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Auro is closer to black and white than Peggle. I don't know why the artist chose a washed out colour palette. A victory screen is supposed to be saturated happi

Auro is closer to black and white than Peggle. I don't know why the artist chose a washed out colour palette. A victory screen is supposed to be saturated happiness. The creatures are weird and in the not good way, what the hell is the pink slug noodle creature? I don't get the story world or why crawling endless grey tiles in the dark is fun. The guy has all that classical goodness in his skill but what they chose to make with it is very questionable. I'd suggest Auro was more about a transition for the artist than it was about making a salable game.

npinsker 7y ago
This is a little harsh, but I totally agree -- IMO this is far from good pixel art. One of the main benefits of pixel art (as I see it; I'm not an expert) is that proper use of outlines can call your attention to important elements in the scene. There's none of this in Auro, partially because the resolution is so high, but even UI elements like text and buttons lack weight and outline. The splash image at the top has no focal point and lacks contrast, as do the character designs (especially the blob and gray thing at the bottom). Overall it comes across as very dreary, not at all relaxing or fun to look at. Contrast this with the Pokemon environment from elsewhere in this thread (https://twitter.com/zaebucca/status/1057312889160286215 https://twitter.com/zaebucca/status/1057312889160286215) which is gorgeous and fun. It perfectly draws your attention to the key elements of the scene.
- friendlybus 7y ago
  Yeah outlines are one of many techniques that can make good art. The problem is in the overarching form, any technique or art style would have been sunk by the decisions the artist made. The good news is the guy has the skill which can succeed on it's own, given it's channeling a positive story. Drawing that well and constructing scenes that well is a fine art that takes a lot of time and effort. The high fantasy tree-man fighting with a staff on the ground was not the king in 2015, it was the outlaw. Had he committed to an outlaw version of Gandalf or Link from Zelda, he would have had a story that fit the times and likely how he felt as an artist. This depressed faded king surrounded by water and off-beat monsters is an unsolvable conflict that benefits no-one.
mekkkkkk 7y ago
I have to agree. The author has some great points about the challenges of pixel art in general, but some parts reads like "normies just can't understand the art form of our game". That would carry more weight if it was really a beautiful game. Unfortunately, a good looking pixel game needs more than artisan dithering. All I've seen from Auro looks like an incomprehensible, bland mess of individually excellent sprite work.

npinsker 7y ago

This is a little harsh, but I totally agree -- IMO this is far from good pixel art. One of the main benefits of pixel art (as I see it; I'm not an expert) is that proper use of outlines can call your attention to important elements in the scene. There's none of this in Auro, partially because the resolution is so high, but even UI elements like text and buttons lack weight and outline. The splash image at the top has no focal point and lacks contrast, as do the character designs (especially the blob and gray thing at the bottom). Overall it comes across as very dreary, not at all relaxing or fun to look at. Contrast this with the Pokemon environment from elsewhere in this thread (https://twitter.com/zaebucca/status/1057312889160286215 https://twitter.com/zaebucca/status/1057312889160286215) which is gorgeous and fun. It perfectly draws your attention to the key elements of the scene.

friendlybus 7y ago
Yeah outlines are one of many techniques that can make good art. The problem is in the overarching form, any technique or art style would have been sunk by the decisions the artist made. The good news is the guy has the skill which can succeed on it's own, given it's channeling a positive story. Drawing that well and constructing scenes that well is a fine art that takes a lot of time and effort. The high fantasy tree-man fighting with a staff on the ground was not the king in 2015, it was the outlaw. Had he committed to an outlaw version of Gandalf or Link from Zelda, he would have had a story that fit the times and likely how he felt as an artist. This depressed faded king surrounded by water and off-beat monsters is an unsolvable conflict that benefits no-one.

mekkkkkk 7y ago

I have to agree. The author has some great points about the challenges of pixel art in general, but some parts reads like "normies just can't understand the art form of our game". That would carry more weight if it was really a beautiful game. Unfortunately, a good looking pixel game needs more than artisan dithering. All I've seen from Auro looks like an incomprehensible, bland mess of individually excellent sprite work.