There’s many factors, honestly. For example, a lot of pixelated games have animations that break the “pixel barrier”, eg, a character moves smoothly over half pixels. Another thing is pixel scales being completely different. Sometimes a character or an icon has larger pixels than those on a map. Another factor is simply a variety of textures and colours- older games had limited colours for most objects, counting the underlying map as an object in itself. Not every colour could be used, and sometimes, a lot games weren’t actually on the same saturation as people remember.
Anon is chasing an old high
Submitted 4 days ago by Early_To_Risa@sh.itjust.works to greentext@sh.itjust.works
https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/92480cb6-8dad-4c0e-85f6-ecfda35774c8.jpeg
Comments
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 4 days ago
grue@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Another thing is pixel scales being completely different. Sometimes a character or an icon has larger pixels than those on a map.
Stardew Valley for the most part does pixel art right, but it’s always jarring to see the player character’s weird skinny fishing line. It’s worst when it’s juxtaposed with other characters whose lines are drawn correctly:
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 3 days ago
That massive fish is also a bit jarring. Usually SDValley kinda works though because of the tiling. Wasn’t that game also almost entirely made by one dude?
formulaBonk@lemm.ee 3 days ago
That’s a great spot and I tried to picture it but couldn’t so I also appreciate the screenshot
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
It also depends on the system they’re trying to emulate the style of. This would fit fine in the PS1 “Of Mana” game. Too complex for SNES, which is what most people probably assuming graphics like this are going for.
TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee 3 days ago
It’s not just about looks. It’s about novelty, marvel giving way to generosity towards the crunchy parts of the design. And of course, a compelling story in a new world.
skisnow@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
Also, 256 colours
Evotech@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Anon is old, anon can see through the matrix.
When you were young you didn’t see the game, you just experienced the world.
BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz 13 hours ago
What’s this game called ?
Godort@lemm.ee 4 days ago
you need a good scanline filter if you want modern pixels to look like classic ones
semperverus@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Incorrect, you need a good NTSC filter. Scanlines on their own are hotdog water.
Jesus_666@lemmy.world 3 days ago
And then your European players wonder why the color artifacts are all wrong. PAL and NTSC had different distinct looks (and presumably so did SECAM).
pantyhosewimp@lemmynsfw.com 3 days ago
Oh! You just reminded me. I had some old hotdog water on the stove and I cooked some rice in it. Was delicious. Pretty sure boiling killed any bacteria. So there ya go: a cooking tip in with yer video game comments.
_____@lemm.ee 3 days ago
no Indian rpg will ever make me feel like playing Golden Sun as a kid did
Jiggle_Physics@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Yeah, they would need to be able to turn you back into your kid self, experiences and all. A lot of that magic is from you being a child.
melpomenesclevage@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
not just you. the world you inhabit and your place in it.
like, imagine having a future, lol.
zaubentrucker@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
That main menu music was so great
_____@lemm.ee 3 days ago
I love the entire OST. the Saturos theme is one of my favourite ones
driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 3 days ago
Playing Chrono Trigger as an adult will ever make me feel like playing Chrono Trigger as a kid did.
egidighsea@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
The sun will rise again!
suite403@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I would imagine I’d absolutely love some of these indie games today as a kid. But there are things that make them less desirable to play now. The main things are being an adult with responsibilities gives you less time and tons of options for games now. I had maybe 10 games to choose to play from unless I rented.
twocupsofsugar@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I also think gaming now a days just feels different and not in a childhood wonder sort of way but a walking into an obscure bookstore kind of way. Social media makes learning about a video game way too easy. Spoilers are hard to avoid and the more people talk about a game the less novel it feels. I didn’t spend much time on forums as a kid so most games i learned about was via word of mouth or from demo disks. I’ll never forget my first play through of Halo 1 on the OG xbox. Played it coop with my bro. Was completely scared shitless when the flood was introduced. No one told me there were zombies in my shoot man game. Like no one talked about it. Good times.
Demdaru@lemmy.world 2 days ago
On spoilers - also the whole goddamm culture shifted. A lot of people won’t pickup a game until they see at least gameplay vid of it or read tens of posts etc. Spoilers became culturally mainstream.
I do not partake and dive blind most of the time and still got that wonderfull wonder sensation I got as a kiddo.
Only ya know. We got so powerfull machines now that devs tend to focus on looks rather than story/gameplay. Thankfully slowly changing, in parts thanks to indie devs.
WarlordSdocy@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I would also make an argument that the limited technology at the time led to different kinds of games versus what we see now. Sure there’s the obvious things like internet enabled games and being able to get updates but I think even the less thought about things like restrictions on RAM and the power of computers led to restrictions on what you could do which led to specific types of games which aren’t made that way anymore because they don’t have to work around those restrictions. And while in a lot of cases those restrictions going away has allowed for better mechanics and gameplay it also still makes the games different which to people who were used to and liked those games will feel not as good anymore.
Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 2 days ago
There’s something about those early games that were in the first generation of their genres and people hadn’t figured out the rules yet. Lots of experimental stuff. Things that could created a wall that the average kid would stall on.
Try playing the Marathon trilogy and then go right to Halo CE. You’ll realize why Cortana walks you though most of the game. The line “This cave is not a natural formation” came from when the opening was more natural looking, but even with the dialog, play testers had trouble fining the opening. Still way better then dumping yellow tape or green lights everywhere.
sbv@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
you can never go home
lka1988@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
Because these characters aren’t built the same as old games. That was part of the magic of older games, using as few resources as possible but cleverly cutting the spirit into easily manipulated bit maps that can be flipped and rotated as necessary to animate the character.
These are overly detailed and missing the CRT effect.
PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat 4 days ago
Something about people putting their heart into what they’re doing just makes it feel different.
It barely matters what it is. It could be crappy externally. It could be notes from a math class. Something about the nature of the mind that makes it goes into the thing that gets made and makes it magic. The limitations to the old hardware mean people have no choice but to bring the magic, and because they had to make magic to make the game, the game turns out to have some magic in it.
Plenty of modern games have it too. Tunic and Hollow Knight have it in a way that a lot of the pixel-art imitators do not. Pixel art is fine too. But it’s not the point.
Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world 2 days ago
The actual pixels are more defined. You can’t just emulated crt fuzz without emulating crt fuzz.
ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
We know what is possible today. When these old games were new they were quite frankly cutting edge and pioneering what was possible.
You don’t achieve that today even with the most dedicated adherence to retro limitations.
Prunebutt@slrpnk.net 3 days ago
One could argue that the dynamic shadows of the day and night cycle in Sea of Stars were actually kind of breaking new ground in pixel art.
PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat 3 days ago
The era of NES was wild. I don’t think it is purely kid’s-experience nostalgia although that is certainly a factor. A lot of the language of gaming and the genres that are still in existence in some form today were being created for the first time, mostly from thin air. Wolf3d and Doom were probably the last time that a new “language” for gaming was created in that same way, directly in the mainstream of gaming and outside of niche / experimental games.
Also, the scope was incredible. For no reason. I along with a lot of other people had the experience of playing one level or one screen of an NES game and assuming at first that it was the whole game. No, that is 2% of the game. Why did they make so much game? For no reason? With no particular competition that would cause them to need to invest all the resources into creating this luxuriously massive experience? It can only be love.
Aux@feddit.uk 3 days ago
Nah, Wolfenstein and Doom were not the last. GTA and TES brought us open world games later on. Max Payne brought us cinema-like adventures. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is just a complete mind fuck never seen before. And you’re forgetting VR, VR is full of unprecedented experiences, from physical action in Beat Saber to immersive story in HL: Alyx to time manipulating Superhot VR. And my personal favourite - No Man’s Sky, it’s just a very unusual game.
twocupsofsugar@lemmy.world 3 days ago
a lot of what makes old game have that charm isn’t just having the good pixel art but also matching the system sprite design, color pallet and replicating the imperfect displays of the time. Which the last is the one i think tends to be forgotten about a lot. Of course not all games are trying to replicate a style but more like a general vibe.
ameancow@lemmy.world 2 days ago
More than that, not being aware of genocide and looming climate collapse made those old games a lot more fun :)
S_H_K@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
I think it goes more on thise lines. We got tons of great games done by very passionate people. But is hard to enjoy something if you can dedicate only 1 hour tops and then go to sleep cause you have to work tomorrow.
VitoRobles@lemmy.today 3 days ago
That’s why I love UFO 50.
It really went hard at capturing what I love about classic games. The Desert Western RPG was so good, even with all of its grind.
PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat 3 days ago
I haven’t played it but I have watched a little bit, and the part that it really captures in my observation, that very few modern games have the balls to capture accurately, is how uncaring it is whether you are having fun.
The fun is not a gift. The fun is not automatic. The fun is your reward once you get your shit together and figure things out, and until you get yourself to that level, the game is not concerned about your experience. It’s content on its mountaintop, waiting for you to join it (if you’re up for the task, and if not, that’s okay too.)
VitoRobles@lemmy.today 2 days ago
Brilliant observation. I didn’t consider that at all!
Fecundpossum@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Could anyone id the game in the screen shot for me?
salvaria@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 days ago
Fecundpossum@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Thanks!
WhiteBurrito@lemmy.world 3 days ago
The question is not only what game is it, but also, is it any good?
Joeffect@lemmy.world 4 days ago
It was the television or crappiness of it that made them look better than it was…
SGforce@lemmy.ca 4 days ago
Can’t believe that guy left out this:
image showing different pixel layouts
The pixels and shading on them were designed to look better with a different display pixel layout
Delphia@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Ive found that a cheap 1080p projector onto an unprepped painted white wall does a great job of making old crt stuff look correct.
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 days ago
I like how they specified the xo-1 lcd. Everyone knows the one laptop per child computer from like 2010 is the most relatable device in 2025…… 15 years later… fuck.
vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
I still think someone needs to make a gaming screen with built in retro screen emulator capabilities. Fuck you’re 8K ultra wide crap I want to play old school games in their proper resolution without it looking like crap.
iAvicenna@lemmy.world 3 days ago
yea funny enough I got that high when recently playing Planescape torment but not Baldurs Gate I, dont know why. Still a good game though.
CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Baldurs gate is good but it really shows how much they were trying to capitalise on 5e actually gaining mainstream attention (not that I blame em, folks gotta eat) Divinity Original Sin 2 is a previous title by the same company and IMO feels a lot better to play both mechanically and in terms of actually having a unique feeling universe.
Jyek@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
OP is talking about the first Baldur’s Gate game. Not Baldur’s Gate 3 which you are talking about. Also Baldur’s Gate 3 was in production in 2017. While it may have been in response to Stranger Things season 1 coming out, I honestly doubt it was that. BG3 is a huge labor of love and that dev team was much more intent on making a good game than cashing in on popularity of any particular ttrpg system. There are no dlc or micro transactions and marketing was sparse. I pretty much only heard about it through word of mouth. If the goal was to capitalize, they failed that. You don’t capitalize by making a game that people can buy once and have nearly limitless experiences in without spending a dime more.
Carnelian@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I will take this moment to recommend Crosscode, one of the all time greats
lowered_lifted@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
anon needs to build a time machine and rescue my parents’ 32" Trinitron. That shit was top of the line.
ICastFist@programming.dev 2 days ago
OOP should try the Mega Drive (Genesis) ROM of Pier Solar, then. Couldn’t “look fake” even if it tried
sommerset@thelemmy.club 2 days ago
By punching nazis u mean posting memes in lemmy?
Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 2 days ago
You lost?
AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee 2 days ago
Looks like the bot got confused
Sanctus@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Its because they all use Unity, Unreal, or Godot, anon. Its the game engines.
mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
Maybe because it’s not limited. If your comfort games were in RPG Maker, then 24-bit pixels are right, but good art is wrong. If they were on consoles, they should be aggressively paletted and tiled.
Try homebrew. An NES or SNES game will always look about right, because breaking those limits is a thousand times harder than embracing them.
ajoebyanyothername@lemmy.world 3 days ago
As Yahtzee has suggested, people aren’t nostalgic for old games, but for how they felt playing old games. Much harder to capture that, and beautiful pixel art alone isn’t enough.
TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Because as a child, everything is novel and new for you so you get that sense of high and awe seeing something new. But now as adults, recreating that feeling is almost impossible because you have already experienced it before.
dodgy_bagel@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 days ago
Nothing hammers this home like raising a kid.
The sense of joy and wonder they feel about something as simple as learning how to turn on a faucet. Suddenly, they’re magical and can summon water.
It makes you feel jaded.
pseudonaut@lemmy.world 3 days ago
This is why I started hiking and summiting mountains. I mean, not literally why, but it’s chasing that new and novel high.
gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 2 days ago
that’s why you should seek out new things to see wonder and novel in. as a person with AuDHD, that is very easy for me.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
And that’s why I generally avoid games that advertise themselves as “pixel art.” I have no problem with pixel art itself and I play many pixel art games, but the art style is secondary to whether it’s fun.