Art style for remakes?

“Patina” reminds me of one thing that no one has mentioned yet: Back then we had crappy displays. They “blurred” the graphics a little bit (or very heavy if we look back to the C64). This effect changes how we saw and see the graphics.

For example if I watch a picture from the original Indy 3 version on my current display, the pixels are much more crisper and sharper as on a CTR screen from the end of the 1980s. (And I first played Monkey Island and Indy on an Amiga that was plugged into a normal and big TV - you couldn’t spot a pixel anymore :wink: ).

So if you want to know how the graphics look like, you have to ask if you watch them on an (old) TV (that’s especially valid for BASS, Lure and Indy 3), an (old) CRT or on a modern display.

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Same here.
If you want there’s the aliasing option in ScummVM. But still you strongly perceive those as pixels… and still, I love cutting edge technologies!

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That’s not the same. :slight_smile: The old monitors “blur” the pixels. (In the C64 emulator VICE you can activate several filters to get the look of those monitors.)

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Yes, nonetheless I perceived them as pixels back then, once I had learned what pixels are. I had a PC in the early 90s and also used to play this game, which already provided a significantly higher resolution, so the fact that different resolutions were possible interested me even back then.

I remember playing those games on big BW tv, let me find the picture… just for fun :slight_smile:
do you recognize the computer? :slight_smile:


haha, my old good times, we were breaking joysticks every month.

Anyway, even you would be testing old vs new monitors, you need to make a new game for the latest tech with latest expectations. I believe, you all would like to make a something great and to be proud of.
You can also make a dream come true just for your satisfaction…but either way, we need to decide, what would be the best look and closes final result of all those remakes.

Just imagine, that I would do exactly pitch perfect copies of all those backgrounds and characters in HD with dynamic background animations, lighting/shadows, sfx / music, 4K res etc…just all the fancy stuff…would you prefer that? or something slidely new? (new into remakes)…

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Oh, that´s so nice! Funnily only yesterday I´ve asked myself if there are any pictures of me playing on the C64 with my dad in his workroom. But I´m afraid there are none, otherwise I´d probably post them here, too!

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I for myself: the latter one. I prefer something completely new and no “remastered” versions/copies. :slight_smile:

I’ve never seen one of these before. I don’t even know how I got an image of it, I just wrote C64 and old computer. I didn’t know Atari produced so many computers and so long.

Wouldn’t it be interesting also to do some tests and let them see to younger generations? Maybe you could get important suggestions…

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You would think all the kids would want the latest and THE greatest, but judging by my 9-year old and his friends it’s not the case.
All they talk about is Minecraft & Roblox which has giant 3D pixels and looks really clunky to me. I guess the fun is in making your own stuff, like building Legos. A couple people did Maniac Mansion remakes which I posted a while back…
Anyway, my point is it doesn’t always make sense why things become trendy with kids (at least not to old guys from the 70’s)

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I wouldn’t call them “kids”…I would say “gamers/players” in general, the social media should already tell you if it could be a success or waste of time.
BUT this doesn’t work all the way…partial does, in most cases companies cannot tell you what they are working on till they are in mid-stage of dev…as a small teaser.

In my case, I would definitely try to show my results and watch the responses.

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I agree with your face :slight_smile: It’s just that we elders (eheh) have all, more or less, the same opinion (we all like the original style, the pixel art where pixels are so sharp that you could cut your fingers with them, they are the latest and greatest ultimate cutting edge technology). And it’s for that reason that I, if asked, would encourage someone like Patrick to investigate also the tastes of younger generations in games that have narrative elements like adventure games. Not to give them all the influential power, but to not forget of them.

I said many times here and on the blog that pixel art has its own aesthetics that goes beyond the nature of its technical limitations (the number of pixels, colors, and information you could use back then).
But, like all the human things, art included, there are major cycles, and the things most people liked back then may not be the things majority likes now.
Now, if you want to create a totally new game, you could choose the art style you think will fit better your idea. But if you have to make a re-make, it doesn’t make sense to re-proprose something that is the same thing as the original, because you have the original yet.

And since you work on a re-make hoping to sell some copies to pay back for your work, we elders already played the original game, so the market should be based also on new people that with an “updated” style could be interested and enjoy the same quality of the original in terms of story and gameplay (despite also in gameplay some improvements should be done as TWP did and did it very well).

Does he have a license? I doubt that he would be allowed to sell it.
Even a free distribution would be risky without a license.

You should ask him directly :slight_smile:
I suppose he wants to create some concept art, or some teasers, to show to companies, hoping to work for those companies with his own teamwork or directly into them as an employee… Am I wrong?

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I should definitely ask him directly, but don’t expect any answers… :):rofl:

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There is nothing wrong with improved background animations, lighting, music etc.
But IMHO it’s nearly impossible to make pitch perfect copies of pixel-art in HD because people just imagine it in different ways. This also allows some people e.g. seeing MI2 in a more cartoony way and others seeing it as realistic graphics.

This applies to both old and new gamers:
Also when making HD graphics it will have a specific look and people won’t be able to see different things or different styles in it. Some people will like this specific art style and some won’t. (Of course some also don’t like pixel-art at all.)

This applies to old gamers only (meaning gamers who have played the original):
It’s like making a movie out of a book: There is a chance that some of those who read the book may hate the visuals because they have imagined the world completely different (not talking about the plot or other things).

That’s true. Sorry, @patrik3dspacek! No harm meant.

Getting support by the respective company or becoming an employee would definitely make sense, seeing how much time such a project would take.

Please everyone, tell me if I say something untrue, but it seems to me there are two different kinds of situation you face when willing to do remakes of LucasFilm/Art games (or others).

  1. Games like Monkey Island 2, Day of the Tentacle or Full Throttle, where there were original drawings that were put into “pixelization” when the original game was created to fit the standard of images that technology at the time could display.
    E. g.

So when the developers wanted to work on the re-make, the natural solution (I agree with them) is to put on the screen the high definition of the original drawings:

  1. Then there are games like Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Secret of Monkey Island, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (and Thimbleweed Park too!), where graphics, although based on concept art, were created from scratch pixel by pixel based on the features and technical limitations of the time. In this case art is strictly linked with the media where it was originally produced and with its features, and it’s way more difficult to choose a style to do a re-make. For example I’ve never seen a high definition version of Monkey Island 1 that I like: I don’t like the one from LucasFilm, nor the other by Patrik (but I liked Indy 4 maybe because quality is better and also for Indy there are the movies as references).
    I liked Maniac Mansion Deluxe, which is a free distribution, is very true to the original pixel graphic and the resolution the game had on newer systems like Amiga500, and gives more colors, an enhanced GUI, icons with drawings, shading effects and so on. But that work is a fan work, I don’t think it could be sold (even if they had a license), is an act of love for the game, so it doesn’t represent a valid solution for someone who wants to work on such a remake.
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Wouldn’t it be possible to create a ScummVM plug-in which replaces the room screens from the original MI2 with those drawings? Most of the drawings from the development process seem to be available. The only issue would be the pixelated characters, GUI and items.

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You cant make everybody happy, but you can find a good compromise that makes most of the people happy. Even haters plays those games and spread the info. Nobody is looking for 100% satisfaction, but the closest way to make most of the people satisfied. If there is 0-30% haters, and 70% happy people, I am good w it :slight_smile:

My parents confirmed my suspicions. But since seemingly at least five people would have been interested I´ll make up for it by at least posting a (current) picture of the house (not own work). :man_shrugging: