[sethii]

I love beautiful video games.

Where to begin?

The most touching of all...

ICO (2001) PS2 - designed by Fumito Ueda

[cover of the official soundtrack]

vincent.sunkingdomstudio.com

Quote:

Fumito Ueda broke new ground with PlayStation classic Ico. As he prepares his return, Ollie Barder took an exclusive tour through his sketchbook Ollie Barder Thursday 18 August 2005 Four years ago, a Japanese game called Ico hit the PlayStation 2. An ethereal and elusive opera, it never became a financial success, but it remains deeply respected by gamers and is regarded as one of the few creatively influential PS2 titles. The game's creator, Fumito Ueda - whose next game, Shadow of the Colossus, is due for release in October - says he always planned to be different. "When we began to work on Ico, we made sure to gather staff that did not have fixed ideas about video games," he says. "We did try hard throughout the process of making Ico that the game would not resemble anything else as much as possible." The premise behind Ico was deceptively simple: a boy, the title character, is trapped in a castle. He finds a girl, Yorda, who does not speak his language, but they work together to escape. Ico's inclusive design is probably one of its strongest points, and reason enough for its critical success. It is unsurprising, then, that Ueda intentionally created the game this way. "There were people around me who did not play games: I very much wanted them and other people to play the game," he says. "When you confront a game that takes 100 hours to clear, your fighting spirits would falter. If a game has a scenario, the best thing for that game is to be neither long nor short. So on Ico, we were thinking about five to six hours' playtime. But it also seems that there are mixed opinions about whether the game is substantial enough." Ico was also a departure from the norm because its gameplay predominantly portrays benign cooperation at a time when most titles tended towards violence. "The game is not about antithesis," says Ueda. "I play various types of games myself, and I think that the desire for destruction is also a human instinct. "At the same time, it is in our instinct to protect something or someone, as Ico does in the game. I don't think one instinct is good and the other is bad, and I did not regard the element of cooperation so highly. However, this could not be dismissed in terms of game design." The main character in the story is mute, and not by accident. "If conversation had been possible, the player would wish to control Yorda via conversation. I thought that taking one's hand was more meaningful since conversation would be difficult to implement. Therefore, the game is not about good versus evil. Ico has his own reasoning and the queen has hers, too. I wanted to leave the decision whether what Ico did was right or wrong to the player." Ueda was a very inquisitive child. As he explains: "I enjoyed catching and keeping living things, such as fish or birds. Other than that, I liked both watching and making animation. Basically, I seemed to be interested in things that moved." At school, his favourite subjects included art, which still plays an active role in Ueda's life and could have ended up being his career. "If I was not in the games industry, I would want to become a classical artist. Though I regard not only games but also anything that expresses something - be it films, novels or manga - as forms of art." The way Ueda approaches games is rather telling, as is his first meaningful gaming experience. "Lemmings impressed me, as I sensed life on the TV screen for the first time in my life. I often import games from abroad and play them. On such occasions, my imagination sometimes gets stimulated more, as I don't understand the language. Ico is a game that intentionally tries to achieve that."

guardian






vincent.sunkingdomstudio.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkcPkcAsKNI

[sethii]

Okami (2006) - PS2, Wii














artofokami.com, kotaku.com, wikipedia.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v6cEyGwlew

[gius]

cool thread, sethii...

but that cover for ICO , it's just like the work of Giorgio di Chirico
(1914)

lastfm.es

i like their choice of colours.

[Hana_N]

I love the visual looks of both of those games that you posted sethii. I've contemplated getting a Playstation 2 just to play specifically those two games.

Here are some games with really interesting art.

Echochrome (PSP)
I haven't played it, but I was just completely struck by the simplicity of the graphics and the gameplay is also something I haven't seen before, so I'm completely floored by it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLJiv9Aeo2c

Another great one is No One Lives Forever, it might not have a particularly striking style, but it's nice to see a game set in the 60's. I also included it because it's one of my favourite games of all times and Cate Archer is awesome and has cool style.

1st picture from echochrome (ps3informer.com), 2 and 3 from No One Lives Forever and the last two from NO One Lives Forever 2 (gamehotties.com)

[sethii]

^^ I believe that he acknowledges the inspiration.

^ Echo looks unique

This is the second game by the creator of ICO:

Shadow of The Collosus / ワンダと巨像 (2005) PS2





picasaweb.google.com/SotCartbook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbg5WFx19rM

[Hana_N]

Prince of Persia, the new from one from 2008 is also an unbelievably pretty game. Sometimes I just sat there in awe while playing the game because it was so gorgeous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oPga...eature=related

Mirror's Edge also has a very cool and different art style, very stark and white (I was almost blinded at times), punctuated by splashes of bright colors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N1TJP1cxmo

And lastly I like to throw in a sentimental favourite: Rollercoaster tycoon. Artwise it might not be cutting edge or even pretty, but it's armed with oodles of charm, which goes to show that you don't need the latest 3d-engines and whatnot. All you need is a good game that works and loads of charm. And the art does work well for the game, it sets it apart from all the other 3d simulators by being a 2d simulator with practically no rendering.
It was published in back 1999 (and the graphics were already VERY dated at that time) but I love it just like it is.


wikipedia

[gius]

when i was in high school, i was so obsessed with this game called Silent Hill.. I used to collect so many pictures and videos, and especially the music! I loved them













paginadois.com.br | unrealitymag.com
ps2fantasy.com

it was my first time being 'connected' to a game visually. really caught my eye. it's a bit gruesome but there is something interesting about the whole idea.. the fog, being alone in a city with one pipe and a gun you have to refill all the time.. and strange music... i would post some videos but i'm under a slow connection right now. i really recommend watching the previews for the games (Silent Hill 1, 2, 3 etc. ...) all on youtube--the lighting and everything so lovely

[sethii]

Animal Crossing / どうぶつの森 2005 Nintendo DS

So cute and has great patterns. You can even design clothes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNxjGDGBYlg


rakuten.co.jp


famitsu.com

[sethii]

Silent Hill reminds me of the film Don't Look Now.

Final Fantasy XII / ファイナルファンタジーXII (2006) PS2












creativeuncut.com , wikipedia.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FOwOdHvdIQ

[sethii]

Grim Fandango (1998) PC

Wonderfully adventure inspired by film noir and the Day of The Dead festival






wikipedia.org , dod.dotagame.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV1NBHL9Fa4

[Romantic Rebel]

^^ oh yes Grim Fandango! Arguably one of the best PC games of all time. You just made me reinstall it on my PC. I hope it runs on Vista!
I also played Rollercoaster Tycoon 3.

The Longest Journey






www.gamershell.com
www.loudandfrench.com
http://www.longestjourney.com/