The Uncanny Valley Of Graphics

Recently I was scrolling YouTube, and I came across this video:


It's basically Minecraft but with realistic physics and without blocks. As I was watching, I couldn't help but hate the whole art style and I wasn't sure why I at first. But then after thinking about it for a bit, I figured it out why.

So there's 2 ways a game or a video or whatever can make their art style good One is simplistic but consistent like pixel art such as Minecraft, Shovel Knight, or UnderTale. Usually this style is also more colorful and cartoonish.



And the other is trying to make it as detailed and realistic as possible such as most AAA games such as the Witcher or the Last of Us. With this style it usually has more dull and bleak colors, but there are exceptions:



But what happens when you try to have both pixel art and realistic shapes and graphics? This:





Instead of having the nice consistent style you get from pixels, the pixels are stretched and mashed together to the point where something feels off. And you definitely do not get a crisp vibe from it compared to the modern AAA. They're just straight up harder to look at.

So that's why I hate the style MEOR has; it tries to do the middle of the road approach but it has the advantages of neither. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

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Side note: This is the main reason why I hate the art style of the Lycanites Mod:




"But Dr Zed, they're monsters; they're supposed to be butt ugly!" Okay but not like that. There are plenty of mob mods that mesh nicely with vanilla like Mowzie's Mobs or Fire and Ice.



Sometimes it's better to work within limits than without because otherwise your art style won't be consistent or sync well.

 

this is so cursed

 

I’ve never seen a more ugly Minecraft mod.

 

Pixels are blocky and work on a grid, so naturally the models should be as well. Otherwise it's just crusty origami (which I guess works if you're making a horror game)

 

Sometimes games can get it right, like the first doom game

 

I mean sometimes it’s better to have pixels be a bit off center due to how slopes look in strict pixel art. Notice how the rock crab monster in the Mowzie’s Mobs photo has crystals that are tilted and meshed into the back of it? That’s what I’m talking about. Otherwise the crystals would look too bumpy. But at least the crystals are still made out of pixels though.

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That’s bc the first doom wasn’t technically 3D (you couldn’t put your gun down or up), and it still uses sprites instead of 3D models. So it still adheres more to a traditional pixel art style.

 

This is why I didn't like Orphion's model first seeing it. It felt like too different from anything else. Now I'm okay with it.