War Robots’ Art Style (or lack of)
Apr 10, 2023 14:48:45 GMT -5
via mobile
Cdr. Crimmins, milty72, and 2 more like this
Post by 079 on Apr 10, 2023 14:48:45 GMT -5
One of the more underrated aspects of War Robots in my opinion has always been its art style. Alongside the meta and complexity of the gameplay, the visual identity of War Robots has had quite the progression over the years, with some debate on if it is an evolution or a devolution. And well, I am curious to see what you all think about it now that I have brought it up. I’ve been wanting to do one of these opinion-sourcing threads for a while now, and I think this is a perfect topic. So without further ado, let’s go!
The beginnings of War Robots’s art style need no introduction. Back in 2014, when a lot of the online PvP games were leaning towards sci-fi aesthetics, this robot fighting game on something besides PC that had a realistic and militaristic art style was rather distinctive. The rugged, geometric designs of the equipment (that were often based on real military vehicles and weapons) arguably added a layer of immersion because it made it easier to suspend one’s disbelief. While this design ethos is rare in modern War Robots, there have been a few recent examples, such as Nightingale, Behemoth, and Skyros. Despite receiving criticism from newer players that it looks, drab, boring, and repetitive, this visual design has retained substantial admiration among older players.
Starting essentially immediately with the Mail.ru’s acquisition of Pixonic, the game began a shift towards much more sci-fi designs in the equipment, as well as in the new maps. The designs became less rugged and more sleek, often being based on animals or cultural icons instead of military hardware, with brighter colors, sharper edges, and shinier metal textures being used. This is also the design ethos that informs the early legendary pilots and most standard pilot designs. While not a total departure from the previous design language, this new artistic direction did have some clashes with the last one, mainly with the shininess of equipment and the emphasis on the primary and secondary colors as opposed to an Earthly color palette (desaturated beiges, blues, blacks, and greens). This was likely a part of Mail.ru’s plans to completely overhaul the game and wholly separate it from classic War Robots.
Some time later, mainly coming into prominence with the introduction of special edition bots, came what I think of as completely fantastical designs. While the sci-fi designs based on creatures like Hawk and Phantom made substantial efforts to still be robotic and semi-militaristic in nature, these designs fully embrace their source material. Obvious examples are Eldritch Ares, Bauchi Luchador, and Giftbringer Fenrir with their literal animals faces, but I also include designs like the dragon bots, Falcon, and Fafnir due to their bird-like legs and “wings” that come out them when their ability is activated. A lot of these designs have been hit or miss, with overly animalistic designs often being criticized for being too nonsensical or of-the-times (this was around when cartoony games like Fortnite took the games industry by storm), and the fact that they really only exist as one-off special edition equipment or legendary pilots means their presence within the game is jarring, even if the designs themselves are appealing.
The last and most recent major at style I have seen emerge is what I think is best described as anime-esk. Lots of the newest equipment and legendary pilot designs resemble Eastern media, be it the extremely recent (as is within the last 6 months) focus on cute little helper drones with Trixie hope, Harold Han, the designs of event chests, the Daltokki drone, and even Mars’ turret arguably, the animalistic designs of River Chase and Sorren De Vos, and new bots like Seraph and Nether inviting direct comparisons to mecha anime. The more lofi-style music in recent updates could also be a part of this. I see this as Mail.ru’s final evolution of the general sci-fi style, with them being fully satisfied with this being the overall theming of the game (seeing that much more than just the bots are now following this visual language). While it is cool to see the game finally settle into a more cohesive art style (the special editions are still random and thus hit or miss), seeing it erase the last remnants of older art styles is a bit saddening (mainly seen through UI and map redesigns).
Looking back at it all, it is becomes apparent that this game has had a bit of a visual identity crisis for a while now. Mail.ru threw out the game’s established art style and spent half a decade experimenting with different designs, only now seemingly settling into a uniform design ethos for the game (hopes this does not age poorly!). Even though most of my favorite designs come from the sci-fi era, I my overall favorite art style probably has to be the titular, classic realistic and militaristic art style. This mainly owes to the sheer cohesiveness it has due to the whole game being themed around it. Looking back at old videos of pre-remastered game versions or even playing 6 Pack, seeing the rugged bots slugging it out on the post-apocalyptic maps brings a sense of immersion that the more nonsensical and nonuniform designs of new just cannot recapture. This is especially true with older game versions, as the UI, hangar design, and sound design matched this art style too, which really brought the whole thing together. Mail.ru just did not give the other styles enough time to fully develop, and even if the anime-esk style really comes into its own, I still prefer the classic art style. Sci-Fi is my favorite aesthetic in theory, but I do prefer it lean towards realism than fiction (often called science-fantasy).
So, with all of the game’s art styles defined and explored, what do you all think? Vote for your favorite art style in the poll and tell me why you like it and/or dislike the others in a reply, because I’m really curious about this one. Also, what are your thoughts on the progression of the game’s visuals through the years? Unlike a lot of topics in this game, there is no clear answer, much less a right answer. Unlike game balance or monetization, art style does not make a game objectively better or worse, so it is up to you as to what is best. As I’ve said maybe too many times now, I look forward to the discussion!
The beginnings of War Robots’s art style need no introduction. Back in 2014, when a lot of the online PvP games were leaning towards sci-fi aesthetics, this robot fighting game on something besides PC that had a realistic and militaristic art style was rather distinctive. The rugged, geometric designs of the equipment (that were often based on real military vehicles and weapons) arguably added a layer of immersion because it made it easier to suspend one’s disbelief. While this design ethos is rare in modern War Robots, there have been a few recent examples, such as Nightingale, Behemoth, and Skyros. Despite receiving criticism from newer players that it looks, drab, boring, and repetitive, this visual design has retained substantial admiration among older players.
Starting essentially immediately with the Mail.ru’s acquisition of Pixonic, the game began a shift towards much more sci-fi designs in the equipment, as well as in the new maps. The designs became less rugged and more sleek, often being based on animals or cultural icons instead of military hardware, with brighter colors, sharper edges, and shinier metal textures being used. This is also the design ethos that informs the early legendary pilots and most standard pilot designs. While not a total departure from the previous design language, this new artistic direction did have some clashes with the last one, mainly with the shininess of equipment and the emphasis on the primary and secondary colors as opposed to an Earthly color palette (desaturated beiges, blues, blacks, and greens). This was likely a part of Mail.ru’s plans to completely overhaul the game and wholly separate it from classic War Robots.
Some time later, mainly coming into prominence with the introduction of special edition bots, came what I think of as completely fantastical designs. While the sci-fi designs based on creatures like Hawk and Phantom made substantial efforts to still be robotic and semi-militaristic in nature, these designs fully embrace their source material. Obvious examples are Eldritch Ares, Bauchi Luchador, and Giftbringer Fenrir with their literal animals faces, but I also include designs like the dragon bots, Falcon, and Fafnir due to their bird-like legs and “wings” that come out them when their ability is activated. A lot of these designs have been hit or miss, with overly animalistic designs often being criticized for being too nonsensical or of-the-times (this was around when cartoony games like Fortnite took the games industry by storm), and the fact that they really only exist as one-off special edition equipment or legendary pilots means their presence within the game is jarring, even if the designs themselves are appealing.
The last and most recent major at style I have seen emerge is what I think is best described as anime-esk. Lots of the newest equipment and legendary pilot designs resemble Eastern media, be it the extremely recent (as is within the last 6 months) focus on cute little helper drones with Trixie hope, Harold Han, the designs of event chests, the Daltokki drone, and even Mars’ turret arguably, the animalistic designs of River Chase and Sorren De Vos, and new bots like Seraph and Nether inviting direct comparisons to mecha anime. The more lofi-style music in recent updates could also be a part of this. I see this as Mail.ru’s final evolution of the general sci-fi style, with them being fully satisfied with this being the overall theming of the game (seeing that much more than just the bots are now following this visual language). While it is cool to see the game finally settle into a more cohesive art style (the special editions are still random and thus hit or miss), seeing it erase the last remnants of older art styles is a bit saddening (mainly seen through UI and map redesigns).
Looking back at it all, it is becomes apparent that this game has had a bit of a visual identity crisis for a while now. Mail.ru threw out the game’s established art style and spent half a decade experimenting with different designs, only now seemingly settling into a uniform design ethos for the game (hopes this does not age poorly!). Even though most of my favorite designs come from the sci-fi era, I my overall favorite art style probably has to be the titular, classic realistic and militaristic art style. This mainly owes to the sheer cohesiveness it has due to the whole game being themed around it. Looking back at old videos of pre-remastered game versions or even playing 6 Pack, seeing the rugged bots slugging it out on the post-apocalyptic maps brings a sense of immersion that the more nonsensical and nonuniform designs of new just cannot recapture. This is especially true with older game versions, as the UI, hangar design, and sound design matched this art style too, which really brought the whole thing together. Mail.ru just did not give the other styles enough time to fully develop, and even if the anime-esk style really comes into its own, I still prefer the classic art style. Sci-Fi is my favorite aesthetic in theory, but I do prefer it lean towards realism than fiction (often called science-fantasy).
So, with all of the game’s art styles defined and explored, what do you all think? Vote for your favorite art style in the poll and tell me why you like it and/or dislike the others in a reply, because I’m really curious about this one. Also, what are your thoughts on the progression of the game’s visuals through the years? Unlike a lot of topics in this game, there is no clear answer, much less a right answer. Unlike game balance or monetization, art style does not make a game objectively better or worse, so it is up to you as to what is best. As I’ve said maybe too many times now, I look forward to the discussion!
