4 ms·

Depends on the graphics. Sprite-based games are still perfectly playable; Super Mario World is still gorgeous 25 years after its release. Meanwhile, polygon-ba

Depends on the graphics. Sprite-based games are still perfectly playable; Super Mario World is still gorgeous 25 years after its release. Meanwhile, polygon-based games show their age really, really obviously. You can see the difference between Madden 2005[1] and Madden 2015[2]. I wonder what Madden 2025 is going to look like. Hilariously, people note that Madden 2005 is probably one of the best in terms of gameplay. I don't think it was until 2013 that they actually tried innovating, and the innovations weren't very good. [1]http://www.vgu.tv/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Madden-05.jpg http://www.vgu.tv/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Madden-05.jpg [2]http://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/madden-15/9/9a/Madden-NFL-15-announcement.jpg http://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/madden-15/9...

the_af 12y ago
I'll go even farther and argue that the beauty and timelessness of good graphics depends on something else, different from whether they are bitmap-based or 3D or whatever. Like you say, there are really beautiful sprite-based games; but also the polygon-based graphics of Another World are pretty timeless, and I wouldn't trade them for anything else. On the other hand, I agree the graphics of games such as the original Alone in the Dark haven't aged well at all. I can't explain exactly why I feel different about those two games, but I do. Maybe because the graphics from Another World are highly evocative, and its backgrounds sometimes remind me of something out of a Moebius illustration, while Alone in the Dark's are more tied to technological limitations of its time rather than to artistic decisions.
- JoshTriplett 12y ago
  I feel like the polygon graphics in Another World (or Out Of This World) haven't aged nearly as well, much like Star Fox and Super Mario 64 haven't aged nearly as well as Super Mario World and Chrono Trigger. With Star Fox, Super Mario 64, and Another World, you have to look at them through a lens of "well, for the time..."; they were astonishing at the time, but now they look dated. On the other hand, new sprite-based games are still being made and sold today, as well as romhacks for console-based games. I don't think this is my nostalgia filter talking; there really was a certain peak at the height of the sprite-based era. (That said, Out of this World is also amazing for being the work of one person.)

the_af 12y ago

I'll go even farther and argue that the beauty and timelessness of good graphics depends on something else, different from whether they are bitmap-based or 3D or whatever. Like you say, there are really beautiful sprite-based games; but also the polygon-based graphics of Another World are pretty timeless, and I wouldn't trade them for anything else. On the other hand, I agree the graphics of games such as the original Alone in the Dark haven't aged well at all. I can't explain exactly why I feel different about those two games, but I do. Maybe because the graphics from Another World are highly evocative, and its backgrounds sometimes remind me of something out of a Moebius illustration, while Alone in the Dark's are more tied to technological limitations of its time rather than to artistic decisions.

JoshTriplett 12y ago
I feel like the polygon graphics in Another World (or Out Of This World) haven't aged nearly as well, much like Star Fox and Super Mario 64 haven't aged nearly as well as Super Mario World and Chrono Trigger. With Star Fox, Super Mario 64, and Another World, you have to look at them through a lens of "well, for the time..."; they were astonishing at the time, but now they look dated. On the other hand, new sprite-based games are still being made and sold today, as well as romhacks for console-based games. I don't think this is my nostalgia filter talking; there really was a certain peak at the height of the sprite-based era. (That said, Out of this World is also amazing for being the work of one person.)