times in a row in that space-surfing level in battletoads did not cause you to scream at your tv and throw your controller out a window in a violent fit of adolescent rage?

Hell, maybe it's just me, but I remember that when I was a kid I would become extremely irritable and rude if I had been playing video games for too long. But then again, maybe I just sucked at video games.

I don't agree, modern games LOOK fun to play to me.

Halo 3 is a new game that actually has a lot of colors.

Well I don't think anyone is stopping you from playing the old colorful games. Nintendo is still producing a lot of colorful titles, buy one and leave the realistic games to people that don't get depressed by dark colors and moods.

Maybe you have deeper problems than what video game choices you make.

Yeah that's pretty much why I spend much more time on my Wii than my 360. There are a couple 360 games (most notably Eternal Sonata) that are beautiful works of art, but most of them feel stressful and like work. On the Wii, you just play to have fun. Who cares how shallow the game is if you're enjoying yourself?

I agree. The games you mention are pretty fun, but they're depressing. Hey, sometimes I like depressing games though. But when I feel like crap I'd like to be able to put in a refreshing game.

There are a lot of games that are colorful. The thing is, most of them are for younger gamers and are really boring. Like a lot of the Wii games just seem like the same thing over and over again to me.

the unreal engine's popularity has been a great sore point for me. it has forced a whole slew of games to appear thoroughly detailed, yet entirely lifeless.

You are a fool. There are plenty of very colourful games around today.

farm2.static.flickr.com/.../...3c93376cfc.j gamebent.com/.../uploa...l%20Son hpd.de/.../viva%20pinata.j www.n-europe.com/.../46.jpg

That was about a 1 minute search. Seriously, there is no lack of colour in games, it's just that not all games have fully saturated colour palettes (thank god for that).

I agree with you. But I think developers were trying make what our real world is really like, that is with lots of pollution. Bust out the SUV.

CGA could have 16 colors in text mode so it depends what you wanted to do.

Isn't that what the Wii is for? I do agree that the color shoud match the theme, but in a market dominated by photo-realistic/post apocalyptic themed shooters vibrant has been replaced with muted and subdued tones. The Wii is the only saving grace for concepts and presentation that harkens back even to the last generation of consoles.

I understand, even if I don't agree, with the author's sentiment. I just hope that he understands that he isn't speaking for everyone. The Blue Sky in Games campaign makes that fallacy.

Games use color to set their tone. Children's games still use the primary color palette to set a bright tone, but the medium has grown quite a bit since the NES days. Putting aside technical limitations, the median age of your average gamer is higher now than it was then.

I realize it isn't always right to compare video games with movies, but movies also use limited color palettes to establish their tones. Either through traditional means like choosing the time of day, setting, and wardrobe or in extreme cases by postprocessing the shots.

Compare Syriana or Black Hawk Down to your average children's movie and you'll understand that video gamers have grown up, and there is no turning that clock back.

One thing cinema has mastered that I think games could benefit from is switching up the color palettes to accomodate changes in mood. Half Life 2 did this very well with the contast between ravenholm and the city. ATM the entire game generally looks the way it looks.

Not much to add but its so true... every game aims so badly for realism, and yes games seem to ahve to be brown. Other then that i also think games lack a lot soul, cant remeber when i started a game and feeled like i want to meet the characters inside that game like back then when i played "The Legend of Kyrandia" for example. Anyway there is a bit light and color on the horizon, Team Fortress 2 greatly shows you dont need uber realism to have a fungame. Valve showed not everything needs to be so darn serious.

I find modern games boring. They all try too hard to be realistic and it's pretty shitty if you ask me. Games like Worms World Party, Sam&Max and all the lucas classics and hell, all the old games (including games like Beyond Good And Evil, Psychonauts etc.) are the best! No next-gen crap can beat the fun I found in those games! No bloody realism can beat the fun a child finds in playing a simple innocent game like Super Mario!

Hi. I agree with your sentiments about the lack of colors in games that ought to have them. However real life does have bright colors. Maybe you haven't been outside recently or just live in a drab part of town.

Rule nº1 put down the saturation it´s will more realistic!

nº2 make dirt texture looks more realist and less tiled

nº3 set a color grading to create a more realistic ambient!

Nº4 don´t care about gamers hes don´t know nothing about cgi and 3d!

well i really like the new look of the games! less saturation is better to see and to play long hours! look like cgi movies.

but the most important, more dirt, grain and low saturation = more realistic

less dirt, no grain, and a full color and saturation look CGI and Cartoon!

Cya!

Great article :)

I couldn't agree more, color was the deciding factor between unreal tournament III and call of duty 4, also burnout paradise over dirt; and to an extent motor storm over formula one championship edition.

Check this one out: www.gametrailers.com/.../33585.html (Mirror's Edge)

I bet you would wanna play it, too. It has the most vivid colors I've ever seen :) Also the gameplay looks so smooth!

I cry foul! Mario can look like crap with the right screenshots, Skate can look straight rainbow sunshine at the right angle. You picked deceiving screens to make your point, and this is not an unbiased look at those games. If you want a magical Disneyeque skate game play Tony Hawk, which has become a terrible franchise in terms of gameplay and imaginativeness. I think what we should want is a game that immerses us regardless of its color palette. Perhaps we should be asking devs for new Types of games that would incorporate different color palettes, but my sneaking suspicion is that you were better at Mario than Gears, and now your using this "color" justification to prove that one type of game trumps another automatic. They serve different purposes for gamers, we need them all, why the hate? Everyone needs to think a bit more rationally before lashing out at great games like skate, or COD4. Not that we should laud Nintendo's ability to make incredibly fun games like Galaxy without the need for "realism".

Play Uncharted.

Play Ratchet And Clank

Play Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

Problem solved.

This has slowly degraded from what I believe to be the original argument to a bunch of fanboy bullshit. I think what is trying to be said is that games are OVERLY drab these days. Obviously you don't want the same colour pallet in Mario and GoW BUT games like Skate don't have an excuse to have depressing visuals. I've been outside, it doesn't look like that (all the time). So get over the ***XBOX 360 FTW!!!!!*** garbage and get back to the argument at hand (and admit that yes, games these days have been (GENERALLY) less colourful than in past) Mood setting is fine, but these days it seems like a special occasion to have sunlight and blue skies.

I'm playing a game right now that seems to be anti-gritty, ugly landscapes. Here's a devlog from the art director. Interesting read if you want to know more about color.

www.burningsea.com/.../article&art

I'm sorry, but I've read too many comments that are saying that this article is overly biased on the AUTHOR'S OPINIONS, when your reflections upon such biases are YOUR OPINIONS.

The author is not saying that all games nowadays are dull, dingy, and drab; he is saying that most games, with an overly-realistic feeling are like that. And I see that you've linked games that are hyper-realistic as well and are not colorful and that's all well and good; he's not denouncing those games as truth. He just doesn't like the abundance of games with such drab color palettes. And yes, games like Okami and Viva Piñata are extremely uplifting in their use of color, but looking at a lot of games; they are lacking in the color department. I'm sorry.

Well i do see them trying to make different games should take a look at the game Mirror's Edge those screen shots are bright and colorful and the game looks fun!! I think they are trying to change it up but the just want to make money that's what it's all about now they keep making these new series to get people to buy the games GOW gets out there and now everyone knows what it is so when they see GOW2 they go ooh yea i remeber the first one lets see how this one is. Whether you like it or not it's all about money. I want to see games about passion and having fun not getting fustrated

I disagree completely. Games are not supposed to be fun. Games are art, and art should remind you of just how meaningless and hollow your miserable, empty, nihilistic existence truly is.

Hey, atleast the world of free MMORPG's is still colorful (well some of them anyway)

None are as bad as comercial games!

I agree entirely with the writer on this topic. I'm all about diversity in the types of titles that are offered for the systems, but I have to admit that I feel a bit jaded by the environments that are provided on many of the games of today. Even with games that are really good, I find myself having to limit the amount of time I spend playing because it just starts to feel to heavy over a long period of time, i.e. Twilight Princess.

I pretty much stick to platformers and action-adventure games at this point because they consistently make use of a broad, vibrant, and happy color pallet. If some other game genres would show some diversity in the artistic look of the game, I'd be very tempted to branch into some other genres. Just imagine a good first person shooter with colors like a Mario game.

You may have heard of this new game called HALO 3!!!!!!!1 www.bungie.net/.../screenshot_view

It seems like pretty selective examples to me. Sure you can compare Gear of War and GTA IV to Mario 64. You can just as easily compare Super Mario Galaxy to the N64 Turok.

another game that really cheers me up even more than that one.........

SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE

WOOT!

sorry you never grew up. games today are real and not gonna lie to you if you find them depressing then you have to realize the world is a depressing place. no more finger paintings like mario 64.

I think your a 30yr old who's life sucks and wants his childhood back...call your mom.

your whole blog i just found annoying

I agree! And yes I am 35 and play the new games.However looking at the screen grabs of Mario made me smile. Games should be fun not depressing as f*ck all the time!

I'm going to have to disagree with you about games making you happy. The whole idea is to immerse yourself in another world, as you said. That's exactly what they're doing. Looking at your example, gears of war (Bioshock was a terrible example, it was a great compromise of colour and decay), the world inside it is as depressing as the colours. I think that adds immersion to it, and makes it a little more believable. I know you mentioned this game is allowed, but this can hold true for other games as well.

Take a look at cinema. Movies cause you to feel all sorts of feelings other than happy. However, that movie can still be a good movie, it can still be fun to watch. And cinema also makes use of colour to convey feelings in the audience, just like games do.

Also, people are getting the wrong idea, reading this article. Photo-realism has nothing to do with greys/browns like your article might suggest. Look at Bioshock with its assortment of neon colours everywhere, each section of the game seems to have its own style. Look at Crysis/Far Cry, both considered to be the most photo-realistic of their times, yet where are the dull colours (Crysis toned it down a bit, but its still far from GoW).

I agree with you that the new generation games need more colors. But the real problem is not about the color but about the game themes.

Most of the next generation game's theme are about war, violent fight, anger, and depressing theme. No wonder they are using that color pallete to make the theme in game more believable. ICO and Shadow Colossus have the same brownish colors but I don't feel strong depressing atmosphere or theme from them.

Sadly, majority of gamers (teenager & boys) prefer violent, high adrenaline, and depressing-theme games. Putting more colors will make them saying "this game is gay" or "too kiddy". And this group will buy and support all those kind of games. Happy bright theme games does not have any chance to survive the market. Even the Japanese developers (which are known for having bright theme games) start making such games, like Capcom with their Dead Rising. The funny thing from Dead Rising that Capcom still put some colors in the game (toy shops, megaman outfit, mall). Maybe it's about culture too.

Lucky that we still have Nintendo.

You are correct in that some gametypes overuse brown/grey colors, but here's the thing, only major FPSes really use that kinda colors. The complaints about Skate, GTA and Bioshock are really, really dumb. Skate looks pretty, and filled with action, and that's the only thing you really need to know. GTA has different times of day, so it's pretty obvious that it doesn't have continuos sunrise, and Bioshock... You're complaining that a dark and atmospheric game is dark and atmospheric. Really?! Gosh, I would never have guessed, of course games shouldn't have that kinda stuff!

You seriously complain in a silly way. You blatantly ignore the fact, that only major FPSes use the color schemes you complain about, complain about how games aren't fun anymore (which is total bullshit - Skate, Bioshock and GTA are all really good games). Also, you are being way too nostalgic - Duke Nukem 3D was really not that colorful, and of course Mario 64 was really colorful - coincidentally the newest Mario is too! And every single new platformer too!

Stop being a moron stuck in the past, and start looking at games that are as mainstream as they can get, and stop ignoring mainstream games that would prove you wrong.

i have just noticed, this is why home (before its delays) looked so, well great and futuristic. it is full of colour and contrast, its why i loved the feelin of pga aswell. to be ohnest its why halo was great. id like to see more shooters with colour

I agree with the article as well. But you know, games like skate and gta4 don't always carry such depressing colours, as portrayed in the screenshots above. It usually depends on the in-game weather. And have you been around downtown Algonquin for example? :P

Its true most next/current gen games use the killzone post apocoliptic pallate but there are a few samples of colour out there. LittleBigPlanet has a technicolour dream world but It might not be the realisim you are searching for.

Tekken and Uncharted Drake's fortunehave bright colour schemes for the most part and Uncharted uses its background colours to truely set the scene for a great adventure.

Devil May Cry, despite its gothic setting actualy has quite a degree in colour in its enemy and setting design.

and finaly the Lost game (yeah I know) has lush jungle environments and you truely feal like you are on a hawian paradise Island when you are wandering around in that game.

other titles are the sims, Halo, any nintendo game and many RPG games

I agree with you, try playing "Kunio-Kun no Nekketsu Soccer League" or street basket version of this game. You can easily see that the entertaining thing is not the "real" thing, it's actually the "unreal" thing. Because the "unreal" one let's us imagine, leave our dreams to us.

This is why Kirby rocks.

This has an explanation and it's memory limitations. Designers prefer to add more detail instead of adding color. This has lead to good results but some of them are abusing it. A good example is Killzone 2, that while looking gtreat it's the grayest game ever. Gears of War also reduced the color palette but it seems that they have improved it for Gears of War 2.

Uncharted and Ratch & Clank are good examples of NextGen colorful titles that still have good graphics.

Totally on point. This has been going on for years now. Another life less muddy wwII shooter

after the next. Colors went together with another totally exotic element called "gameplay".

I completely disagree. I for one find games like Mario 64 to be sickening in their brightness. You mentioned games like Doom and Duke Nukem which were NEVER bright. Your depression is from the realism. I enjoy the realism and the feeling of actually being there. I feel the skate shots look awesome and I would feel "cool" to be doing that as opposed to a happier brighter painting. I play video games to be able to be and do what I can't do in real life and to do it easily. The more realistic and "immersive" a game is the more fun I'm going to have and the more stress-relieving it's going to be.

Let's go back to 256 colors!!!!1111!1

Check out Suikoden V for PS2. Not only is it a beautiful and touching story, it's quite colorful and incredibly vivid without being cartoony or goofy (it's a war story RPG, after all).

Desaturation until everything looks green or brown is not realistic. Look at the WW2-FPS. Guess what: Even in the 1940s there were many days when the sun was shining, the grass and the trees were bright green, flowers were colorful and nazi flags were bright red. Imitating the desaturated look of WW2-era news reels does not mean the result is realistic.

The main reason games don't seem immersive enough is because you've gotten older. Kids have so much more imaginative power and can experience games more fully. And they don't care about technical stuff like polygon counts and what have you.

Um, those colors at the end of the article are EGA, not CGA. CGA was 4-color. ;)

Great article though. I couldn't agree more.

Oh my god, if you like colorful games, then play those and ignore dark, gritty games. If you like dark, gritty games then play them and ignore colorful, happy games. If you have an open mind and realize that everything in life, music, art, games, and well, EVERYTHING has a light and dark side, then you could probably enjoy games on both sides of the spectrum.

WHY DOES EVERYONE ARGUE LIKE ONLY ONE TYPE OF GAME IS ALLOWED TO EXIST?!?!?

Gotta agree 100%. I'm 23... not a kid but too emo for my own good. I play games to have FUN. Dosen't mean they can't be hard - Ratchet & Clank and Yoshi's Island have some tough platforming. Dosen't mean they can't be violent - GTA games are horribly violent. They also have a full colour palatte and some gorgeous sunrises. I play my DS in the morning and after work for a mood lift on my commute and the bright colors haven't hurt Nintendo. My life is drab enough. Let my games be fun!

Lack of good color in games...

It's not really correct to lump all games together as if there is some kind of collective "movement" going on with their art. The only collective thing going on in terms of graphics is tech. Most games adopt the same graphical tech features simultaneously as the hardware allows. Color hit a plateau long ago (after colors were no longer constrained to 256) and aren't actually influenced by the new tech anymore. All this talk of realism vs cartoon(ism?), etc, is a distraction from the a larger issue.

The truth is color is hard. The larger issue is that most game artists are inexperienced with it and/or afraid of it. They don't have very good ideas about it and so they tend to copy each others bad ideas. This practice doesn't help them grow in this area - not that they want to - and creates the impression that there is some kind of conscious art movement going on in games.

Color is hard. You know how some people are really good at picking clothes out of their wardrobe that all resonate impeckably well together, while the rest of us are laughed at by spouces for having such poor judgement? I'd say that's proof right there of how hard it is: we can't even coordinate it on one of our single most important aspects: our own appearance.

A lot of people show up in art school with tons of drawing experience but no color experience. Many of them avoid working in color like the plague because, lets face it, they don't want to look bad. Can you blame them? I mean, who wants to look bad, especially if you already look so good in other areas (drawing - or, these days, modeling)? So they end of keeping their heads low and concentrating on what is easy while avoiding what is hard. Human nature.

So, the gritty coffee ground brown filter and default gray ambeint light that most next gen games seem to be sporting these days is mostly nothing more than an avoidence of dealing with one of the more difficult features of imagery: color.

That said, it's not as simple as adding a bunch of color into an image to make it successful. This winds up looking like something I call "clown vomit" because adding lots of saturated colors together in an image looks pretty bad too (image dressing in clothes of nothing but bright primary and secondary colors - everyone would laugh at you because you'd look like a clown).

Working with color isn't easy - elsewise every artist from history would be great at color and we know that isn't the case. It's hard to understand how to correctly combine colors into a palette that resonates correctly, that evokes the proper mood and atmosphere for a scene.

LocoRoco anyone?

This is just plain wrong. Brown games are still the minority. A bunch of shooters plus GTA, ME, and MGS are about it for brown blockbusters compared to kameo, oblivion, ratchet & clank, uncharted, team fortress 2, guitar hero, ninja gaiden, little big planet, street fighter 4, almost every xbox live arcade game, almost every PSN game save 1 or 2, and every wii game. This is not the problem and wouldn't change your feelings on current games.

I think you missed the greatest example of the split between cheery and depressing. The 2 legend of zelda artstyles =). One is simple and bright, the other complex and dark. However, I think zelda absolutely proves cheery graphics can work in a violent game (zelda being all about stabbing things in the face). Not that I want bioshock to start looking like team fortress 2 =).

Good article. I agree. I haven't read through all the comments so someone may have already mentioned this, but UK:Resistance launched a campaign about this very issue a while back.

www.ukresistance.co.uk/.../blue-sky-in-gam

well, i agree that the AMOUNT of games like that with the friggin poop filter layered over everything is really obnoxious. however there are still plenty of colorful games and INCREDIBLY enjoyable games out there. Mario galaxy? so much fun, ridiculously colorful, and ZAk and Wiki, not to come off as a wii fanboy but they are just 2 examples. but, yea developers need to return to the core of gaming.

Interesting article. Incidently, this game came to my attention recently:

www.gametrailers.com/.../33585.html

There was something that struck me as unique about it, and your exposé might have brought me a step closer to find out what it is.

I don´t think I´ve ever played a game so aesthetically blemished by its gritty pallette to the degree that it´s depressing, but looking at those Mario 64 screenshots makes me reminisce a little.

Viva Pinata.

Yes... THAT viva pinata, for the 360.

fuck your theory

tale-of-tales.com/.../gallery.html

huh, you know, i always felt like this, but never knew how to express myself. thank you.

I don't see why every game needs to have so much color. Can you imagine Gears of War looking like a rainbow shat all over it? I can't. Brightly colored settings have their time and place (TF2, Crysis), but so do cold settings.

Could you imagine what Dark City, The Matrix or Ghost in the Shell (both movies and the series) would've looked like if it had the color sceheme like that awful Cat in the Hat movie? They would have sucked.

Like movies, there are games with settings that require appropriate color schemes. Max Payne, Bioshock, and Deus Ex need to be set at night, the evening, or the early dawn. They are noir settings. Bioshock is an underwater city, for gods sakes, so you can hardly expect the sunlight to be very bright. Besides that, it's got plenty of color - despite being dark and everything.

Likewise, warm settings have their place in games like Call of Duty 4 (the middle eastern missions) and Rainbow Six Las Vegas. Can you really expect a warm, dusty, sandy, and totally sunny climate to look like Vermont?

Besides, with games like TF2, Viva Pinata, The Sims 2, Rock Band, Crysis, and NFS ProStreet, your theory starts to look like it has more holes in it than Swiss cheese.

By the way, you picked a single screenshot of GTA IV, that happened to be during the dusk. What do you expect dusk to look like?

Also, fuck your theory. It makes about as much sense as people railing against the 'dumbing down' of whatever game genre they happen to wax nostalgic about.

sol. load up gta4, go grab a helicopter, and fly over liberty city for a bit. it's concrete gray. all of it. sunset is perhaps the most colorful the game really gets, except for the downtown lights.

That's kind of like what cities look like. Concrete is gray. What do you expect concrete buildings to look like? Sky blue with pink floral patterns and bright green rooftops?

GTA IV wouldn't be what it is if it looked like that.

GTA IV isn't colorful?

www.freakygaming.com/.../driving_a_car.j xbox360media.ign.com/.../grand-theft-aut

I agree with smakus, games aren't too light-hearted in visuals. Mostly "cute" platform games are made for Nintendo or PS, but gamers want to play something "serious" looking with commandos and lots, lots of guns and blood. Sign of times, I think.

And yes, CGA was awesome, but I've always preffered EGA with games like Bio Menace, Duke Nukum or others.

Thanks for that article!

I agree and disagree.

On the one hand, I don't need to feel as giddy as a school boy to enjoy a game. Some of the darkest-lit games I can think of are also some of the ones I enjoyed most, such as Thief 3 or They Hunger. Sometimes it's nice to play a game that scares the shit out of you. Not to mention what an orgy of fun DoD:S is when drunk.

On the other hand, nothing beats sitting down and playing my SNES roms or some Wii to put a smile on your face. Plus, if you lose in mario kart chances are you're not going to flip your shit like some people are prone to doing in Counter Strike.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsom99Ds43U)

I think the distinction is sort of between FUN gaming and SUPER-SERIAL gaming. That said, Doom 3 was a completely clusterf*cking disappointment to me because of how dark it was.

In the way of recommendations I'm going to have to say...

-Katamari Damacy

-Lego Star Wars II

-Serious Sam?

I guess if you've never played/seen/heard of Viva Piñata, Drake's Fortune, Devil May Cry 4, Crysis, Crackdown, Mass Effect, Smash Brothers, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Bioshock, or any Katamari game, you might think that all current-gen games have limited color palettes.

If all you play are grim shooters, you can't be that surprised when you see grim color palettes.

Of course those pictures make you feel better, ever heard of Zeitgeist. Mario reminds you of being young and happy, we will all look bk on todays generation of games with fondness, not thinking about how gloomy they were. Quit bitching douche.

This article is right. But that's microsoft and sony. You did not include anything from the Wii. All ps1 games look the same. The games with the lightng you want are all 64. The 64 is nintendo. Nintendo is all about the happy and fun feeling. Evrything else is murder and mahem. Nintendo makes the games with the light colors

You are stupid,

You are comparing apples to oranges here.

You stupid nintendo fanboys, And don't even say its just because of 360 because you never noted anything wrong with the ps3

totally true, this is why I like nintendo games, they're HAPPY, not depressing. while i enjoy blowing up the occasional baddie in a game like halo i will always enjoy mario kart more.

I totally agree with you, I personally liked the lighting/color in N64 than GTA 4, Gears of War, Call of Duty, etc.

Though i am going to say that SOME games are pretty fun. Ex. Halo

Thanks for the Article.

You should play more Nintendo games.

take a look at mirror's edge. NOW THAT! is an example. of quality gaming graphics

Play halo, it's colorful.

You're retarded. They're realistic colours...thats that. If you don't like it, stick to mario.

I have to agree -- the designers are going for hyper-realism, where the colours are desaturated and dreary. I miss the old games -- the Super Mario Kart, the older Zelda games (because although Twilight Princess was an amazing game, it too bought into the lure of bleak scenery), and the Final Fantasy series -- back when there was ONE version of Playstation.

I do have to agree with the Wii supporters -- Nintendo has (for the most part) kept to the brighter colours, making for a more satisfying game experience, as far as I'm concerned.

maybe your life is just more depressing than when you were a kid playing doom and N64. I don't think realistic graphics make games any more depressing. On the contrary, it makes it easier to imagine yourself inside the game, making the experience all the better.

I found a similar change between Civ III and Civ IV. Civ IV has so much more detail and is so much richer, but I was happier just looking at the simple colors of Civ III. I would play Civ III just for the look of it, occasionally losing interest once the map was explored and the drudgery of warfare loomed (warfare drudgery being preferred to the alternative drudgeries). I've grown to prefer the mechanics of Civ IV, but I still prefer the look of Civ III.

Check out Mushroom Men. We like colors!

www.gamecockmedia.com/.../mushroommen

thats part of why team fortress is so awesome

I think you just made it clear why I hated my PS2 and why I love my Wii. Video games are not real, why do they try to make every game so realistic.

In EA Skate, everything gets bright and colorful when you get a 3x multiplier. Play it and you'll want to remove it from the list; as this happens about every minute or so.

I am going to go down a list of every current-gen game I own, We'll see how many are bright and beautiful and dreary and brown.

GH3- Bright and colorful

Forza- Neither really, just normal every day stuff

Blue Dragon- Bright and colorful

The Orange Box- Bright and colorful

Halo- Bright and colorful and dark and dreary in some lvls

Ace Combat- Bright and colorful

GH2- Bright and colorful

Test Drive Unlimited- Bright and colorful

Tony Hawk P8- I don't remember, its kind of neither as well

Overlord- Bright and colorful

Splinter Cell- Dark, really dark, but not dreary

Crackdown- Bright and colorful

Oblivion- Bright and colorful

Fight Night- Neither, realistic

Army of Two- Neither, just over the top

Viva Pinata- Bright and colorful

Lost Odyssey- Bland and dreary, but also bright

Marvel Ultimate Alliance- Bright and colorful

Eternal Sonota- Bright and colorful

Skate- Regardless of what you say, this game is quite colorful, its just realistic as well

RB6:V (1 and 2): Pretty bland

Burnout Paradise- Bright and colorful

Gears of War- Dark and bland

Kameo- Bright and colorful

GTAIV- bland color pallete

Saints row- Bright and colorful

Ratchet and Clank F:ToD-Bright and colorful

Warhawk- Bright and colorful

Resistance- bland color pallete

Boom Blox-Bright and colorful

Super Smash bros brawl: Bright and colorful

Trauma Center: Bright and colorful

Super Mario Galaxy: Bright and colorful

RE:4- bland color pallete

Manhunt 2- Bland color pallete

I don't know about you, but it seems like bright and colorful is winning hard this time around, you are just only noticing the bland and dreary color palletes. Think about a time, and recognize that time everytime you see it. You'll start to think you always look at the clock at that time, but in actuality you are just recognizing it and relating it. (pot heads do it with 4:20 all the time)

I do agree, games deserve color. However, to be completely fair, you can't pass Gears for story, seeing as how it has none. Aside from that, amen.

I miss colour too, remember games like Crazy Taxi, Soul Caliber.

I 100% agree with you.. so much to the point that I can't add anything to this arguement which isn't already blatantly obvious.. all I need say is email this link to every game developer's email address you can find on the internet and tell them to read the comments..

if you're over 20 you miss fun video games.

while some games do have less color, and its is needed, not all games do thats why the wii and 360 are seperate, there for different people, wtf would be the point of a xwii 360

and not all sires have gone that way, TES for example, morrowind's enviroment's color palet was litteraly just brown, while oblivion was full of colors

oh and what about halo 3, find an unsaturated sceenshot on that! (exepct for the unsaturated visual modifier)

Brad... video games shouldn't BE art. They aren't art. They should be primerally GAMES!!

Mario rules! Ya-Wa-Wahoo!!

Team Fortress 2 has a great color palette in my opinion. When they were designing that game, they clearly decided they weren't going to bother with realism and seriousness...its almost like sitting down to play a nintendo game, but one that isn't Zela 8 or Super Mario Galaxy Party Smash 9.

That is exactly why i think its hard to get bored or tired with TF2.

Maybe I'm alone here but I have never onc taken into consideration the graphis of a game when I go out and get it. One of my favorite games is Bioshock. This game has emersive realistic graphics that make you feels if you are part of a crazy world filled with phsycos... awsome. But TF2 is also one of my favorite games this game uses cartoon style graphics to make you feel like you are in a comedic world where people blow apart limb by limb into a fantastic spectrum of bright colors(mainly bright red blood) awsome. SO truely it doesn't realy mater what the graphic styles are since any style can be used to make a game feel fun and buitiful.

That's what I think - Fuck, games used to be fun. I haven't enjoyed a game since Painkiller 1.

The reason is simple : all these games use 3d engines , and devellopers haven't yet realized that 3D lighting computations are smoothing/greying out their colours towards the light colour. It happens that the most frequent light colours in most environment is yellow (because of the sun). That explains why most next-gen games are brownish.

But even if devs used white lights everywhere, the colors would still be desaturated because of all the lighting computations.

If you look at Mario 64, the colours are <i>artificially</i> bright because for example the textuers on mario's clothes are unlit.

Now if you look at old school 2d games, you'll realize that, even for gritty and dark ambianced games, the colours are more vivid and more pleasing to the eyes, but if you look closely you'll also realize that they are totally uneralistic and you could never have these bright colours in a normal situation.

Buy a fucking kaleidoscope.

totally agree !! for a moment I've felt like something wrong with me - but now I know it's something wrong with games.

Who cares? It isn't the graphics that make the game.

I still whip out SMB3 for the NES sometimes because its FUN! Not because of what color palette is being used.

Did you try a Nintendo Wii? Colors are gone from modern videogames but they went all to this console :P

I disagree completely, some games call for muted colors and thats fine you took biased screen shots, games like GTA IV have changing time of the day you aren't constantly playing in that dusk setting and in the day the colors are brialliant. Take Halo, some of the outside levels are filled with color and yet you say they only use grays and browns. Look at Crackdown they made a beautiful game with plenty of color in it. I think it's great that game developers are trying to stray away from the crayon box that is Mario, now Mario 64 was a good game but do you really enjoy seeing straight plain bright red, yellow, blue, and green. I know I do not they pop out too much and it's like I'm playing a bag of skittles. Once again someone is beating on the Xbox and somewhat PS3 because they are a big Nintendo fan and want all their games to be rainbows and happy fun, but thats fine because I'll go play Halo.

Here's an idea, if you don't like the colors, don't play the game. It's as simple as that.

Have you played Team fortress 2 or Portal yet?

Because thats pretty bright and colorful.

I think the writer has some colourblindness issues...

...orrrr maybe we just have more serious games that warrent a dark atmosphere these days which is an option due to graphical advances... infact we have more titles of all types in general!

its like arguing ALL films these days should use primary colours or more logically (within the logic of this argument) LESS!

in conclusion I regress to my initial point.

Super Mario 64 rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously Mario 64 is great, but I would trade the more depressing look for vastly improved graphics

I'll be danged, THAT'S why WoW works so well! Blizzard, you are genius.

I agree too

Mario screenshots look awesome! Happy happy joy joy!

can anybody say battlefield heroes?

you like vibrant games, try beautiful katamari its fun and extremly colorful as well. :)

dude, all of you shut the fuck up and play games cause games are fun.

there is no such thing as a "depressing game" are you fucking serious? a GAME?! the very REASON AND OBJECT WE USE TO RID OURSELVES OF THE STRESSES OF MODERN DAY LIFE CAN BE DEPRESSING BECAUSE OF HOW "IMMERSIVE" IT IS?!

you assholes, seriously.

i guess every fucking rich kid should start a band and sing about how hard they have it cause they're parents only give them green money, right? color is color and wether it's poop brown or piss yellow doesn't mean it's depressing, it's just what the developers chose.

at any rate, if they are only making depressing games nowadays why don't you guys jump into a career of making games and then tell me about how your color palette doesn't make gamers think your game is "depressing".

idiots.

games are just that games, and anyone who thinks that mario is better than gears of war because it's got brighter colors is a retard. I APPLAUD YOU GUY WHO LIKES TO DRINK AND PLAY GAMES LIKE MARIO, KNOW WHY? CAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT GAMES ARE FOR....FUN.

Buy a Wii.

It is pretty, and entertaining.

It has RE games, so there is your dark and gloomy-ness.

AND it has happy-fun-time games like Mario Kart.

screw that i would rather play any 360 game then a game off of n64 or super nes any day

i agree. most wii games are definatly brighter and

more interesting and fun. like super mario galaxy for example. but all the ps3 and x360 games are dark and depressing. good post

The article makes good points. However, I don't know if I would have specifically said "brown games make me depressed". I think a lot of games at this time, specifically on the 360 do have a limited color palate to try and feel more "realistic" or "desolate".

However, I find that many real world settings can be both realistic and beautiful at the same time. The games in the Half Life 2 franchise have a good balance between realism and a more full color palate and explores a large number of locales that bring in warmer colors.

Metroid Prime 3 on the Wii is one of my favorite games and it constantly rewards the player with beautiful locations that include many colors other than "gunmetal gray and dogshit brown". It can take you to all these exotic locales and it still does not attempt to be a "kiddy game".

Let's have more colors shouldn't mean "let's have fun E rated games all the time". I like E rated games, don't get me wrong, but colorful settings and beautiful backdrops aren't reserved just for them. Realism or "maturity" is not an excuse for making drab and uninteresting locales, it's a crutch and a bad exercise in art design.

I totally agree! I wish more games made better use of colour. You know it's rather nice going back to classic games and seeing vivid imagination, creativity and colour in their graphics.

Nowadays, graphics may be technically better. But, not necessarily aesthetically pleasing. And, if game developers don't have interesting and colourful graphics often things get dull quick. Too much use of grey, brown, black etc...

I can understand it for survival horror games. Since, you want it to be dark for much of the game. But, for other genres I wish the developers would think of using a larger range of colour.

And, you can still be very realistic and use more colour in the environment. Plus, you can still keep the games as serious with lots of colour...not just the games for younger players like Mario. Colour doesn't need to be sacrificed.

Your talking about the good old days yet your still talking about games that arent THAT old... you want old games, lets talk about Atari 2600 and such.... you only had 16 colors!!!

ukresistance.co.uk/.../blue-sky-in-gam

I agree with what you're saying about the playstation and 360 games, but mario is nintendo. If you look at the games for the wii like Super Paper Mario or Mario Kart Wii. now those are great games! each company has their own different designs and nintendo just happens to kick ass!

There's a reason why some people like Wind Waker over Twilight Princess, since they're essentially the same games, I'm inclined to belive it's the cheerful art direction of Wind Waker that pushes the favor.

yes it's right, videos games had a change, but this just on teh graphics, i think that people who plays video games now are not the same as people who plays video games in the beginning of the 90' i love vido games. but now we can't do just a FPS without story or somethings like that, a game isn't just graphics. there's games for everyone now if you want a happy world and you need rainbow, nintendo is the boss of that. if you prefer games with storylines you should play playstation or Xbox

for me, now, video games are more like films...

OK big questing why do colors matter? its a game you play it when your done you toss it or pass it to the next person in line or keep it for when your bored. after that you get another game. the only thing that should matter is if its a slow play game or a fast play and some of the other things like battle system(final fantasy like or monster hunter like), levels aren't to hard to get to or play dosn't matter if its character or zone or whatever else, character enhancement (armor,weapons,etc.), story (depends on your outlook of story lines), and lets not forget the bonus features and cheats they have to have those.

oh and if the color is to dark or to light change the brightness and contrast of your screen, im shure it will make you feel better in the long run, if you get bored play another game for a bit then go back to that game, and finaly(if you want to do illegal things) why not try to make a copy of the game then get your local L337 programer to change the lighting and color so you can be happy.

:P

Love your points and fully agree. Great graphics don't condone great game play or replay value anymore. I love how good these games look, but you still find yourself unable to play games into the ground quite like you could before. I don't even think the wii picks up the slack that well.

Preach on brother

i agree completely! i play games to relax and unwind (mostly to escape reality) good old mario in any version has never let me down! bright cheery and happy with a princess to boot! who could ask for more. I live in reality, I'd rather play in primary colors.

Oh for fucks sakes, go buy a wii and a copy of mario galaxy.

get a wii

You are the shazbot, my friend.

You Know I never really realized How SHITTY and depressing the modern-day game color-scheme is until I stumbled this site. Games like frogger,mario, And even the shitty POWERPUFF GIRLS Had a better color scheme then that of shitty games like Call of duty 4, Grand theft auto, And most Skateboarding games. Video games dig deep into your soul, thouhg you may not realize it sometimes. When you play a gloomy and depressing game, it digs down deep and types "Fuck you HAPPINESS" into our moral computers. This site expresses a great point

I like all the high graphics and such, but all games (including nintendo, sadly) are losing good plots or storylines. Sont and Microsoft are more concerned about graphics and money then nintendo. Now nintendo doesn't have as many good game as the 360 because it hasn't been out as long. Also, the wii is the best next gen system. why you say? Because it has less problems then any other system out their. I will say that Sony did fix many of the problems. Moderen games are deppresing for reasons because of what they are. Most of you that say it is think about the game. okay COD4 it's war; I think thats deppresing. GTA 4 okay your in a gang. Bioshock your in a currupted paridise were eveyone turned crazy. And if the colors are deppresing and you can't take dieing in a game you are a wuss. IT'S NOT REALL! But the skateing games I don't know why they are deppresing.

I completely agree with this.

I downloaded the old Sonic and Sonic 2 onto the Wii a good while ago, and I was stunned by the color. I hadn't played those games forever, it was a really nice break from all the other boring colors.

Legend of Zelda: TP was the darkest of the series, yet it still had all these bright colors everywhere. I don't see why these other games can't be more like that when they want a dark mood.

Honest to god, if you want to complain about something complain about the content of the games not the look. It is really hard to find a game that is different in Gameplay. Graphics look like they do because that's what real life looks like. You used skate as an example. Well I can tell you confidently that not all places in the world are rainbows and butterflies. Sometimes you need a gritty palette of colors to bring out a gritty reality.

the valley of the uncanny may be a better explanation. i agree with the colours argument to an extent, but i think this may help solidify the reasoning for disinterest in newer games.

and before all of you trolls start flaming like freddy mercury, this concept doesn't apply just to robots. game informer ran an article about this in 2007 relating to games, and simple google searching will show you how it relates.

"The great Japanese engineer and roboticist Masahiro Mori (author, among other things, of The Buddha in the Robot) may already have foreseen that roadblock with his notion of the Uncanny Valley. While contemplating the coming evolution of robots, he pointed out the way we can quite readily empathize with a robot that's, say, 20 percent humanlike, and even more so with a robot that's 50 percent, and even more still with a robot that's 90 percent - indeed, you can plot out a rising slope of anthropomorphizing empathy. From Mickey Mouse through Shrek, say. But somewhere beyond 95 percent, Mori hypothesizes, there's a precipitous drop-off into the Uncanny Valley. When a replicant is almost completely human, the slightest variance, the 1 percent that's not quite right, looms up enormously, rendering the entire effect somehow creepy and monstrously alien."

this is a very true account. as games are getting more realistic, they're finding trouble with the smallest areas, such as rendering a face capable of 5000 expressions, or finger movement, or even skin texture and eye movement. the reason why it's easier to play some games of the day is because you either A.) don't actually see the human's face (i.e. master cheif's face shield), or B.) humans aren't actually present. in the case of B.), colour would come into being a likely verdict, and i find it easy to imagine that the uncanny valley can be applied to our perception of the world.

when thought of it this way, with application to our world, it's easy to be turned off by a game that doesn't use all of the colour pallettes we see in our world. though some games may present a realistic looking world of grey and browns, it's rare to see the blues and greens of sky and grass. since this world is verrrry realistic, we sympathize with it, yet we also find ourselves turned off by it because the error is that not all colours are presented.

Thats why I love team fortress 2

I don't completely agree, with the color scheme thing. Sure its nice to have bright primary colors in a a game like mario, but those kinds of colors are so out of place in other games were the chosen color palate is much more suitable.

To be honest, the main reason you don't feel as happy playing games is because you're OLDER and need to WORK in ord to AFFORD happiness. Am I right? Yeah, I'm right.

May be it is because of ur age :)

I mean u played Mario bros and Duke3D in ur younger and youthful years, it may have set a romantic aura in ur subconscious. But i also think u r somewhat correct about the color usage i today's games, the color palette seems too limited in general when u play today's major titles, and the pure fun factor is a bit lower then the silly old mario bros and the like.

I wholeheartly agree to the "I miss colour" statement.

Especially on the PC platform, colourful games have died out. Everything's dark & gritty.

Is this the wish of the fans or of the marketing ?

Is the marketing / the devs assuming that a dark & gritty look is more favourable ?

One thought I recently encountered is this : A "dark & gritty" look looks more "mature". Colour is for kids & weak whiners.

I think that this could be the basis on which these decisions are built upon.

I also disagree. If you don't like games with gangs and violence and the drab inner city colors that go along with them, don't buy those types of games. If you are not looking for skateboarding in an "emo" photo-realistic environment, don't buy that type of game. If you don't want to be immersed in the metaphorically, desaturated world of an assassin, don't buy that kind of game.

If you want to play a game with bright colors, cartoony graphics, fanciful (and sometimes meaningless) storylines, buy those types of games. Game developers aren't idiots; They create games for a particular market. If you choose to purchase games outside of your own market, that's your fault not the designers'.

If you have a tendency to buy games that are outside of your "visually interesting" threshold and can't seem to put in that extra effort that may be involved in finding a game with the kind of graphics you are looking for, maybe it would be best if you just switch to Nintendo exclusively.

ya the older games have color. but the whole point in developing games is to be more realistic. this world is just all piss yellow and shit brown

Instead of making everything look like CSI, why don't we become more creative and make games that look amazing but something we've not seen before. If I wanted to see the real world I'd go outside. The whole point of a video game is to take us away from our boring everyday lives to an amazing place.

play Wii.

This is one of the most factual comments I've ever read being negative to the new age gaming industries.

I fully agree with what you say. Actually we have some new games that uses the "Palette" such as Team Fortress 2.

A really good article.

Credits for you.

Stumbled here, read the entire article (unusual for me) because I agree whole-heartedly. In addition to that, this topic is something that I had never thought of before.

Great article, interesting read.

PENIS PENIS PENIS PENIS PENIS

At some point video games became less about the game and more about how we can make it look. I will always play my G1 and G2 consoles for that reason.

now i have a hankering to play mario 64

Team Fortress 2, people, Team Fortress 2.

That game is a shining example of gameplay over realism. World of Warcraft is another. Even if you don't like MMOs, you have to recognize that WoW stylized their graphics a lot and had many different themes.

As you can see the games you listed for dreary are Mature/or 18+ games and Mario is E, go buy Nintendo games. Look at SSBB, it is a light game, Kirby anyone? You getting the picture yet?

I completly agree, I dont know where the industry can go - I hope they kinda look at the success of the Wii and some of the more "soft core" games like peggle and world of Goo, things that make you smile

capt pyle said on 5.24.2008 at 5:45 PM

www.burningsea.com/.../article&art

Thanks for that link. Shows some great examples of what a difference some artistic direction can do.

I agree in some ways with the spirit of the original post. Obviously not all games are gray and unsaturated - far from it as many have pointed out. But the point, to me, is that many game developers may just not know any better and may put resources into striving for realism in graphics without considering whether it helps or hinders the game. In some games, added realism helps while in others it detracts. Unless you're creating a dedicated simulation, game devs should understand that reality is often boring. SSX was fun for me, being over-the-top, fully saturated and colorful. I imagine a "realistic"-looking snowboarding game being boring by contrast.

But unlike the OP, I found Gears of War to look bland despite the amazing graphics. It's like getting perfect technical marks but mediocre artistic scores in a judged sport. The thing is, it did not have to be that way. Half-Life 2 also strives for realism without ever looking dull and it has some pretty gritty portions like Ravenholm or the prison complex. Resident Evil 4 was more immersive despite much weaker (technical) graphics. Heck, even Dimentium on the DS gives me more creeps and atmosphere than GoW and the graphics suck. I guess the sight of gray blood doesn't scare me.

Epic should try to hire some different artists to complement their technical prowess.

Anyway, the industry has a nice variety still so no need for the hyperbole in saying 90% use piss-yellow to poop-brown only. I guess there will continue to be a mix of people in the industry and some will inevitably blindly pursue creating ever more realistic graphics at the expense of other aspects of the game. Luckily, there will also be others who will not.

Did you even play Skate?

The game has gorgeous colors, especially when you get a 3x multiplier.

Despite the modern games being "More stressful than fun" or "Depressing", video games are making more money now than the release of the Atari. Also notice, all the games you pointed out are best sellers. The coloring must be less of an issue to way more people than you think.

Regardless, I get your point. I do have to disagree with your input Skate though. Many areas have a wide variety of colors, and the display brightness on those examples are on a pretty low display brightness. You must not have actually played Skate.

good article, finally not everyone is daltonian on this planet :)

I agree, but then again, may I remind you of Okami and Prince of Persia (08)?

Then again, those games are about restoring the colour to the world.

Mass Effect has some nice colours though, and some nice grey-ish palettework as well.

Team Fortress 2. Nothing really needs to be said.

Half-Life 2 with episodes. From fullscale colour to noscale grey.

This is why I love Team Fortress 2 and hate Gears of War. Gears of War is just shades of gray, but TF2 has nice, bright colors.

I couldn't agree more! I've been thinking about the same thing for years. Games nowadays doesn't make me wanna play for the fun no more.

I don't think realism and good graphics is the key to a good game. Gameplay's what matters. Most developers nowadays tend to think that what we want is games that looks as real as possible, but I've come to see that the more real a game looks, the less fun it gets, and mostly the reason for that is that graphics has come to be their main priority, while gameplay is left out.

Luckily there is still hope. Just look at Kaomi, Prince of Persia, Flower, Little Big Planet and Ratchet & Clank. These games are all about positivity and fun gameplay.

And remember games like Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater. Those were fun too.

i agree with flower... and those games you mentioned, i just want to add Uncharted: Drakes Fortune.

What u on about?....but i agree,games should be colorful;

obviously you are an uneducated, ignorant dumb ass. not all games are like that. You cant say that just because some games are dark, doesnt mean all of them are like that. that is called stereotyping (in a sense). in fact, most xbox live arcade games have just what you are looking for. Viva Pinata, Mario Galaxy, Banjo and Kazooie, Ghost Busters, Mirror's Edge, and Tiger Woods are just to name a few. maybe if you stopped and looked around at a local game store, you would notice that you are in fact WRONG. and if you dont want to be "stressed out" or you are looking for brighter, more colorful games, THEN STOP PLAYING DARK GAMES. Companies make those games cause some people like to play games like that. so stop being such a baby, and open your eyes. who knows. maybe if you just broaden your view and actually look around, you might discover something new.

I dont know exactly what to think but i have noticed the trend and it annoys me sometimes. I like to see games the have good color more than games that do not. but then i think of how much work is put into making a single game and how much time and effort it takes. then i feel they made the decision for the colors in one way or another.