The game art genres describe the world and era in which the game is set. For instance, a game with knights, castles, and catapults that is set in a historically accurate world like our own would fall within the Realistic – Historic aesthetic subgenre. However, the genre is fantasy if there are also trolls, dragons, and wizards. Game art styles are also an inseparable issue, which describes the visual style of characters, buildings, items, etc., within the game. In this blog, we are going through different mobile game art styles.
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Popularity of Mobile Game Art
Video games are a specialized form of computer art. Video games are used as an artistic medium in art. A wider range of creative approaches and outcomes than only aesthetic alteration is used in video game art, which occasionally incorporates patched or altered video games as well as the reuse of already existing games or game systems.
There are many options, including painting, sculpture, appropriation, in-game performance and intervention, sampling, and more. Additionally, it could require creating original art games or modifying already existing ones.
Examples of well-known video game art include Joseph Delappe’s “Dead in Iraq,” Cory Arcangel’s “Super Mario Clouds,” and “I Shot Andy Warhol.” There are three layers of taxonomy in which all games fall, which include Category, Genre, and Subgenre. Summoners War, for example, would fall under the category of Mid-core – RPG – Turn-based RPG. Game art trends of 2023 are also available if you are curious about and interested in them. Sometimes you feel like playing something fast and fun that doesn’t require investing so much time. These games are called casual games.
Read More: What Is Casual Game Art?
What Are Different Categories of Game Art Styles?
Realistic art is seldom ever utilized in casual games in Asia, although it is used in 27% of games in the US. Compared to much higher rates in the US and China, just 50% of Sports & Racing games in Japan are realistic. In the US, almost all manga-inspired games fall under the Mid-Core category.
Art Genre and Art Styles
Since 2019, there are 20% more games using the Realistic – Modern art genre among the top 200 grossing games in the US. In contrast, during the past two years, the number of games that use fantasy art has decreased by almost a third.
Additionally, the Cartoon art style recently overtook the Realistic art style as the most popular in the Fantasy art category. The popularity of the artistic genres Realistic-Modern and Fantasy was roughly equal among Japan’s top 200 grossing films in 2019, but Realistic-Modern is unquestionably the most popular genre now in 2021.
Both art genres have decreased in the top 200 grossing games, although the Realistic – History art genre has gained dramatically since 2019, for instance. All platforms’ most popular hybrid game genre is a manga (even in the US). In any market, there were comparatively few realistic, historical, or science fiction games in 2019.
But in 2021, we might see a little increase in the use of cartoon art in these creative fields. Games with a cartoon aesthetic are primarily found in another art form.
The capacity to map the market in a meaningful way is the biggest strength of game mechanics and feature-based genre taxonomies. If you can correctly classify games, you’ll have a much better understanding of whether genres are growing or waning. Even more significant, you can identify the games that dominate a given genre and how much of the market they account for.
Stylized Graphics vs. Realistic
In order to succeed in this over saturated market, mobile games generally require players to make a variety of crucial choices. The ideal technical specifications, processing speed, captivating SFX and music, available resources, and simple gameplay should all be present in this type of attention-grabbing game. The release of a game, as with any form of game, will be significantly influenced by the creative decisions made, especially among the intended audience. Therefore, a mobile project’s graphics will be one of its most important front pages.
Graphics can vary greatly; you can play a cutesy RPG like “Stardew Valley” or a serious-looking RPG like “Vampire’s Fall”; you can even play comical games like “Fallout Shelter.” In either case, the audience will be able to connect with the graphics’ expressionism and style perfectly, especially during the initial introduction to gameplay. For that reason, we’ll go over a few things to consider while giving styled graphics for mobile games a top priority. Let’s first quickly go over the definition of “stylized graphic.”
What Is a Stylized Graphic?
The graphics in the mobile Battle-Royale game “PUBG Mobile” have a more somber aesthetic, which means they are more realistic. Characters and items in the game have real-world-like dimensions and physical characteristics. As a result, in-game animations proceed in the same manner. Most mature audiences rapidly grow to love the eye-pleasing graphics and gameplay of the hugely popular Battle Royale.
However, the well-known Battle Royale game belongs to the realistic graphics category when splitting visuals into two categories: stylized and realistic. On the other hand, a stylized graphic will frequently exhibit a distinctive characterization and interpretation of the physical characteristics of its universe. You can see how the world blends realism with an authentic art style by taking a look at games like “Hay Day,” “Fallout Shelter,” and even the well acclaimed “Subway Surfers.”
Basically, we’re talking about exaggerated, cartoonish, or even adorable and informal character proportions that draw attention to certain aspects of their appearance:
Games with stylized graphics frequently have distinctive aesthetics and have a tendency to emphasize expressions and actions in a particular way. You can see this, for example, by seeing the chicken’s abnormally large but endearing eyes in “Hay Day.” So, which should you pick?
The only factor influencing this response will be your idea and what you think might go well with it. Even though the argument over which is superior could go on forever, we can at least concentrate on the advantages of picking one of the possibilities.
Mobile Games With Stylized Graphics
The more understated-looking but styled imagery can have a significant positive impact on drawing in and retaining the playing audience. For instance, some of the most popular games right now on the App Store and Google Play Store include “Subway Surfers,” “Clash of Clans,” “Genshin Impact,” and “Ragnarok Mobile.” Not to mention that all games with stylized art fall under the “Stylized Games” category in the Play Store and App Store. Therefore, having the game on this illustrious program can draw in more players. Check out the top 20 mobile games with the most beautiful art styles.
Target Audience Benefits
Finding out who a game is intended for might reveal a lot about its winning tactics. It’s no surprise that the majority of children’s and teen media features absurd, cartoonish, and distinctive graphical styles. Since they are accustomed to seeing stylized graphics on television, the internet, and in social groups, choosing a mobile game that is aimed at kids and teens will probably benefit you. In addition, that would fit the gameplay, since the target audience suggests that it is somewhat silly.
By using a stylized art style that is not cartoonish and has more sober gameplay, you can also appeal to older audiences. For instance, “Ragnarök Mobile” includes manga-inspired objects and characters, which also fall under the heading of “Stylized graphics.” As a result, given that many adults enjoy anime and manga, they’ll be interested in playing a game with a similar aesthetic.
In light of this, it is reasonable to suppose that games with stylized graphics can appeal to a larger demographic, including kids, teenagers, and young adults, as is the case with titles like Team Fortress 2 on PC and Subway Surfers on mobile. But stylized graphics can also have a lot of other advantages, particularly in terms of the gameplay experience. If you are looking for a studio with balanced quality and price, Pixune’s game art services are there for you.
To Sum up
There are different types of game art styles; However, fantasy realism has emerged as a hugely popular art style. At face value, these games look no different from games with realistic art styles but delve deeper, and you’ll soon see that these games go further than real life. Stylized graphics can open the door for your game to shine a bit more. Of course, this will highly depend on the genre.
