Characters are one essential ingredient in the game developing recipe that can breathe life into the world, arriving with carefully crafted personalities, unique appearances and their own hobbies and interests. They need to be diverse as humans in real life after all, to achieve that level of immersion that developers should aspire to. This helps players feel more connected to the NPCs they meet, and the world as a whole.
Characters can range from having a whole host of hobbies and occupations that reflect real world choices, and one which might not seem too obvious are artists. Art is an essential part of culture in the world, and most people would argue that video games are also a form of art. Putting an artist in-game is a good way to prove this point, as it demonstrates the creativity that developers have.
6 Maxine Caulfield - Life is Strange
Life is Strange is a game that puts a big focus on the creative artists, from the hand-painted like graphics of the game to their main character being an aspiring photographer in a prestigious academy. Max's school life goes beyond the abnormal experience of attending a school and navigating the intricate difficulties of adolescence as she discovers she can rewind time, and even use her photographs to travel back to a specific point in time.
Throughout the duration of the game, players will be able to find opportunities to take out Max's trust Polaroid camera and snap a moment in time, showing how art can be found in the everyday if people have an artistic mind like Max.
5 Mickey Mouse - Epic Mickey
Disney's foray into a solo Mickey Mouse game Epic Mickey seems to have largely faded into memory, but it does remain as one of the most imaginative and creative Disney games. In this title, Mickey finds himself in a place called the Wasteland, a place for discarded or forgotten Disney characters. One day when playing with the Wasteland creators paintbrush, Mickey accidentally creates the Shadow Blot, which begins to torment the land and its inhabitants.
The paintbrush becomes the players primary weapon, as it can be used to create or erase platforms, changing the very world around them. Mickey can also change the nature of enemies with the paint to make them more friendly, and these are just a few of the ways he used paint to explore the dangers of the Wasteland, which is a creative application for an artists tools.
4 The Painter - Layers of Fear
Layers of Fear is undeniably a game with fantastic art direction, as the aesthetics of the game are its greatest strength. The player takes on the role of the unnamed Painter, who has descended into madness following the crumbling of his personal life outside his work, including his wife leaving him with his daughter following his drunken outbursts in which he beat his wife.
As his name might suggest, the Painter expresses his artistic side by putting brush to canvas, with his wife seen as his muse before a fire left her disfigured. As players progress through the game, they will periodically return to the studio and see the painting progress. Depending on the players choices, the painting may differ from a distorted, disfigured version of his wife, a self-portrait, or a portrait of his wife and daughter. Whatever the result, the painting shows impressive technique, showcasing the Painter's talents.
3 Gordy - Story of Seasons: a Wonderful Life
Story of Seasons: a Wonderful Life is a charming farm simulation game that lets players escape the hustle and bustle of a busy life and experience life living off the land in the serene Forgotten Valley along with the bachelorettes and bachelors. Players can deepen bonds with these valley folk to pursue romance, and eventually marriage.
One if the bachelors is the contemplative and creative Gordy, an artist who is often found with his arms folded, deep in thought as he searches for that spark of inspiration for his next piece. Once it strikes, he rushes off to his workshop to create his next sculpture, which are often abstract pieces made with metal. Metal sculpting is certainly a niche medium, and is one that certainly shows the impressive scope of Gordy's imagination.
2 Carmina Mora - Dead by Daylight
Carmina Mora is one of the many terrifying killers of Dead by Daylight who, according to her lore was an artist, taking on that title as her in-game moniker. Her map, the Eyrie of Crows, is representative of this element of her backstory, as blots of ink float upwards towards the sky, and her own arms seem to be less flesh and bone, and more thick, dark ink that also make uo the crows she launches across map.
Before she was the Artist by name, Carmina was an artist by trade, sketching the sweeping and dramatic fjords of her home. After the life-changing event of her brothers passing, and a murder of crows saving her life from suicide, Carmina found her signature dark ink surrealist style, transforming the pain and horrors of her life into something beautiful. This ability to transform these dark aspects into art shows that Carmina is truly deserving of her title The Artist.
1 Sander Cohen - BioShock
The world of Rapture was designed to be a utopian escape from the troubled world above the surface, and paradise would be impossible to achieve without any art of culture. That's where Sander Cohen comes into play, a jack of many artistic trades and master of them all, if one can appreciate the surrealism derangement brings. A poet, play writer, painter, sculptor and certified madman, he serves as one of the main antagonists in BioShock, with an interesting approach to sourcing inspiration.
Cohen's trademark is transforming pain into beauty, and he relentlessly pursues to bring this idea to life through his work. Often he takes another artist and places them in a trap designed to levy pain as he works, such as the infamous scene in the first game when he places a pianist into an electrified trap to play his masterpiece as he paints, which ends with the musician dying. Undeniably, Cohen is the most unique and creative artist, his process and work the most unique and gruesomely impressive.