🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sun, 18 Oct 2015 10:19:39 +0100, JAB <nowa...@feckoff.com> wrote:

>Like some of the posters here I also have a problem with 'retro' 
>graphics for the sake of it when what the developer really means is we 
>can't afford the expense of producing modern graphics so we'll dig out 
>that Speccy 48k and take our inspiration from there.
>
>It's a fair point about money (I dread to think how much of the budget 
>of a typical AAA title goes on graphics) but I do feel there are certain 
>companies that know how not spend a fortune but still make the game look 
>up to date.

I don't mind retro graphics; I just think they are too often used as a
shortcut to nostalgia; "my new game looks just like that old game you
used to love, so it must be just as good!" 

The problem is, we didn't love those games because they used giant
pixels. We loved them because of the artistry used to get around the
limits of those giant pixels, whether that artistry took the form of
exciting or innovative gameplay, incredible world-building or just
fantastic artwork despite the fact the they had only 8 or 256 colors.
It was the skill of the developers that made the games memorable, not
the retro graphics. 

Unfortunately, most retro games these days - like most games ever
released - are forgettable shit, and their "old-school" graphics make
them UGLY forgettable shit. The argument is that by using 8-bit
graphics, the developers can focus their time or resources on the
gameplay, but more often than not what we get are badly designed
retreads of existing games. Sure, there's a handful of good games but
even those probably would have been more enjoyable had the graphics
been modernized. And with cheap or free graphic engines available,
even the excuse of limited resources becomes strained...

I can still appreciate the beauty of my old games; I still play them
occassionally and there are times I marvel at how good they can
ocassionally look - but I've no desire to rewind time and go back to
those graphics if I have an option. Especially if - as it so often is
- the use of 8-bit graphics are just a marketing ploy to conflate my
enjoyment of older, better games with their new, cheaply-made garbage.



Incidentally, I wouldn't call the graphics of Introversion games
"retro"; they are very simple and stylized but usually use a lot of
modern effects (Darwinia was the most "retro" of them, and even that
was fairly modern).