Doom 4's art direction

[Haematobic]

Megamur said:

Oh boy, brown. Just what I always wanted.

Xeros612 said:

As for the recent pictures, that's pretty disgusting and disturbing. Seems perfect for a hellish horror atmosphere.

I know, right? Muahahahahaha! *evil laugh*

Personally, that's the new approach id should take for Doom4--and the one I'd like to see accomplished. I mean, honestly, even though the whole "hell" thing had got me into Doom back then, it's getting kinda old right now (no seriously, hear me out for a second here). IMHO, I know it's supposed to be a badass game, dealing with a badass subject and all, but they could just rethink the whole premise or mix it up with something new, for a change. For instance, just look again at the the Mark Powell, Beksinski and Giger pics posted before... it'd certainly take the whole hell concept to a whole new level--in a more surreal, shocking, revolting, sick (death metal-ish if you will) and absolutely fucked up way.

The cheap scares we've all gotten used to are ok, but that's become now an overused resource, I say, they could just keep them to a minimum, but also try something different, like suggesting more about what's going to happen next--because shocking is easy, but instead if you suggest, you let the imagination of the player fill in the gaps for you, which in return could shock/terrify even more!

Start building up a heavy (but always STEADY, this is KEY), really unsettling mood in the game, sprinkled with little details here and there (barely probing what may or may not happen next), surrounded by that surreal/shocking/OMFGWHATTHEFUCKISTHAT imagery you've seen before, coupled with levels and enemies designed to make you believe there's no fucking way you can make it out of there alive(not HARD, impossible levels, there's a difference), and you'll be scared shitless in no-time.

As a result = The player feels absolutely terrified and hopeless... or should I say, Doomed. Hence, my very own definition of DOOM ;D

Now THAT's what I hope Doom4 will do to us (what they couldn't really achieve with Doom3), scare the shit outta you by shocking you, and by building up a completely horrific, grim atmosphere. And scare the shit outta you some more, to the point you run away from your comp (and hopefully, give Amnesia a run for its money)!

Here are 2 Powell figures that I think would make terrific enemies in Doom4, plus anoter Giger pic:





I _SO_ want to see monsters like that come to life in that new Tech 5 game engine! :D

[General Rainbow Bacon]

Stuff like this by John Jude Palencar for Lovecraftian Illustrations and stuff like Michael Whelan's "Lovecraft's Nightmare" would be awesome to see in game.

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/5787/25402275050520080662027.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6331/talesofthectulhumythosp.jpg

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/3829/ps3054hplovecraftdreamo.jpg

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/2869/ps4039roadtomadness.jpg

Everything above by John Jude Palencar

http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/8895/michaelwhelanhplovecraf.jpg

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8895/michaelwhelanhplovecraf.jpg

These are by Michael Whelan

[Captain Toenail]

Well, these are some cheery pictures.

I would like to see the Hell dimension depicted as a surreal place of madness in Doom4, with less classical fire & brimstone type stuff going on, although it should still be present. Sort of like Quake 3's gothic levels but stranger and grimmer. I thought the Hellish biological growths in Doom3 were very good, imagine those returning but with Gigeresque techno gubbins attached too.

[Technician]

I was disappointed greatly with Doom 3's depiction of hell. They made a great effort to have an organic, gross, organ-like organisms starting to engulf the mars base, and we're treated to a hell that feels like I'm playing inside of a volcano with some old churchy decor.

I wanted rooms made of flesh, blood pouring down the walls, people mutilated. You know, like Doom had depicted, after all, that's what made hell so interesting in Doom. You felt like you were inside of a living being at points.

[DoomUK]

DoomHero85 said:http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/8895/michaelwhelanhplovecraf.jpg

Recognised that one immediately:-




Seriously though, this thread has introduced me to some amazing stuff that I never knew existed.

[printz]

A lot of this suggested artwork looks exaggerated, in a bad kind of way. Less is more.

[Mr. Freeze]

None of this artwork fits Doom at all. Doom's vision of Hell isn't about random-ass surreal landscapes. It's about fire, brimstone, and torment (even Doom 3's planar version of Hell wasn't that different).

[Koko Ricky]

I understand where you're coming from, but none of the surreal landscapes that have been posted seem "random" to me. What you posted...is kinda boring. I think that the over-the-top, disturbing and grimey visuals in the original Doom can be seen in a lot of the images posted here. I don't think anyone here thinks that Doom 4 should have things that EXACTLY match the artwork posted, but ought to have similar themes. Doom had a surreal element--especially in the vague, abstract designs and depictions of hell and technology interwoven. I don't think you can go with that generic fire-and-brimstone imagery and leave it at that.

[printz]

GoatLord said:

I understand where you're coming from, but none of the surreal landscapes that have been posted seem "random" to me. What you posted...is kinda boring.

That's of course your opinion. As for me, I just can't have enough of what Mr. Freeze suggested (which is a polar opposite to his username meaning).

[Technician]

printz said:

A lot of this suggested artwork looks exaggerated, in a bad kind of way. Less is more.

So are you going to start posting less?

[printz]

Technician said:

So are you going to start posting less?

That would be productive, yes.

[BlueWizard]

I'd rather have it focused on action rather than atmosphere and cheap scares.

[Mithran Denizen]

Haematobic said:

http://www.satyrsight.com/assets/images/HR_Giger_1974_Biomechanoid_III.jpg

I'm not sure how fitting a bunch of overly phallic gigeresque demon designs would be in a Doom game, but I wouldn't mind seeing it happen, if done appropriately. Not that I think Id has the gall to shove biomechanical demon penises down their players' throats even if they wanted to.

[DeathevokatioN]

printz said:

That's of course your opinion. As for me, I just can't have enough of what Mr. Freeze suggested (which is a polar opposite to his username meaning).

Yawn, generic fire & flames hell #12331241415.

[printz]

Do mind that even if it has generic features, it can still be surreal.

[Haematobic]

DoomHero85 said:

Stuff like this by John Jude Palencar for Lovecraftian Illustrations and stuff like Michael Whelan's "Lovecraft's Nightmare" would be awesome to see in game.

<pics>

Everything above
by John Jude Palencar

<pics>

These are by Michael Whelan

Those are pretty good too, but I don't see that in the Doom universe. Since the first batch of pics look more Lovecraftian than anything, they all look more Quake I-ish to me...

Mithran Denizen said:

I'm not sure how fitting a bunch of overly phallic gigeresque demon designs would be in a Doom game, but I wouldn't mind seeing it happen, if done appropriately. Not that I think Id has the gall to shove biomechanical demon penises down their players' throats even if they wanted to.

Yeah I know what you mean... maybe they could just skip the phallic references, but re-create stuff like this, for instance:

http://www.meridian.net.au/Art/Artists/HRGiger/Gallery/Images/giger-landscape-xix-medium.jpg

[Haematobic]

Mr. Freeze said:

None of this artwork fits Doom at all. Doom's vision of Hell isn't about random-ass surreal landscapes. It's about fire, brimstone, and torment (even Doom 3's planar version of Hell wasn't that different).

http://www.everythingscary.com/scary_pictures/orig/scarylady_photo25796.jpg

What's wrong about taking the premise one step further?

I may even be Ok if id decides to even redesign the whole thing based on the old norse mythology of Hell (click)

This conception is in stark contrast to Hel's realm, the dreary subterranean abode ruled by its eponymous blue and black giantess Hel. The realm of punishment was a shore made of corpses called Náströnd within Hel. Her realm is separated from the world of the living by a rapid river across which leads the Gjallarbrú that the dead have to pass. The gates are heavy, and close behind those who pass it and will never return again. Hel is the final destination of those who do not die in battle, but of old age or disease. There is reason to assume that the ideas of Hel are coloured by Christian influences which taught that there was a realm of punishment which opposed the paradise. The word Helviti, which still is the name of Hell in modern Scandinavian, means "Hel's punishment". It is not certain that the pagan notion of Hel(l) was very dark and dreary to pagan Scandinavians. In Baldrs draumar, we learn that Hel had decorated a lavish feasting table when she waited for Baldr to enter her halls. Still, it was probably not a very attractive destination, as the sagas tell of warriors who cut themselves with spears before dying in order to trick Hel into thinking that they had died heroic deaths in battle.

Can you even imagine it? Doom + Norse Mythology = WIN :D

[AirRaid]

The problem with giger-esque stuff is that a lot of it has already been kind of done. In Quake 4. Can't really heavily influence Doom 4 that way without getting the inevitable comparisons drawn.

If you look back at Doom/2, there wasn't much in the way of cybernetic hell stuff going on, beyond a couple of demons.

For that reason alone I'd rather not see too much giger type stuff in Doom4.

Hell was awesome in Doom 3, there just wasn't enough of it. If we could see that kind of hellish landscape, on earth (assuming D4 is hell on earth, I don't know), corrupting the shit out of scenes that are familiar to us, it would be awesome.

[Haematobic]

AirRaid said:

The problem with giger-esque stuff is that a lot of it has already been kind of done. In Quake 4. Can't really heavily influence Doom 4 that way without getting the inevitable comparisons drawn.

I totally agree with you... that's why I said in the beginning, that I'd do 60% Powell, 20% Beksinski and the remaining 20%, Giger.

[Koko Ricky]

Haematobic said:

I totally agree with you... that's why I said in the beginning, that I'd do 60% Powell, 20% Beksinski and the remaining 20%, Giger.

I'd like to add that there's a misconception that Giger's work is not organic, which it often is. His so-called "bio-mechanical style" is a bit cybernetic at times, but if you look at enough of his work, you'll notice something that fits perfectly in the Doom atmosphere: human- and animal-like structures which seem to blend the organic with the architectural. There are cybernetic and sexual elements, but those can be omitted. I also don't think it's "already been done," because not even Quake 4 really embodies Giger's style.