Hand-painted art styles gives players an appreciation for the skills it takes to create a video game, and these are the best examples.
Video game developers are always looking for now innovative ways to make their games unique, and perhaps one of the most endearing is that of the hand-painted art style. This human touch in a digital world allows us to appreciate the true craftsmanship that goes into every stage of the development process, from animation and modeling to texture painting and background design.
Related: Games With The Best Art Styles
When executed with enough skill, dedication and good taste, this technique can elevate even a mundane gameplay experience into a masterful work of art, and allows players to appreciate their gaming experience across a range of different dimensions. Some games manage to strike the perfect balance between artistic flair, an engaging story and enjoyable gameplay, but all of these games excel in their use of hand-painted design.
11-11 Memories Retold is a story-heavy World War 1 game developed by Bandai Namco Europe in conjunction with Aardman Animations (Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run) and features a cast of voice actors including Elijah Wood and Sebastian Koch.
The unique frame-by-frame oil painting style of the game is really its greatest feature, and gives the feeling of a PTSD stricken veteran’s fragmented and distorted memories of a bygone time. The story focuses on two men, each on opposing sides in the conflict, and their personal struggles on the final day of The Great War.
Daedalic Entertainment’s point-and-click adventure game Deponia sees players inhabiting a world overrun by junk and detritus thanks to excessive consumerism and over-production. While the gameplay may be relatively simple, the game excels with its great storyline and even better background designs.
Every setting has been carefully hand-painted and could easily stand on its own as a framed piece. From the Geiger-esque tangled wreckages sprawled around the junkyard to the careful placement of light sources and distribution – each setting features a well-designed composition and attention to detail that is often missing in similar games of this genre.
Dordogne is a highly-creative upcoming game from Focus Entertainment, Un Je Ne Sais Quoi and UMAnimation.
