» Profile
» Inbox
» Updates
» My People
» My Games
» Comments

» Follow GR on Twitter

» More Modern Warfare 2!

» Gallery of hotness
» Sexy Fan Art
» Sexy Cosplay
» Sexiest Game Gurus

Uncharted 2

Halo 3: ODST

Brutal Legend

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Fallout 3

Pokémon

Grand Theft Auto IV

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift

Also known as: MotorStorm 2

RSS

Cool concept art vs. crushing reality

Artistic ambition lost in polygon translation

Words: David Houghton, GamesRadar UK

29 Comments

Email this article

Bookmark

Bookmark this Article

The vision

A desperate, last-ditch battle as the besieged human forces make one last stand against the fury of an unstoppable foe. Helm's Deep with giant, flame-handed tusk trolls.

The reality

The old RTS problem rears its grim-featured visage once again. Detailed, dramatic artwork becomes pointless when reduced to the scale of an ant colony attacking a half-eaten sandwich.

The vision

The clean, bright, clinical ambience of 2001 cleverly marred by the broken-down reality of Star Wars.

The reality

Genero sci-fi corridors, circa 1996.

Cover art that over-sold the experience
The box looked awesome, didn't it? Oh dear...

How to Make a Monster!
We talk to the lead Art Director and Creature Designer for Dead Space and find out what it takes to do their jobs

« Prev
1
2
3

29 Comments

Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First

O_B_Slaybrook - 9 months 25 days ago

Nice Article

I think never judge a book by its cover applies here...

oh and.... FIRST!

Report

ELpork - 9 months 25 days ago

The red steel comparison hurt on the deep down inside.

Report

colemanb - 9 months 25 days ago

MAN!!! :( I WAS GONNA BUY HALO WARS!!!
SUCKISH
GOOD ARTICLE!

Report

erreip199 - 9 months 25 days ago

No matter how painful this is to see and read thats the job im dreaming to apply for, i love both drawings and video games and i think concept art for them is the best way to contribute for them doing the things i like to do but bad developers dont see the same way as the concept artist, still interesting article to read

Report

Grenade - 9 months 25 days ago

That Red Steel thing is ridiculous.

Report

vic88 - 9 months 25 days ago

"an ant colony attacking a half eaten sandwich" Haha,
why did they cancel CAC Tiberium

Report

iKOemos - 9 months 25 days ago

nothing ever lives up to it's concept art.... *sob*

Report

Donnagen - 9 months 25 days ago

@ iKOemos

Appart from killzone 2.

Took my PS3 online for the first time in a year to dowload the demo... beautiful!

Goodbye my precious 360 for the two months after killzones release!

Report

GamesRadarEricBratcher - 9 months 25 days ago

Man, Iron Man looks fantastic in that artwork, doesn't it? I'm always amazed, to this day, at how much richer everything looks in concept art. Someday, we'll get there. Maybe.

Report

key0blade - 9 months 25 days ago

Redsteel had me all hyped up for a shitty game, in which everything looked and played like SHIT

Report

NelosAngelos - 9 months 25 days ago

Uck, what is this, the nineties? C'mon "next-gen" at least try even if it is a half-assed game, you'll still get away with amazing visuals. Man, put a tuxedo on a pig and it's still a pig.

Report

SkinnyJr - 9 months 25 days ago

I think every RTS has superfluous concept art

Report

RedBandit - 9 months 25 days ago

You guys are right on with this. I have always thought this stuff. Concept art=OMG GREAT GAME

Report

msg - 9 months 25 days ago

Nice article. I like the selection of comparison pictures.

Ah, the smell of wasted potential.

Report

Jason.Darksavior - 9 months 25 days ago

This article is so true. There are so many cool concept arts which hardly look like the real production. However, many games do live up the hype of their concept art, like Bioshock.

Report

Romination - 9 months 24 days ago

Ooooh...
so is THAT where For Answer came from?! I get it now...

I agree with jason...a followup showing what IS make of good on promises?

Report

GamesRadarDavidHoughton - 9 months 24 days ago

Yeah Eric, I was blown away by that Iron Man concept painting when I found it. So epically apocalyptic. It's now one of my favourite pieces of game art, despite its origin.

Report

xFnKxTaLeNtx - 9 months 24 days ago

Loved the article! Thought that the moon one that was a little unfair but otherwise the perfect mix of funny and intuitive. A second version would be appreciated.

Report

Red - 9 months 24 days ago

The comparisons to me were a bit of a shock at first. Then I started thinking, I'm so accustomed to games NEVER looking as good as the concept art that I don't even pay attention to the pictures when I'm flipping through magazines.

How sad is that?

Report

Necron - 9 months 24 days ago

You see, this is the main problem with all video games. They all lack ambiance, immursion and the same art style used in the concept art.

The only game that has pulled this off the best so far is Killzone 2 and maybe a couple other games like the Silent Hill series. This is what developers should be shooting for, not lifeless battlefields and environments.

Report

Showing 1-20 of 29 Comments

1 2 NEXT »