What's up, RMers?
The complaint isn't against any engine, this is an issue I have with developers who make games using retro-fitted assets when there is no need.
I also never said the one making the time fantasy DLC's is lazy, sorry if that seemed like my point. Granted, he has to do half the work he would if he were making a 32bit tileset, and that's objectively true. There is no argument to say there is less work involved because by complete mathematical edict, drawing twice as much is twice the work.
I DO definitely see the utilization of time fantasy tilesets as a very sloppy design practice unless you're committed to it and its part of the game's thematic.
Nostalgia is the only reason things like Time Fantasy ARE bankable though. That is not a debate, it's a fact. Nostalgia is powerful, it's the vast reason why you still swear by XP despite it having one singular thing it does better than the more modern engines. Likewise I haven't changed to MZ because I've grown comfortable with MV, and while MZ has made some silly blunders, it does have some huge advantages I wouldn't mind taking advantage of, I even own the engine so it's not hard for me to use it whenever I like!
I very well might in the future, depending!
Even if I have to concede that it isn't lazy to create a tileset in the NES Chrono style, it is less work. Half the work, in fact! Or a quarter if you're eight-bitting.
That's not really an argument, it's just fact. Twice the pixels to fill means twice the work on a purely objective mathematical basis.
Now if it was lazy by intent or not isn't really a thing that matters, is it? it's factually half the work, but its also more affordable because of this. Or should be.
Of course, I am going under the basis that every pixel is utilized in a 32bit chipset compared to a 16bit one, which may not always be the case. My tilesets are guilty especially of having a lot of blank area, but I'm not pretending my stuff is worth money so that's a non-argument, anyway.
Is it a lazy excuse for art? Yes. It's pandering to nostalgia. You could still do that with 32bit, because it wasn't the retrograde aesthetic of having larger pixels that makes people nostalgic, it's the vibe. The easiest way to replicate that vibe is to utilize the same technological limitations of the era.
It's putting in the least effort possible to replicate the feel people are after. Genuinely speaking, it's a genius move financially, but I won't pretend for a second it looks good.
It looks like a game from 15 years ago, because that is what it is replicating. There's charm, yes, but its not exactly hard to find that charm. I'm sick to death of seeing it praised over more modern styles who have had more work put in due to the ignorance nostalgia creates.
It is not impressive, it's been done before and been done far better. If people wanna pay for it, that's their choice. But I will never advocate for bringing us back to the 1990s or 1980's when we can be so much more.
I grew up on Playstation one games and 1990s PC games, I understand the appeal, and ultimately, if the game is fun or well executed, it doesn't matter what art you use. Minecraft became a hit sensation and I can guarantee very little of that was because of its pixel art. There's a reason most minecraft players use a custom texturepack.
In minecraft's defense, it was made by an indie company with next to no budget when they started, the graphics were there purely to serve a visual purpose of informing, it didn't have to look good, and the game was so ambitious otherwise that it was a forigveable sleight.
I was probably harsher than I needed to be, in regards to the whole thing of using 8bit/16bit graphics, my main message was if you must do it, make it thematically accurate. Don't just use time fantasy because MUH RETRO FEELS BEEN TOUCHED then slam it together with things entirely nonsensical to the era.
Axial went hard on the retrograde aesthetic, and it was the one thing that game nailed. It felt like I was booting up a game from 1994, and the dev actually put the time into making the chipsets himself, the music he commissioned was chiptune stuff, and its what made the games vibe the one thing it really nailed.
Unfortunately, because the game focused so hard on its aesthetic, it entirely lacked much else for substance. It might have been improved now, I haven't played it in over a year and the dev has been doing updates.
Hopefully that answers all the inquiries regarding this topic. I don't have anything to show because I've been in a bit of burnout and my artists haven't been able to get me files yet. So I'm just chilling and playing games mostly.
I also never said the one making the time fantasy DLC's is lazy, sorry if that seemed like my point. Granted, he has to do half the work he would if he were making a 32bit tileset, and that's objectively true. There is no argument to say there is less work involved because by complete mathematical edict, drawing twice as much is twice the work.
I DO definitely see the utilization of time fantasy tilesets as a very sloppy design practice unless you're committed to it and its part of the game's thematic.
Nostalgia is the only reason things like Time Fantasy ARE bankable though. That is not a debate, it's a fact. Nostalgia is powerful, it's the vast reason why you still swear by XP despite it having one singular thing it does better than the more modern engines. Likewise I haven't changed to MZ because I've grown comfortable with MV, and while MZ has made some silly blunders, it does have some huge advantages I wouldn't mind taking advantage of, I even own the engine so it's not hard for me to use it whenever I like!
I very well might in the future, depending!
Even if I have to concede that it isn't lazy to create a tileset in the NES Chrono style, it is less work. Half the work, in fact! Or a quarter if you're eight-bitting.
That's not really an argument, it's just fact. Twice the pixels to fill means twice the work on a purely objective mathematical basis.
Now if it was lazy by intent or not isn't really a thing that matters, is it? it's factually half the work, but its also more affordable because of this. Or should be.
Of course, I am going under the basis that every pixel is utilized in a 32bit chipset compared to a 16bit one, which may not always be the case. My tilesets are guilty especially of having a lot of blank area, but I'm not pretending my stuff is worth money so that's a non-argument, anyway.
Is it a lazy excuse for art? Yes. It's pandering to nostalgia. You could still do that with 32bit, because it wasn't the retrograde aesthetic of having larger pixels that makes people nostalgic, it's the vibe. The easiest way to replicate that vibe is to utilize the same technological limitations of the era.
It's putting in the least effort possible to replicate the feel people are after. Genuinely speaking, it's a genius move financially, but I won't pretend for a second it looks good.
It looks like a game from 15 years ago, because that is what it is replicating. There's charm, yes, but its not exactly hard to find that charm. I'm sick to death of seeing it praised over more modern styles who have had more work put in due to the ignorance nostalgia creates.
It is not impressive, it's been done before and been done far better. If people wanna pay for it, that's their choice. But I will never advocate for bringing us back to the 1990s or 1980's when we can be so much more.
I grew up on Playstation one games and 1990s PC games, I understand the appeal, and ultimately, if the game is fun or well executed, it doesn't matter what art you use. Minecraft became a hit sensation and I can guarantee very little of that was because of its pixel art. There's a reason most minecraft players use a custom texturepack.
In minecraft's defense, it was made by an indie company with next to no budget when they started, the graphics were there purely to serve a visual purpose of informing, it didn't have to look good, and the game was so ambitious otherwise that it was a forigveable sleight.
I was probably harsher than I needed to be, in regards to the whole thing of using 8bit/16bit graphics, my main message was if you must do it, make it thematically accurate. Don't just use time fantasy because MUH RETRO FEELS BEEN TOUCHED then slam it together with things entirely nonsensical to the era.
Axial went hard on the retrograde aesthetic, and it was the one thing that game nailed. It felt like I was booting up a game from 1994, and the dev actually put the time into making the chipsets himself, the music he commissioned was chiptune stuff, and its what made the games vibe the one thing it really nailed.
Unfortunately, because the game focused so hard on its aesthetic, it entirely lacked much else for substance. It might have been improved now, I haven't played it in over a year and the dev has been doing updates.
Hopefully that answers all the inquiries regarding this topic. I don't have anything to show because I've been in a bit of burnout and my artists haven't been able to get me files yet. So I'm just chilling and playing games mostly.