Realism VS Stylized

[The Real Jdbye]

I think this is relative what they want to show ...it come from autors and the idea itself ... an realist mario would not be carismatic, a cartoony god of war wouldn't look that epic and stuff (random examples)

for myself I'm more for stylised, make everything have more personality and looks unic

Stylized doesn't neccessarily have to mean cartoony though.
Indeed, Mario games would not be the same if they were realistic, they would be completely different games.
But stylized games mean more freedom for the graphics artists to do what they feel is right for the game, and I believe that there are styles to suit every game, that aren't necessarily realistic.
You don't have to look farther than the Zelda series to get an idea of how much room for variation there is within "stylized" graphics. All of the games have had completely different visual styles, some more cartoony, some more realistic. I have to say that Zelda U is looking gorgeous though. No game with realistic graphics could ever look that stunning.

 

[RichardLaughter_]

Stylized doesn't neccessarily have to mean cartoony though.
Indeed, Mario games would not be the same if they were realistic, they would be completely different games.
But stylized games mean more freedom for the graphics artists to do what they feel is right for the game, and I believe that there are styles to suit every game, that aren't necessarily realistic.
You don't have to look farther than the Zelda series to get an idea of how much room for variation there is within "stylized" graphics. All of the games have had completely different visual styles, some more cartoony, some more realistic. I have to say that Zelda U is looking gorgeous though. No game with realistic graphics could ever look that stunning.

Zelda wiiu is stunning. I can't wait to get some high quality ingame footage. With the first trailer I was wowed by the amount of grass blades on screen. Watching them blow in the wind was very beautiful.

 

[Hells Malice]

Stylized is my choice. It just has more charm, and yeah it ages much better.
Realistic graphics have their place too but meh.

 

[Sliter]

Stylized doesn't neccessarily have to mean cartoony though.
Indeed, Mario games would not be the same if they were realistic, they would be completely different games.
But stylized games mean more freedom for the graphics artists to do what they feel is right for the game, and I believe that there are styles to suit every game, that aren't necessarily realistic.
You don't have to look farther than the Zelda series to get an idea of how much room for variation there is within "stylized" graphics. All of the games have had completely different visual styles, some more cartoony, some more realistic. I have to say that Zelda U is looking gorgeous though. No game with realistic graphics could ever look that stunning.

was more a way to say than actually " cartoony" ...
What I wanted more tos ay is that stylised have more personality than realistic ... you can remeber a game just for the style it was, but for realistic you would need to see more to find that

 

[link6155]

You nailed it, looking back at some of the "realistic" games, they don't look realistic at all now. Some of them in fact look rather uncanny. For example, Super Mario 64 looks rather strange in some places, especially the Thwomps:

Current Mario games have used the more original cartoony look:

 

[MarioFanatic64]

Both have merits. Realism always looks like the best game ever when the game first comes out, but it will always look like crap five years after it comes out, because it's only pushing out what the current console can handle. Stylized graphics don't have that problem because they often aren't trying to be impressive, but practical, and the games seem to benefit from having graphics that compliment the game's individuality.

See Wind Waker vs. Twilight Princess. TP looked better than WW in 2007, but now WW is miles ahead.

 

[Hungry Friend]

As others have said it depends a lot on the game(s), but speaking in a broad, general sense I prefer stylized art styles when they're done well. Mario, Akira Toriyama art, FF1-6 and 9, ICO, SOTC, Suikoden 1-2, Metroid games, various Zelda games and many many MANY others are good examples of well done stylized art that have and always will stand the test of time. Sure the geometry and textures look old as shit in the polygonal examples but they're still aesthetically pleasing imo.

 

[Joe88]

I have to say that Zelda U is looking gorgeous though. No game with realistic graphics could ever look that stunning.

Except for pretty much every realistic styled game released in the last year and a half (bayonetta 2, far cry 4, the order 1886, bloodborne, the witcher 3, batman ak, mgs5) and plenty of upcoming games (fallout 4, tomb raider, just cause 3, and uncharted 4 pretty takes the cake on releastic graphics)

even skyrim still looks pretty dang good for a 4 year old game and you can just change that with the ultra realism graphics mod

 

[RodrigoDavy]

It depends from game to game. The visual style must be made to better suit the game. Heavy Rain is an example that, in my opinion, benefits from realistic graphics.
Stylized graphics when well made are significantlly more powerful than realistic though, but some games might not benefit for it. At worst, stylized graphics when not properly used can cause a negative impact in the game.

One game that uses stylized graphics that look uncanny to me is Wind Waker HD. The titles was originally cel-shaded, but Nintendo tried to blend realistic lighting with the old-style (sort of a fake cel-shading) and the result seems to be hit or miss. In some part of the games, WWHD looks vastly superior to the original WW. But in other parts, the new style come at odds with the old-style, like having a cartoony enemy holding a lamp with realistic lighting. Or when you sail, the excess of bloom make it hurt you view while the original Wind Waker it was always pleasant to see the horizon as you sail.

I definetely think stylized graphics should be used more often though, we have to pass that adolescent notion that games must all be real, dark and violent.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Except for pretty much every realistic styled game released in the last year and a half (bayonetta 2, far cry 4, the order 1886, bloodborne, the witcher 3, batman ak, mgs5) and plenty of upcoming games (fallout 4, tomb raider, just cause 3, and uncharted 4 pretty takes the cake on releastic graphics)

even skyrim still looks pretty dang good for a 4 year old game and you can just change that with the ultra realism graphics mod

Those look good graphically, but they're not stunning, they're just what you expect from an AAA game nowadays.

 

[Hungry Friend]

It depends from game to game. The visual style must be made to better suit the game. Heavy Rain is an example that, in my opinion, benefits from realistic graphics.
Stylized graphics when well made are significantlly more powerful than realistic though, but some games might not benefit for it. At worst, stylized graphics when not properly used can cause a negative impact in the game.

One game that uses stylized graphics that look uncanny to me is Wind Waker HD. The titles was originally cel-shaded, but Nintendo tried to blend realistic lighting with the old-style (sort of a fake cel-shading) and the result seems to be hit or miss. In some part of the games, WWHD looks vastly superior to the original WW. But in other parts, the new style come at odds with the old-style, like having a cartoony enemy holding a lamp with realistic lighting. Or when you sail, the excess of bloom make it hurt you view while the original Wind Waker it was always pleasant to see the horizon as you sail.

I definetely think stylized graphics should be used more often though, we have to pass that adolescent notion that games must all be real, dark and violent.

Dark & violent CAN work but I agree that it's played out at the moment and stylized games don't get enough love these days. Dark and violent doesn't= mature, I gotcha, and I agree 100%.

 

[Muffins]

I feel that there's place for both, it really depends on the game. Certain titles just wouldn't have the same emotional impact if they were stylized, an animu version of something like The Last of Us would just be cringeworthy.

I suppose it would depend on the context in which it is placed.

For instance, I dare anyone with a soul to watch Grave of the Fireflies and not end up shedding tears. The emotional impact of that work, despite being an animated film, is absolutely astounding.

As for INGAME "realism"... at least from what I've seen, at the moment it hasn't come close to the levels necessary to create the full impression of reality so at the moment to me it's just another form of "stylism"- and one that will age far quicker than the deliberately styled counterparts of its contemporaries.

 

[Hungry Friend]

Context is indeed important as is the general quality of the work done. Making a Dragon Ball movie or game with a "gritty", realistic aesthetic would look fucking ridiculous for example and making an Elder Scrolls game with Akira Toriyama's style would be incredibly strange as well. Aesthetics is one of those weird subjects that divides people simply because we all have very different tastes. Even people whose tastes are similar to mine probably dig stuff that I find unappealing and vice versa.

I tend to like over the top, grandiose, psychedelic art styles but naturally it depends on the game, movie or whatever. I really like Persona 3's art style if you want a good idea of the kind of stuff I dig. Super Metroid, CT(I like Toriyama's style) and FF6 are also stunningly beautiful in my opinion despite all of those games having VASTLY different art styles. Excuse the rambling but art is a complicated subject & no opinion is inherently wrong because peoples' tastes vary so wildly.

EDIT: Even though it hasn't aged well geometrically speaking, Mario 64 is still aesthetically pleasing to me. It has a certain charm that all Mario games have although the 2d Mario games have aged much more gracefully imo.

 

[RodrigoDavy]

EDIT: Even though it hasn't aged well geometrically speaking, Mario 64 is still aesthetically pleasing to me. It has a certain charm that all Mario games have although the 2d Mario games have aged much more gracefully imo.

I don't mind at all the low polygon count, I think it gives a cool blocky look to it... the game's levels remind me of blocky toys like lego which is very aesthetically pleasing to me. And somehow I like it more than Mario Sunshine or Galaxy.

 

[VinsCool]

I like stylized style, by far.

Realistic doesn't age well.

 

[RodrigoDavy]

Realistic doesn't age well.

 

[grossaffe]

Spoiler

View attachment 27196

Looks like the spitting image of Sean Bean to me.