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

[Ovogame]

Originally Posted by DrummerB

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

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

[8-Bit Avrin]

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.

[Jason Stark]

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.

[NikosX]

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

[Uncade]

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

[emdash]

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.

[30BelowStudios]

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.

[PikPok]

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.

[pmckean]

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...

[Patapple]

Thanks everybody! I just see that there a lot of awesome person! I'm only 16 but this is my second game. it is only black and white in a stylized style. here are some screenshots. as you can see i'm not good in art. the goal is to drive the ball to the end of the level (with the accelerometer). WHAT DO YOU THINK?