About The Graphics of Civ VI

[Zaarin]

For many people it would be illogical that "kids do not watch cartoons" that are PEGI 12.

Kids also like pizza, but I've never seen any adult object to it for that reason.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Graphics are a bit subjective. But for me, the civ6 graphics have really grown on me. When I saw the first announcement screenshots, I thought they looked very cartoony. But the more recent screenshots and videos that include the UI have impressed me a lot. If you look at the screenshots that are zoomed out, you can tell that the quality of the graphics actually is superior than civ5. But the style is indeed different.

 

[Firebug]

If people did their real research, leader designer Ed Beach already explained in an interview that he told his artists to come up with something that would be easy to read, considering the maps are going to be so cluttered. They came up with a more colourful, clear, clean style.

The whole game's art is designed around being able to read everything without relying on a UI, and clicking on things, and hovering over waiting for a tooltip to pop up. You can look at city now and just know by glancing at it what's happening. The granary is obviously a granary, the campus district is a blue roofed and obviously sciencey place, the wonders are massive and truly wonderous.

If you hate this style, it's because you haven't actually listened to why this style is good.

It's not designed for kids, or a younger mobile audience, or to try and look cheap and tacky. It's designed for the players, so we can understand everything without reading lines of text.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

The whole game's art is designed around being able to read everything without relying on a UI, and clicking on things, and hovering over waiting for a tooltip to pop up. You can look at city now and just know by glancing at it what's happening. The granary is obviously a granary, the campus district is a blue roofed and obviously sciencey place, the wonders are massive and truly wonderous.

IMO, that was absolutely the right call. If civ6 had gone the ultra-realistic route, players would be complaining that the map was unreadable. Players would not want to play a game where they have to squint and click on tool tips all the time because they keep confusing the science district with the industrial district. A clean, easy to understand graphics helps gameplay!

 

[rastak]

IMO, that was absolutely the right call. If civ6 had gone the ultra-realistic route, players would be complaining that the map was unreadable. Players would not want to play a game where they have to squint and click on tool tips all the time because they keep confusing the science district with the industrial district. A clean, easy to understand graphics helps gameplay!

I'm not sold yet but have an open mind. Really waiting for later this summer when we may get to see some actual gameplay as opposed to staged scenarios and see how it looks and feels.

 

[King Jason]

It was chosen to attract new (young) players.

I think this game looks infinitely better than civ5 and I've been playing this series since 93'

civ5 was atrociously ugly. I played in strategic mode 80% of the time because graphics aren't really a huge deal to me but looking at civ6 I can't wait to play on the map again. Zoomed in there's nothing special about either game, but civ6 with any respectable level of zoom is ridiculously gorgeous.

If you hate this style, it's because you haven't actually listened to why this style is good.

Or people just like what they like.

 

[Spaceturtle]

Take a look at the CIv v layout with its cluttered landscape that gives life to the game. It makes the game feel more gritty and realistic in my opinion.

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

This is a better comparison.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Spoiler :

This is a better comparison.

Notice that the civ6 skyscrapers have detailed windows and more texture than the civ5 skyscrapers.

 

[Barbarian King]

Spoiler :

This is a better comparison.

As someone who was put off by the art style when I saw the announcement screenshots, I have to say that I do like the way it looks in that picture. The buildings, terrain, and improvements are not overly cartoony; they appear to my eyes as an improvement on the Civ4 style rather than the Civ5 style, and Civ4 worked for me (even though I did prefer the Civ5 art style). However, the way the units fight is too cartoonish for my tastes: there are literal explosions when they make contact with their melee weapons, like comic book characters (see 0:23-0:35 of the First look America video). I do hope there is an option to turn that effect off, but if there's not I'll just learn to tolerate it, as the information coming out about the gameplay is too enticing to let the art style turn me off playing it.

 

[CaptainUnknown]

for the combat animations, while I do enjoy watching them, I am sure I will turn on quick combat after a bit. Quick combat is just so much better IMO when you have two carpets of doom fighting. Will have to see how it is in this game. What I would hope for is that if you hit the space bar the animations would got at 2x speed, so I can watch a bit faster.

 

[darko82]

If I ever see that straw man, I'll tell him that his argument is also illogical.

OK, some people would have an argument like this: Because of the complexity, how can this game be for PEGI 12? Because it is so complex that a 12 year old kid should have no problem with?

 

[darko82]

Kids also like pizza, but I've never seen any adult object to it for that reason.

Eating food is not complex and the like. My argument is stupid because the game is complex. Complex enough to be PEGI 12.

Ed Beach already explained in an interview that he told his artists to come up with something that would be easy to read, considering the maps are going to be so cluttered. They came up with a more colourful, clear, clean style.

I see no reason why not cartoonish graphics can't be clear, clean, and support the gameplay.

It was a conscious decision to make it proper for 12 years old.

How would you explain to those people that this artstyle is not childish?

 

[m15a]

OK, some people would have an argument like this. Because of the complexity, how can this game be for PEGI 12? Because it is so complex that a 12 year old kid should have no problem with?

I wasn't making an argument even closely related to that, although you quoted me to make your original straw man argument.

Still, I can respond to that. A person (say a 12-year-old) can play a game even if they aren't the target audience. I'm not too familiar with the PEGI ratings, but I think they're based on factors like graphic violence and sexual content. If it's anything like the ratings system used in the US, PEGI 12 rating means its not recommended for people under 12. Not that the game is recommended for all people 12 and older.

 

[stroypa]

If people did their real research, leader designer Ed Beach already explained in an interview that he told his artists to come up with something that would be easy to read, considering the maps are going to be so cluttered. They came up with a more colourful, clear, clean style.

The whole game's art is designed around being able to read everything without relying on a UI, and clicking on things, and hovering over waiting for a tooltip to pop up. You can look at city now and just know by glancing at it what's happening. The granary is obviously a granary, the campus district is a blue roofed and obviously sciencey place, the wonders are massive and truly wonderous.

If you hate this style, it's because you haven't actually listened to why this style is good.

It's not designed for kids, or a younger mobile audience, or to try and look cheap and tacky. It's designed for the players, so we can understand everything without reading lines of text.

There's more than one way to make things distinctive and stand out though. The cartoony style is a choice, it's not a necessity which without we wouldn't be able read and understand the map clearly. Civ V landscape is very easy to read and understand, you can tell what is a hill or a grassland or a forest. Even with districts you don't have to go the route they've gone with. They could quite easily even just have had a different map style that you toggle with 1 key to have an easier read of everything, like many other strategy games do.

I don't buy that they had to go this way with the art style or it's about simplicity and clear readability. It's a style choice and I think it's fair to ask why they made it, especially because it looks absolutely ridiculous and childish. The fighting animations do too, there's comic book style Kapow! icons for goodness sake. The units are huge and cartoony. The leaders have been chosen based on "personality". It frightens me and it reminds me of Sim Cities Societies.

 

[darko82]

I wasn't making an argument even closely related to that, although you quoted me to make your original straw man argument.

Still, I can respond to that. A person (say a 12-year-old) can play a game even if they aren't the target audience. I'm not too familiar with the PEGI ratings, but I think they're based on factors like graphic violence and sexual content. If it's anything like the ratings system used in the US, PEGI 12 rating means its not recommended for people under 12. Not that the game is recommended for all people 12 and older.

So why it is not PEGI 3 like some other games, FIFA etc. Isn't it because it would be too complex for a kid under the age of 12?

 

[dexters]

I've actually grown more attached to the graphics the more I see.

 

[darko82]

I've actually grown more attached to the graphics the more I see.

I like it better than Civ 5, in fact But, say, my girlfriend thinks it is extremely childish. How would you explain her that she is wrong

 

[m15a]

So why it is not PEGI 3 like some other games, FIFA etc. Isn't it because it would be too complex for a kid under the age of 12?

PEGI 12 rating is for "Videogames that show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy character and/or non graphic violence towards human-looking characters or recognisable animals" (plus irrelevant stuff related to nudity). That description fits Civ games because of the violence between military units, but I assume it doesn't apply to games like FIFA (or only in very limited ways).

 

[darko82]

PEGI 12 rating is for "Videogames that show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy character and/or non graphic violence towards human-looking characters or recognisable animals" (plus irrelevant stuff related to nudity). That description fits Civ games because of the violence between military units, but I assume it doesn't apply to games like FIFA (or only in very limited ways).

Indeed, PEGI has nothing to do with the graphics. But still some people think it looks childish.

I mean, if so many people complain about the childish graphics in many games, basically, why so many developers decide to have it in their games?

 

[m15a]

Developers don't decide to have "childish graphics". Childish graphics isn't a defined style or quality. The developers decide on a style of graphics, and then some people call that style childish.

The developers chose that style, probably in part because they thought it looked good and, assuming they had good judgment, other people would like it too. As has been shown by polls on here, people do like the graphics, so their judgment was correct.

The designers could have decided to make the graphics in such a way that it wasn't considered "childish" by people. But it's not as simple as turning the childish/adultish switch because childishness isn't a defined style or quality. Fans (or critics) that deem something is childish may not necessarily like the same non-childish graphics. And maybe one person thinks certain graphics are childish while another person thinks a completely different style is childish.