Since I decided to have relaxing game through a visually stunning setting, I thought I could look into how other games use images to express calm and peace.
Alto’s Odyssey
One of the games I’ll always adore for its visual characteristics is Alto’s Odyssey.
In this game, you join Alto in his sand-boarding journey to discover its secrets. The environment is vibrant and exotic, stunningly beautiful. Many times, I’d trip because I get caught in the setting, just admiring the colours, temples, the sun or the stars. I have taken a couple of screenshots to see how the game manages to do that and I obtained a couple of colour palettes:
I’ve noticed that they are different variations and shades of one colour. I think this is a great idea to use when designing a more visual game because it gives a ‘complete’ feeling.
Another thing that I like in Alto’s Odyssey is the fact that even if you die, you don’t have to start from the beginning. You start the game from the point in which you died, and you can see that thanks to the setting. If you die in the evening, you will see the same sun setting and colour palette when you start. I appreciate this as it gives the player a peaceful sensation, they don’t need to stress about what happened but to enjoy what is to come. They have nothing to lose.
Last but not least, I love the minimalism of the game. It gives everything the player needs to be astonished and nothing more that is unnecessary to get the essential experience.
Tap Tap Fish
I can’t give a very specific reason why I like this game – or if I even like it, but a thing is certain: I kept playing it for hours and hours. There’s no much game play. You have to tap a lot so that you gain more vitality with which you grow your coral. However, what kept me playing was the visual experience. I kept taping and taping because I wanted to see how a richer coral would look like. The fish, the weed, the pearls, everything. Not only this, but also the visual effects were quite nice when upgrading the things.
I took a couple of screenshots and made some other colour palettes:
As you can see, the colours aren’t the same, unlike in Alto’s Odyssey, but the tones make them melt together in a pleasing way. They keep the player interested in the game even though the game play isn’t a strength point.
Another thing I don’t quite like in this game is how busy the screen looks when you open the menu. For me, it kind of takes the excitement from what it was before opening it. Despite all that, I do spend hours playing it when I should sleep or work.
I believe these games are visually beautiful for many reasons and both keep me playing them for purely enjoying the environment and setting. I think I learnt something from them and I look forward to using it in my game.