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General discussion (archive)Retro is getting old.(131 posts)(131 posts)
(131 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted August 23, 2013
I don't buy it. There's still a lot of mileage in pixel art; pixel art doesn't by itself mean 'retro-styled', it's simply a stylistic choice.
Posted August 23, 2013
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wizardtypething: I don't buy it. There's still a lot of mileage in pixel art; pixel art doesn't by itself mean 'retro-styled', it's simply a stylistic choice.
Not just talking about pixel art, but game mechanics. Many indie devs are stuck in the past or trying to bank on nostalgia.
Posted August 23, 2013
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wizardtypething: I don't buy it. There's still a lot of mileage in pixel art; pixel art doesn't by itself mean 'retro-styled', it's simply a stylistic choice.
At least when it's done right. A lot of games that use pixel art end up looking muddy and horrible. In these cases the adoption of such an art style was most likely not a choice at all, since that was probably the only art style that would have worked within the limits of the developers' budget.
Posted August 23, 2013
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Psychomorph: I dream about a different kind of "retro", a more recent one, such influenced by games like Thief, Deus Ex, etc. Immersive worlds, not just homages.
Just checking, but are you aware that there are hundreds of fanmade missions for the Thief games? I'd say about 10% of them are really good. They are still being made to this day.
Post edited August 23, 2013 by lettmon
Posted August 23, 2013
-Edited-

Bah
Post edited August 23, 2013 by tejozaszaszas
Posted August 23, 2013
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Gazoinks: The thing that slightly bothers me is that by associating genres with a retro style, it's like a tacit admission that the genre is completely irrelevant nowadays.
That doesn't make any sense to me, personally. Something that I've learned over the years is that there is very little time in entertainment where a genre is a "predominant one". Have brawlers ever truly died? Have text adventures? They just moved to different horizons, developed by different people. Culture has an ebb and flow but it just doesn't suddenly go dry because some fish have reproduced too much. It's always a case of perspective and the way genres develop, and inevitably stagnate.
Posted August 23, 2013
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scampywiak: By this I mean, does every fucking indie dev have to copy Zelda, Mega Man or Mario Bros? We all loved those games, time to move on. Even if they happen to be stuck in 8-bit graphics.
Actually, I would be glad if those games actually copied Zelda, Mega Man or Super Mario, at least then they would be awesome. Most of those "retro" games play like the designers only know the classics through screenshots and then tried to make something similar from that. They play nothing like the classics.
Posted August 23, 2013
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GhostQlyph: This thread is enough to make me want to leave GOG again.

I've had to shelve TWO different projects a friend and I are working on because we don't have and can't afford artists. I tried paying -- 400 dollars got me a blockout (READ: all flat surfaces, no textures, no modelling -- Doom 1 level design without the pain of texturing or silly details like stairs or doors) of the interior of a space ship, and a screenshot of a half-finished engine prop. And I don't have that money anymore because I got laid off from my last job.

While I agree plenty of indie games with retro graphics fail to focus on gameplay sufficiently, one SHOULD NOT simply say "HURRRR RETRO GRAPHICS IT'S PRETENTIOUS/LAME INDIE SHIT HURRRRRRRRR".

That's a good way to arouse my wrath, because I'm having difficulties making a goddamn pixel art game. I cannot draw. I'm a musician and game designer, not a graphic artist. And people in the visual arts tend to cost ludicrous amounts -- a quote I got for 4 walking animations of a single character was 200 dollars. That's PIXEL ART. US DOLLARS.

To put this into perspective, we may end up going to the MUCH HATED ultra-lofi 8x8 character sprites because at least we can actually MAKE THOSE.

And if our shitty graphics are just hurrrrrr retro indie hogwash hurrrrrrrr then why don't you stump up the fucking money to help us make better graphics, bucko? Don't talk nonsense about shit you don't know, or start paying the people who WISH they had more options.

ENRAGED,
--Cassy
Nobody said making games is easy, right? It's probably one of the sh#tties things to attempt (and one of the most rewarding if it works out).

I played Super Mario World to death in my younger years (still own the SNES), but 1st person PC gaming is what made me an absolute gamer fanatic. The game "Thief" is probable the most mind blowing experience I ever had to date and this is the kind of stuff I am into (non-existent these days also). I ignore those retro indie games, because I share no interest for it. I wish them the utmost best of luck and supported some of these projects on Kickstarter (and wish I supported some more), but this will never be my thing, period. So I do hope for "better" times with indie game development, but I know how almost impossible it is to go above that level of pixel art design (which still can be very good), but nobody said making games is easy...

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Psychomorph: I dream about a different kind of "retro", a more recent one, such influenced by games like Thief, Deus Ex, etc. Immersive worlds, not just homages.
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lettmon: Just checking, but are you aware that there are hundreds of fanmade missions for the Thief games? I'd say about 10% of them are really good. They are still being made to this day.
I am playing the Dark Mod, it's wonderful!

As a matter of fact there are many fan missions for the original Thief games that I haven't played yet. I am looking forward to play them, so there's still lots of awesome to discover. I'm actually glad I did not play it all, because there is still so much great stuff to enjoy for me. :D
Post edited August 23, 2013 by Psychomorph
Posted August 23, 2013
Copy Thief, System Shock and Fallout more please, indie devs.
Posted August 23, 2013
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StingingVelvet: Copy Thief, System Shock and Fallout more please, indie devs.
And do more settings like Arcanum, only that and Fable 2-3 are the only games where the medieval fantasy world evolved with the times, I find it fascinating that a world like Lord of the Rings can progress in to a world like 17-18 century Europe.
Posted August 23, 2013
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Elmofongo: And do more settings like Arcanum, only that and Fable 2-3 are the only games where the medieval fantasy world evolved with the times, I find it fascinating that a world like Lord of the Rings can progress in to a world like 17-18 century Europe.
Yeah, developers and publishers are scared of unique settings, which I think is a shame.
Posted August 23, 2013
To be honest, it's probably better to keep things relatively simple, under most circumstances and with reason.

The more complicated things get, the harder it can be to tell what can be interacted with and what's part of the background, for example. Or it means less interactivity with things, you can look but not touch.

and eh, a lot of 8/16 bit style stuff aged a lot better in terms of aesthetics than a lot of 32 bit era games. Not just 3d polygon stuff, but a lot of cg rendered stuff has a tendency to age really badly and look terrible now that the novelty has worn off.
Posted August 23, 2013
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Crosmando: Stupidest thing I've read all week. I bet you're one of those "games were only turn-based because of technical limitations" people aren't you.
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Robette: The iconic fog of Silent Hill is in place because handling the vast environment would have been otherwise troublesome for the PSX and much of the horror of Resident Evil came from the combination of clunky controls and the immovable camera related to the pre-rendered background.
Please stop lying, games made back in the '70s used the same technology as we have today.
Posted August 24, 2013
In defense of the developers when considering graphics...

I've seen both indies and amateurs using modern day software to implement modern day graphics but their illustration skills are absolutely terrible.

The 8 and 16 bit pix-elation process actually CLEANS UP what would otherwise look a Jr. High School student's notebook cover. In these instances, formatting in this manner actually provides a more professional appearance and allows gamers to instead focus on the developers' craft with programming and level design.

As for new and unique game play......those ideas don't travel through the waves so easily and therefor I only expect them from old pros like Capcom, Sega and Nintendo.
Posted August 24, 2013
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osborne112: Although it seems lazy, the 8-bit look is still badass to me when treated right. Exhibit A: HOTLINE MIAMI.
But Hotline Miami got it´s own graphic and gameplay-syle, which has nothing to do with those mainstream-retros!
Oh, and itt got FullHD_Support, which is at least something only very few retro games have!
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This is my favourite topic
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General discussion (archive)Retro is getting old.(131 posts)(131 posts)
(131 posts)