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Here is my entry for January 2011's Writing Challenge, the Picture Text. The image is from the PlayStation 2 game Okami.
Short Caption:
Okami is a game that simply bursts with a unique, cultural artstyle.
Long Caption:
Okami is game with graphics never before seen with a commercial release. With its highly stylized, ink on rice paper-esque aesthenic, Okami brought its own version of ancient Japan to life. Coupled with the adventure gameplay and interesting story, this game is sure to stand out as a timeless classic.
Description:
Having for the PS2 in 2006, Okami is game that aims to capture and immerse players in its world. Okami takes place in an ancient Japan with the tales of gods and demons brought to life, and the setting is made all the more unique with its sumi-e graphics.
The particular screenshot above is that of a battle, and it's here you can really see how Clover was thorough in their artistic vision. Most everything in this scene, from Okami's health bar to the purple barrier that surrounds the battefield, takes great lengths to retains its graphical focus. Sure, Clover Studio could have gone for a more conservative route with its bars and indicators, and gotten away with it. However, it's those little touches that make the game stand out even more on the graphcial front.
As stated before, this picture is a battle scene, but it's a little hard to understand fully without explaining the battle mechanics. Battles in Okami are an action affair, and are often paralelled to the 3D Legend of Zelda games. It's a good comparison for the basics, but Okami differs from the adventure battling norm with the Celestial Brush.
It may be a little hard to see, but this shot was taken right after the player used a Celestial Brush technique, indicated by the afterimage of a circle drawn on the enemy on screen. Similar to magic, and its usage shown by the black ink bottles in the upper-right corner, you can stop the action with the press of a button and 'draw' on the screen in order to use a variety of techniques. For example, you can draw a line through an enemy to cut them in half and damage them. These techniques can be used out of battle as well, to help solve puzzles and to get to new places. It's a neat little way to keep up the ink illustration aesthenics, even in something as small as using an ability.
Now, let's bring attention to Amatarasu's weapon in the screenshot. In this battle, our canine protagonist is wielding a large sword, almost as long as her body. If you've seen other screenshots or artwork, you'll know that this isn't Amy's default weapon. In Okami, you get three distinct weapons types to choose from: The heavy hitting, low combo sword type pictured above, the well-rounded, mirror weapon that's Amy's default, and the combo-happy fast-hitting necklace-styled weapon. In addition, you can equip one weapon and one sub-weapon, helping to give the players a variety to how they want to dispatch their enemies.
All these aspects come together to make an enjoyable battling experience. But, what makes this all so compelling is that it blends with the art style seamlessly, and doesn't break from it for even a second. While the developers could have chosen the lazy path, and taken more generic routes with Okami, they did not do so. In battle and in out, the game gushes with its Japanese-flavored aesthetics, and brings different type of style to sit on your gaming shelf.