I'd say this is an effective use of shaders to reinforce a unique visual design.
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because if you are an indie with a small or no budget , why waste your time , it's not worth it unless your going for a gears of war type title , other than that i'd say forget about shaders
Why? It's not like it's a huge deal to add or use a shader in an indie game. I have been developing my indie project for 3 years without shaders, in a6 extra, creating what I hope is a unique visual style. For me to put a little post-processing bloom shader on top of it has been easy and opened up a new graphic design dimension. It is another paintbrush for the studio. New technology is not a substitute for design or creativity, but like anything, it is about the designer.
Some people make the same "why bother if you are an indie" comments about working in 3D instead of flash, too!
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that did poorly in sales , because no one wants to play it. Yes , I can see all the shaders and nice lighting and shadow system , but it's all wasted for such a cartoony looking game
I think poor sales would have more to do with their demographic base-- VP is a Nintendo style game, made for a mostly sports-action console. It's refreshing to see MS at least try to use their acquisition of Rare for something different. (Poor Rare!)
