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Two years ago, Mega Man 9 was met with excitement. It was something old, made new again. It was risky. It was exciting. Most importantly, it was (mainstream) proof that a new game doesn't have to have the shiniest graphics in order to be fantastic.
Now we've been offered more with Mega Man 10, but this time, things are different. Knee-deep in the retro revival, many of us have grown sick of 8-bit graphics and other old aesthetics. Every day, dozens of new games are released that look like they belong back in the '80s, and many gamers reject them for it.
Some have reasonable requests of Capcom: many desire to see a nod back to 16-bit Mega Man, or to see the classic graphics revisualized into HD. Conversely, there are the people who just can't stand 8-bit. They say it's outdated. An easy way to make a quick buck. Retro exploitation. Eye-meltingly ugly. Even some of Dtoid's editors have expressed distaste toward what we've seen of the game so far.
Along with this anti-pixel movement came a question: Why would anyone, big or small, want to make an 8-bit game today?
As someone who loves 8-bit, I wanted to find the answer and stop the hate.
[image credit: 8-bit Artist]
From the "lowly" pixel came some of the most realistic high-definition, three-dimensional graphics known to man, some on parallel ground with modern films. If this were any other area of technology, the old would have been thrown out for the new ages ago. But regardless of how far we've come in making games look incredibly realistic and beautiful, the 8-bit style just won't seem to die.
And you know what? That's fine. It may be outdated technologically, but it still has a place in modern game making.
Zelda by Jimi Benedict
Think of pixels and color limitations as just another artistic medium. If 8-bit is acrylic paints and a canvas, 3D modeling is Photoshop. Just because the latter does what the former can do -- and in many ways, do it better -- doesn't mean that people will stop using traditional tools to create their masterpieces. Like the medium an artist chooses to do his work in, the way a developer makes his game look is a personal choice.
Now, some have said that the modern use of 8-bit is all about nostalgia. This answer is not necessarily wrong, but overall, I don't believe it's ever a game maker's first priority. There are too many other factors at work for it to be anywhere near that... for indies, at least.
It's obvious that retro graphics are a favorite of indie developers, but why? Alex Neuse of Gaijin Games (BIT.TRIP series) gave me a simple answer:
As far as independent game studios go, they typically don't have as high budgets for their projects and in order to achieve hyper-realistic "AAA" quality aesthetics, you often need more time and a bigger team to really sell the art/animation/physicality of a world. I think that a lot of indies go for the retro look because it can be more accessible for smaller teams with smaller budgets.
I could have ended my search here. After all, it answers the question stated above. But there's more to the choice than what is and isn't an accessible resource, impactful though it may be. Otherwise, more indies would just hire one of the many talented 3D artists out there who work for free, wouldn't they?
CommanderVideo by Edmund McMillen
Fortunately, Mr. Neuse kindly shared Gaijin Games' reasoning behind the BIT.TRIP look:
Our decision to go retro with the graphics was made to support the simple, and decidedly retro, gameplay. It was also chosen to support the story that ties the series together. As a creation story, taking CommanderVideo from nothing to something, as we've seen in the first 4 games, it seemed appropriate to use an aesthetic that was born with the video game industry back in the late 70s.
Now that I think about it, it's obvious. No one makes an 8-bit game if they feel the visuals won't fit the way that the game plays. The BIT.TRIP series is a great example. For another, just look at VVVVVV; it's challenging, but very simple in that it takes one mechanic and stretches it to its limit. Its minimalistic style matches its content. Meanwhile, games like Lugaru and The Void have much more complex groups of ideas and mechanics at work, and -- guess what -- they're in 3D.
Likewise, I would argue that no one makes an 8-bit game if they personally hate the way it looks. Indie games are often dedicated to the foundations of modern game design, to games like Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. Others just really adore that simplistic visual style. Exactly how one could see such a limited art style as something beautiful is a concept that is difficult for me to explain, but what I can do is point out its biggest strength: ambiguity.
With ultra-realistic and detailed 3D graphics, there is very little room for the mind to wander, and that's fine!... sometimes. But imagination can be a powerful outside element when gaming. A very timely blog post at Tiny Cartridge (thanks to Jordan Starkweather for pointing me toward it!) illustrates this point perfectly with an old scan from a Nintendo Fan Club newsletter:
These kids saw the exact same sprite when they played Metroid, yet they each had a different idea of what Samus was supposed to look like. Isn't that an awesome thing?
Simple sprite work ignites the imagination, which encourages projection and promotes personal investment. All of the games I feel I have a deeper connection to (outside of Shadow of the Colossus, which was ambiguous in other ways) were made before the dawn of the 64-bit era. It can't just be me.
Now that we've looked at the merits of 8-bit and some of the reasons why it's a favorite style of indies, let's go back to what started all this: the retro revival of Mega Man. I'm only guessing, but I'm pretty sure that a big game company like Capcom has different priorities in mind when they make games. MM9 and 10 are 8-bit largely because fans wanted more games like MM2. But even in this case, there's more behind the choice than pandering to nostalgic feelings.
When 1UP asked about the game's return to the series' retro roots in a pre-MM9 interview, producer Hironobu Takeshita had this to say:
We decided that if we want to do this thing right, we should do it in the classic style. That meant going back to the NES period and bringing back those 8-bit graphics, sound, everything.
Capcom feels that Mega Man is right when he is 8-bit. This isn't so far off-base. When you think about him, how does he appear in your mind? He's that familiar cluster of blue pixels, isn't he? In this way, he goes against the norm. Normally, the graphics of older games are an abstraction of "official" art. But for classic Mega Man, it's the other way around: he is 8-bit, and more detailed versions of him are really just different depictions of his true, low-res form.
This image, running through your head all day.
Puke at the limited color palette and turn your nose up at the pixels all you want. You certainly don't have to love the art style as much as I do. But if nothing else, respect it. Know that it will always have a place in game development. And never, ever pass up a gaming experience just because you dislike the visuals. After all is said and done, they are just a means to an end; it's the gameplay that matters most.
I will leave you with one more quote from Mr. Takeshita:
With each successive generation of home consoles, the graphics get better, the sound levels move up with surround sound and everything, and game makers try to create games that meet the specs of each console. I don't always agree with that, because you can play a game like this that doesn't have great graphics or the same superior sound and it's still a fun game to play. I think by just trying to meet the specifications of the new hardware, you're closing the door to creators like us. If we want to make a 16-bit game because we think it's good and fun, we will. If we want to make an 8-bit game, that's what we'll do. As long as the door remains open for game creators, it enriches the gaming world. You should think of the 8-bit graphics not as 8-bit graphics per se, but as a different art style. And this is just one of many art styles we can use to create a game.
Mario 2 by Adam Welker
This is why we make 8-bit games today, and why we will make more of them well into the future.
Contest:
4:00 PM on 02.17.2010
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I loves me my 8-bit.
Mostly, I appreciate 8-bit games because it gives developers an excuse to do something risky yet familiar. In a perfect world, every developer would get to make every game they ever wanted to, just like Takeshita seemed to hint at. If those are sometimes 8-bit games, 16-bit games, and huge games like Mass Effect 2, then we'll truly have it good as gamers.
Just give me something different, no matter what form it is in--even the strange brand of different that is Mega Man 10.
8-bit is classic stuff.
Great blog Ashley!
Take for example, Squeenix, they are known to make the most powerful RPGs ever. Fans scream for a Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Why not remake it using 8-Bit or 16-Bit graphics? Gaming companies are not limited by a console anymore. Think about it, a Nintendo DS portable remake of an 8-Bit Final Fantasy 7. Now, it wouldn't be some type of graphical god like Final Fantasy 13 is. But, it holds people's interest.
It's about being a nostalgic gamer. Fans have proven that it works to go back to basics. New Super Mario Bros Wii and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 are two prime examples of classic games brought up to a newer age of updated graphics.
Lesser graphics left more to the imagination of the gamer. A game doesn't need a 10 million dollar budget to be successful. Look at Cave Story, the game was compelling and wonderful to the gamer. It was rich and fulfilling that didn't require FMVs, Big Money, or a Large Name for it to be amazing to the gaming world. Why can't we as gamers get more games like Cave Story from top of the line publishers? Where's Bungie's answer to Cave Story? How would Namco-Bandai go, hey that's a great idea! We should do something a little fun like an 8-Bit SD Soul Caliber! But no... and gamers and developers are punished by the call of big money. I bet Lionhead studios would make an awesome Fable 8-Bit... Would be surprising what someone could do if they didn't have to worry about graphics and more about... detail?
Of course 8-bit graphics are a graphical style. That's why so many NES games can still be appealing, visually: it's no longer about being forced to work in technical limitations, but rather electing to enforce restrictions on your own. That's fine and good.
The bigger problem with Mega Man 10 (and 9, and really with most of the commercial retro remakes) is that it's not so much a loving tribute to an old style of game creation and design, and more of an exploitative way to get people to put on their rose tinted goggles and play games that are like the games from "the good ol' days". It's the fundamental assertion behind the product that I think so many people are against, and not the stylistic choice.
I think that games like 3D Dot Game Heroes prove their is room for using the 8 bit style, and that's fine and good; it's an evocative choice for a game. But, also, it's not the only "nostalgic" stylistic choice for a game. I don't think anyone wants 8-Bit styled games to go away forever, but other graphical templates are a welcome change from the norm as well. Why not make the new Mega Man game look like a SNES game? It doesn't change the fact that the game is a nostalgia cash in, and it's another appealing visual style.
You make the argument about the imagination factor behind 8-Bit games, that everyone can imagine the character in their own ways. That's fine and good, but it's also a factor of a fundamental truth: you had to put a lot more work into old games to be able to enjoy their experiences. To get the most out of that style of games, you really had to scale it up, and imagine what it looks like "if it were real". But we already know what Mega Man looks like, and what the bosses in the game look like. We can now "interpret" 8-bit design, because technology has allowed us to interpret and "scale up" the design choice. You're not actually doing that when you play Mega Man 9 or 10, because you're appreciating the style for the style's sake: it looks like an old game, and that's kind of cool. It's no longer an issue of imagination when a game is deliberately presenting itself as old. 8 Bit gaming, stylistic choice or otherwise, still means old game for most people. An 8 bit game in 2010 means to a player "That game is trying to look like the game I played when I was young and the world was bright and pure and my whole life was ahead of me and nobody ever died ever ever ever."
It's a cool style, but the 8-Bit pixel art is a stylistic shorthand that allows Capcom to put out a game that is filled with outdated game design and call it nostalgic. It ignores the design lessons and missteps from nearly 70 different Mega Man games, and tells the player, "Our video game series has not progressed in quality since it's installments on a 25 year old console." It's a total NosCon, and it says (to me) that the franchise in question isn't good enough to bring to modern game players.
But just how often are we disappointed by movie adaptations of a book, I can really only think of a couple. More often, I've enjoyed the book better.
And the more defined something like Mega Man becomes, the less appealing he becomss.
I tried playing MegaMan Powered Up and yeah, at its core, its mechanically the same game, but quite how I imagined in when it was 8-Bit. Had the 8-Bit version been an unlockable, I might have kept it, but in its PSP form, I just can't stomach it.
Meanwhile a more shiny version of Final Fantasy on my PSP, that I like. It looks cleaner but it's not deviating too far from its old appearance.
I love how you brought up ambiguity. In regards to the Mega Man games specifically, think back to the level assets in the first two or three games. Think of the worlds that were in those games. Think to something like Quick Man's level and try to imagine if such a place could exist in the real world. It's so abstract that it exudes a certain charm. It's a colorful wonderland of laser death.
There were two remakes of the original Mega Man. There was Wily Wars for the Mega Drive and Powered Up for the PSP. Both are good games in their own right, but the look of the original is miles away better. In the remakes, the levels were updated to better emulate physical locations. Much of the mystery of how the world functioned and what certain objects were supposed to be was removed.
Compare Bomb Man's level:
Original
Wily Wars
Powered Up
The Wily Wars version isn't that bad, but it looks more like something out of an X game. What's with the fences, anyway? The Powered Up version flat-out blows. Now the level is the inside of a supply depot of some sort. So bland despite how detailed and colorful everything is.
A part of it is getting things to work like they used to, beyond appealing to a sense of nostalgia. When you've got Mega Man jumping, with the same proportioned sprite, you can have the jumping mechanic match much closer than when you change the graphic style. Look at Mega Man 7 and 8. The mechnics of those games are different and, arguably, not as spot on great as the pixel art iteratios of the early series. The controls in MM9 are not 100% identical, but most of it works just as well as the early games,which is actually a good thing. Not broke, don't fix it, right?
For me, that's what's initially off putting about what we've seen of Sonic 4. The basic design looks like the old games, but some of the mechanics visible seem off/different/maybe broken from how they used to run (like when he's standing so stiff and straight while trying to navigate an incline.
@Droll
I think its unfortunate that you can't appreciate the game for what it is, because of your consumer distrust.
Personally, I love 2D games but prefer the either the 16-bit look or the hand drawn high def look of newer games.
It ignores the design lessons and missteps from nearly 70 different Mega Man games, and tells the player, "Our video game series has not progressed in quality since it's installments on a 25 year old console."
And that's a bad thing? If a company recognizes that "business as usual" doesn't have the same draw as the old stuff, regardless of the tweaks and additions, why shouldn't it try the old stuff again? How does that mean the franchise is "too old" to bring to the modern age? If it was "too old" then very few people would anticipate it and commend it.
Imagine if the Coca-Cola Company had, instead of bringing back Coke Classic, had followed Coke 2 with a Coke 3 and a Coke 4 and so on. After years of watching their consumer base dwindle, they decide to reintroduce the original formula. Since all those tweaks didn't pan out, does that mean Coke is "too old" for today's market? Of course not! People were put off by the "spin-offs" because it didn't have the same addictive "flavor" as the original.
Of course, Coca-Cola has a ton of other Coke versions like Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Vanilla Coke, Cherry Coke, etc. Which one remains the most popular? The original. At least in Coke's case, the original is available concurrently with the spin-offs. Mega Man Classic has been missing for years.
I'm confused. You either need to be wittier or you need to GTFO w/ that noise.
I'm not sure which... :/
But Legends MM is a great Idea.
I've always held to the argument that the limited technology available in the 8-bit generation absolutely forced developers to think about their game's visual presentation in terms of setting themselves apart from the pack. In the current gen, it's very easy to fall in to the practice of creating graphics that appear closest to real life to create a sense of awe in the gamer. Sure that's impressive in it's own right, but not enough developers remember to use our new-found power to create visuals that are not only impressive, but rich in style.
The other important thing to note with 8-bit graphics as a style choice, is that you're working at the pixel level, so the attention to detail in most cases is really stunning. Sort of like an artist that paints the Mona Lisa on the head of a pin. Just because it's small, doesn't make it less impressive.
Maybe I'm babbling. The point is, hooray 8-bit revival!
Excuse me, as I forgot to include "LOLOLOLOLOL" at the end of my previous statement.
However, do you have a problem with male dominance?
Nah, just a problem with dudes being dicks because they have one.
1(Male)- You will never succeed in this world due to your lack of manitiative. It is pathetic, and disgusts me to the point where excrement poured out of my anus.
2(Female)- Shut up bitch, who gave you internet access...?
1(Male)- You will never succeed in this world due to your lack of manitiative. It is pathetic, and disgusts me to the point where excrement poured out of my anus.
2(Female)- Shut up bitch, who gave you internet access...?
Rod Humble's "The Marriage," for example.
When I first started playing Cave Story, I thought Quote had look similar to Bomberman. I liked this and found it suitable for a character who is a robot. After seeing hand drawn art from the creator and fans depicting Quote as more conventional-looking anime boy, it has kind of sullied the character in my eyes.
Personally i am more with 16-bits but the technique is fairly the same discarding the color limitations. It consists in simplifying a representation of a world or character that does not exist but in our minds.
The Zelda and Mario pieces are really cool, too.
Is oil in canvas dead as well as classical instruments? It's called fundamentalism.
This makes me feel good inside, not only because it's true, but it makes me feel less weird when I see people make their art with different programs online, and here I am making the most out of pencil and paper. Call me old-fashioned. :)
This was a good read, nice to get a deep look into how important 8-bit really is. I think the whole thing where it will "never" die is arguable, but I do believe that it will be here for quite a long time.
In the same way, 8-bit graphics are limited, and it's seeing not only how they're compiled, but how they move. It's one thing to look at a bunch of pixels in a screenshot, but another to see them fluidly move in an environment. Going a bit past 8-bit and to Final Fantasy V Advance, there was a series of scenes on a boat (muthafucker) -- well, boat fleet, but in this specific case a particular boat -- where two characters were facing off against baddies, back to back, and they circled around each other and spoke something that's said in a we're-back-to-back-against-odds/baddies situation. They circled each other, in a cross-axis pattern, and it still felt dynamic. The music helped ("Battle at the Big Bridge" is THE song known from FFV), but that these 1x1-block sprites felt cinematic, that's impressive. That's something that wouldn't impress me in a fully 3D, lifelike environment, because I'd expect they'd be capable of that. But from a game where the most complicated action is jumping up and down with a funny face on, this type of liveliness is awesome.
8-bit works because...well, by now I'm babbling, but it works in part because you're expressing something in a style that's not expressive, a style that, at first glance, is as cold as can be - chunky blocks - but there's life to it. By limiting yourself (or just being limited, as it may be), you learn how best to bring something across, all or nothing, bank or broke. What's remembered is remembered because 8-bit was worked for all its/it's worth.
Also, as the post made out, some games just don't work with more graphics. If it's a simple control, a simple design, then why not have a simple visual style? Know what would be novel? 8-bit graphics with orchestral-level sound. Even in the sound effects; no "pewpewpew", but searing laser sounds or chunking bullet blasts. In another direction, screw the block style, but small circles making up everything, like cheap comic page coloring (except, y'know, that's the whole thing, and it looks good instead of half-ass).
Final bit, but prolly the first in mind when responding: That ambiguity thing is part of it, but another is simplicity. If a high-end 3D render is as simple as Mega Man's design, it's a bit boring (heck Super Smash ("Shash") Bros. Brawl had texturing to everything, including Toon Link), but to make the 3D worthwhile, you'd have to overload on details, making it a visual cacophony. I've seen a bit of Mega Man's later contemporaries, at it's just not as memorable because there's so much more to memorize. When you keep the detail level down, you can have simple, easy to comprehend designs, which works for Mega Man. RPGs, horror games, they have way to benefit from added details, but in a cartoony (*coughprotomencough*) action(/platform/whatever) game of shooting robots, there's no need for the higher tech, there's no real need for assigning an expression to the characters (the player can provide plenty of that themselves), and in the end, we can look at the goofy little jumping sprite and thing fondly of how pure an experience a simple premise can be.
In short: Make your graphics (and sound) a suitable match to your game. *-bit has its place beyond simply nostalgia.