Good game, but why the hell always these pixel graphics?

[Hyperion Biga]

I never got this "trend".

I started gaming in the 80's with Commodore 64, and pixel graphics were fine then, but it's not like we thought they are awesome, it was just the best we could get. When we finally got better resolution with Commodore Amiga, nobody missed crappy pixel graphics in decades.

Why so many people think they are suddenly "cool"? Who sold us this idea? I, for one, never bought it. Maybe because I lived that crappy period of every game looking like this. And I don't miss it. Simple and fun games yes, but not the pixel graphics.

They hurt my eye in long gaming periods. And it can be very hard to see what happens on screen, when action gets tense. Making quick distintion of different enemy types, stuff like that. It just gets tiresome to watch, fast moving pixely mush...

I wish this game was exactly like it is, but with a bit modern take. I'm not talking 3D or anything fancy, but just normal 2016 resolution with antialiasing.

[Soup Calhoun]

http://www.game-sphere.fr/wp-content/uploads/Broforce-New.jpg

It is cheaper and simpler to do pixel graphics.

[Goose]

is cheaper yeah and evokes nostalgia.

many indy devs choose the pixel artstyle for exactly those reasons...and celebrating older games in spirit isn't totally a bad thing. I for one will never get the fascination with hd purty graphics when ultimately the gameplay is the meat of the product...but this is how gaming is nowadays.

[Hyperion Biga]

Soup Calhoun eredeti hozzászólása:

http://www.game-sphere.fr/wp-content/uploads/Broforce-New.jpg

It is cheaper and simpler to do pixel graphics.

That is exactly type of graphics I want! Is there a version like this somewhere? I would gladly pay for it.

The gameplay is awesome, and I miss this type of games. I'm just not fan of the graphics. It's cheaper and easier to do for sure, but also lazy.. they've made a ton of money with this game.

And I feel it has become somehow "trendy" to have pixel graphics in a game? Like gamers actually think it's a "cool" thing? To me it's very weird.

Actually this is the first pixel style game I've ever bought, because I absolutely hate the idea of pixel graphics and giving money to people creating them, but the game looked so cool I thought "♥♥♥♥ it, I simply have to try it.."

I don't mind mediocre or dated graphics (gameplay matters more), but pixel graphics go too far IMO. It's just developer laziness cleverly masked in trendy image, that everybody seems to take, hook, line and sinker..

[Goose]

I think that view overlooks artistic freedom (yes some devs do choose to make your experiance a certain way to create a sort of arteur experiance, yes many people find nostalgia to be cool see Shovel knights reviews), and many indy devs not having nearly enough money or time to make a much more intricate looking game. Better graphics does mean a greater investment of time e...bigger team...longer dev cycle the whole 9 yards.

Having followed the development of this title since it started on early access...I cannot comprehend how much longer fans would have had to wait if they had gone for that hd concept.

[Hyperion Biga]

Yes well it has upside, also much easier to add new characters.

Well, damn. So good game, but would be so much better with graphics in that screenshot, on 2nd post of this thread. I would pay the price of the game again, just to get that look.

[Hyperion Biga]

stickyfox eredeti hozzászólása:

What, are you me or something? I had this exact rant yesterday with a friend. The magic was in the state of the art, and it seems like it should take a lot less effort today to do what was magical thirty years ago.

Yeah maybe people think gameplay is better automatically, when it's pixel grpahics? But just because game has pixel graphics doesn't make it "good like those old games". It's all about gameplay ideas, but in many cases the ideas in pixel graphic games suck too, not just the graphics. Broforce has strong ideas, though.

I don't mind if the game looks 15 years old. But 30 years is a bit too much. It's simply difficult to look at, becomes an issue of player comfort and screen readability, not just visual appeal.

[Colonel Mustache]

There was a rather heated discussion in the same vein last year, and eventually one of the artists posted in the topic. I think he did a pretty good job of explaining why it's not "laziness," but simply the most efficient way to deliver a suitable gaming experience: http://steamcommunity.com/app/274190/discussions/0/523890681419390449/#c523890681422460836

Personally, I think the art style in the screenshot Soup linked looks absolutely dreadful, but that's just me.

[Hyperion Biga]

Colonel Mustache eredeti hozzászólása:

There was a rather heated discussion in the same vein last year, and eventually one of the artists posted in the topic. I think he did a pretty good job of explaining why it's not "laziness," but simply the most efficient way to deliver a suitable gaming experience: http://steamcommunity.com/app/274190/discussions/0/523890681419390449/#c523890681422460836

Personally, I think the art style in the screenshot Soup linked looks absolutely dreadful, but that's just me.

Dreadful, why? It objectively thinking looks better and clearer, unless you have some pixel fetish and are brainwashed by this oh-so-common "pixel art is trendy and kewl" mindset. But can't argue with subjective opinions, I guess. IMO the game right now looks dreadful, while it plays great.

But I do understand why.. obviously it would involve tons of more work, and/or there would be less content/game would be more pricey.

I wish that they hired more staff now after this success, and maybe make Broforce 2 that is HD. It could have optional screen mode for all the people who love the jagged pixelmen. For me they were almost a dealbreaker.. and I still need to rest my eyes after playing this a lot, and I had hard time convincing my friend this is a good game. First thing he said when he saw this was "Jesus ♥♥♥♥ what is this thing? Looks fugly" To which I replied "Yeah I know, just try it"

[Colonel Mustache]

It looks "clearer" in the sense that it's more detailed, but I don't think that's necessarily inherently better. Plenty of games can look good with minimalistic graphics, and I think Broforce is one of them. Something about that bobbleheaded look and overcrowded visuals doesn't appeal to me. I also get the feeling that animations such as the backflip and melee attacks would look wonky with such detailed character sprites - The post I linked seems to support that. I will say one positive thing about it over the current game: the characters don't have blood-red noses. That's more of a complaint with the detailed portraits rather than the sprites, though.

I don't particularly prefer pixel art over "better" art one way or the other. It's a case-by-case basis for me. A game like Fist Puncher, for example, looks pretty bad in my opinion. Broforce, on the other hand, looks good.

I don't think pixel art is popular because people have been "brainwashed." I think it's popular because, usually, it gets the job done at worst and is charming and memorable at best. It's also a very cost-efficient way to make the game's assets - If most users are fine with the art style and it's time-and-money efficient, there's no real need to overhaul the graphics.

That's why I wouldn't get your hopes up for any kind of HD remake of Broforce. Every so often there's someone who doesn't like the art style, but evidently for most players it's not an issue at all. Don't fix what isn't broken, and such.

[Sp00kette]

Just throwing in my two cents; it's fairly hard to follow this game sometimes. It's loads of fun, but sometimes the game can just overload you with stuff on screen. At the very least, everything, in it's current state, is completely discernable. In HD, especially that (personal taste:) Awful Spelunky style, i can't imagine it'd be easy to tell anything apart. I personally find that this is quite a decent looking game, not due to the pixels, but because of the fact that (most) everything is completely discernable. I can always tell what i'm looking at, so long as everything isn't blowing up.

I can agree that Pixels are a bit overused as a style, but i can see what benefit they have to this sort of game. I personally think Broforce is a good example of how to use Pixel-Graphics WELL, while a game like Fist Puncher or FNAF World (Pre Update) are examples of how to just do it for the sake of it.

[Krata Lightblade]

My perspective?

Cuz it looks awesome, and that... pretty much sums up a good enough reason for me.

[Comrade St. Nikolai]

Who cares? It has a unique art style that looks great. They made a game centered around '80s action heroes and those from later years that still fit the bill. It's only natural for the game to LOOK similar to a game from the '80s as well.

If you can't play a game that doesn't have next-gen graphics, then play Call of Duty instead.

[Hyperion Biga]

Comrade St. Nikolai eredeti hozzászólása:

If you can't play a game that doesn't have next-gen graphics, then play Call of Duty instead.

Ah the classic CoD remark. I play variety of games, with variety of graphics. Oldest them currently probably being SWAT4 from the year 2005. It doesn't even support standard 1920 x 1080 resolution, but is far better than any modern shooter. Also Long Dark, a modern game that doesn't look flashy, but okayish and funtional.

However there is a limit where bad graphics, especially low resolution starts to hurt usability, visibility, readability and such. And I don't mean the readability of text, but visual forms. It's not a question of just visual appeal, but player comfort and usability.

And 80's movie parody having graphics of 80's, yeah I saw the connection and it sort of makes sense, but then again.. not. By that logic Mafia III and all Vietnam themed games should have black-and-white graphics like Pong.

And the art style is far from unique, tons of crappy indie games these days have crappy pixel graphics. Only thing about Broforce is that it isn't crappy, just the graphics are.

And saying this game looks great. If you would have said that in early 2000's people would have asked "are you high or something`"? After finally leaving decades of crappy pixel graphics behind, nobody in their right mind would have thought this looks great. But now when we have games that _actually_ look great like Witcher 3 and are approaching 4K era, hipsters suddenly say they like these graphics.

There is nothing to like in the graphics (ok the colors are fine) all of this games strength is in the gameplay. And I'm talking functionality, they are lacking in functionality. Visual appeal aside.

[Comrade St. Nikolai]

Pelaaja eredeti hozzászólása:

And the art style is far from unique, tons of crappy indie games these days have crappy pixel graphics.

And there's where your entire argument is null, because you can't tell the difference between graphics and aesthetics.

[Hyperion Biga]

Comrade St. Nikolai eredeti hozzászólása:

And there's where your entire argument is null, because you can't tell the difference between graphics and aesthetics.

Well I do visual design (though not games) for living and studied it for years, it's my profession. Thus I focus on this stuff more than most. And I believe I can, I just don't agree with you about good aesthetics.