Author Topic: Honest Opinions on the Look of WiiSports (Read 16844 times)

Ceric · « **on:** July 09, 2006, 05:05:44 AM »

I personallly think that the WiiSports titles look amazing. Better then some of the other titles and a good chunk of the offerings this time around. The only thing Simple are the characters and even thay have a sheen to them. Look at the grass it's so pretty. The mountians in WiiPlane have definitive style that is nice looking, varied, and clear. Even from the height you can see the Sport/Golf style grassing being rendered. There is a little Town done there with features just as noticeable as from a real plane. The Bat in WiiBasebal has a a Wood Grain to it. IGN did an article on how it was a step back but they put a picture if WiiBaseball by the Mario Baseball and I still think that the Wii Version looks better. I know it won't be as expansive a game but I don't get why people are knocking the look so hard? I've never seen a N64/DS put out graphics that cleans and nice looking. The Cube had some games, RE4, that definitily looked better and then there were some that looked about on par, Super Mario Sunshine. I guess what I'm trying to say his I don't understand what everyone is so up in arms about.

Nephilim · « **Reply #1 on:** July 09, 2006, 05:13:49 AM »

I think making them more complex is the key, imagine if all u could do is stroke ur nintendog, well thats the approach there taking with wii sports and well its not the best idea

plus the games seem very simple and wouldnt be a hassel to online code, i dont see why they cant add online

Ceric · « **Reply #2 on:** July 09, 2006, 05:56:07 AM »

*Shrug* They'll probably be online by a WiiConnect24 Patch.

Artimus · « **Reply #3 on:** July 09, 2006, 11:13:32 AM »

The enviroments are fine (though they SHOULD be going for something very very pretty, and very very well polished). I don't think the characters are smart, though. Cartoony characters are a good diea, simple characters are a good idea, but the current Playschool design isn't appealing in the slightest. I think online would be neat, but they're not complicated enough to really be worth it...

Kairon · « **Reply #4 on:** July 09, 2006, 12:17:56 PM »

I, for one, am quite taken in by the Wii Sports art style. Simple, straightforward, no nonsense, yet playful, shiny, and artsy.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Mario · « **Reply #5 on:** July 09, 2006, 12:32:09 PM »

Wii Airplane was the best looking game at E3 for me.

Requiem · « **Reply #6 on:** July 09, 2006, 02:48:40 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Artimus
The enviroments are fine (though they SHOULD be going for something very very pretty, and very very well polished). I don't think the characters are smart, though. Cartoony characters are a good diea, simple characters are a good idea, but the current Playschool design isn't appealing in the slightest. I think online would be neat, but they're not complicated enough to really be worth it...

The only reason they went with their detached Rayman looking people is because it would look weird if those guys have arms.

I mean, the Wiimote is so damn sensitive that the charachters arms would be giggling and moving all the damn time resulting in a less immersive experience.

slacker · « **Reply #7 on:** July 09, 2006, 05:21:10 PM »

Simple and shallow gameplay should be complimented with simple and shallow graphics. It would only piss off buyers if the graphics were spectacular and yet the gameplay remain shallow. I'm not saying the gameplay isn't fun, its just that it is basic and almost old school, which isn't such a bad time in the end.

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #8 on:** July 09, 2006, 05:46:04 PM »

Pleasant.

Non-threatening.

Non-distracting.

That's the point.

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #9 on:** July 09, 2006, 05:49:45 PM »

I think the graphical style is perfect for what it is, to leach a bit off slackers statement, this is a simplistic game. When you are playing it you are not going to be focusing on the graphics, but instead you should be focused on your interaction with the game (you are whatever character you choose with the Wii controller). The graphics are only intended to be easy on the eyes, but nothing complex, something appealing for people of all ages without being flashy. It is meant to be all inclusive, with simple pick up and play fun for the whole family, and the graphical style matches that (Heck the Hot Shots series also has similar character visuals so it isn't anything new).

mantidor · « **Reply #10 on:** July 09, 2006, 10:04:36 PM »

The airplane was awesome, but the tennis part was honestly underwhelming, I don't mind a simple style, but that didnt seem like a simple style, it looked like a demo, its like Nintendo wasn't even trying to get some good visuals, they just tossed some polygons and called it a game (and probably will charge $50 for it

).

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #11 on:** July 09, 2006, 11:09:52 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: mantidor
The airplane was awesome, but the tennis part was honestly underwhelming, I don't mind a simple style, but that didnt seem like a simple style, it looked like a demo, its like Nintendo wasn't even trying to get some good visuals, they just tossed some polygons and called it a game (and probably will charge $50 for it ).

I take it you have played both?

Infernal Monkey · « **Reply #12 on:** July 10, 2006, 02:15:51 AM »

The water in WiiPlane is outstanding!

couchmonkey · « **Reply #13 on:** July 10, 2006, 09:12:38 AM »

It's okay. I'd like to them spruce the graphics up a little bit, but overall I think they're fine for what Nintendo is trying to do.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #14 on:** July 10, 2006, 09:24:36 AM »

I think the characters look too much like children's toys. If Nintendo really wants to attract a wide audience something more neutral would work better. This is just sports. It's EASY to make a sport family friendly without it looking like a kids game. The design looks a little lazy, too. It's just a little too simplistic where it looks less like an intentional design and more like a bare minimum effort with the "intentional simplistic design" being more of an excuse. Nintendo has a well deserved reputation for being cheap. They can feed us all the BS they want but the REAL reason they didn't go HD or anything like that is because THEY didn't want to spend more money. So when they try to pass off weak graphics as an intentional style I'm immediately suspicious of them just trying to save a few bucks.

I've been playing Baseball Stars 2 a lot lately and THAT is what an all ages sports game should look like. It just screams "FUN" while WiiSports screams "tech demo".

Pale · « **Reply #15 on:** July 10, 2006, 09:49:31 AM »

In general the main problem with the look is that every game plays like a mini game... :-/

I would definately let the look slide if there was some depth there, but the fact that you will be sick of each of these games after, at most, an hour of fun doesn't really help anything. I hope Nintendo packages this with the system, as that is what it will be best for, a tech demo.

mantidor · « **Reply #16 on:** July 10, 2006, 12:08:08 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: VGrevolution
Quote
Originally posted by: mantidor
The airplane was awesome, but the tennis part was honestly underwhelming, I don't mind a simple style, but that didnt seem like a simple style, it looked like a demo, its like Nintendo wasn't even trying to get some good visuals, they just tossed some polygons and called it a game (and probably will charge $50 for it ).

I take it you have played both?

I don't need to play it to know how it looks

couchmonkey · « **Reply #17 on:** July 10, 2006, 12:23:23 PM »

I imagine I could get more than an hour out of the WiiSports games, once I get a few friends drunk. But yeah, the single-player experience is not going to last so long.

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #18 on:** July 10, 2006, 12:30:32 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: couchmonkey
I imagine I could get more than an hour out of the WiiSports games, once I get a few friends drunk. But yeah, the single-player experience is not going to last so long.

I don't think it is intended to be a single player experience, it seems to be built around multiplayer (similar to the Mario Party games).

Artimus · « **Reply #19 on:** July 10, 2006, 02:05:21 PM »

I really think they have to be careful, too, of the example. It isn't ok to just make a poor looking group of 3 mini-games and sell them for a lot of money. Third parties will love to do it, too, if Nintendo sets that example.

Nintendo's flaw has always been presentation. Graphics aside, they don't present the games with much flair. If they made the characters look like humanoids, not Fisher Price rejects, it would help a lot. Let's face it, art direction is eons more important than polygon count, but the characters in WiiSports are atrocious in both those categories. If they were smart they'd go for either highly stylized or more realistic. As it is the thing looks like one of those cheap games you buy with a plastic bat and it plugs into your VCR.

I guess I just don't see why Nintendo can't make the games flashy, appealing and still lighthearted and very accessable. All those things make more sense than the current character design. They also need to pack this in and have 4 or more sports.

Requiem · « **Reply #20 on:** July 10, 2006, 02:35:46 PM »

You guys "honestly" need to stop bitching.

The only people I've heard complain about the models used in WiiSports are people that haven't played it.

Coincidence?

Kairon · « **Reply #21 on:** July 10, 2006, 05:23:55 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Artimus
IIf they made the characters look like humanoids, not Fisher Price rejects, it would help a lot. Let's face it, art direction is eons more important than polygon count, but the characters in WiiSports are atrocious in both those categories. If they were smart they'd go for either highly stylized or more realistic. As it is the thing looks like one of those cheap games you buy with a plastic bat and it plugs into your VCR.

I disagree. I think that you're underestimating the amount of industrial design that goes into things like tinker toys and other assorted children toys. And I think that you're mistaking simplicity for carelessness. You don't need visual clutter to be "good art design" you know.

I happen to think that the Wii sports art style is very aesthetically pleasing.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

IceCold · « **Reply #22 on:** July 10, 2006, 08:54:44 PM »

Quote
They can feed us all the BS they want but the REAL reason they didn't go HD or anything like that is because THEY didn't want to spend more money.

Oh come on.. we've gone over this too many times, so I don't know why I'm saying this again, but here goes. They didn't do it to save themselves money. It's actually quite simple. If they added HD they would need to increase the power and, in turn, the price. To capture a new market, the price needs to be accessible. Hell, the Xbox 360 price is steep for even me, and I don't think it's worth it for a few more pixels. So imagine what nongamers feel like; they wouldn't touch the console if it was priced so high. Nintendo wouldn't be able to succeed if they went into the HD war with the other two - they would get muscled out. They wouldn't get nongamers and they wouldn't get gamers from the Xbox/PS2, and it would be a disaster. And then there's the development costs - millions and millions will be spent on PS3 games with less return than ever, especially with the shockingly high console price. And to top it off, the games with the high production values aren't original and unique at all. That is the definition of stagnation, and it would lead to another market crash.

Kairon · « **Reply #23 on:** July 10, 2006, 09:09:18 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: IceCold
Quote
They can feed us all the BS they want but the REAL reason they didn't go HD or anything like that is because THEY didn't want to spend more money.
Oh come on.. we've gone over this too many times, so I don't know why I'm saying this again, but here goes. They didn't do it to save themselves money. It's actually quite simple. If they added HD they would need to increase the power and, in turn, the price. To capture a new market, the price needs to be accessible. Hell, the Xbox 360 price is steep for even me, and I don't think it's worth it for a few more pixels. So imagine what nongamers feel like; they wouldn't touch the console if it was priced so high. Nintendo wouldn't be able to succeed if they went into the HD war with the other two - they would get muscled out. They wouldn't get nongamers and they wouldn't get gamers from the Xbox/PS2, and it would be a disaster. And then there's the development costs - millions and millions will be spent on PS3 games with less return than ever, especially with the shockingly high console price. And to top it off, the games with the high production values aren't original and unique at all. That is the definition of stagnation, and it would lead to another market crash.

QFT.

Also, how in the world can lesser developers afford to even survive in the industry when ground floor requires HD graphics and EA-size budgets?

Catering to your core in a creative, entertainment, almost artistic field like videogames is a sure path to death. I mean, just look at how much more exciting the film industry is now that independent movies have taken off and become widespread instead of a rarity?

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Infernal Monkey · « **Reply #24 on:** July 10, 2006, 09:50:31 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
I'm repeating myself once again I never have ANYTHING new to say so I just keep complaining about the same tired rubbish month after month, doesn't matter what thread it is

Oh. Okay.

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Author Topic: Honest Opinions on the Look of WiiSports (Read 16844 times)