The Use of Black and White in Modern Videogames

The first films, the first television sets and the first videogames were existent only in black-and-white. For this reason, black-and-white in modern videogames often represents the past and, on the other hand, colour represents the present-day or future. For instance the cancelled videogame ‘Sadness’ was intent on using only black and white imagery to further enhance the feel of pre-World War One gameplay. We also often find that black and white represents notions of the robotic and lifeless, whereas colour can be used to portray expression and emotion. In Limbo one controls an expressionless character who never speaks or reacts to the events around him. In this game, the black and white scenery, in conjunction with the visible use of film grain, helps to align the game within the film noir genre, which was more popular in the 1940s. Furthermore in the 2008 videogame ‘The Void’, gameplay is seen through black and white until colours are discovered. These colours are used as emotional references in a game and are used to open what are known as Hearts within the Void world. Black white in these examples is effectively used to set these particular games apart from the modern mainstream chromatic videogames.