Poll: Did The Art Style of a Game Ever Stop You From Playing/Buying?

[Stalydan]

I never liked the style of WoW or Gears of War because of their styles. I played Final Fantasy XI during the golden days of WoW, and I always felt it knocked WoW out of the water as far as graphics and visual design. Even now the character models are so low-poly they look straight out of the PS1 era (and even if they were high-poly the designs themselves are ugly and awkward, like the humans in the first Shrek movie), and the colors and textures of the environment and monsters all clash so much there is no way a real design team could have chosen them.

Thank you! I was trying to think of examples for why I didn't like WoW and FFXI is the best example I can give. Those visuals looked simply outright amazing compared to WoW's really blocky designs.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

Originally, I was going to say "No, I can accept all art styles as long as the game itself is good. Unique stylized art directions sometimes draw me to games even more. Bad/Mundane art directions are passable."

Then I read this post...

I refuse to play TERA online until somebody takes the art director to a corner and makes him think about what he's done.

I was almost instantly filled with disgust as I remembered TERA and it's art direction. How could I forget this? Probably because it literally forces my brain to forget all about this kawaii uguu! visual nightmare.

And it's not like I have anything against Anime or Anime-themed videogames. I quite enjoyed the Persona series - and Catherine more recently - for it's anime art styles. And the upcoming Ni No Kuni title for PS3 is strongly endearing to me for it's fantastic art direction.

It's not the case with TERA.

TERA is one of the only games I can think of where the art style is actively off-putting to the point where it serves as a strong negative.

That's how I feel.

I've played plenty of games which just look awful, like Gears of War. The entire game looks like someone kicked a hole into the side of a rotting pig's carcass. The game looks so bad I can almost smell it, and it smells foul. Yet I'm able to enjoy it's action sequences. Point is, I can enjoy something about it.

TERA seems to be unique in this regard, I really can't think of any other games which are so visually-offputting that I refuse - beyond any shadow of a doubt - to even touch it, ever, in my life.

 

[DustyDrB]

Yeah. If a game goes overboard with either the grimdark or cuteness, I probably won't play it.

 

[Mighty Lighty]

I tried to play Kane an lynch 2 split-screen but the silly video static effect made all the enemies too difficult too see we just abandoned the whole thing

Captcha: high horse. apparently the computer thinks I'm on one

 

[Xiroh86]

I've never run across a game that I didn't buy or play purely because of the visual design or art style didn't appeal to me. However there is a major game that could have been amazing, but was absolutely ruined by its art style/design: Final Fantasy 9! It has such an interesting story and world concept, but the childishness of the art design (as well as the way the dialogue is delivered) completely clashes with the political backbone and the adult nature of the game. So much so that it destroys any concept of immersion, for me at least.

 

[DrgoFx]

I don't think there's been a situation where the art style has driven me away, but I know I recently had a talk with a friend over Diablo vs Torchlight. He stated that although Torchlight II looks like a fun and amazing game, he can't bring himself to play it thanks to the art style. I see his point and all, probably the selling point from Diablo isn't the gameplay, but more so the whole fighting Satan and all, but I still can't understand why that's such a huge factor.

 

[templar1138a]

Yes. This.

Need I say more?

Oh, right. I should so as to avoid getting a warning for a low-content post.

*ahem* What happened to his bottom teeth?

 

[omicron1]

For me it's the combination of a particular art style and camera perspective that does it.
Example:
I love Age of Empires. The colorful, slightly cartoony 2D perspective just clicks for me.
But games like Fallout, Baldur's Gate, and Planescape Torment are unfortunately offputting in their grittiness.
And it's not like I can't handle gritty games - it's just the 2D realism that rankles.
I shall try again once the Enhanced Edition comes out, but I don't have high hopes. Which is a shame, as the games themselves are great.

 

[Wayneguard]

Disciples 3 and Diablo 3.

On the flip side, good art style has been the primary reason for me purchasing several games (King's Bounty, Resident Evil Remake/Resident Evil 0, XIII, etc.).

 

[TechnoRaven]

Yes for me as well. I liked brinks mechanics and fought it would be fun to play clan matches on, but after looking at the art style i cringed and didn't get it. I'm not a fan of that style of shading, and the heads just look... wrong...

Good for me as it looks like it was a very good game.

 

[skywolfblue]

Sure, why would I play a game I disliked looking at?

I mean I can get past some pretty shoddy visuals, I play Dwarf Fortress for goodness sake. But if its an art style I actively dislike I'm likely not even going to try the game unless I'm given no real choice. Why bother? Games are entertainment after all, I'm playing them to have fun.

This.

I there are styles that I like, and art styles that I think are just downright ugly.

Borderlands & The Fallout games for an example of the latter. Other people like them? That's peachy, doesn't mean "I" have to.

 

[MuttyGrims1321]

Wow didn't know so many people were down on Borderlands, I for one loved the game and its art style. Okami looked really weird before I fell in love with it I must say.

 

[sheah1]

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.
Ironically it's unique art style was its main selling point (and I'm pretty sure that was actually ironic for once) but.... ugh, what a horribly unappealing look, so drained and ugly. Plus, it was apparently an average hack n' slasher, and there are much better, much prettier games in that genre.
Edit: Also, I think that if I simply dislike an art style rather than find it genuinely repellant (like above) I can try to persevere, but it will drain me over time until I simply can't continue playing. It's kinda like an annoyingly voiced protagonist or frame rate problems, except worse since it's all the bloody time.

 

[darkcalling]

I've never stopped playing a game JUST because of the art style. It has contributed to it though. Beyond Good and Evil for example. I played a demo, failed to impress, visuals did not help. tried to watch a Let's Play. Still couldn't hold my interest.

Psychonauts was another weird one for me. I liked what I played but the graphics always seemed REALLY unappealing to me. It looked like a Nickelodeon cartoon to me and I've never been a fan of Nick. Never finished it cuz I finally got a 360 and got distracted by other things.

 

[Cry Wolf]

So what about you? Did you ever have something like that happen to you? Or is there some design style that you really just can't stand?

It's a large part of why I've never played Gears of War and it's definetly going to factor into whether or not I buy the next inevitable Mass Effect game. Seriously, if it's not that same vibrant - and most importantly, unique - style of the first game that gave everywhere such character and genuinely intrigued me I wont buy it.

EDIT:

It's one of the many reasons I wont touch Diablo either.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

yeah unfortunately this is true..it's what you are looking at for hours upon hours for christ sake, there are some things (subjectively for the most part) that i just can't stand to look at

can't think of an example off the top of my head...

but when something goes way too over the top on grimdark or just ugly as fuck cartoon (i don't mind anime and such, but there are some cartoons that just...*shiver* bug me to the core) then it'll definitely put me on the "don't buy" side

 

[Reven]

No because art style =/= game quality. I mean, just look at the people who skipped over Wind Waker because of the "kiddie" graphics.

I don't think that anyone will argue that a game has poor quality because it lacks appeal in artstyle (for said person).

But why should I play a game if I really can't stand the artstyle? I still have to look at it for hours upon hours. It may even go as far as sickening bad (*cough* FF X).

All I want to say: It is absolute legit to skip games because you dislike the artstyle.

I agree, I could skip over a game because of the art style, but that doesn't mean that I think the game is bad, I may even recognize the game as a good game (mechanically or whatever) but if I get a headache looking at it constantly, then I'm not having fun, so it doesn't make sense that i should play it.