NECROTHREAD
This project is still alive, but I'm having to make a tough design choice that I might not even have an actual choice in making, but I figured it would be best to ask here.
If I take Red Arm's setting, mood, situation, storyline, soundtrack, sounds, etc. and keep it the same, while changing the game's art style, how bad of a decision would this be?
In order to retain all of the above without totally compromising the game's feel and appeal, I was thinking of using a cel-shaded art style with realistic lighting (think TF2's shader model and lighting hierarchy, with Borderlands level of detail on the models).
Advantages:
1. Simplify the dev process, and make models far cheaper to produce.
2. Give the game an extra sale gimmick. I have yet to see a 'serious' cel-shaded game on the market.
Disadvantages:
1. "Cel-shading? Must be not-serious/TF2-esque/comic-book-like. I won't waste my time buying this. *close window*"
2. The entire idea of a cel-shaded game in a serious setting may be too much of a contradiction for the art style to hold.
Any thoughts?