Which Design you think looks best? [Poll] Thread

Hello everybody! My name is George and I am the programmer working on VideoNasty a Mystery/Puzzle platform game made by A.L.F. Games.

So we have 2 different designs for one of the main protagonists and we were debating on which one works the best. Keep in mind that the game tries to have an arcadish and retro feel.

Design 1

Design 2

These are designed by my awesome partner Stefan Smith! The first one is obviously more detailed and a little more cartoonish while the second one more simplistic and with a little more 8-bit "character". So which one do you think looks best as far as the overall game concept is concerned?

Looking forward to your feedback!

Thank you for your time!

Edited by: Mistergeorge

Good question, both are good and it does kind of depend on what your game is aiming for visually. I like the detail in the face of design 1 but perhaps design 2 fits better with your overall game?

Less a question of design and more aesthetic style. It's not a question of which because these wouldn't fit into the same game.

#1 for your current graphics, as it uses a lot of shading. The highlights could use a bit of work and proportions are off (hat, leg widths). The face is the major feature and gives the option to do some decent expressions.

#2 looks comical even by itself as it quite sharply contrasts visual interest (face, hat, shirt, buttons, gloves) with blank coloured shapes {everything else}.