Whats the best art style for a web game?

[anon_3270756]

I’ve been working on a game for a while, you build your city and send troops to destroy the other guys city, and so far I havn’t done any artwork or graphics, just built the game(scriptong, GUI and such).

So I want the communitys advice on what sort of art style i should do.
The game will be a web game hopefully on Kongregate.

Will more people be atracted to a realistic futuristic graphic style where everything is fairly proportional.
or would people prefer cartoony Aztecs figting Conquistidors.
At this point I could do almost anything, so I want to know what you think!

[Pedro_Afonso]

In my opinion the second option is the best, but I don’t know other peoples opinion.

[Socrates]

What art style you choose will depend in part on your target audience. Some types of gamers want realistic graphics, but for other audiences cartoony is better. You may want to do some research on what your target audience tends to prefer.

Depending on your resources for doing this game, you may want to come at this from a completely different angle. What kind of art style can you (or your artist if you have one) actually make look good? A lot of gamers expect humans to look really human, but don’t care if cartoons or strange aliens don’t look so realistic. If you cannot do a really good high tech trooper but you can do a really good creature from the black lagoon, that may make the decision for you as far as the artwork to use.

[anon_3270756]

@Socrates

What art style you choose will depend in part on your target audience. Some types of gamers want realistic graphics, but for other audiences cartoony is better. You may want to do some research on what your target audience tends to prefer.

Depending on your resources for doing this game, you may want to come at this from a completely different angle. What kind of art style can you (or your artist if you have one) actually make look good? A lot of gamers expect humans to look really human, but don’t care if cartoons or strange aliens don’t look so realistic. If you cannot do a really good high tech trooper but you can do a really good creature from the black lagoon, that may make the decision for you as far as the artwork to use.

Thanks for the reply!
That is a very good point, I’m looking to post the game on Kongregate and other sites, I’m not sure what sort of audeince that would be, i’m guessing more of the cartoony/un-realistic prefering gamers?

Since its a web game,I figure expectations are going to be fairly low graphic wise, and the fact that its 3D will already really help. I am a half deicent modeler (I will be making all the graphics myself) but am better at hard surfaces than organic things, thats why I wouldn’t want to make anything realistic that contains lots of human models. I was thinking that future game would need alot less if any. Thats also why if I do make anything with humans, it would have to be cartoony and un-realistic.

Thanks for the advice, it is very much appreciated!

[DallonF]

For a web game, I say go cartoony. Web gamers are used to cartoony art styles, considering that most Flash games are exaggerated vector art. Actually, PC/Mac gamers would probably be OK with a cartoony indie game, too.

Really, the only audience that’s going to expect graphic realism is console gamers, who are used to Call of Duty.

[anon_31094955]

I think web games like multiplayer games are best and gamers like to play these a lot rather than others.

[PrimeDerektive]

@anon_3270756

Will more people be atracted to a realistic futuristic graphic style where everything is fairly proportional.
or would people prefer cartoony Aztecs figting Conquistidors.

Neither of those are art styles… they’re just game concepts.

@DallonF

Really, the only audience that’s going to expect graphic realism is console gamers, who are used to Call of Duty.

I’m sure all the PC gamers who spend $800 on SLI GeForce GTX 590’s that can crush the life out of any console would beg to differ.