[MUD-Dev] The importance of graphics

[jolon at kungfudesign.com]

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Original message: http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/2002Q3/msg00021.php

On Fri,  5 Jul 2002 21:10:24 -0700 (PDT)
"Zach Collins (Siege)" <zcollins at seidata.com> wrote:

> another made a very interesting point, that it's the *consistency*
> of the art direction instead of just how pretty everything looks.

I so completely agree with this. One of the hardest things is
keeping both consistent and high quality art direction on any
project, it needs to be a fine mix. Ugly is..Ugly Inconsistent is
amateur. The more people involved, the harder this is. Usually it is
best to get something brilliant finalized and build templates for
additions. By templates, I mean a set of rules, depending on the
application.

It also boils down to the older than dirt Triangle of Expectations,
which is used by creative professionals in every field from general
contracting (on houses) to high end corporate design. The triangle
consists of Time, Quality, and Cost, and the theory is that you
should only reasonably expect to stand on two legs of the
triangle. I tend to think there's a fourth side, so it's actually a
rectangle, and , and the 4th is Love. Passion can build a better
product than a raft of money, talent, but you need Time for any of
it.  Especially in text based gaming, it's hard to commercialize, so
I think Love can replace some Cost. Just a ramble. (:

>   How important is it to have graphics?

IMhO: very. especially if it's text based, I think in the sea that
text can become, it's critical to punctuate it properly.

>   What level of visual quality (slickness, flashiness) is
>   acceptable versus bandwidth or rendering considerations (assume
>   that the graphics card has no effect)?

Playability doesn't seem to parallel "quality." If the graphics are
animated, framerate seems to play into whether a person will stay
tuned in. It should be consistent, stylewise, and thematically
appropriate. For me, neither slickness nor flashiness really work as
modifiers for game artwork.

I was interested by the pueblo project, when it was more active, and
more recently, Portal, as interfaces to text based gaming, this
reminds me of the games I played on C=64s and old apples, like
Rendevous with Rama, where there was a text parser underneath a
crappy shot of the environment. Still gives you a sense of where you
are without having to focus on it, or read 3 lines of text to learn
you're in a golden wheatfield.

I think color coding interactive objects within the text is smart,
and directions should be seperated, as well, just for playability's
sake.

I'm not saying it should be all horrible day-glo and pastels
clashing as I have seen, just subtle cues.

>   How is visual consistency important, how do you create it, and
>   how do you maintain it throughout the life of a project (MMOGs
>   being continuously expanded)? 

Recapping my take, I think consistency is tantamount, you create it
through a well-thought out process which is audited and followed
through. Then you maintain it through the life of a project by
creating a system in beta for updating with a clear picture of
update frequency. You then make a plan for production and make sure
you have the ability to scale it up or down according to need.

My 1+1=3 cents.
jolon



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