[General Discussion] The use of colour. Or how earthtones are next gen.

Its a practical tip for games to adhere to a color scheme if possible. The limit often allows the developers to explore every possible avenue in using the selected colors for their title.

One older example I can think of is Secret of Mana, where supposedly the game was made without actually using the color Black... any dark areas were dark purples and blues, but no actual black color.

Another example I can think of is the Metal Gear Solid series of game's pretty obvious use of a specific color: In Metal Gear Solid it seemed to be a sort of "Depressed Blue". There was this blue tint that was evident throughout the entire game, with certain areas being of a different color scheme, notable Psycho Mantis's chambers (A sort of Yellow-Green that gave off a unsettling sense of being in a 'normal' location, of being in a home, which was thematically separate from the military nature of the game & its location: cold, un-civilized Alaskan wilderness) the Nuclear Storage Facility (A puke green color to not only indicate danger, but to reflect on the POISONOUS gas that might come out if you're found out).

In Metal Gear Solid 2, that color was adjusted to a more relaxed... I want to say Electronic Green-Blue. It was a very careful balance of green and blue hues, which again, was counterparted by the various locations: The opening sequence on the Cargo ship explored this color scheme deeply, and the Big Shell being a very obvious Warning Orange, which in a subtle way was a small hint of the change in the game that was to come, it was on a very small level, a clue that the experience in the Ship would not be the same as the experiences felt then and to be experienced later.

Metal Gear Solid 3 had a much more obvious Green and Brown color scheme, befitting of its location and setting once again, this time in the Jungles and Forests of the USSR.

Metal Gear Solid 4 seems to be expanding the dual-tone colors found in the previous title, blending the Electronic Green-Blue of MGS2, a new dark, almost black theme for an undertone, and an overlay of the MGS3 "Green".

Its an abstract comment I know, but its little touches like these which often get unnoticed, but they are fun to discover.

For a bit more down to earth example, take Jet Grind Radio / Jet Set Radio Future. The game has a very obvious cell-shaded look to itself, and while you might think its all comical, the surprising level of violence lends itself well to a dynamic pull between the music, the very vivid and expressive areas of Tokyo seen in real life, and the 'fight' your character takes on against the "Man", which are shown in darker, duller colors, as a contrast against the inherently vibrant world you're set in. Its another even more accessible example.

Of course as others have said, Okami is DRIPPING with this sort of thing. Its overall thematic color seems to be White, or a Parchment Paper off-white, but rather then take the route of being restricted by the color choice for the underlaying expressive setting, it uses that color as a general, light-felt guide, so that no one area feels too disconnected from the overall overlapping themes. So in this case, where-as some games design themselves at a certain level around maintaining the elements by restriction, Okami goes the opposite direction and uses the elements by exploration. The game's opening cut scenes are a great example: The character's outlines are all that are seen, and to this effect the story is easier to understand and it lets the player accept the ideas of the characters before being introduced to the reality. A two step process which is disolved away as the game begins and the true nature of the game unfolds.

Jam it back in, in the dark.