#4 Most Artistic Game

Number four in our countdown of most artistic game should be no surprise (well at least not a surprise making the list). Our number four game is Okami, put out by the Japanese developer Clover Studios Okami is truly a sight to behold.

Clover Studios originally founded by Capcom Japan as their own development studio was originally known for its work on the incredibly successful Viewtiful Joe series, a game whose ingenious design and art style won Clover Studios the attention of consumers around the world. When after finishing the Viewtiful Joe franchise after five installments they wasted little time launching Okami only a year after publishing a PSP port of Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble.

Okami released in 2006 on the Playstation 2 at first suffered from poor sales because of the decision to release it onto the Playstation 2 rather then to delay it for the soon to be released Playstation 3. Despite this unlucky distribution planning Okami still went on to be well awarded winning IGN's 2006 game of the year, as well as developing a sort of "cult" following in the video gamer community.

What makes Okami stand out to me and pushes it onto my list is that Okami features (what seems to be) a very traditional Japanese folk tale, and while that is not the focus of this analysis that story is what influences the art style of the game and what makes it stand out so much in my mind. Okami borrows heavily from traditional Japanese painting and calligraphy so much so that it is a major game mechanic in the game play itself.

Character models are colored and textured to imitate classes calligraphy brush strokes, details in the environment feature obvious markings from brushes to make the game feel more like a moving painting then an actual 3D rendering. The artists also made great use of a limited pallet of color, choosing faded color tones of mostly browns, reds, and greens to tie in each element beautifully.

I also feel I have to go into a bit of detail about one major game mechanic in Okami, this mechanic being the Celestial Brush. Throughout the game when the player encounters a puzzle or obstacle he will (more then likely) have to use the Celestial Brush, what this does is changes the perspective of the game into a 2D ink drawing that the player can then manipulate with an on screen brush. Drawing onto the game to cut down trees, kill an enemy, or cross a gap in the terrain. This Celestial brush brings a whole new interactive element that not only further draws the player into the idea of Okami being an interactive painting but allows the player to be part of that painting in a new and exciting way.