OK, there seems to be a lot of confusion about this one lately so I thought I would make a thread explaining my view upon the subject because really, from what I've seen here on General RPG Discussion, some people just do not get it.
The best way to nail the definition in my opinion lies in first explaining the general idea, followed by clear examples that show said concepts at work.
General Idea
Art direction in a game is all about design decisions and thinking in the gameworld's terms. Creating it original and coherent, making up factions with believable political agendas, an atmosphere (high fantasy, realistic, violent, grimdark, etc.) that suits the story/development of the game, interesting locations, item descriptions, visual aesthetics (armor design, weapon design, etc.), architecture, music and a myriad of other things that are mostly purely theoretic. It's stuff you can describe on paper, and probably draw or write. It doesn't include other important stuff such as level design (from a navigational standpoint), rulesets, difficulty, etc. Doesn't get worse with age.
Graphics are what the engine makes of the visual part of the art direction. This is the basic stuff. Texture quality, lip-synch, motion blur, (amount of) animation detail, bump-mapping, dear "old" bloom, polygonal models' complexity and a bunch of other rendering-related things. It's how visually real an impression they can make out of the paragraph above. They get worse with time as new technologies are developed.
Examples
Good art direction, bad graphics: Thief*
The game has a unique setting (Hammerites, Pagans, Keepers, etc.) with personality-charged parties that behave logically. The level of writing in the game is one of the best out there (not only is it believable, but some of the Hammer chants and Pagan verses make for very good poetry, actually). Characters are interesting - hell, you can emotionally bind yourself to even the guards. Enemies chatter about their daily chores, but in an interesting way - trivial everyday problems abound, the epic part of the game happens behind shadows. Or actually in them: The theme of being an invisible thief is explored to extremes as you're allowed to eavesdrop on conversations, take a look at stuff that wasn't supposed to be found, and get involved in things that to the common world are plain out of sight. All the time you're getting this mixed feeling that your presence in the game is gameworld changing and nonexistent at the same time; stupendously done indeed. Brosius goes the safe route and delivers eerie music that for a fantasy stealth game could have been done in a thousand of bad ways. Even then, it's great quality and speaks volumes of his taste.
(*: On top of this the gameplay is unmatched. Sorry I just had to say it - Thief is truly a masterpiece.)
As for the graphics, they are...well, bad. At least today. Washed textures, low polygon count, no lip-synch (mouths don't even open - thankfully?), no fancy effects whatsoever: Thief has aged very badly and this is partly to the game being in first-person perspective (this is mostly an observation and not a critique on perspective choice).
Good art direction, good graphics: Fallout
The HUD and interface is just tasteful: everything from the inventory, character screen, to the log are designed within the gameworld's terms (talk about immersion...). Add to this the fact that it has a unique retro-futuristic comic book design, complete with Monopoly inspired figurines, Blade Runner pistols, and an art deco vibe and you've got one hell of a setting. Factions are logical and their outlook upon the world is befitting, and their themes are well characterized. Music is without doubt 50% of game's atmosphere since Mark Morgan made an effort of including industrial sounds, beeping noises, keyboard clatter, sirens, fanfare, water drops and other gameworld-appropriate stuff to his tracks, enhancing the verisimilitude and experience greatly. Good writing that at times showcases the harshness of a post-apocalyptic world, though some say it was an excuse for saying the F-word a lot.
Graphics are good because they are 2D in isometric form, which means a fixed zoom setting, which in turn means solid quality textures that don't get blurry from getting too near or look like a repeated mosaic when looked from afar. Talking heads were very detailed 3D models that have aged perfectly; no proper lip-synch but who cares.
Bad art direction, good graphics: Dragon Age
Graphics are of course debatable, and with time they'll lose their "appeal". The art direction, however, is downright atrocious. Weapons look physically impossible and make you wonder how in hell would a blacksmith forge such an abomination, and where the hell would the thing's gravity center move to if the blade were to take one more turn. Swords are unbelievably wide and flashy effects abound instead of more tasteful runes, or something that makes more sense or is practically conceivable. Really, who in his sane mind would walk around with a sword caught on fire on his back? Armors are no exception, complete with laser visors, humongous shoulderpads that serve no purpose in medieval platemails. In fact, most armor in the game looks like it couldn't have happened such as leather armors looking like a patchwork of metallic plates of dull brown color. Fans tastelessly attribute the lack of talent in design to the game's "magic world", a world where blacksmiths and mages get together and somehow make the Blood Dragon Armor happen, which is in direct contradiction to both the outlook on mages of the general population and the grim landscape it supposedly is painted on. And this is another point of grudge: the world is supposed to be grimdark, yet poor people have enough time to take care of their hairs, forge rococo swords, and wear design clothes? I mean really, design clothes in a supposedly medieval setting? No thought was placed in the gameworld whatsoever. Nothing makes sense.
The music lacks personality in every point. The track that plays in Ostagar could very well have been played on any other town/location of the game that the player wouldn't have noticed a change; it's so generic, bland and uninspired that it fits practically anywhere - and sounds like it could be placed on many other high-fantasy games, for that matter. All "themes" share this characteristc, actually. And don't get me started on Leliana's song.
The best way to nail the definition in my opinion lies in first explaining the general idea, followed by clear examples that show said concepts at work.
General Idea
Art direction in a game is all about design decisions and thinking in the gameworld's terms. Creating it original and coherent, making up factions with believable political agendas, an atmosphere (high fantasy, realistic, violent, grimdark, etc.) that suits the story/development of the game, interesting locations, item descriptions, visual aesthetics (armor design, weapon design, etc.), architecture, music and a myriad of other things that are mostly purely theoretic. It's stuff you can describe on paper, and probably draw or write. It doesn't include other important stuff such as level design (from a navigational standpoint), rulesets, difficulty, etc. Doesn't get worse with age.
Graphics are what the engine makes of the visual part of the art direction. This is the basic stuff. Texture quality, lip-synch, motion blur, (amount of) animation detail, bump-mapping, dear "old" bloom, polygonal models' complexity and a bunch of other rendering-related things. It's how visually real an impression they can make out of the paragraph above. They get worse with time as new technologies are developed.
Examples
Good art direction, bad graphics: Thief*
The game has a unique setting (Hammerites, Pagans, Keepers, etc.) with personality-charged parties that behave logically. The level of writing in the game is one of the best out there (not only is it believable, but some of the Hammer chants and Pagan verses make for very good poetry, actually). Characters are interesting - hell, you can emotionally bind yourself to even the guards. Enemies chatter about their daily chores, but in an interesting way - trivial everyday problems abound, the epic part of the game happens behind shadows. Or actually in them: The theme of being an invisible thief is explored to extremes as you're allowed to eavesdrop on conversations, take a look at stuff that wasn't supposed to be found, and get involved in things that to the common world are plain out of sight. All the time you're getting this mixed feeling that your presence in the game is gameworld changing and nonexistent at the same time; stupendously done indeed. Brosius goes the safe route and delivers eerie music that for a fantasy stealth game could have been done in a thousand of bad ways. Even then, it's great quality and speaks volumes of his taste.
(*: On top of this the gameplay is unmatched. Sorry I just had to say it - Thief is truly a masterpiece.)
As for the graphics, they are...well, bad. At least today. Washed textures, low polygon count, no lip-synch (mouths don't even open - thankfully?), no fancy effects whatsoever: Thief has aged very badly and this is partly to the game being in first-person perspective (this is mostly an observation and not a critique on perspective choice).
Good art direction, good graphics: Fallout
The HUD and interface is just tasteful: everything from the inventory, character screen, to the log are designed within the gameworld's terms (talk about immersion...). Add to this the fact that it has a unique retro-futuristic comic book design, complete with Monopoly inspired figurines, Blade Runner pistols, and an art deco vibe and you've got one hell of a setting. Factions are logical and their outlook upon the world is befitting, and their themes are well characterized. Music is without doubt 50% of game's atmosphere since Mark Morgan made an effort of including industrial sounds, beeping noises, keyboard clatter, sirens, fanfare, water drops and other gameworld-appropriate stuff to his tracks, enhancing the verisimilitude and experience greatly. Good writing that at times showcases the harshness of a post-apocalyptic world, though some say it was an excuse for saying the F-word a lot.
Graphics are good because they are 2D in isometric form, which means a fixed zoom setting, which in turn means solid quality textures that don't get blurry from getting too near or look like a repeated mosaic when looked from afar. Talking heads were very detailed 3D models that have aged perfectly; no proper lip-synch but who cares.
Bad art direction, good graphics: Dragon Age
Graphics are of course debatable, and with time they'll lose their "appeal". The art direction, however, is downright atrocious. Weapons look physically impossible and make you wonder how in hell would a blacksmith forge such an abomination, and where the hell would the thing's gravity center move to if the blade were to take one more turn. Swords are unbelievably wide and flashy effects abound instead of more tasteful runes, or something that makes more sense or is practically conceivable. Really, who in his sane mind would walk around with a sword caught on fire on his back? Armors are no exception, complete with laser visors, humongous shoulderpads that serve no purpose in medieval platemails. In fact, most armor in the game looks like it couldn't have happened such as leather armors looking like a patchwork of metallic plates of dull brown color. Fans tastelessly attribute the lack of talent in design to the game's "magic world", a world where blacksmiths and mages get together and somehow make the Blood Dragon Armor happen, which is in direct contradiction to both the outlook on mages of the general population and the grim landscape it supposedly is painted on. And this is another point of grudge: the world is supposed to be grimdark, yet poor people have enough time to take care of their hairs, forge rococo swords, and wear design clothes? I mean really, design clothes in a supposedly medieval setting? No thought was placed in the gameworld whatsoever. Nothing makes sense.
The music lacks personality in every point. The track that plays in Ostagar could very well have been played on any other town/location of the game that the player wouldn't have noticed a change; it's so generic, bland and uninspired that it fits practically anywhere - and sounds like it could be placed on many other high-fantasy games, for that matter. All "themes" share this characteristc, actually. And don't get me started on Leliana's song.
