The 'What's Retro to You?' Contest!

[Colin]

When, in reality, we want to play games that look like this:


(Well, I know I do!)

I kid you not, and I think I've said it when you've posted this before, if that was a real game it would be a system seller to me!

[QualityChimp]

Ha, yeah! Definitely!
I wonder if anyone could use the TMNT engine to make a SotD or Hot Fuzz game?!

as [MENTION=13193]nakamura[/MENTION] says, a lot of modern retro-style games don't bother with the shading.

Aled Lewis gets it, as his picture shows, so it's a shame real game-makers don't do it correctly quite often.

[nakamura]

I would buy that game too. If it was real.

[Yakumo]

Now that is a real retro game. None of this NES ****e. I really hate all of that more than I can even begin to say.

[Leon Retro]

Now that is a real retro game. None of this NES ****e. I really hate all of that more than I can even begin to say.

Yeah, a lot of retro-inspired games are copying 8-bit NES games, so you get games that look like hi-res NES titles with a few modern effects. Now that style can be seen as charming in a way, but it in no way does classic retro games justice. Games just didn't look like a bunch of blocky pixels back in the day, because people used CRTs. I think people forget that retro consoles on LCDs doesn't represent what the games are supposed to look like.

If people want to see really beautiful 2D pixel art, just play a '90s Capcom scrolling beat 'em up like Armored Warriors or Alien vs. Predator on an arcade monitor. The idea that retro games were just a bunch of indistinct pixels is unfair and completely wrong. The moral of the story: Don't play retro games on LCD screens without something like a Framemeister to help.

[Colin]

If you look at something like Metal Slug on the NEO it is utterly beautiful the work that went in to the art, for me the top end games on that system are the pinnacle of cartridge based graphics, and they will forever look stunning in my eyes. We stopped seeing that kind of genius 2D aesthetic after the Playstation and Saturn though, and It's always made me sad. You get some great looking modern 2D stuff, but it often has that weird flash game tinge to it, and nothing matches up to the highest level pixel art.

The artist who has made the stuff QC posted though, and as he stated, just gets it. Someone really needs to come up with a game, make a kickstarter, and get that guy in to do the artwork. It would be the first one I put money in to.

[Leon Retro]

If you look at something like Metal Slug on the NEO it is utterly beautiful the work that went in to the art, for me the top end games on that system are the pinnacle of cartridge based graphics

Yeah, the pinnacle of 16-bit 2D graphics. The craft that went into the Metal Slug games is incredible, and the same sort of skill and devotion can be seen in the artwork in most Neo Geo games. There's something beautifully timeless about Neo Geo graphics.

There have been examples of nice 2D graphics in the modern[2000 onwards] era, but the obsession many devs have with using the NES as inspiration does annoy me a bit because it's so prevelent.

But remember in another thread where I was moaning about modern retro-esque games feeling a bit amateurish? Well... I think this topic highlights that with all the talk of modern retro-inspired 2D games looking either basic or like clipart. I think top developers could create truly stunning 2D graphics given the publisher funding. But the market is primarily focused on 3D now, so publishers don't tend to fund 2D projects. I'd love to see a new Metal Slug created by brilliant artists who know how to craft beautiful 2D graphics.

Also, when I go back to Axelay, for example, of course I can see the weak points in the graphics, but because they are very abstract and also well-crafted, they still look attractive to my eyes. I think there's more to graphics than resolution and flash effects, which is why many modern retro-esque games seem quite bland. It's because many don't have the same level of artistic quality and overall charm as many retro games. Just look at modern remakes of The New Zealand Story & Rainbow Islands to see what I'm talking about. I think some people see a slick resolution resolution and find that attractive, but neglect to appreciate that clipart-style graphics look flat and soulless.

[QualityChimp]

Yeah, that's a great point. Sprites feel a lot more like "art" than 3D modelling.

I lost interest in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 because it dropped the 2D artwork for 3D characters. The previous two games made you feel like you were playing a comic.

The 8-bit, flat or Flash feeling of modern retro-style games just don't get it.

The Capcom brawlers like Final Fight, Punisher and Aliens Vs. Predator are more the style I wish they would aim for.

[speedlolita]

@speedlolita you are probably best placed to win this

Dunno about that. I've been gaming since a very early age though, 25 now. Not because siblings or my parents were into gaming, because I was into gaming. I have fond memories in primary school playing DOS games, playing Game Boy Pocket (Metroid 2, Super Mario Land 2, Wave Race) and playing Atari 2600 at a friend's place. The first real console I got was a PlayStation in 1999 for my 9th Birthday - I still have the 50th issue of OPM I bought days after too. When I think retro though, I tend to look back. I don't go too far though. For me, 8bit era sort of like NES/Master System would be where I'd stop.

I think being exposed to the retro feature in GamesTM, and later Retro Gamer has greatly adjusted what I consider to be retro games though. Like, I don't get hung up on definitions. I think it is very easy to say that anything pre DC/Cube/PS2/Xbox is retro at this point but I feel like a two generation rule is better. Or consider that those consoles aren't capable of 720p or 1080p - you'd class them as machines you would play on a CRT.

End of the day though, games are games. As long as you derive enjoyment from them then I don't think it particularly matter what the labels are. If they revoke memories - great. Getting a 360 after not having one for 4 years did that for me recently.

[QualityChimp]

End of the day though, games are games. As long as you derive enjoyment from them then I don't think it particularly matter what the labels are.

Amazing words!
The interweb is full of people who need to remember this!

[wakka]

Yeah I couldn't agree more with that Speeds. I don't separate modern and retro games in my mind, they are all just games.

[Leon Retro]

I think it is important to separate retro/classic gaming from modern gaming, simply because gaming, in general, is so different now. The reason 8 & 16-bit games can be labelled clearly as "retro" is because the graphics and sound are quaint by today's standards. But that doesn't mean they're not worth playing, as many people actually prefer the graphics, sound and gameplay found in great retro games. Gameplay, especially, is completely different in retro games, as you have 'twitch gameplay' that is very punishing and demands full attention and reflex action. Mainstream modern games never make my hands sweat, but retro games still induce that with their demanding gameplay.

Also, first generation gamers who were alive and gaming in the 80s, can look back over the past 30 years or so and really appreciate the changes. We can see clearly what was bad in the old days and what was good - as we can with the modern era of gaming.

But why I think the term "retro gaming" is without doubt used to define 8 & 16-bit gaming, is because modern retro-inspired/esque games always try to ape how games looked & played in the '80s and early-'90s. When you say "retro gaming" to people, I'm sure that 95% of them would think of Atari 2600, NES, Mega Drive or Super Nintendo, regardless of their age. That really is the definition of "retro gaming", because gaming changed a lot with the 32-bit era, and even though many PS1 games look archaic now, they have far more in common with modern games than they do with 8 & 16-bit games.

[endo]

I think it is important to separate retro/classic gaming from modern gaming, simply because gaming, in general, is so different now.

I don't see that it is, tbh. Old games, new games, they're all just games. And now, like at every point in gaming history, there have been good games and bad games. They're all still intended to do the same thing at the end of the day: entertain.

"Retro" just means old. I don't see any need to break it down any more than that. It seems some people understand the term retro as if it were a genre, which it isn't. Genres (many of them the same) exist in old games and new games. I'd agree that there are modern games that more conspicuously show off their "retro" influences, which usually means some kind of antiquated graphics, though usually with a modern twist, but that still doesn't make retro a genre.

[capcom_suicide]

1st game: Grandstand: Scramble, Munchman and Astro Wars. I think I got Astro and my sisters got the other ones.

http://www.retrogamesnow.co.uk/grandstand-scramble-handheld/

Retro for me is anything from 16 Bit and before. I don't think older 3d games age well and have no interest in playing them. Super Mario on SFC is just as awesome today when played on a handheld emulator, as it was when I bought it on the Super Famicom. Ageless. I genuinely mean that. The best 2d platformers and shoot em ups stand the test of time very well indeed.

[endo]

When you say "retro gaming" to people, I'm sure that 95% of them would think of Atari 2600, NES, Mega Drive or Super Nintendo, regardless of their age.

I doubt that too. My youngest brother is the same age as Speedy, so when I had my SFC, he was a toddler. He's got no real memories of it and certainly doesn't have any of the attachment I have with the system. I've started collecting SFC again recently and I've shown him all the gear and he's not really interested. He gets that it's a great system with some amazing games, but there's just no personal connection there. The earliest stuff he's got any kind of connection with and would be "retro" to him is N64 and Playstation stuff. 95% of gamers aren't old farts like us- there are lots more younger gamers these days.