[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/10623872/efdb1909ca4ca6e71ddcab60f14b2f406b35ac81.png[/img]Initially pixel art was the only game in town. Now it has become a deliberate design choice. Some time ago I tried to explain the art style of our space shooter 1993 Space Machine to a new artist that would help us out with some additions to the game. As I explained our way of working to him I realized that people today that are making pixelated retro graphics have a different approach to it then what we had. In 1993 we were doing our best to hide the technical limitations of the time, but today that is embraced as part of the charm and style. So the limitations back then shaped our style, just like the now popular retro pixel style, but for completely opposite reasons. [h2][h1]Rough or smooth?[/h1] [/h2]The screen resolution of 320x256 pixels presented a challenge in getting graphics to look smooth. We spent lots and lots of time on 'anti aliasing', or smoothing out the edges, of our art. However, this is almost never done today, as seen in these two examples of the great games 'Hoppenhelm' and 'Zero Ranger'. To us, this would not be finished artwork, but has today been accepted as a deliberate art style. [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C5612AQHw5uZaUWZmOw/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0/1645739130692?e=1654128000&v=beta&t=x-9wSTKCECKyQ4dnPgLRqzPWeMH3Ig1KEGAV8atackQ[/img] So 'anti aliasing' is the process of smoothing out unwanted pixelated edges that appear on high contrast areas. I've tried to illustrate what's going on in the image here. [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C5612AQFUPExHnduLHg/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232/0/1645719584055?e=1654128000&v=beta&t=TNd6H0SN1f0OhcFTg41c5x4S3pdqteZ1kMzf-RqCtVg[/img] Red= Desired shape. Green= Shave off 'subpixels'. Yellow= Fill up 'subpixels'. On shapes where the angle is small, a longer distance for smoothing out the aliasing is needed, as illustrated with the line in the image. This means more shades of that color are needed than when anti aliasing tight angles, like the circle. The objects appear a bit more blurry, but smoother. Modern pixel art is on the other hand often sharper but also very rough. A clear example of this in effect can be seen in this planet. All smooth edges, but not as sharp. [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C5612AQGH8cRDa2RBbw/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232/0/1645719860482?e=1654128000&v=beta&t=EVOO8kqUJ9mH9cc97MGO4pQJzof48HS-XwZpzGqhzNA [h2]Colors on a budget [/h2] [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C5612AQHG5pkysuSceg/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232/0/1645720215699?e=1654128000&v=beta&t=ykNcDWgfdsedkvyPSS3CZEVSlpmCpo--CMFuApwysog[/img] The color palette was very limited so to prevent 'banding' (clear blocks/bands of colors) on surfaces with few colors, certain tricks were used, like dithering. It's the detailed patterns created to blend colors into each other. The pattern created also lends a certain textural look to the surface. It is quite notable on this grey ship which has a pretty rough appearance of the metal, which gives it some extra character too. In this example below a different trick is used for blending colors. Having a palette with colors of almost the same saturation and value makes it possible to sometimes 'cheat' a bit and put colors that might not really belong in there, like the gray blue color in the purple skin tones. Since the graphic will be quite small our eyes blend it together enough for the illusion to work. Obviously it also helped that the old CRT screens were much blurrier than what we are used to today. This blur could be used to our benefit for blending colors in this way. [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C5612AQESfW_qw3LpOA/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232/0/1645720543992?e=1654128000&v=beta&t=RnREle4CstDdo7liVp1DzSIm3mKT9eFKnDb1vU7APJo[/img] The legendary game developers 'Bitmap Brothers' really mastered this technique and only used 16 colors for their games, which all looks amazing despite the few colors they used. (Screen taken from the Amiga version of 'Chaos Engine'.) [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D12AQEEWiCdbYolwA/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232/0/1647620948027?e=1654128000&v=beta&t=CC-HwdoJU3fsk8mOaE-Vw5wAVJm_SYGq8F8rU8rmCxg[/img] This following image of a forest has a different approach and design philosophy; which is more to embrace that limitation and claiming it as a style rather than trying to fight it. We can clearly see the different colored areas and no effort has been made trying to hide the fact that the color palette is limited. And it works because it is its own style and it's consistent. [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D12AQFtDPBqJx5kFg/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232/0/1645734928128?e=1654128000&v=beta&t=2pI_heI8uH4VIxvrnJUUAFohgUCuXzZl3Vui9CiwTOk[/img] Much of the detailed intricacy seen in the pixel art of our game '1993 Space Machine' is because of the need to break up surfaces. This was not only to create interest, but also to sort of extend the colors range. It is especially notable on the tree trunk below. [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D12AQFtYr3mNxClIQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1500_2232/0/1645737362963?e=1654128000&v=beta&t=sJ7Ke29zwJD91NkH4-yhYDym07dVmN_6edbjSGHsh28[/img] [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C5612AQGIU6tkx7OqEQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0/1645740109583?e=1654128000&v=beta&t=LdlxRV_WTyQ1Xwt4ZuvpsMo171xre5NgfVQux3OyyEI[/img] [h2]In retrospect [/h2]It's off course a recurring thing that technical limitations in time give birth to certain styles and looks, just like old prints do today, which I've imitated below as poster art for our game. We recognize this from the typical paper color, muted prints with just a few colors, the fonts, misalignments etc. There's a certain notion attached to this look and it carries a bit of history with it. We think of it as a bit innocent and charming, just like pixelated games does today. [img]https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D12AQG1yXuFkZxgoQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0/1645738372414?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=FUcVEluPRQXe8PAWsxpR9Mcc4sXw5-PzhW-4nRYaRXI[/img] I find it both fascinating and delightful to see the vitality of this old pixelated art style in modern games. It really is charming in a very special way that appeals to me. And it's very clear that I'm not alone. /Krister Karlsson - Game designer & Art director