Effects of Art Styles on Video Game Narratives

Abstract

The effect of an art style on a video game's narrative is not widely studied and not much is known about how the general player base views the topic. This thesis attempts to answer this question through the use of two different surveys, a general theory related one, and one based upon images and categorization and a visual novel based interview that aims at gaining a further understanding of the subject. The general results point to the art style creating and emphasizing a narrative's mood and greatly enhancing the player experience. Based on these results a simple framework ASGDF was created to help beginning art directors and designers to create the most fitting style for their narrative.