It's good news/bad news time again. Bad news first: for the next few weeks, I'll be borrowing Art Attack Friday from the infinitely more sexy and attractive Hamza"CTZ" Aziz. The good news: I come bearing gifts -- namely, an exclusive look at some original artwork for Braid, by none other than indie darling Edmund McMillen.
Edmund did all the near-final character design and art for for Braid except for the game's first boss. At some point, Jonathan Blow (Braid's creator) hired the game's other fantastic, amazing artist, David Hellman, to paint over or otherwise alter nearly all of Edmund's work so that they would match the games backgrounds.
Personally, I like Edmund's style a lot more. David's version of Tim was (and still is) a big turn-off to me. He's realistically rendered enough to give me that "uncanny valley" feeling, while remaining baby-proportioned and pseudo-cute in a way that comes off as generic. Worse still, his blank, permanently optimistic expression actually gives me the creeps.
In contrast, Edmund's designs for Tim are clean, expressive, and far from generic (by videogame standards, anyway). His Tim is clearly an adult, not a doll, yet he remains "cute" and easy to relate with. Not only does it look like I could draw Edmund's version of Tim, but I sense that I know how this Tim really feels. Where Hellman's Tim is Chucky, Edmund's Tim is Charlie Brown.
That's my opinion, anyway. What do you think? Which Tim do you like the most? Also, hit the jump for an exclusive look at Edmund's version of Tim in motion, and tune in next week for more exclusive, never-before-seen Braid art from McMillen.
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I think I prefer Hellman's work quite substantially. Hellman really captured a deeply beautiful art aspect of the game, reminiscent of many books I read as a child. This sense of innocence worked well and beautifully juxtaposed some of the deeper, more adult elements of Braid's story.
McMillen, on the other hand, has an art style for Braid that I, contrarily, see as very generic, and simply not fit for the game that Braid was to become. Braid's depth in its seeming simplicity had an effect on me just as much as the story, and McMillen just doesn't deliver that same feeling for me.
I like Tim as he is in the game. He's got that naive twenty-something look about him that fits the game's main audience and the storyline's intimate themes.
The older versions Tim don't really have the same connection with the player. I think their look was intented to fit in a lot more with the 'the nuclear bomb' theory and they sort of alienate the player. I think a sweaty looking bald man running around after a cute princess would miss the point (until the end - which would have made the ending more obvious).
Though I think it would have been a brave choice to have Tim as a cartoon Danny DeVito.
I dunno, I've always been a fan of David Hellman. Ever since A Lesson is Learned. I really like his color palette in Braid. McMillen's is too muted. I also get some 'attitude' vibes from his Tim designs, which clashes deeply with Braid's aesthetic.
I originally played through braid (twice) on a CRTTV so I didn't get any of the high def goodness, so the facial features of Tim and the Goombas were lost, so I just thought the art was brilliant.
when I saw it in high def, and saw the Tim, and saw the Goombas, I was creeped out, and still am.
these goombas and this tim are a lot less creepy, but, everything else is lacking the charm that was in the final product of Braid.
I really like Hellman's art, don't see anything creepy about it. the concept Tims are a bit too plucky for my tastes, they don't fit with the game's style. but concept art is always intriguing for me to see, great to see it posted!
Tim looks a little too much like a cubicle troll for me. I like the young academic look of the final version. It's a little creepy, yea, but it seems more plausible for a guy who is ostensibly ruminating his way through time and space.
I've always been a huge fan of edmund's more human based, less vagina based artwork, and I think the more generic concept (obviously intentional) really lets Tim seem like an everyman who made a mistake. I guess I'm less creeped out by it than the final design.
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Contest:
4:20 PM on 09.18.2009
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If Tim looked something like number 1 or 2, the ending would have been ruined.
McMillen, on the other hand, has an art style for Braid that I, contrarily, see as very generic, and simply not fit for the game that Braid was to become. Braid's depth in its seeming simplicity had an effect on me just as much as the story, and McMillen just doesn't deliver that same feeling for me.
The older versions Tim don't really have the same connection with the player. I think their look was intented to fit in a lot more with the 'the nuclear bomb' theory and they sort of alienate the player. I think a sweaty looking bald man running around after a cute princess would miss the point (until the end - which would have made the ending more obvious).
Though I think it would have been a brave choice to have Tim as a cartoon Danny DeVito.
when I saw it in high def, and saw the Tim, and saw the Goombas, I was creeped out, and still am.
these goombas and this tim are a lot less creepy, but, everything else is lacking the charm that was in the final product of Braid.