Artwork in the gaming industry: How does it affect the way that we play?

Over the last few years, large numbers of global companies across various different sectors have placed a greater level of emphasis on how their products and services look. In particular, digital artwork has become central to many marketing strategies across industries such as online gaming, social media and sport.

Along with the general impact of utilising artwork to improve the aesthetics of the product or service, the inclusion of such pieces can have a deeper impact upon either the reader or, in the case of the online gaming industry, the player. With that being said, we’re going to consider why artwork has become so important to the online gaming industry and how its use can impact on the way in which we play.

The importance of artwork

Following the rise of the digital era that has occurred in recent years, many business markets have switched their approaches in order to centre them around the online world. Crucially, with over four billion people worldwide now online, the scope for business growth is larger than ever before. In relation to the use of artwork in the online gaming industry, service providers are including them more frequently for numerous different reasons.

Traditionally, and one of the key reasons as to why artwork is of such importance to the online gaming industry, is down to it being used to outline and define new releases and their very purpose. As there is now a wide array of games – anything from social network games to even internal online games – available on the market, artwork has become an extremely effective tool for service providers as it can be used to create an initial picture of what each specific game is likely to be based around. Due to the fact that each and every player is likely to have different tastes and requirements, the provided artwork enables gamers to find a selection of titles that are right for them. In turn, this also saves a lot of time as it eradicates the need for users to spend vast amounts of time reading huge blocks of text.

Furthermore, games typically rely on design principles which include form, perspective and value, along with other elements. These principles not only improve the aesthetic of the product, but they also act to create a window into another world which many of us seek through playing video games. In turn, such elements lead to gamers enjoying a fuller gaming experience across many of the modern-day titles.

How artwork impacts upon the way in which we play

Not only is artwork becoming increasingly prominent within the online gaming industry, but it is unconsciously affecting the way in which we go about our gaming experiences. Many people believe that art is psychological, and reports suggest that shapes such as circles, squares and triangles, for example, impact upon how we view and perceive aesthetics. The shapes mentioned above each come with their own concepts and we associate those concepts with real-life experiences and that will, in turn, have unique effects on gamers depending on how they associate each shape on a personal level.

While some of the experiences above may not necessarily be positive, and that is on course down to the specific individual, online gaming services have sought to alter how we feel through carefully selected colour schemes. Following on from the work of Sir Isaac Newton in 1666, the concept of colour psychology emerged and has since developed into a worldwide ideology. Many online gaming services look to heavily include the colours blue, purple and green within their artwork as they are often referred to as “cool colours” which can supposedly result in a state of calm within a peaceful environment.

The future of artwork within the gaming industry

It’s clear to see the reasons why artwork which is centred around calming colours has become incredibly important to the online gaming industry. Through art leading to a greater gaming experience, and with users also able to reach a state of calm through many of the colours used within the artwork, gamers are able to play online games and enjoy them to their fullest, and having that enjoyment is ultimately why many, many people play video games.

The editorial unit