By John Walker on April 16th, 2009 at 7:25 pm.
Gearbox have revealed the first online screenshot of the Borderlands’ not-cel-shaded-but-a-bit-like-that style. Just one shot, the meanies, and peculiarly they’ve stamped a big advert for the forthcoming PC Gamer US June edition all over it. Peculiar because the current ish of PC Gamer UK has the same shot. Meanies because PCG UK has seven more in its pages that aren’t online. But shitting crikey, we’re looking forward to this. There’s an advert-cropped version of the shot if you click on the pic above, and you can see the whole thing at the game’s site.
The art design is called “Concept Style”, inspired as it is by traditional concept art. It’s a combination of hand-drawn work and magical computer tricks to give it the comic book feel, and it’s gorgeous.
Make sure to check out our interview with Gearbox producer Simon Hurley.
PS. You can see the cover of next month’s PCG US here, which has another rather lovely image, once more showing off the hand-drawn feel to the whole thing. Also you can see the cover splash, “Prepare to be shot and punched in the face by this role-playing shooter.” You can then fear for the future of the universe.
A more sumptuous screenshot I have not seen in a long time.
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Hmm, alright.
my anticipation risen from 10% to 90%. It does look gorgeous.
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I suppose it’s good for the game
It looked really generic before
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fulis, you haiku’s arrangement was wrong:
I present:
I suppose it’s good
for the game. It looked really
generic before
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Just as with TF2, I believe not having a 100% realistic look really benefits a multiplayer game. This looks really good.
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Looks slightly less generic than before. Kudos++
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The first time in a long time I’ve developed an interest in a game based purely on a screenshot…
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The art style reminds me a lot of weird-yet-great post-apocalyptic action-CCG thingy Phantom Dust on the original Xbox. Very distinct art design in that, which made the post apocalyptic world look quite distinct.
Anything that reminds me of Phantom Dust is a good thing. I hope the game just turns out well.
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They got anime in my gritty, dark wasteland!
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Reminds me somewhat of the new Prince of Persia game, which I recently acquired. Leaving aside that game’s possible faults or successes on the gameplay front, the “concept art” graphical style is awesome.
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…Isn’t that EXACTLY what the Prince of Persia guys said about their style too?
Prince of Persia with guns!
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“Make sure to check out our interview with Gearbox producer Simon Hurley.”
The link leads to screenshots
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Thanks kozure – fixed.
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/me holds out hope for Trigun mod.
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It was hilarious how much bitching there was about people trying to base their pereceptions off the PCG US cover image, whilst those of us who had read the PCG UK article a week earlier thought it looked fine.
Now everyone can actually see what it looks like the bitching stops.
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Seriously, why are they going for a cutesy style? Madmax meets MyBrute?
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I actually quite like the Frank Herbet-esque* visuals from before. They’d done washed-out the right way (unlike you, Epic).
* Disclaimer: your idea of Herbert’s world might be very different from mine.
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Can it be ?
A cel shading done right !
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Nuyan: Hey, that explains why BF2 did so well!
…no, wait, it doesn’t…
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My head just exploded. Blimey!
It sure looks pretty.
I sure hope the game will be good.Oh, I had somehow forgotten that interview, though I’m pretty sure I read it when it was posted. Sounds very promising. Looking forward to seeing and hearing more.Also, @ VaultDweller:
Cutesy? How the hell is that screenshot cutesy? Sure you didn’t mean to type “why are they going for a style” and just somehow, totally by accident, slipped “cutesy” in there? I’m sorry if I’m being a tiny bit abusive but I really couldn’t disagree more about this so called cuteness. Care to elaborate?
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I was a bit doubtful too: also thought the old screenshots looked like washed-out-’n'-gritty-done-right.
But this is verrr’ pretty, although I can’t think this prettiness maybe should’ve be given (by, like, the Gaming Gods) to another game more in need.
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Yes. This. More of this.
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I’m very pleased with the increasing tendency of developers to eschew photo-realism in favour of having clear and characteristic art direction. Not only does it add more variety into the scene, but it means that developers try and work with the limits of current technology, rather than against it. As a result, many of these graphics are going to age a lot better.
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I agree with James G. Is a good change. Style is better than Number of Polygons.
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It’s like my Rock Band avatars made their way into an action game!
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Mike wins. That’s exactly what the figures reminded me of.
I dig the art just fine, but the emo-emaciated look is tiresome. I hope there’s a lot more diversity of models than what’s represented in that shot.
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I was interested in Borderlands before (Giant digger FTW), but now I’m all kinds of fired up. Love the new look.
Heh, PC Gamer cover looks like a 2000AD cover.
PS. Mr. Gillan, when are you going to write something for 2000AD? Have they somehow not noticed your comix-tinged skillz?
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I just compared it to the PC Gamer UK screenie that’s the same. Or so you’d think! Not only is it mirrored, but the number 3 is missing in PCG. Conspiracy theories ahoy!
PS: Yes, it looks awesome in PCG and my interest has spiked. I hope there’s a Concept Art giant digger along with the vagina mouthed beast.
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Sorry but big pile of “meh” for me. I have no love at all for Cell Shaded or cartoony graphics with TF2 being the exception that proves the rule.
Oh well; Pity…
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JamesG: Evil Genius agrees with you.
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Prepare to be shot and punched in the face!
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I was a little afraid when I first heard the news – not that I dislike cel-shading, but it seemed like a poor fit for the game as previewed. That screenshot looks just fine, though.
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Am vaguely reminded of Tank Girl. And that’s no bad thing.
Another fine step away from the quickly-outdated photo-realism approach and one step towards a more timeless, visually appealing art direction. I remember when people complained about TF2′s then-new and rather controversial look.
So hush. If you want more of the usual brown n’ greys, there’s plenty of games that scratch that itch quite well.
@VaultDweller:
I know cute. That ain’t it. Ain’t anime either. “Spunky,” perhaps. Just a few degrees off Punk, I’d say. Perhaps a bit too clean to look right, but that’s about it.
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Hmm, this strikes me as a bit off…. I thought borderlands previously had a great art style, based on the animal designs and all that. Like they’d done washed out properly.
But we’ll see how this goes, but i can’t get myself excited about this art, as much as i am about the game.
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I think I’ll be one of the few dissenters. I liked the old style before. I guess you could just call me a “realist.” However this doesn’t change how I feel about the game, I’m still looking forward to it. I look at the graphics style as more of a preference over the game play itself, which I hope will be good.
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Don’t like it one bit. It looks like silverfall, and very childish. Too bad.
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James G has it right. Visual style goes a long way in keeping gameworlds fresh even after the technology moved on. ‘Gritty realism’ is a misnomer for the actual lack of stylistic differentiation between many contemporary games (Uncharted on console is an example of a ‘realist’ game that manages to maintain its own visual signature). I’m glad to see studios trying their luck with something outside the Realism-of-War/World-of-Wartoon opposition.
Also, I’m a complete fan of many concept artists (games and movies). I believe their work always supersedes its on-screen representation in terms of flair and vividness. Games moving toward concept art is Good Thing from my point of view.
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“Heh, PC Gamer cover looks like a 2000AD cover.”
Yes, it does.
I don’t understand when people see stuff like this and claim it’s “anime”. People know that the westerners also make comics and cartoons, right?
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Yuck. Looks contrasty and annoying (and I know in advance that fidgeting with the gamma won’t help)
This is what concept art looks like:
giant link reducer1
giant link reducer2
(yes, I know there’s many flavours of concept art)
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I don’t like it. Weird proportions, weird outlines, just weird and ugly.
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I see the screenshots, and the first comparison that occurs to me is “Second Life.”
I don’t know why it’s happening, but it is very frightening.
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The first two things I noticed:
1. The female does not have balloons affixed (and still looks nice)
2. At least the NPCs are not beefy like they are in UT3, GoW and countless other comparable games.
I wonder if these are even playable characters?
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Must.. not… become.. involved.. in.. internet.. discussion.. about.. tastes.. in.. art… style..
It looks lovely and everybody who says different is obviously stupid and kills little cats FOR FUN!!!
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Where’s the anger, people?
Not only does this game have COLOUR there are also not enough shadows meaning you can SEE WHAT’S GOING ON.
How utterly outrageous. I plan to start a message board dedicated to take any future screenshots of this game and posting them in grayscale.
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Now that you mention it, this screenshot does not look heterosexual enough for my tastes. It reminds me too much of World of Warcraft, because that has colors too.
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@Dave
It looks good – but I’m with you on the whole perspective thing. The gun/ammo cache is toying with my eyes!
It is just one screenshot though! :)
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@Rei Onryou:
Mirroring screenshots doesn’t strike me as a particularly unusual practice, presumably the 3 was photoshopped out so the flip wouldn’t be obvious.
The PCG version of that screen actually looks a bit better as the higher resolution shows the scratchy pen lines they’ve added as fine detail. As a big fan of PoP’s look, I approve. Still not too sure about the game itself though.
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Those two need to eat a pie. If they can’t handle a pie each without throwing up they can share one pie.
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The big case of guns in the background seems to contradict the earlier concept of a digital ‘weapons deck’ in the game… I was kind of looking forward to that =(
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Reminds me a fair bit of Full Throttle. Me likey.
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borderlands – isn’t that the game that had 1000000 different gunmodels as their biggest selling point a few months ago. have to convince me with more than just a “different” look. I wanna hear about features and handling, design comes 2nd or 3rd.
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I certainly hope “shitting crikey” has a prominent position in the press accolades adorning the final box art.
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This is not full throttle, this is Silverfall, a really lousy game.
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@Ian: Still going on about that, eh? ;) I tend to feel the dislike of the dislikees (of a game and/or related issue (and dislikee is no English, sure. Sue me)) hangs around more visibly since it targets an audience rather than a game.
Sorry, I should just stop going on about that, but I can’t seem to help it.
Anyway.. the art style kinda reminds me of the Chronicles of Spellborn, except MadMax-ey. And less extreme. Looks interesting.
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I echo the agreement of many here with James G. The easiest retro titles to pick up seem to have distinctive art styles that move them from being a product of an era into an almost timeless quality that makes things like bit depth, polygons pushed per 60th of a second and resolution not matter as much when you pick it back up 5 or 10 years later. To stick to one genre (and to stick to games I’ve fired back up within the last year), I’m thinking Last Express, Grim Fandango and Monkey 3 compared to, say, the Tex Murphy series of games. The first 3 were much easier for me to get back into: to, if you will, suspend my disbelief, even if they aren’t as “photo realistic”.
I’ve been really following this game for multiple reasons (not the least of which is that my wife actually wants to play it too) and, with procedurally generated guns and, (a man can dream) a huge world with some hopefully randomized elements this game can lead toward replayability over and over through the years. Keep on polishing, please. This much promise needs to deliver.
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Meh, it’s still ‘Cel shading’… coming up with fancy new names for something that’s already established as “a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make computer graphics appear to be hand-drawn” is just a marketing ploy – unless of course everyone is claiming that “*cinemaction” (TM) is a valid term now as well?
That being said, the game is gorgeous. I just hate people who feel like they need to change a term because they’re afraid to stand behind their decisions…. aka Valve/Stardock/Windows “It’s not DRM, this is better!” syndrome.
*See the Space Marine action game videos
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@Muzman
Actually, the style makes me think of Sparth, not Mullins.
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@John
You can’t just split sentences in half when writing haikus.
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apnea: it was more that it doesn’t resemble either of them nearly enough
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I don’t know maybe it’s because my background is in the fine arts rather than illustration, (although I can’t imagine illustrators think this is that innovative either) but I’m not sure I see the big deal here. I mean give those 2 a sandwich and it wouldn’t look terribly different from other games.
Incidentally while we’re appropriating aesthetic styles why not steal from someone interesting like Giacometti? Or a horror game based on Francis Bacon could be brilliant.
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FUCK YEAH BORDERLANDS.
Cool new art style, would have bought it anyway, but blimey! Bonus!
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My anticipation went from 90% to 10%. It looks terrible in comparison to what they were going to have (see first trailer, see E3 footage)
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In contrast, my anticipation went from 0% to 100%
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@Muzman
It’s a start, at least. Compared with the slurry of Military Grittiness and Cartoony Impertinence, it’s getting there.
I concede that it could be better, of course. But then, 2008 – Year of the EA – crushed any innocence this gamer had left.
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For the record, I agree. I’m for this sort of thing in principle, got nothing against the design style either. I just don’t like this shot very much (and am slightly perturbed by the gushing it’s getting. It looks like someone took a normal screenshot and ran it through Photoshop’s watercolour filter)
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I’m fine with the whole not cel-shaded but is kinda maybe deal, but is there some law that says game + cel-shading= thin characters?
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If people want photorealism, look at a photo, go outside or watch a movie. Realism is boring.
And I can’t really answer on Gillen behalf, but it’s my understanding that 2000AD’s economic and ownership policies leave some to be desired. Which is why there’s a good couple of British comic artists and writers that refrain from being involved with them, especially after somewhat establishing themselves in the industry. I could very well be wrong, but that’s my current understanding.
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