game aesthetics & branding by james pearmain (jimp)
DESCRIPTION
James discusses the importance and impact that aesthetics and branding can have on your game.TRANSCRIPT
Game Aesthetics and Branding
James Pearmain @artjimp
Why are Aesthetics so important
Visuals provide the main connection between the game and player.
Design impacts how users perceive information, learn,
and assign value to a product - people perceive attractive things as more useable.
Bring the game to life – make it relatable and
immersive
The Illusion of a game
When designing a game we are creating an illusion.
Players must believe the game is “real” and get caught up in its world to enjoy it.
If the illusion is broken the player will lose interest.
The Illusion of a game One effective method is to tie in the aesthetic with the
gameplay
Example: Pursuit of Hat
The Illusion of a game Example: Sushi Cat
The Illusion of a game Example: Sushi Cat
Think about your favourite games
Most of them will have strong characters and a clear visual direction.
Why are characters so effective? • Encourages the player to relate with the game. • “A game can be more fun when you get the chance to act and be
like your ideal self. The attraction to playing videogames and what makes them fun is that it gives people the chance to think about a role they would ideally like to take and then get a chance to play that role.” - Dr. Przybylski.
• Catharsis – Emotionally involves the player.
Why are characters so effective? • Would Angry Birds or Cut The Rope be as popular
without its characters?
• Anthropomorphism and personification.
Over 100 Mario games?!
• Strong, recognizable character.
• Why use a new character when an existing one is already popular and has a strong fanbase?
• Building on the foundations of the Mario
brand – Yoshi, Donkey Kong spinoffs etc
Sequelitis • People are more likely to play a game with
characters they recognize than something new.
• Sequels are a great way to guarantee a certain level of success…
• …but they can crush creativity and are less enjoyable to make.
Building on previous success • Conflict: You want to build on the success of your
previous games - but also make something totally new and different.
• Reuse and build upon characters. • Evolve ideas. • Make a totally different game but use the same
game world and brand it as a sequel or spinoff.
Example: Jmtb02’s Blue Elephant
Other examples… • Bubble Tanks > Bubble Tanks TD
• SFBros Another day cartoons + games
Art for your games
• You don’t need stunning art for your games, just a clear visual direction.
• Players will accept simple art as long as it makes sense in the context of the game.
Examples
Using aesthetics to give meaning, explanation and incentive.
• Appearance should reflect function.
• Progress should be seen
• Gameplay elements should be easy to tell apart.
Reward players with visual feedback • Players will associate certain actions with positive
feedback and be inclined to keep playing.
Gold Stars • Reward players for every positive action.
• The size of the reward should reflect the difficulty of the task achieved.
• Don’t spoil your audience – too much reward will confuse players and reduce the sense of achievement and satisfaction.
Variation is key • Visual variety will keep players from becoming
bored.
• If both gameplay and visuals are repetitive eventually the illusion is broken.
• Different level themes, time of day, seasons, other purely aesthetic changes will improve the attention span of a player.