(Gonna add this to my first post too)
OK guys, this feels a bit silly to me cause I actually love Heroes of the Storm, and with this thread I’m just trying to stand out this “art thing” because it’s something that I, as many other people, think could be much “better”, particularly coming from Blizzard. To keep with the LoL example (just cause they are both MOBA games with similar mechanics and UI) when you navigate through its menus it’s like watching an amazing drawing album, particularly with the new heroes/skins/reworks, it’s actually something beautiful to see. Blizzard games tend to have an incredible art work too, and as some of you have said, at certain times in HotS we get some gorgeous screens, BUT they are always temporary drawings for some kind of event/special sale/whatever; but after that you go to the shop and all you get are those 3D ingame models, that aren’t that “nice” to see. And I know this is just subjective, you may be fine with that, but I think that a very important part of the fantasy of a game like this is the lore/background of the characters, and artwork is key there. You don’t get to see an amazing splash art as “cover letter” for each character, or his skins. Then you go play a match, and when you pick the hero it’s the 3D model again, and then the splash arts in the loading screen, which are just for the base skin and nothing impressive to see. I’ll add some more images to compare, starting with the cows of each game.
When you pick Alistar: http://www.mobafire.com/images/champion/skins/landscape/alistar-classic.jpg
When you pick ETC: http://www.heroesfire.com/images/heroes/talent-card/etc.jpg
And that’s for Alistar’s base skin, then you have a different drawing for every different skin you choose.
Now more examples of HotS art: http://www.heroesfire.com/images/heroes/talent-card/li-ming.jpg
http://massivelyop.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/hots-varian-epl-1115-860x280.jpg
https://www.destructoid.com//ul/383799-AD.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Wv9I_HrhRNc/maxresdefault.jpg
Compare it to LoL splash arts: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aTf8xfP1coo/WIut9QqMvYI/AAAAAAAAc7g/XQYCLx96ldEtaB6ncpEs6Eyrl6bXlAaYgCLcB/s640/Jhin_Splash_2.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8e/3c/0d/8e3c0d1802290230ce5da983ae95c084.jpg
http://www.mobafire.com/images/champion/skins/landscape/thresh-blood-moon.jpg
And official art from other Blizzard games, just to show how they can actually do great stuff:
http://www.continue-play.com/live/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/World_of_Warcraft_Legion_Key_Art.jpg
http://img.hrhwalls.com/images4/eevgcr0hu43.jpg
Now how these same characters get into your eyes in HotS: http://www.heroesofthestormbuildguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/illidan.jpg
http://www.heroesfire.com/images/heroes/talent-card/arthas.jpg
http://www.heroesfire.com/images/heroes/talent-card/valla.jpg
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d love to see the other kind of Blizzard art in HotS too. In terms of plain drawing skills, there’s no comparison between both “styles”. And of course, support skins with some nice drawings, even if it’s just to show off in loading screens. I understand HotS would need a huge overhaul in order to implement all these things, but in the long term, if they want to have a gorgeous game, I think there’s a need of working a lot in the art section.
And that’s all. Just a bit of “rant” about this cause I think they could make much better, and wanted to know what people think about this subject. Have a nice day!