Street Fighter 4 is out and it is lighting up Metacritic with some pretty stellar scores. Friends have asked me what I think of the latest version. I wish I could tell them, but I can't... because I have not purchased it yet. I probably will end up buying it eventually, but honestly I'm not sure when.
This has left more than one person flabbergasted. How could I, long time Street Fighter fanactic and former developer of one of the games in the series, not have run out and bought it on release day? Why wasn't I up all night, dragon punching like it was 1994 all over again?
The image attached to this post pretty much explains it. Take a second to click on the image and have a look at it in a higher resolution. On the left is Guile from Street Fighter 4. On the right is fan art of the same character, executed with 3dsmax and Zbrush.
Looking at this, one might conclude that I am some sort of "graphics whore." But, that isn't totally right. When I look at those two images, I don't see good graphics vs bad graphics. I see two different choices in style. But, most importantly, I see a discrepancy in production value.
Production value is a term often associated with the film industry. Movies that look like they cost a lot of money to make are said to have high production value. Think of it as "bang for the buck." This usually translates into more special effects, great sound, and awesome picture quality. Hollywood producers want the audience to feel like they have gotten their money's worth and have seen a volume of entertainment equal or greater than the cost of the ticket.
I have come to realize over the years that as I mature and my available free time and disposable income shrinks, I have become choosy about where my gaming minutes and dollars go. When I have free time to spend playing games, I want the best, highest quality experience I can get for my gaming dollar. In my mind, cell shaded, cartooney style characters with lighting painted into the textures, and devoid of normal maps, does not look like a game with high production value. A Street Fighter 4 with characters executed in the style and of the production value level of the fan art Guile on the right would have been a purchase outright.
Killzone 2 drops next week, and it is chock full of production value, and as such, itwill occupy me for the next few weeks. After that, if Street Fighter 4 drops to a price that justifies its quality level, I suppose I shall hadoken once again.
2.20.2009
Street Fighter 4 and Production Value
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 COMMENTS:
I think it's not production value, but rather art direction that you are having a problem with. The team behind SFIV obviously wanted to go with a recreation of SF2 with 3D models and environments with classic 2D gameplay. It's obvious with playing the game, it's meant to feel and look like SF2. With a few days of the game so far, I'm really enjoying it.
I think a hyper realistic look you reference wouldn't fit right with the SF series, as with the exception of your SFTMG game it's all been hand-drawn animation style of artwork. Going hyper realistic art direction I think is not the right thing to do for them.
The look you want with that fan animation I think is better suited for the MK series actually. Hopefully MK9 will push the limits of the Unreal Engine even more and go with a dark gritty detailed look like that. That is what I'd personally like to see.
I have to agree with Patrick... this thread more underscores exactly how treacherous updating an existing IP can be. To say that having a cartoonish look is the same as poor production values is to imply that movies like Inspector Gadget and Speed Racer had poor production values. Transformers clearly had some pretty poor production choices, and it had nothing to do with the art.
Everyone has an opinion where a license ought to go. Project Origin just came out and the response was "yeah, it's more of the same, but they changed X when I wanted them to add Y" and it's been getting 70-75% scores. For a game that does what we developers think people want - more of the same with some new monsters and weapons and better graphics. For every one of you who thinks SF would be awesome with the realistic art, there's gotta be at least an equal number who would object. And honestly, I think that having a cartoonish look helps diffuse some racial issues with character stereotypes.
Glad you like it Alan, can't wait to see what you think. To compare I fired up the SF2THDR today for the first time for more than 5 minutes, and it definitely feels much different than SFIV. I have to play SF3 to see how it feels again, since it's been a while.
I got some issues just with the UI for the Multiplayer games which translates pretty largely to how the game works and how much more I'd want to play since it's fairly annoying to me.
Ok, some clarification:
I did not have a problem with the aesthetics of the style, but instead with the execution of that style. In all of the media I had scene, it looked pretty lackluster. The choice of style appeared to be a cop out.
HOWEVER, on Sunday I gave in and bought the game regardless of my apprehension. I have to say, the still images do NOT do the game justice. The style IS executed at a high level of quality. It does look awesome, and fits series. There is obviously an investment in the visual aspect of the title; it is of high production value. I stand corrected.
Now... when it comes to the game play, I have a few issues. I'll blog about that shortly.
(fixed a spelling error)
"(fixed a spelling error)" Ahh that's why I got a notification and came and saw your post below mine. I thought I was going nuts, obviously I need more coffee.
Post a Comment