Question I don't get pixelated game popularity

[Craig234]

Gaming technology has evolved, so that pixelated graphics have greatly improved. I don't get the people who seem to like the 'art style' of pixelated games.

When the technology was limited, that was one thing. But it was a limit, not a positive.

I could understand a very small bit of nostalgia, but it seems to be a large market. And most of the fans of pixelated games seem to be younger gamers who coudn't have 'nostalgia' about them.

Sometimes older art has things to recommend it - I think music was best decades ago, old movies have a lot of great works - but would we really want 'Gilligan's Island' simplicity as a modern prime time series?

The legitimate reasons for pixelated games I see are basically be easier and cheaper to make, and that's it. I don't get the bad graphics being a positive selling point for the game, and demand for that.

It's a little like demanding music have mono sound, lots of static, and be played on cheap $5 speakers.

 

[XenaBard]

I could not agree more. Especially since I remember the days

You're mistake is the assumption that it is 'bad graphics". Your second mistake is assuming it has to be pretty to be good. That isn't something anyone is going to change your mind on, so this thread is pointless.

Nope. Opinions aren’t rendered

You're mistake is the assumption that it is 'bad graphics". Your second mistake is assuming it has to be pretty to be good. That isn't something anyone is going to change your mind on, so this thread is pointless.

What’s truly amazing is the presumption that any point with which we disagree is “pointless.”

Wow! Just wow.

 

[nakedfrog]

The generalization about gameplay doesn't help, because the gameplay seems worse to me in the pixel graphics games usually. Specific discussion on that helps.

Do you have any specific games in mind when you say this, pixel games you played recently you felt were lacking in the gameplay department?
In the past couple years, I played through and enjoyed Axiom Verge, Rogue Legacy, and Shovel Knight, for example. I played some of Volgarr the Viking, while the gameplay is fine, the difficulty was just a bit on the high side for me. I'm actively playing Octopath Traveler, which is kind of interesting in that it adds some modern touches to pixel graphics.

So was this not the kind of specific discussion you were looking for?

 

[Craig234]

So was this not the kind of specific discussion you were looking for?

Specifics do help, but this is more 'why prefer pixelated graphics', not 'which games with pixelated graphics are good because of gameplay'. You mentioned whether you enjoyed some games, but didn't mention why pixelated graphics would be a plus over better graphics.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I could not agree more. Especially since I remember the days


Nope. Opinions aren’t rendered


What’s truly amazing is the presumption that any point with which we disagree is “pointless.”

Wow! Just wow.

Welcome new guy! You have to go by context of his normal posts. This isn't out of the ordinary for him. No one is judging him on his opinions. It's his responses that annoy people. He isn't interested in different opinions. It's a thinly vieled swipe at people who like them, with no real interest in why. He's just interested in typing walls of text and then blocking anyone who makes him feel uncomfortable. Thanks for your contribution though!

 

[nakedfrog]

Specifics do help, but this is more 'why prefer pixelated graphics', not 'which games with pixelated graphics are good because of gameplay'. You mentioned whether you enjoyed some games, but didn't mention why pixelated graphics would be a plus over better graphics.

I suppose for those games, it's probably a plus in that they likely wouldn't exist at all if they'd been done with something other than pixel graphics.

 

[Craig234]

I suppose for those games, it's probably a plus in that they likely wouldn't exist at all if they'd been done with something other than pixel graphics.

Yes, that's a valid reason to support the game, it falls under 'cheaper development cost', but not really a reason to prefer the pixelated graphics like a marketing bullet.

 

[nakedfrog]

Well, I guess maybe you need to rephrase your question and add a poll so you can try to find the people you're looking for: "Who here prefers pixelated graphics and why?"

 

[bystander36]

And to remove some confusion, he's talking about "sprite graphics".

Let's just say, I do enjoy a nice side scroller, and some old school arcade style games which would also work well with sprites and gain little if nothing from being done in 3d as the games themselves are 2D in nature.

 

[Craig234]

Well, I guess maybe you need to rephrase your question and add a poll so you can try to find the people you're looking for: "Who here prefers pixelated graphics and why?"

I think I was clear - hopefully it's clear after this discussion? It's not a poll or a vote, but a discussion if people have an idea why some see low-res graphics as a plus, outside the things I mentioned like nostalgia.

 

[bystander36]

I think I was clear - hopefully it's clear after this discussion? It's not a poll or a vote, but a discussion if people have an idea why some see low-res graphics as a plus, outside the things I mentioned like nostalgia.

I haven't seen anyone say that they are better. You haven't linked any posts of anyone saying they are better. What people are saying is that they enjoy these types of games and that these games are often better than high quality graphics games, which to avoid confusion, doesn't mean they prefer the graphics, just that they prefer the games with those graphics.

 

[Craig234]

I haven't seen anyone say that they are better. You haven't linked any posts of anyone saying they are better.

Yes, I'm talking about the occasional marketing I've seen for some of the games. If people agree with me they're not better - that's fine. Feedback that not many feel that way is useful too. That's part of why I'm asking why some feel that way - or if many don't feel that way.

 

[bystander36]

Yes, I'm talking about the occasional marketing I've seen for some of the games. If people agree with me they're not better - that's fine. Feedback that not many feel that way is useful too. That's part of why I'm asking why some feel that way - or if many don't feel that way.

Marketing is never to be taken too seriously.

 

[Craig234]

Marketing is never to be taken too seriously.

Marketing does suggest, well, a market. You don't see "bad dialogue in badly translated English" as a marketing bullet. You don't see "buggy" or "short story" as marketing bullets much.

 

[bystander36]

Marketing does suggest, well, a market. You don't see "bad dialogue in badly translated English" as a marketing bullet. You don't see "buggy" or "short story" as marketing bullets much.

Your examples hit on my point very well. They only try to sell positives, and if they don't have one, they make one up. They won't necessarily sell you reality, only what they want you to think is reality.

 

[Medeia]

I don't care for pixelated games because they're nostalgic, I am sure that them being that way isn't supposed to invoke that sort of feeling; it is but a mere art style. Nothing more than that. Should we also talk about battlefield V being a pixel game, no because it makes no sense to say it like that. But that's what it is, a bunch of pixels.

 

[Craig234]

I don't care for pixelated games because they're nostalgic, I am sure that them being that way isn't supposed to invoke that sort of feeling; it is but a mere art style. Nothing more than that. Should we also talk about battlefield V being a pixel game, no because it makes no sense to say it like that. But that's what it is, a bunch of pixels.

That's simply being obtuse playing word games to try to avoid any sensible understanding of the topic. Clearly 'pixelated' refers to the low-res games in which the pixels are very visible as 'blocks' as opposed to later high-res games at 1080p+.

 

[paperfist]

Do they still make typewriters?

Yep banks still use them.

I get why there’s pixelated graphics but I liked them better on the C-64.

 

[whm1974]

Yep banks still use them.

I get why there’s pixelated graphics but I liked them better on the C-64.

Carbon Copy?

 

[paperfist]

Carbon Copy?

Lol not that I’ve seen, but plumbers still have those.

 

[StinkyPinky]

One of the best games I have played in the last 5 years is called To the Moon. It has a beautiful story despite the limitations of the graphics. Check it out.

 

[Craig234]

nm

 

[SMOGZINN]

I think one of the real problems is that it is not easy to show off good gameplay in a 30 second or even 2 minute video, but good graphics will shine in that medium, so AAA games focus on the graphics that they can show in a presentation and don't care that much about the gameplay that you don't get to see until after you have already bought the game. This is exacerbated by the fact that a large number of 'reviews' of games hardly play enough of it to really see if the gameplay works or not before publishing their review, something encouraged by the AAA publishers by various means like limiting review time.

On the other hand you have indie games that use pixel graphics that can't get buzz or good reviews based on marketing ploys or a 2 minute youtube video. If they want to sell they are mostly going to rely on word of mouth, which means they have to actually be fun to play.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Marketing does suggest, well, a market. You don't see "bad dialogue in badly translated English" as a marketing bullet. You don't see "buggy" or "short story" as marketing bullets much.

I think, and this is just my opinion and I could be wrong, that when they market 'pixel graphics' what they are trying to do is insinuate that they have good gameplay. It is supposed to make you think 'They didn't put any effort into the graphics so they must have great gameplay' it is not a very logical argument, but most people are not really all that great at logic.

 

[Craig234]

I think, and this is just my opinion and I could be wrong, that when they market 'pixel graphics' what they are trying to do is insinuate that they have good gameplay. It is supposed to make you think 'They didn't put any effort into the graphics so they must have great gameplay' it is not a very logical argument, but most people are not really all that great at logic.

Thanks for that theory🙂

 

[Craig234]

I think, and this is just my opinion and I could be wrong, that when they market 'pixel graphics' what they are trying to do is insinuate that they have good gameplay. It is supposed to make you think 'They didn't put any effort into the graphics so they must have great gameplay' it is not a very logical argument, but most people are not really all that great at logic.

Thanks for that theory🙂