Pre-Raphaelite Influence on Contemporary Video Games
I
stumbled upon a fascinating, new video game a few weeks ago called The Vanishing of Ethan Carter by
Astronauts. I noticed that this game, like many other recent video games, shares
striking similarities with Pre-Raphaelite artwork. The intense level of detail that
the developers put into their work exhibits the most noticeable resemblance. In
an age of large in-game maps with highly repetitive features, (Skyrim, Call of
Duty, Halo, etc.), Astronauts developers took the time to hand craft many of
the elements in the video game- every tree and rock in the picture below were
designed by hand and remain unrepeated elsewhere in the game.
The fascination with light and its interaction with the environment of the game represents another significant similarity reminiscent of Pre-Raphaelite style. For example, the figure below portrays Astronauts’
effort in making sure that the light field in the game matches the mood.
Similar to later Pre-Raphaelite works, the emphasis of the game revolves around
the creation of a specific mood throughout. Astronauts execute the alteration
of mood extremely well, in particular through light rendering. This goal was
explained by Astronauts during development, “Our focus is on atmosphere, mood,
and the essential humanity of our characters”.
The
game’s fascination with death portrays the concluding connection with
Pre-Raphaelite art. One of the first encounters in the game is with a dead man.
This turns out to be a theme, just like flipping through a book of Pre-Raph
paintings; you won’t go long in this game before seeing a dead body positioned
in a beautiful setting. I love this juxtaposition used so often by the two
mediums. Death increasingly becomes a more and more popular scene across so
many forms of media and I think it implies that our culture drives this demand.
For better or worse, we are a species fascinated by our own endings and spend a
lot of our time reflecting on our own mortality. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, like several paintings from class,
leads to contemplation about these thoughts and emotions.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter was a
very interesting game, well worth my $20 on steam. The fact that I’m taking a
Pre-Raphaelite art history course in tandem with playing the game just made the
experience that much more enjoyable. The YouTube link below shows a walkthrough
of the game if you’re interested in experiencing the mood of the game for
yourself.
Kyle,
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful comparison. Your word choice is well-thought and clearly conveys your message. I particularly enjoyed your note about the mission of Astronaut and could certainly see parallels between this and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood goals. Additionally, I found it fascinating that the game creators handmade all of the details of the game and none are repeated throughout. Next time, consider adding a point or two about how this particular example differs from Pre-Raphaelite traditions and aesthetics. Overall, fantastic job.
Mikayla Lofton