Art direction is an incredibly important aspect of video game development, and it's only grown more important over the last decade or so thanks to the rise of Indie games. In the 2000s, the vast majority of the gaming industry was focused solely on making the most realistic-looking games possible, and while that continued well into the 2010s, Indie games like Limbo and Hotline Miami proved that games with a smaller budget could still stand out from the crowd by embracing a more distinct art style. These Indie games began a shift across the entire industry, eventually resulting in more stylization across all types of games, including games like LEGO Horizon Adventures.