Looking Into Games - Paper Moon

So far I have not really looked into the visual side of the game, what I mean is are we going for photorealism graphics, Self Shaded or a stylised game for example. First of we are ruling out photorealistic graphics. Its something I just don't think works for 2d games, they should be left for high polygon games where you can explore a whole world and not just a 2d view, It would just feel wasted. But I would be interested in seeing a game such as Call Of Duty or Unchanted as a 2d platformer however I don't believe i have seen anything that can compete. I have always been interested in exploring the cell shaded option it is something I mentioned frequently in previous projects however I have never got round to it but Im definatly gonna explore that option. Ive mentioned before my fondness of very stylised games and this is one of the most beautiful games I have seen for a while towards that style in Paper moon.  The game only focuses on 2 colours which are black and white but they compliment each other so well. One problem they overcome was to not confuse the colours for example been able to follow the path of the game and knowing when to jump on ledges and game assists for example. I really love the white online which stands out on the game objects such as the trees and ledges but does not confuse or over cram the level one bit. And the way it's not perfect and at times the images look one sided but it is done intentionally on creating that effect like its been stuck on paper with glue. the whole level looks like it has been made of silhouette stuck onto a piece of paper and then they just gave it live by animating on unity. I highly doubt the level has been created on Maya and is just strips of layers animated and to quickly mentionI can tell the huge influence of Saul Bass. I think it would have looked even better if they used a another colour, such as making the lanterns yellow or the skyline red. Either way I can't fault the design but it would have been great to see the results however its a style which I can see defiantly influencing our design. I also really love some of the animations on the level such as the water. its so simple but compliments the feel the designers have gone for. Its just a simple shape cutout to look like a wave effect however they have added layers behind to give it more dimension and with the game asset in-between the layers it works really well and makes it feel like its meant to be there and actually feels like the boat is in the water. We have mentioned a similar technique we could use for the backgrounds to provide that extra depth behind the level and assets. The game also has some impressive gameplay and an interesting level design but the main reason for this blog is to comment on the aesthetic beauty which is something I adore, below are some screenshots and a quick Video for you to enjoy.