Originally Posted by Gray Ghost
While I find using the term realistic in relation to this kind of thing tedious, I will agree that color and art direction are important for creating a sense of mood and style that puts the player in the write headspace, whether it's actually realistic or not.

True, I suppose a better term would be "natural" then. The reason why I used the term realistic is because the game's atmosphere truly looked realistic, like something you could see in real life. Something that is relatable. Best examples are showcases #2 and #3.

In showcase #2 you can see everything lit up beautifully and the shadows actually dark. There's actual contrast to the whole scenery and everything has its own color:

  • the tree bark is brown,
  • the leaves are green,
  • the Nautiloid is dark gray,
  • the Nautiloid goo is dark purple
  • the sand is actually golden
  • the shadows are dark black

And then when you compare it to Patch 8, you can see everything got brightened up, washed out and tinted in blue. It became 50 shades of blue. Contrast is completely gone and so is individuality of colors. It went from looking beautifully natural to ugly.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

In showcase #3 it is the same thing. The lighting in this scenery looked beautifully natural, everything had its own color and there was contrast. But now everything got brightened up, washed out and tinted in blue.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


A fair comparison would be like the artistic difference between Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. One was filmed in actual locations with real landscapes and very little CGI, while the other was mostly filmed in a studio behind a green screen. There's a reason why LOTR won so many Oscars and why it's regarded as one of the best movies of all time. Apart from the story and actors and music, it won for best cinematography and best visuals as one of many awards. Because it beautifully blended all of the different natural and unnatural elements together, which made the movie look so believable, because those unnatural elements looked real. Compare that then to the Hobbit, where you can clearly tell what is CGI and what is not.