I don't think they're referring to scanlines specifically. Something like the waterfalls in Sonic the Hedgehog come to mind. https://gamedev.stackexchange.com

I don't think they're referring to scanlines specifically. Something like the waterfalls in Sonic the Hedgehog come to mind. https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/167804/did-retro-pixel-artists-design-with-crts-in-mind https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/167804/did-retro... There's an image on this page. The waterfalls don't look very good with sharp pixels. A CRT would blur and blend, and you'd have to assume the game designers knew it would happen. It's probably not just a happy accident.