The most apparent difference between Ghostbusters on the Wii compared to the PS3 / Xbox360 versions is the art style. We like the fact that it's very obvious from first sight that our game is unique and stands on its own, independent of the other versions. The other differences (especially the control mechanisms) might not be obvious at first, but when you see the boxes side-by-side on the shelf in the store, it will be plain that the Wii version of the game isn't a simple hacked-and-slashed down-port of the PS3 / Xbox360 version. The Pixar Incredibles-like art style emerged not only from hardware constraints but also as a result of the Wii's core audience. Early previews have garnered positive responses. Dan Aykroyd really enjoys the stylized version of himself on the Wii.
Studio Art Director Kris Taylor points out that from the beginning we decided against porting the PS3 / Xbox 360 graphics down to the Wii and just hoping for the best (which seems to be a common practice). With the Wii hardware we are generally limited to using basic lighting and color (diffuse) texturing on characters and environments. Without complex shader technology, the underlying source art must be very strong on its own merits as there are very few technological tricks available to bump up the resulting image.
With all that in mind we decided to employ a stylized look. We couldn't use the original animated series The Real Ghostbusters as a source (since we'd licensed the movie, not the animated series), which was fine by us. We weren't making a two-dimensional cellshaded game anyway, so we focused on a more modern point of reference. To simplify the art style into a single statement, we asked: "What would Ghostbusters look like if Pixar made it?" That put everyone on the same page regarding how the characters would look and feel. It gave us a starting point for our style of modeling, texturing, animating and lighting the characters and environments.
Lead Concept Artist Thomas A. Szakolczay (who will henceforth be referred to as TAS) further summed up the process best by describing his mantra that helped lock down the look of the game: "Would this look cool as a toy?" This is especially useful when designing art for the Wii since it forces you to design starting from simpler shapes and textures. But don't confuse "simple" with "plain." We use simple yet strong details so the image doesn't get muddy and indistinct on a standard television screen. This results in bold, strongly graphical designs.
TAS looked at the old cartoons and different Pixar animated films for some inspiration, but he knew it was critical to focus on preserving the likeness of each buster. Silhouette was also very important to contrast the busters from each other. Too many times, character models in games tend to be the same mesh with different textures painted on. To amplify the uniqueness of each of the iconic Ghostbusters, TAS made sure that you could easily pick them out from a line-up based solely on the shapes and proportions of their bodies, faces and hairstyles.
The distinguishing features of each character were always a primary concern, but just as important was the equipment that made them Ghostbusters. We had to keep the gear recognizable from the movies while still fitting into the style of the game. To apply our style to those iconic pieces of technology, TAS rounded off the corners, simplified some of the more dense details and shifted the colors to achieve the desired look. The proton packs are essentially caricatures of their real-world counterparts, just like the heroes. And when new equipment had to be built to support gameplay, it was built as though it were a stylized re-imagining of a real-world piece of equipment.
All the preliminary design work on the busters and their gear provided a style guide which carried over to the ghosts, starting with Slimer. We wanted to make them colorful and exaggerated—very otherworldly—but consistent with the movies and art direction of the game. The ghosts were already partway there. They had a cartoon quality to them to begin with, so it required only a little tweaking to align them with the art style and make them fit into our version of the Ghostbusters' world.
When we applied our style guide to the world, it acquired an acidic, colorful palette that compliments the paranormal atmosphere of the haunted city. There are brand new environments as well as many you'll recognize from the movies, and just like the characters and equipment, they are caricatures of the real-world places, all blended together to make Ghostbusters on the Wii a visually outstanding game.
Wii: Ghostbusters The Videogame Image Gallery
Posted: 8 Jun 2009
