Do you think that a game black and white is cool?

Depends on the art. If done well, it can be nice. See Limbo for instance. But it's easy to make it boring I guess.

 

It might be, depends on whether it looks good and the graphics fits the theme of the game.

 

And a punch colour or two

Look at this movie poster of Angels and Demons the addition of an expensive red and a steel blue punching up the black and white is one of my favourite colour themes. I always love to see graphics that look expensive.



http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjEzNzM2MjgxMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTQ1MTM0Mg%40%40._V1._SY317_.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808151/&h=317&w=213&sz=15&tbnid=sbEbtP0kwdKX8M:&tbnh=106&tbnw=71&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dangels%2Band%2Bdemons%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=angels+and+demons&usg=__65DIYjnnxkO4QEaZvntCUnDF9UI=&docid=3VMOCVS60uVUBM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EI3JT-OTBebL2QWd4ozaCw&ved=0CH8Q9QEwAw&dur=542

 

I did a game like that called Rooftop Escape.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rooftop-escape/id434075887?mt=8

Antony

 

good example the game is Black & white and you punch it up with message conveying colours green and red in your case. Bang the Black and white come to life.

 

I've worked on a game (did the 3D engine) on a game named Black&White, but it was in colors

http://lionhead.com/black-white/

just joking (but I really worked on that game)


JC

 

Really? That's cool. And do you prefer working in a studio or as indy?

 

I actually originally thought this was what the OP was referring to. Loved that game by the way.

 

Contre Jour was super successful with mostly b+w but color detailing.

Removing color makes some things cooler by default, but other things will then require more work, like shapes and effects and outlines will all need to be stronger.

Black and white, when done well, can be more powerful, but you want to make sure it makes sense. Is it trying to be a noir movie theme? Or heavily about light and darkness? What's the reasoning?

 

I love both... Very different things... As an indie my incomes is a 3rd of what I was earning in a studio (might make some people think twice before doing the big jump)

JC

 

A black & white stylized game can either help the atmosphere of the game a lot or ruin it if done in a poor manner. I think it all depends on the mood of the game and how convincing the atmosphere is. Sometimes colored games have a level or two in black & white that really stand out mainly because they're just black & white. I'm all for black & white styled games. I have an idea for one that I'm thinking about attempting eventually.

 

Any strong and distinctive art style is a good thing in a crowded market space. Black and White could be a good start but it really depends on the rest of your art direction.

 

Impressive!!! I enjoyed this game pretty much when it went out!!!

 

Black and white can definitely look great with some good art direction. Even better is that the art assets should be easier to create.

 

It's not like color assets take that much more time or effort to create! In some ways they've be harder because you lose having color to draw the user's eye to something in particular, all you have is value. Some things are a lot harder to make the user tell what they are - especially on a small screen - without the color to tell you.

As for the initial question about whether black or white is cool: You have to have a reason for doing it, not just as a gimmick. How many black and white films did you see in a movie theater last year? Or in the last 20 years? Color is a baseline expected feature of modern film, so you have to have a really good reason to not give people the color they are used to in a film. Occasionally someone has a compelling reason to break from that mold and Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist" won 5 Oscars this year (including Best Picture and Best Director) for a black and white film. So there are always exceptions. "Limbo," mentioned above, was a game that had a great reason. Whomever makes a b&w game should too.

 

I think you will have a large number of people skip the game as soon as they see the screenshots. You then have to wow the remainder of the people.

 

One of our upcoming games is not quite black and white, but it is very desaturated so it is close to a greyscale look (a specific choice given the nature of the game).

Any colour scheme can look good, but you need strong art direction and attention to detail to pull off something as minimalist as black and white. Strong silhouettes and animation can help differentiate and add character to individual game elements for example.

 

I'm writing a game in a 'noir' style that features the first minute in monochrome - it's a classic point-and-click adventure set during the late 1930s in Boston. You play a private eye. I was tempted to do the whole game in black and white as I love the look, but settled for the intro and outro.

The artwork is by the excellent Greek artist Chris Rallis, who posts in this forum, occasionally.

Have a look...