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It's impressive they got this many colors out of it! I still remember the classic CGA Pink+Cyan color scheme[1]; those always seemed like a particularly garish

by FreakyT 12y ago

It's impressive they got this many colors out of it! I still remember the classic CGA Pink+Cyan color scheme[1]; those always seemed like a particularly garish choice for "default" colors. [1] Example screenshot: http://s.uvlist.net/l/y2008/04/49443.jpg http://s.uvlist.net/l/y2008/04/49443.jpg

tptacek 12y ago
I just got a tattoo done in CGA magenta/cyan/green (a composite frame from Sierra's Black Cauldron). This turns my whole world, or at least arm, upside down!
- fapjacks 12y ago
  Very cool! Got a link to a pic? I also have some oldschool "pixelated" tattoos, though in greyscale only.
agumonkey 12y ago
Feels like old comics printed in cheap magazines. Black, white and two tones. I kinda like it.
bitwize 12y ago
Microsoft deployed a black, white, cyan, and magenta color scheme for marketing its Surface back in 2012-2013. I boggled at the logic as to this -- were they somehow trying to evoke nostalgia for pukey CGA displays? Because we don't really remember those fondly...
- throwawaymylife 12y ago
  "Neo 80s" has been a popular aesthetic for the past few years, so I wouldn't fault Microsoft too much for using bright neon colors.
jkoudys 12y ago
This had as much to do with the quality of the displays as it did with the adapter. White, black, cyan and magenta all have significant contrast between them, and many machines with CGA were still hooked up to B&W and greenscreen monitors. If you'd designed your graphics around Mode 0 (the yellow, green, red, black one), it would look really terrible on a greenscreen. Even full colour displays (often TVs) would look miserable in the other colour modes, as they'd bleed much more than displays do now. The white/cyan/magenta/black was also really easy to build as a secondary palette for 16-colour EGA games. I remember a lot of the Sierra adventure games at the time offered a CGA mode, and while it never looked nearly as good as the EGA mode, it was at least playable.

by FreakyT 12y ago

tptacek 12y ago

I just got a tattoo done in CGA magenta/cyan/green (a composite frame from Sierra's Black Cauldron). This turns my whole world, or at least arm, upside down!

fapjacks 12y ago
Very cool! Got a link to a pic? I also have some oldschool "pixelated" tattoos, though in greyscale only.

agumonkey 12y ago

Feels like old comics printed in cheap magazines. Black, white and two tones. I kinda like it.

bitwize 12y ago

Microsoft deployed a black, white, cyan, and magenta color scheme for marketing its Surface back in 2012-2013. I boggled at the logic as to this -- were they somehow trying to evoke nostalgia for pukey CGA displays? Because we don't really remember those fondly...

throwawaymylife 12y ago
"Neo 80s" has been a popular aesthetic for the past few years, so I wouldn't fault Microsoft too much for using bright neon colors.

jkoudys 12y ago

This had as much to do with the quality of the displays as it did with the adapter. White, black, cyan and magenta all have significant contrast between them, and many machines with CGA were still hooked up to B&W and greenscreen monitors. If you'd designed your graphics around Mode 0 (the yellow, green, red, black one), it would look really terrible on a greenscreen. Even full colour displays (often TVs) would look miserable in the other colour modes, as they'd bleed much more than displays do now. The white/cyan/magenta/black was also really easy to build as a secondary palette for 16-colour EGA games. I remember a lot of the Sierra adventure games at the time offered a CGA mode, and while it never looked nearly as good as the EGA mode, it was at least playable.