The Evolution Of Graphic Design In The Video Game Industry

With the passage of time, video games have become a crucial part of our lives. See the evolution of graphic design in the video game industry

By Claudio Pires
Updated on December 27, 2023
The Evolution Of Graphic Design In The Video Game Industry

With the passage of time, video games have become a crucial part of our lives. What’s more, as a gamer, we don’t give too much thought to the quality of the game production and how it’s improving every day. In this article, you’ll see the evolution of graphic design like faceswap tools and their impact in the video game industry.

Especially the graphic design. If you’ve been in the gaming industry for quite some time now, then you must know about the hyper-realistic video games – but the question stands; Was it always like this? In short, the answer would be no. However, to better understand the evolution of graphic design, let’s take a trip down memory lane.

Video Game Industry and Graphic Design

The video game industry was officially introduced in this world after the release of classic games like tennis for two in 1958, Pong in 1972, and Space Invaders in 1978. These classic games had such massive pixels that you could easily count each of them. What’s more, the earlies game lacked color as well, providing a stark monochrome experience to the players – but then again, we’re talking about the 20th-century games, and the development of those games was quite revolutionary at that time. What’s more, the UI was pretty simple as well, having only scores and health at the bottom.

Colors: Graphic Design In The Video Game Industry

Moving Forward, as colors began to be introduced in video games. So, like Galaxian, and PAC-MAN, the pixels began to shorten as well. Graphic design requires a good amount of RAM. In the earlies consoles like Atari 2600, there was barely any RAM to work with. However, the first Final Fantasy game for NES released in 1987 had much-shortened pixels as compared to the games before. The shortened pixels in the earlier games also became an aesthetic, so one can’t really call them bad graphic design.

The gaming industry started growing rapidly with the release of new consoles like NES. Sega Master System, Neo Geo, and Atari 7800. 3D games like Wolfenstein, Battlezone, and monster maze further heightened the popularity. The graphic design became much better, the pixels becoming shorter with minimalistic UI. The 1990s became the golden ear for computer games. Especially with the release of Myst in 1993, which had exceptional graphics for that period. Now. As we move forward, graphic design has started to become more realistic. With 3D games ruling over all the other games.

Computer Games

Computer games with HD graphics are a must for online gamers. Whether you’re playing solitaire games or war games, a seamless gaming experience is indispensable. Users looking for games on their desktop or laptop need to be able to find their favorite games quickly and download them in one place. Using a gaming platform is a great option. Since it allows players to enjoy HD graphics at smooth framerates, and it also enables them to run multiple games so they can progress quickly.

Peripheral Graphic Design

While many of us may not have been exposed to classic 70s/80s consoles like the Atari 2600 (1977). Leaving us with no nostalgia for that era at all, we can certainly marvel at the design of the game box. Games like Asteroids (1979) or Metal Gear Solid (1998) often feature fantastic hand-drawn box art, rendering images at a higher fidelity than the games themselves. This gives box art a place in the player’s mind as an imaginary image of the basic fantasy of the graphics they are playing. Sure, their ship might only be a few pixels on the screen, but if you look at the box, you get that picture.

Of course, that’s not all; games like Super Mario Bros (1985) and Duck Hunt (1984) didn’t whitewash their graphics, so they didn’t have impressive box art.

But as the in-game graphics improved, box art started to play a different role. Rather than providing stunning visuals for what the game wants to convey to you, box art often finds itself incorporating in-engine rendering to showcase the game’s cutting-edge graphics. Take Metal Gear Solid V, which simply provides a lifelike rendition of the protagonist. It’s certainly visually impressive, but lacks the stylistic flair of previous covers.

Needless to say, this trend doesn’t show up in every game – indie games often have unique box art that provides an explanation of the game rather than simpler in-engine rendering – see Shovel Knight (2014) for an example . Again, this is not at all demeaning to these renderings. The box nature of a game like Battlefield One (2016) is certainly exciting and impressive, but we can’t help but feel that something is missing in showing the game so realistically.

Final Words

In recent years, the gaming industry has evolved exponentially. Providing players with games that have the most realistic graphics than ever seen before. Remember how we began with massive pixels? Now, we’re at a place where distinguishing between real life and video games has become difficult. Final Fantasy has especially come quite far in terms of graphic design. What’s more, in terms of UI, Persona 5 has how it can be into something much more complex. Yet captivating at the same time. Games like Hearthstone and clash of clans are also great examples of the UI design. However, gaming has become equally harder in recent years. But with the services offered by Eldorado, you can enjoy the games like Red Dead Redemption 2 to the fullest without grinding too much.

So, what do you think? Has the evolution in graphic design truly been revolutionary? Do you prefer the graphic design of earlier games or the recent games?

Claudio Pires

Claudio Pires is the co-founder of Visualmodo, a renowned company in web development and design. With over 15 years of experience, Claudio has honed his skills in content creation, web development support, and senior web designer. A trilingual expert fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, he brings a global perspective to his work. Beyond his professional endeavors, Claudio is an active YouTuber, sharing his insights and expertise with a broader audience. Based in Brazil, Claudio continues to push the boundaries of web design and digital content, making him a pivotal figure in the industry.