I think at some point in the future, they will notice the jumps in technology for graphics aren't really significant anymore. And probably, the fight for distinct flavors and aesthetic between games will return. At least, I hope so~
It will, and when they come back they will come back twice as strong and flashy! The y2k-2010 aesthetics are in right and the new stuff I've seen is amazing. Imagine in 10 years when people realize favorable aesthetics end at around mid 2010's. So expect to be stuck in a y2k-2010 aesthetic cor some time
@@RanchMaster4I would love for there to be a new Vibe Ribbon game. I understand that they can't really use CDs anymore since most consoles are switching to digital now, but I think a good compromise would be to have the game link with Spotify, Pandora or some other music service to work with the game. Or at the very least have a license soundtrack where you can buy more music on top of it.
I think Shadow Generations definitely is an exception from this, the game looks beautiful while still being in that Sonic artstyle we all know and love, I think that game was a perfect middle ground honestly.
that spider-verse moment you're asking for actually happened over a decade ago. it was Minecraft. sure triple A games are all hyper real but looking beneath the surface there's so many games created by independent creators that are pushing the industry in a more creative direction!
I honestly never looked at Minecraft that way before, but the more I think about it, you're absolutely right! And you're spot on about indie developers-they're definitely leading the charge in innovation and creativity in the gaming industry. It's just that the big AAA companies need to catch up.
@@RanchMaster4 Yep. I'm hoping Astro Bot can be a similar spider-verse moment for the AAA industry tbh, especially with it winning Game of the Year. I think big companies tend to overlook Minecraft in that sense because it was made by indie developers and could possibly be seen as a fluke, but Astro Bot was made by a full professional studio and is widely celebrated specifically for its abundance of charm, polish, and whimsy. If _any_ game could possibly convince AAA higher-ups that returning to stylization is probably a good idea, I feel it would most likely be Astro Bot. Here's hoping at least some of them actually get the hint this time, because I don't think the AAA industry's current trajectory is remotely sustainable.
I always never saw the appeal in applying these "hyper realistic _Minecraft_ shaders", and I still don't know why. Maybe it's that despite the fact that even the most technologically impressive and "realistic" shaders can make a _Minecraft_ scene look nearly identical to real life, all of that immersion is broken when asked with the simple question, "Okay, but what happens if we spawn in a mob or player?" And now, we have the infamous _A Minecraft Movie,_ which needs no explaining itself. I guess that someone at Warner Brothers loved those "Minecraft Mobs in Real Life Videos".
@@lance2580 Yeah, although I do use shaders personally, I always just use the vanilla textures and instead use shaders for the nicer lighting effects and legitimately useful features like dynamic hand-held light sources and glowing ores lol. I don't bother with photorealistic texture packs or anything like that, although they're technically impressive I think they tend to look kinda uncanny at the best of times.
I think the biggest thing when it comes down to it is the art direction (like the colors choices, use of shadows, etc). I mean take the Arkham games, the insomniac spider man games, red dead redemption 2, devil may cry 5, and gta 5 & 6. And look at the lighting, shadows, and colors similar to phot realistic drawings/paintings they aren’t afraid to push the darks and pull the lights, giving them that eye catching feel. And something I’ve noticed with games that are said to be apart of the problem with photorealistic games typically don’t do enough of playing with lights and shadows. TLDR; games should focus more on improving their use of color, lights, and shadows rather than simply just choosing between stylized or realism.
You're so right man! Lighting and colors play such a large role in setting the mood and tone of a game, making it feel truly unique. Unfortunately, many companies don't explore this potential as much as they could.
I've got some major issues with this video. I've thought for a long time that the limitations in old graphics required a base artistry in order to make games look beautiful, but the way this video argues this point feels very bad-faith. Yes, many studios use new technology in a lazy way, a way to skip the effort needed to create similar visuals back in the day, but that ignores the artistry that can only exist with new technology. That base level of artistry and effort is gone, but there lies new artistic potential within the new base. Take the games shown here 2:12 and here 2:21 . The way the crowd of grass flows in the wind like waves in the ocean in the first game is genuinely beautiful, it's an intentional artistic design. The way the rain drops roll off of the rooftops is gorgeous, it's an intentional artistic design. These artistic possibilities are only viable thanks to modern technology, and to completely disregard these modern graphics is a mistake. You shows these games as examples of games being part of the "big bad realism culture", but they use the new graphical capabilities to their fullest. There is absolutely a laziness born out of relying on real-time raytracing for all of the lighting in a game, but when utilized in an artistic way, it becomes not lazy. There is also a massive generalization done in the beginning of this video. I'm fairly certain the only people who contribute to the "realism culture" are tech bros and Playstation fanboys. This is not an industry-wide pandemic, it is almost exclusive to the PS5 area of effect, like the Call of Duties and all of Sony's realistic movie-like games. Just look at the indie scene, almost none of those games go for ultra-realism because people just don't care about that. I mean, remember when Sony fanboys got their panties in a wad about Spider-Man 2's water physics being "bad" and then the internet collectively made fun of them for a few weeks? To say that this ultra-realism is a dominant cultural pressure feels very out-of-the-loop. Also, some of your examples of the old being better kinda go against your own arguments. Take the example of Ratchet here 6:24 . Artistically, the new model is better in every way. It's more expressive, it's more balanced in proportion and color, and it's eyes don't look completely dead. But to say that it's worse because "when it's completely unrendered, it looks bad". Like, of course it's not gonna look good when you put it in a situation it was never meant to be seen in. It's mean to be seen in-game with nice lighting and high quality animation, not in a t-pose with fullbright lighting. Of course it looks worse when you rip away the artistry. It's a very bad faith argument. But then there's the Sonic model, which is a bad faith argument in a completely different way. Sonic's current model isn't bad because of "realistic glove textures" and "metallic shoes", it's worse because all of the artistry is gone. The shape of Sonic's eyes no longer flow into the shape of his muzzle, his ears aren't shaped like ears, his shoes don't even look like shoes, he constantly has that ugly butt-eyebrow, and his proportions are completely out of wack. The artistry is all gone. This isn't an issue in new technology, this is an issue in art design. That's what all of this comes down to. Art design and how developers use these technologies. Old technology forced devs to be more artistic, and without that there IS artistry lost. But that doesn't mean that artistry can't exist in the new technology, it simply means it just isn't being utilized right. And even then, there are still devs that ARE using it right, like with the examples I mentioned previously. This video constantly focuses on the wrong issue, and it frustrates me so much. I want to agree with this video so badly, but it just barely misses the mark. Like, you're complaining that a live-action movie has a realistic-looking Sonic. That's just plain dumb. And that's completely ignoring that the movie model is artistically better than the current game model in every way because it fixes all of the issues mentioned previously. And all of this also ignores that some developers just want realism because that's part of their vision for their game, just as another developer would want more stylized visuals because that's their vision for their game. This video needed more thought put into it, and some much better examples and evidence to boot.
Honestly, I mostly agree with everything you’ve said here. This video was recorded two months ago and definitely could have benefited from more revisions. My opinions on certain things have changed since then, and looking back, I realize I made a lot of generalizations instead of offering nuance. I was definitely pushing my own agenda more than I should have, lol. The main focus of the video should have been on how realism is amazing but shouldn't be taken too far at the expense of overall artistic charm instead of touching on things that didn't really matter to that goal. I definitely want to remake this video in the future to get my facts and opinions straight! I would love to talk to you about this topic more if you want in DMs or something, cause you bring up alot of great points! :D
Damn I fucking agree with you. Graphics in games really do depend on the developers visions on the project. For example, games like GOW, Spider-Man, or Arkham games (Especially Knight) are basically interactive movie games and utilize the ultra realism to the fullest with those movie like cutscenes. Same for something like Cuphead, Deep Rock Galatic, or Crash Bandicoot 4, those games were made to look like that and fit the developers visions well. Having a clear vision allows for creativity despite how limited in sounds as developers utilize or create new tools to make something that aligns with a vision they want everyone else to see. Being realistic or cartoony doesn't make ones graphic better over the other, it's all about how the developers present it that determines that fact. Also thank you for saying Movie Sonic doesn't look bad, he looks fantastic from a design and animation perspective. Not only does the design have much more balanced body proportions to allow for more character expression but the eyes are separated and are allowed to be emotive. This allows Movie Sonic to be very animated despite the realistic textures he has on, realism doesn't mean you can't have expression animation, it's all about if it can be accounted for and Movie Sonic is accounted for (no thanks to marza animation studio, who have worked on those gorgeous pre rendered Sonic cutscenes and shorts before).
Astro Bot almost WAS that Spiderverse moment, but vudeo game comnunities are much more divided than movies because theres such a large breadth of games released whilst movies go through quiet periods. People forgot about Astro Bot unfortunately, and until we get a domino effect where theres are new games constantly coming out, getting numbers, and being stylish, we wont have our moment.
(I think I posted a comment here, earlier, so I'll repost again) Anyway, I'm so glad this came on my feed and let me tell you, how much I enjoy those types of retroesque graphics. As someone who makes low poly based 3d art on the side, it goes to show you how much creative heart older works have and present works that keep that asthethic in many indie titles namely horror like Mouthwashing, Crow Country and Fear the Spotlight and many others in the AA form (a bit higher after low poly in the PS2 sense). I enjoy more in utilization and that's why it'll stand the test of time over than overdone realism.
I do love the Sonic movie design, works great for the story they wish to tell. However, for the games I truly wish for something more stylish, or at the very least a few tweaks to the current models. I'm just so tired of the same Sonic model since 2008
Heck, even WildBrain's _Sonic_ character models aren't even that bad, and a great refresher compared to the post-2005/2008 models! I really hope that the artists at Sonic Team can take a few lessons from the likes of Blur Studio, Marza Animation Planet, WildBrain, or HARDLIGHT!
I would agree but maybe not agree that less is always more. Having a coherent style and having good style and art direction is more. Has always been and always will. Problem is that nowadays its easier to do thing, tools are better, projects are bigger, which means that its harder to keep style and also that more people with less good sense of art style is working producing assets.
I like the sentiment shown in this video and i agree for the most part but what took me out at the end was a lack of mention for indie devs who do still maintain this visual style like Bombrush Cyberfunk. It would have fit the video so well too when discussing the current state of game development and styles.
While I not 100% agree with you... most of what you said is correct and the older I get the less realistic games I tend to play. Cartoony games and games with weird art styles become more and more my "usual" games. And it actually started during the 360 era with games like El Shaddai, which I bought just to experience the art.
The style of game you want just isn't mainstream anymore, but all of this is already being done in the indie scene. Good games...real good games...are still being made. You just have to look for them instead of expecting them to come to you like you could back then. Also play the Freedom Planet games if you haven't (since you like Sonic), I cannot recommend those games enough! :O
I love the sonic forces graphics, they look smooth as butter and just classy, the other games become more pasty faded, shadow generations cutscenes just shows how beautiful graphic can be, especially the Sonic vs Shadow
Thank you!!! I've genuinely preferred simpler graphics and never really understood why anyone would want the blurry, smudgy mess that is modern graphics.
Havent started the vid yet but i just tryna say that i seen alot of people push for a low poly artstyle with cell shaidng and i half agree with it. i do prefer that type of artstyle but i feel like the models dont necessarily have to be low poly they just have to fit within an artstyle and look unique and different so im interested in what you plan on saying
Definitely! Games don't have to be low-poly at all; they just need a unique art direction and take inspiration from other things outside of realism. However, I think low-poly games often lean into this and stand out more due to the limitations they face.
This is one of the many reasons why older games interest me more. I'm more inclined to try out different games with their own unique styles over some new AAA games that all look the exact same as every other one from the past several years. Although I haven't played most of its games, I can tell that the PS2 has an extremely varied library just by looking at it and can see why it's such a beloved console.
Honestly, I'm in the mindset that artist should embrace all of their creativity, and limits should serve the project's direction. Nowadays with videogames, they have had a limit of the style realism, less experimentation and more the same stuff, while back then they could do so many different art styles! Budget for triple A games are way to high, and most of them abandoned the art of low poly styles, or any style to begin with:[ (Now I generally don't mind realism, but if there's so much of it, and if any specific realistic game doesn't have anything that let's it stand out. All realistic games just blend together as the same meh in terms of aesthetic.) This is why I love indies:] They got stylee!
The gaming industry was largely influenced by Japanese culture until the mid-2000s. You can feel a strong influence from anime not only in the visuals, but also in the soundtracks of these games. When we entered the HD era, there was a big audience change, gaming became mainstream and began to compete with movies. I like to say that in the 80s and 90s, games felt more like "music videos." Castlevania, for example, was like being inside a mixture of Michael Jackson's Thriller and Phantom of the Opera, even Symphony of the Night has music that went from gothic rock to synth pop. On the PS3, with Castlevania Lords of Shadow, all that gave way to ambient violin strings and generic Hollywood music. What makes me saddest is that when I was a kid I dreamed of the day that games could look more like the artwork in the manuals, that one day we would have a playable Sonic game like the opening of Sonic CD or a full 3D Megaman X game with visuals similar to the opening of Megaman X4, we achieved the technology for that at the same time that the industry gave up on chasing those looks.
Same yeah! :D I think that game transforms to western 90s animation sensibilities the OG Crash trilogy had and transformed into what modern animation is now, which is pretty cool!
Really, it was a mistake to outsource the game's development to an outside studio like Blind Squirrel Games, given that the original game used Hedgehog Engine 1 for its graphics, while the remaster used Nvidia Gameworks.
This is why i prefer no textures rather than having movie-realistic textures It makes sonic more like in a different world rather than him being in our world, its the magic of back then Nowadays everyone be making live action (specially disney)
for me its also about resolution and allowing the brain to fill in. although I found 640x480 to be perfect I have played around last year with testing how 320x200 is looking with baked and semidynamic lighting. Now with tons of memory its really possible to allow super variety. And to have rather low poly meshes, deform nicely and to be dynamic, physics,fx etc. All is possible if we would go down in res and down in polygons. and with great AA on this it actually looks amazing. And it allows you to use both gpu and cpu for animations and interactions. It both feels and looks so much more alive. Of course this direction will not happen. It has not even started yet sadly. For 2D there has been more modern pixel art styles that shows what can be done visually. Lets hope this revolution of modern hi-def retro 3d also start :)
Great video, but it feels kinda wrong to talk about this subject without even mentioning Arc System Work's 3d games: Guilty Gear Xrd/Strive, Dragon Ball Fighterz, and Granblue Fantasy Versus. They were doing 3D mixed with aspects of 2D before Spider Verse even hit theatres.
Spitting truth right here. 👏 The way you described the human touch of hand-painted textures made me realize how similar it is to 2D animation - which is usually less detailed and less polished than 3D animation. Yet 2D animation often feels so much more alive. And as you say, things like Spider-Verse and Arcane made such an impact, not just for being unique, but for embracing the "flaws" of 2D art while also not neglecting the benefits of 3D. I imagine realistic graphics will always have a place for certain gaming experiences, but with the rise of the indie scene, we're seeing more and more stylized games, even in the mainstream. Which makes me hopeful for the future of styles. :) Anyway, great thoughts and well said!
Because realism is simply mushy and monotone. Stylized stuff has sharp lines and popping colors. And you can't have that when everything reflects light on everything
Feels like everything now is so much less memorable... nobody will ever try to make something in the "ps5 style" but so many people try to emulate the ps1 style cuz it's so interesting, it sticks with u
Another positive about returning to the old graphical style, is that MORE people can actually play the games they want without having to invest in a super high end device. In turn, community divides will just simply be less of a thing
I don't agree with your opinion about the current design of sonic (I think it looks cool either way), but I do get your point when you say that the environments look kind of flat in recent games like sonic frontiers.
XIII is a very underrated fps game that has an artstyle of a comic book, and it runs suprisingly well for my PC. I really love the cellshade, onomotopia and the visual layers of comic book panels, it even shows killcams as a comic book panels :D Good vid man
@RanchMaster4 I guess, I just feel that more detailed graphics and art design have there own strengths, witch isn't really explored. Both types of art styles are good when used properly. Wind waker wouldn't hit the same without it's cartoony style, and twilight princess wouldn't hit the same without it's more realistic style.
@@cannonbyrd1755 Exactly, I completely agree! But even Twilight Princess has its own unique art direction, and that also a by product of when it was made, making it really stand out in comparison to a Stock UE5 game.
Man, this is just the video i miss where games where more videogame-y I'm in this cool world somewhat similar to ours, but still unique, i dream about exploring Space Colony Ark, Angel Island, Bionis, Storm Owl's float, the Egg Fleet, Alrest, Aionios, Hyrule, anything in Mario Galaxy or Child of Light We use to seek for worlds inside our heads, now we aim to replicate what we have outside our windows
This is a big part of why recent indies like Penny's Big Breakaway, Spark The Electric Jester 2/Spark 3, Rollin Rascal, Pseudoregalia, Lunistice, the Toree series, and especially The Big Catch have resonated so much with me; they're far from the most detailed games today, but their core visual identity is every bit as likable for me as IPs like Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro, Crash, Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper, and pre-HD Sonic.
This is why stylized graphics (aka, cartoony/anime-style graphics) are better than hyper-realistic graphics! Also WrenchMaster, have you played Atlyss, Splatoon series, Spark The Electric Jester franchise, Rollin Rascal, Penny's Big Breakaway, Kirby And The Forgotten Land, Super Mario Brothers Wonder, and Mario And Luigi BrotherShip?
Graphical fidelity is hot garbage. This is why I love Shadow Generations. It looks like a Dreamworks movie, while still being optimized for 8GB RAM PCs.
I'm sorry but I feel like the blend of the new jet set is going for with cell shaded and realistic makes it stand out and looks great it has an almost digita realistic digital art work look but I agree with you over all realism is sucking the life out of creativity
8:19 it's a live action movie so if sonic wasn't realistic he'd look completely out of place like a bad photoshop edit but besides that i totally agree
Nintendo has seemed to be the company to stick to this, if we discount Super Mario Odyssey at least (but even then there are pretty stylized areas), take in Super Mario Wonder, or Mario and Luigi Brothership for example. Some good stuff!
I might as well go on some tangents regarding graphical fidelity as well! - For as much as people scream at Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch having "weaker hardware" and they need to "catch up on the times", people also emulate GameCube and Wii-era games like _Super Smash Bros. Melee_ and _Brawl_ on Dolphin with no complaints whatsoever. Sometimes, they do apply texture mods that swap out the textures for higher resolution textures, but upscaling the video output and swapping textures won't always mean that "now the game has super graphics!", especially when stuff like the topology for character and environmental models, or even clunky animations don't change with these mods. - An interesting point to be made with graphical fidelity and efficiency comes in the form of the Coin models seen in _Super Mario Galaxy_ vs _Super Mario Odyssey._ The Coin model in _Super Mario Galaxy_ has a lot more triangles compared to the one in _Super Mario Odyssey,_ but the former spends more of the triangles on stuff like the indents on the Coin, whereas the Coin model in _Super Mario Odyssey_ uses less triangles than the one in _Super Mario Galaxy,_ but achieves the Coin's indent via clever usage of Normal Maps. (And _Super Mario Odyssey_ also has a separate model for Coin Stacks instead of literally stacking up 5-10 of those Coin models on top of each other.) - I genuinely think that the original _Sonic Colors_ on the Nintendo Wii still looks good to this day, and it's even more impressive that Sonic Team managed to get the Hedgehog Engine running on a Wii for _Sonic Colors!_ Heck, Sonic's model also deserves praise for requiring less triangles than his model from _Sonic Unleashed,_ with the only downgrade being his wrist and ankle cuffs having less triangles to allow for the cuffs to be bent in his animations. It kind of makes me wish _Sonic Colors_ also came out on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC back in 2010, as I doubt anyone would realize the game was developed for the Wii first. (I know that the externally-developed Blind Squirrel Games' _Sonic Colors Ultimate_ has pretty much become a punching bag due to shoving the gameplay code into Godot, and running the graphics through Nvidia, and I understand the frustrations, given that Sonic Team would competently handle their remaster of _Sonic Generations,_ but that's a topic for another day.) - Horde survival games like _Vampire Survivors_ or _HoloCure_ rely on 2D pixel graphics because a game centered around fighting hundreds, if not, thousands of enemies at once will not work if the enemies are heavily detailed, as having way too many heavily detailed models at once would be strenuous upon most hardware running the game. (In fact, _Metal Gear Solid 2_ actually has a meta-joke regarding something like this, where Raiden has to fight three Metal Gear Rays at a time instead of all twenty-five of them at once, due to the story detail of a computer virus overriding the George Washington artificial intelligence system that controls the Metal Gear Rays, meaning that the GW system can now only control three of the mechs at once, just like how the PS2 can only handle three of these Metal Gear Rays at once.) - On a similar topic regarding pixel art games, sometimes, I wonder if modern pixel artists don't understand the philosophy behind the pixel art of older games. Given that pixel art used to be made with the limitations of CRT monitors at the time, artists relied on techniques like dithering pixels to achieve transparency effects that were only visible on a CRT screen, like the waterfalls in the original 1991 _Sonic the Hedgehog_ game. Compare that to how _Sonic Mania_ replaces the dithered-pixel spotlights of Stardust Speedway with transparent spotlight effects, but fails to account for the waterfalls that were left unchanged. - Additionally, I wonder how modern pixel art games like _Freedom Planet 2_ compare to pixel art games of old. Don't get me wrong, the pixel art of _Freedom Planet 2_ is absolutely gorgeous, and the artists deserve all of the praise for their work with stuff like lots of smooth animation frames and gorgeous environments that look like a hand-drawn painting. At the same time, I keep wondering about what the game looks like if one were to run it on an authentic CRT monitor, and see if stuff like the beauty of dithered pixels are still used in this modern game. (And don't get me started on the can of worms that is Square Enix's HD-2D stuff like _Octopath Traveler_ and _Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake,_ and whether or not they do look just as good on a CRT monitor like the pixel art games of yesterday.) - On the topic of Sonic's design over the years, I will point out that according to SEGA, Sonic's "glossy" footwear is actually made out of patent leather, not felt like typical sneakers, which is actually pretty accurate to the original inspiration behind Sonic's shoes, as they were based on one of Michael Jackson's outfits. That said, it doesn't stop other interpretations like Paramount's live action Sonic reinterpreting them as felt sneakers. Though, I still think that Sonic's live action design has the excuse of "what would Sonic look like if he existed in the real world", and that even WildBrain's characters models for the _Sonic Prime_ TV show were also a nice refresher. In fact, it does seem like Blur Studio practically "cracked the code" when it came to making 3D models that closely matched Yuji Uekawa's artwork all the way back in the pre-rendered cutscenes for 2005's _Shadow the Hedgehog,_ and it all sort of stagnated from there. Heck, even HARDLIGHT managed to make some pretty impressive 3D models for the mobile game _Sonic Dream Team!_ - Finally, there's the whole can of worms known as incompetently-produced games like _Hunt Down the Freeman,_ _Yandere Simulator,_ and _Garten of BanBan_ when it comes to focusing too much on "higher fidelity graphics". Those games have unnecessary stuff like using models that were not meant to be put in video games, like _Hunt Down the Freeman_ having a shotgun taken from another website, and that shotgun had over two-billion triangles. Or _Yandere Simulator_ infamously taking a stock model of a toothbrush that consisted of over five-thousand triangles, and was only supposed to be used for CGI animations in commercials, but was used as a tiny background prop in the game. Or _Garten of BanBan_ having character models with way too many triangles despite the simplistic details and silhouettes of the characters.
When it comes to sonic, you are spouting bs, the more realistic look is utilised to further highlight the most iconic traits of his past renders and general look. The reason as of why most games look half assed realistic nowadays isnt due to high expectations, its unoptimised game engines and lazy developers who arent forced to innovate and explore new ideas and artstyles due to the high graphical fidelity of modern gpus. Trust me, studios are capable of making some beautiful, realistic games with a actual artstyle, e.g. Littlebigplanet 3, pikmin 4...
I don't agree that less is more I like retro games but I mostly like the new higher definition games as well since I grew up during the ds xbox 1 and wii u era
I disagree with your assessment that less is more is worthy of a disagreement. Higher definition stuff doesn't mean automatic perfection, if anything, doing more to make more leaves room for many countless errors that is currently hindering AAA stuff. I also grew with the WII u and XBox, it isn't as good as you're claiming to be.
dude sorry but you're nostalgia blinded, nowadays you look at this old graphics and say they are good, but in the 7° gen EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE ''HARDORE GAMERS'' WHERE EXACTLY LIKE MODERN GAMERS, they really thought that more realistic graphics means ''better'' graphics, they literally think that ''serious and hardcore games'' where realistic (or brown) games with zero stylization, and they mock nintendo for have more cartoonish and stylized graphics than the ps3 and xbox 360 more realistic (and brown) graphics that they think were ''better'' than wii graphics, so this modern mentality that realistic is equal to better graphics is nothing really new but something that happen at least since the 7° gen of consoles and propably a lot of this hypocrites that criticize this idea were the ones making fun of nintendo for having more stylized graphics that nowadays they call ''nostalgic'' and a lot criticized even indie games when they try to make indie games in a low poly style like puppet combo when they first started it
sorry but all this thing of realism is just the epitome of everything we see since the 6° gen when gamers become more obcessed with realism than with anything else, I record every tech demo from the ps3 being threated like the second coming and this criticism right now sounds a little hipocrate coming from the same gamers that once make fun of nintendo and the indie games fro trying something diferent calling every stylized graphic as ''childish''
1:35 That isn't what vice-versa means. You're trying to say "Or to the PS3" but what you're actually saying is "Or from PS2 to PS1" which is the opposite of what you're trying to convey.
Honestly, I think the part I hate about this video, is that the main concept is what I felt seeing the announcement for the sequel to Okami: it looks absolutely gorgeous, but it also felt like a drastic art style change that worries me.
My God, someone finally articulated how I feel about gaming right now. It all feels like generic assets placed in generic environments for the 100th. This is why I think the Nintendo Switch has been so successful. And the same can be said for the almost infinite number of amazing indie games on Steam. Instantly subscribed to you!
Someone finally said it in all the detail I wanted it to be said in. I’m truly bored of rendering engines, back in older games and in some indie games the artists take full control over the colours we see on screen. Jet set radio is timeless, same with katamri and many more. It ain’t at all nostalgia, it’s a matter of not wanting the artstyle to get lost in the rendering sauce.
Its stuff like this is why i think frontiers is my least favorite sonic setting in a while. I cant stop thinking that its just chasing the breath of the wild trend. Meanhile games like spark the electric jester 2 and 3 have been evovling that ever appealing dreamcast era style for modern times without sacrificing the style
This is exactly why I highly recommend Solar Ash to anyone who os after a fluid reasonably sized game that imo is best looking on ps5 currently. Is it realistic? Not. Even. SLIGHTLY. Think Sonic Frontiers but with an actual aesthetic and smooth as butter gameplay that actually has momentum.
i think we should accept low poly simplicity as its own artstyle similar to pixel art. both were created due to limitations in the hardware, which made the finishing product/arstyle way more charming and visually amazing
😂 finally bruh I always preached that games only looked good back in the day cause the graphics was low and you could do so much more now days everyone is experimenting never getting enough time to work on the tech we just always advancing
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
I think at some point in the future, they will notice the jumps in technology for graphics aren't really significant anymore.
And probably, the fight for distinct flavors and aesthetic between games will return.
At least, I hope so~
Agreed
It will, and when they come back they will come back twice as strong and flashy!
The y2k-2010 aesthetics are in right and the new stuff I've seen is amazing. Imagine in 10 years when people realize favorable aesthetics end at around mid 2010's. So expect to be stuck in a y2k-2010 aesthetic cor some time
this is what ive been saying since the launch of the Series X/S and PS5
this is why i love hi-fi rush, its impressive, but doesn't lose its style
oh, and also, vib-ribbion. one of the most simple, yet iconic graphics styles in any video game
@templecatt SO TRUE! Vib-Ribbion is literally the definition of less is more lol
@@RanchMaster4I would love for there to be a new Vibe Ribbon game. I understand that they can't really use CDs anymore since most consoles are switching to digital now, but I think a good compromise would be to have the game link with Spotify, Pandora or some other music service to work with the game. Or at the very least have a license soundtrack where you can buy more music on top of it.
ye it looks nice
vib ribbion
I think Shadow Generations definitely is an exception from this, the game looks beautiful while still being in that Sonic artstyle we all know and love, I think that game was a perfect middle ground honestly.
To be fair, it does look at least a generation behind, maybe more.
@@snakey888and yet that Unleashed opening cutscene holds up beautifully despite being so many generations prior.
@@amandaslough125
that was a pre-rendered cutscene
@@snakey888 Still. The animation is amazing, and it still holds up today
@@eldaniels6730 Sure thing. With current tech, they would be able to make something like that in real time, and playable
Artstyle, stylization and artist intent are all thing that can help a game stand out.
that spider-verse moment you're asking for actually happened over a decade ago. it was Minecraft. sure triple A games are all hyper real but looking beneath the surface there's so many games created by independent creators that are pushing the industry in a more creative direction!
I honestly never looked at Minecraft that way before, but the more I think about it, you're absolutely right! And you're spot on about indie developers-they're definitely leading the charge in innovation and creativity in the gaming industry. It's just that the big AAA companies need to catch up.
@@RanchMaster4 Yep. I'm hoping Astro Bot can be a similar spider-verse moment for the AAA industry tbh, especially with it winning Game of the Year. I think big companies tend to overlook Minecraft in that sense because it was made by indie developers and could possibly be seen as a fluke, but Astro Bot was made by a full professional studio and is widely celebrated specifically for its abundance of charm, polish, and whimsy. If _any_ game could possibly convince AAA higher-ups that returning to stylization is probably a good idea, I feel it would most likely be Astro Bot. Here's hoping at least some of them actually get the hint this time, because I don't think the AAA industry's current trajectory is remotely sustainable.
I always never saw the appeal in applying these "hyper realistic _Minecraft_ shaders", and I still don't know why. Maybe it's that despite the fact that even the most technologically impressive and "realistic" shaders can make a _Minecraft_ scene look nearly identical to real life, all of that immersion is broken when asked with the simple question, "Okay, but what happens if we spawn in a mob or player?"
And now, we have the infamous _A Minecraft Movie,_ which needs no explaining itself. I guess that someone at Warner Brothers loved those "Minecraft Mobs in Real Life Videos".
@@lance2580 Yeah, although I do use shaders personally, I always just use the vanilla textures and instead use shaders for the nicer lighting effects and legitimately useful features like dynamic hand-held light sources and glowing ores lol.
I don't bother with photorealistic texture packs or anything like that, although they're technically impressive I think they tend to look kinda uncanny at the best of times.
but most people just download raytracing mods so that argument doesnt even work
I think the biggest thing when it comes down to it is the art direction (like the colors choices, use of shadows, etc). I mean take the Arkham games, the insomniac spider man games, red dead redemption 2, devil may cry 5, and gta 5 & 6. And look at the lighting, shadows, and colors similar to phot realistic drawings/paintings they aren’t afraid to push the darks and pull the lights, giving them that eye catching feel. And something I’ve noticed with games that are said to be apart of the problem with photorealistic games typically don’t do enough of playing with lights and shadows.
TLDR; games should focus more on improving their use of color, lights, and shadows rather than simply just choosing between stylized or realism.
You're so right man! Lighting and colors play such a large role in setting the mood and tone of a game, making it feel truly unique. Unfortunately, many companies don't explore this potential as much as they could.
I've got some major issues with this video. I've thought for a long time that the limitations in old graphics required a base artistry in order to make games look beautiful, but the way this video argues this point feels very bad-faith.
Yes, many studios use new technology in a lazy way, a way to skip the effort needed to create similar visuals back in the day, but that ignores the artistry that can only exist with new technology. That base level of artistry and effort is gone, but there lies new artistic potential within the new base. Take the games shown here 2:12 and here 2:21 . The way the crowd of grass flows in the wind like waves in the ocean in the first game is genuinely beautiful, it's an intentional artistic design. The way the rain drops roll off of the rooftops is gorgeous, it's an intentional artistic design. These artistic possibilities are only viable thanks to modern technology, and to completely disregard these modern graphics is a mistake. You shows these games as examples of games being part of the "big bad realism culture", but they use the new graphical capabilities to their fullest. There is absolutely a laziness born out of relying on real-time raytracing for all of the lighting in a game, but when utilized in an artistic way, it becomes not lazy.
There is also a massive generalization done in the beginning of this video. I'm fairly certain the only people who contribute to the "realism culture" are tech bros and Playstation fanboys. This is not an industry-wide pandemic, it is almost exclusive to the PS5 area of effect, like the Call of Duties and all of Sony's realistic movie-like games. Just look at the indie scene, almost none of those games go for ultra-realism because people just don't care about that. I mean, remember when Sony fanboys got their panties in a wad about Spider-Man 2's water physics being "bad" and then the internet collectively made fun of them for a few weeks? To say that this ultra-realism is a dominant cultural pressure feels very out-of-the-loop.
Also, some of your examples of the old being better kinda go against your own arguments. Take the example of Ratchet here 6:24 . Artistically, the new model is better in every way. It's more expressive, it's more balanced in proportion and color, and it's eyes don't look completely dead. But to say that it's worse because "when it's completely unrendered, it looks bad". Like, of course it's not gonna look good when you put it in a situation it was never meant to be seen in. It's mean to be seen in-game with nice lighting and high quality animation, not in a t-pose with fullbright lighting. Of course it looks worse when you rip away the artistry. It's a very bad faith argument. But then there's the Sonic model, which is a bad faith argument in a completely different way. Sonic's current model isn't bad because of "realistic glove textures" and "metallic shoes", it's worse because all of the artistry is gone. The shape of Sonic's eyes no longer flow into the shape of his muzzle, his ears aren't shaped like ears, his shoes don't even look like shoes, he constantly has that ugly butt-eyebrow, and his proportions are completely out of wack. The artistry is all gone. This isn't an issue in new technology, this is an issue in art design.
That's what all of this comes down to. Art design and how developers use these technologies. Old technology forced devs to be more artistic, and without that there IS artistry lost. But that doesn't mean that artistry can't exist in the new technology, it simply means it just isn't being utilized right. And even then, there are still devs that ARE using it right, like with the examples I mentioned previously. This video constantly focuses on the wrong issue, and it frustrates me so much. I want to agree with this video so badly, but it just barely misses the mark. Like, you're complaining that a live-action movie has a realistic-looking Sonic. That's just plain dumb. And that's completely ignoring that the movie model is artistically better than the current game model in every way because it fixes all of the issues mentioned previously. And all of this also ignores that some developers just want realism because that's part of their vision for their game, just as another developer would want more stylized visuals because that's their vision for their game. This video needed more thought put into it, and some much better examples and evidence to boot.
Honestly, I mostly agree with everything you’ve said here. This video was recorded two months ago and definitely could have benefited from more revisions. My opinions on certain things have changed since then, and looking back, I realize I made a lot of generalizations instead of offering nuance. I was definitely pushing my own agenda more than I should have, lol. The main focus of the video should have been on how realism is amazing but shouldn't be taken too far at the expense of overall artistic charm instead of touching on things that didn't really matter to that goal.
I definitely want to remake this video in the future to get my facts and opinions straight!
I would love to talk to you about this topic more if you want in DMs or something, cause you bring up alot of great points! :D
Holy shit you're spitting facts 👍
Damn I fucking agree with you. Graphics in games really do depend on the developers visions on the project. For example, games like GOW, Spider-Man, or Arkham games (Especially Knight) are basically interactive movie games and utilize the ultra realism to the fullest with those movie like cutscenes. Same for something like Cuphead, Deep Rock Galatic, or Crash Bandicoot 4, those games were made to look like that and fit the developers visions well. Having a clear vision allows for creativity despite how limited in sounds as developers utilize or create new tools to make something that aligns with a vision they want everyone else to see. Being realistic or cartoony doesn't make ones graphic better over the other, it's all about how the developers present it that determines that fact. Also thank you for saying Movie Sonic doesn't look bad, he looks fantastic from a design and animation perspective. Not only does the design have much more balanced body proportions to allow for more character expression but the eyes are separated and are allowed to be emotive. This allows Movie Sonic to be very animated despite the realistic textures he has on, realism doesn't mean you can't have expression animation, it's all about if it can be accounted for and Movie Sonic is accounted for (no thanks to marza animation studio, who have worked on those gorgeous pre rendered Sonic cutscenes and shorts before).
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk captures that look and feel of Jet Set Radio Future and looks really good.
Preach bro. You earned a sub.
Astro Bot almost WAS that Spiderverse moment, but vudeo game comnunities are much more divided than movies because theres such a large breadth of games released whilst movies go through quiet periods. People forgot about Astro Bot unfortunately, and until we get a domino effect where theres are new games constantly coming out, getting numbers, and being stylish, we wont have our moment.
(I think I posted a comment here, earlier, so I'll repost again)
Anyway, I'm so glad this came on my feed and let me tell you, how much I enjoy those types of retroesque graphics.
As someone who makes low poly based 3d art on the side, it goes to show you how much creative heart older works have and present works that keep that asthethic in many indie titles namely horror like Mouthwashing, Crow Country and Fear the Spotlight and many others in the AA form (a bit higher after low poly in the PS2 sense).
I enjoy more in utilization and that's why it'll stand the test of time over than overdone realism.
I do love the Sonic movie design, works great for the story they wish to tell. However, for the games I truly wish for something more stylish, or at the very least a few tweaks to the current models. I'm just so tired of the same Sonic model since 2008
Heck, even WildBrain's _Sonic_ character models aren't even that bad, and a great refresher compared to the post-2005/2008 models! I really hope that the artists at Sonic Team can take a few lessons from the likes of Blur Studio, Marza Animation Planet, WildBrain, or HARDLIGHT!
it's funny cus the model actually dates all the way back to Shadow the Hedgehog promotional renders in 2005. the current Sonic model is that old
@Terionic Not true at all. The general *design* dates back to around ShTH, but the model Marza Planet uses now is different.
I would agree but maybe not agree that less is always more. Having a coherent style and having good style and art direction is more. Has always been and always will. Problem is that nowadays its easier to do thing, tools are better, projects are bigger, which means that its harder to keep style and also that more people with less good sense of art style is working producing assets.
Great video, you really like those swipe transitions!
😭 Lmaoo, I gotta stop with those next time
I like the sentiment shown in this video and i agree for the most part
but what took me out at the end was a lack of mention for indie devs who do still maintain this visual style like Bombrush Cyberfunk.
It would have fit the video so well too when discussing the current state of game development and styles.
I agree, indie games are definitely leading the way in innovative art design, but in that video, I mainly want to focus on the AAA space.
While I not 100% agree with you... most of what you said is correct and the older I get the less realistic games I tend to play. Cartoony games and games with weird art styles become more and more my "usual" games. And it actually started during the 360 era with games like El Shaddai, which I bought just to experience the art.
The style of game you want just isn't mainstream anymore, but all of this is already being done in the indie scene. Good games...real good games...are still being made. You just have to look for them instead of expecting them to come to you like you could back then.
Also play the Freedom Planet games if you haven't (since you like Sonic), I cannot recommend those games enough! :O
I love the sonic forces graphics, they look smooth as butter and just classy, the other games become more pasty faded, shadow generations cutscenes just shows how beautiful graphic can be, especially the Sonic vs Shadow
Thats the best part of forces tbh
Thank you!!! I've genuinely preferred simpler graphics and never really understood why anyone would want the blurry, smudgy mess that is modern graphics.
Havent started the vid yet but i just tryna say that i seen alot of people push for a low poly artstyle with cell shaidng and i half agree with it. i do prefer that type of artstyle but i feel like the models dont necessarily have to be low poly they just have to fit within an artstyle and look unique and different so im interested in what you plan on saying
Definitely! Games don't have to be low-poly at all; they just need a unique art direction and take inspiration from other things outside of realism. However, I think low-poly games often lean into this and stand out more due to the limitations they face.
This is one of the many reasons why older games interest me more. I'm more inclined to try out different games with their own unique styles over some new AAA games that all look the exact same as every other one from the past several years.
Although I haven't played most of its games, I can tell that the PS2 has an extremely varied library just by looking at it and can see why it's such a beloved console.
Honestly, I'm in the mindset that artist should embrace all of their creativity, and limits should serve the project's direction. Nowadays with videogames, they have had a limit of the style realism, less experimentation and more the same stuff, while back then they could do so many different art styles! Budget for triple A games are way to high, and most of them abandoned the art of low poly styles, or any style to begin with:[
(Now I generally don't mind realism, but if there's so much of it, and if any specific realistic game doesn't have anything that let's it stand out. All realistic games just blend together as the same meh in terms of aesthetic.)
This is why I love indies:] They got stylee!
The gaming industry was largely influenced by Japanese culture until the mid-2000s. You can feel a strong influence from anime not only in the visuals, but also in the soundtracks of these games. When we entered the HD era, there was a big audience change, gaming became mainstream and began to compete with movies.
I like to say that in the 80s and 90s, games felt more like "music videos." Castlevania, for example, was like being inside a mixture of Michael Jackson's Thriller and Phantom of the Opera, even Symphony of the Night has music that went from gothic rock to synth pop. On the PS3, with Castlevania Lords of Shadow, all that gave way to ambient violin strings and generic Hollywood music.
What makes me saddest is that when I was a kid I dreamed of the day that games could look more like the artwork in the manuals, that one day we would have a playable Sonic game like the opening of Sonic CD or a full 3D Megaman X game with visuals similar to the opening of Megaman X4, we achieved the technology for that at the same time that the industry gave up on chasing those looks.
I think that crash bandicoot 4 it’s about time is wonderfully stylised ❤❤
Same yeah! :D
I think that game transforms to western 90s animation sensibilities the OG Crash trilogy had and transformed into what modern animation is now, which is pretty cool!
love this. & im excited at the prospects of de-makes
i feel like using Sonic Colors Ultimate is a terrible example because that remaster sucks on every level
Really, it was a mistake to outsource the game's development to an outside studio like Blind Squirrel Games, given that the original game used Hedgehog Engine 1 for its graphics, while the remaster used Nvidia Gameworks.
dude this don't have limitations is something good because it makes indie games have the chance of being whatever they want
This is why i prefer no textures rather than having movie-realistic textures
It makes sonic more like in a different world rather than him being in our world, its the magic of back then
Nowadays everyone be making live action (specially disney)
for me its also about resolution and allowing the brain to fill in. although I found 640x480 to be perfect I have played around last year with testing how 320x200 is looking with baked and semidynamic lighting. Now with tons of memory its really possible to allow super variety. And to have rather low poly meshes, deform nicely and to be dynamic, physics,fx etc. All is possible if we would go down in res and down in polygons. and with great AA on this it actually looks amazing. And it allows you to use both gpu and cpu for animations and interactions. It both feels and looks so much more alive. Of course this direction will not happen. It has not even started yet sadly. For 2D there has been more modern pixel art styles that shows what can be done visually. Lets hope this revolution of modern hi-def retro 3d also start :)
Great video, but it feels kinda wrong to talk about this subject without even mentioning Arc System Work's 3d games: Guilty Gear Xrd/Strive, Dragon Ball Fighterz, and Granblue Fantasy Versus. They were doing 3D mixed with aspects of 2D before Spider Verse even hit theatres.
True honestly. Their games have such a cool visual flair behind them, i should have brought them up!
So @ 5:51 comes from the brain graft channel. He's an awesome resource for learning low poly modeling. Please site your sources.
Oh my bad, you're right :0
Thanks for reminding me
I'll do that right away!
Spitting truth right here. 👏 The way you described the human touch of hand-painted textures made me realize how similar it is to 2D animation - which is usually less detailed and less polished than 3D animation. Yet 2D animation often feels so much more alive. And as you say, things like Spider-Verse and Arcane made such an impact, not just for being unique, but for embracing the "flaws" of 2D art while also not neglecting the benefits of 3D.
I imagine realistic graphics will always have a place for certain gaming experiences, but with the rise of the indie scene, we're seeing more and more stylized games, even in the mainstream. Which makes me hopeful for the future of styles. :)
Anyway, great thoughts and well said!
I honestly prefer the modern look for Sonic especially how he looked in shadow gens
I agree SO much that the gaming industry needs a "spiderverse". it could've been hifi rush but microsoft blew everything.
They're AAA, they market anything which they believe it was "evolution."
The 6th console generation will always be my favorite graphics. Something about that Dreamcast blue sky aesthetic is comfort food
so like, mario wonder doesn’t exist?
Because realism is simply mushy and monotone. Stylized stuff has sharp lines and popping colors. And you can't have that when everything reflects light on everything
It’s a shame people are incapable of seeing the beauty in real life.
Feels like everything now is so much less memorable... nobody will ever try to make something in the "ps5 style" but so many people try to emulate the ps1 style cuz it's so interesting, it sticks with u
i think the spiderverse of gaming was breath of the wild
I really want an indie game with the ps2 era platformer style, like I like 64/ps1 styled games but I feel like it's getting a bit overdone...
9:21 ABZU MENTIONED WOOOOOOOOOO
Another positive about returning to the old graphical style, is that MORE people can actually play the games they want without having to invest in a super high end device. In turn, community divides will just simply be less of a thing
Are we going to ignore the typo on the thumbnail??
dude sorry but everything you say about this ''feeling'' fit perffectly with the concept of nostalgia
I don't agree with your opinion about the current design of sonic (I think it looks cool either way), but I do get your point when you say that the environments look kind of flat in recent games like sonic frontiers.
XIII is a very underrated fps game that has an artstyle of a comic book, and it runs suprisingly well for my PC. I really love the cellshade, onomotopia and the visual layers of comic book panels, it even shows killcams as a comic book panels :D
Good vid man
Oh Yeah! I remember actually hearing about that game, you make it sound amazing, so i''ll check it out in the future for sure!
@RanchMaster4 yeah no problem :>
Take care now
limitation = innovation
I know you said it wasn't the nostalgia, but all of your points make it sound like it's mostly nostalgia talking
I would say nostalgia, does play a small part in people's feelings, but its not the only reason.😌
@RanchMaster4 I guess, I just feel that more detailed graphics and art design have there own strengths, witch isn't really explored. Both types of art styles are good when used properly. Wind waker wouldn't hit the same without it's cartoony style, and twilight princess wouldn't hit the same without it's more realistic style.
@@cannonbyrd1755 Exactly, I completely agree! But even Twilight Princess has its own unique art direction, and that also a by product of when it was made, making it really stand out in comparison to a Stock UE5 game.
Stevie from Malcolm in the Middle
@fronkus123 Bro revealing my secret identity 😭
Your thumbnail says Grapical
Came here to say this :p
Man, this is just the video
i miss where games where more videogame-y
I'm in this cool world somewhat similar to ours, but still unique, i dream about exploring Space Colony Ark, Angel Island, Bionis, Storm Owl's float, the Egg Fleet, Alrest, Aionios, Hyrule, anything in Mario Galaxy or Child of Light
We use to seek for worlds inside our heads, now we aim to replicate what we have outside our windows
This is a big part of why recent indies like Penny's Big Breakaway, Spark The Electric Jester 2/Spark 3, Rollin Rascal, Pseudoregalia, Lunistice, the Toree series, and especially The Big Catch have resonated so much with me; they're far from the most detailed games today, but their core visual identity is every bit as likable for me as IPs like Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro, Crash, Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper, and pre-HD Sonic.
You should also play Cavern of Dreams and Corn Kidz 64. Both got that N64 Rare feel going for them. Really worth it and both games are really cheap.
Bro is anime antagonist
One cool game is penny’s big breakaway it looks just like the 2D artwork that goes along with the game
It’s also just an incredibly fun game and probably my favorite 3D platformer ever
This is why stylized graphics (aka, cartoony/anime-style graphics) are better than hyper-realistic graphics!
Also WrenchMaster, have you played Atlyss, Splatoon series, Spark The Electric Jester franchise, Rollin Rascal, Penny's Big Breakaway, Kirby And The Forgotten Land, Super Mario Brothers Wonder, and Mario And Luigi BrotherShip?
Yeah! :D
I've played pretty much all of those except Atlyss, i need to get around to that, seems fun!
*Grapical* Limitations
I don't want entertainment to be soulless, I want it to have diverse personalities, charms and characters overall!
That intro, damn. Chef kiss lil bro ❤
5:18 woah, which game is this?? it looks really good, the snow~
oh. its sled storm on the PS1 :D
Very Fun game!
Another reason why Indie games are coming more and more appealing.
Graphical fidelity is hot garbage.
This is why I love Shadow Generations. It looks like a Dreamworks movie, while still being optimized for 8GB RAM PCs.
There's a reason mirror's edge will also look huper realistic and it's not really the graphics.
I'm sorry but I feel like the blend of the new jet set is going for with cell shaded and realistic makes it stand out and looks great it has an almost digita realistic digital art work look but I agree with you over all realism is sucking the life out of creativity
lol I've been feeling the same way lately and then I came across this video, I'm glad to see someone else agrees
I guess they’re really good graphics with a friend we made along the way
I think you mixed up some words there
do? mean you what
8:19 it's a live action movie so if sonic wasn't realistic he'd look completely out of place like a bad photoshop edit but besides that i totally agree
Nintendo has seemed to be the company to stick to this, if we discount Super Mario Odyssey at least (but even then there are pretty stylized areas), take in Super Mario Wonder, or Mario and Luigi Brothership for example. Some good stuff!
I might as well go on some tangents regarding graphical fidelity as well!
- For as much as people scream at Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch having "weaker hardware" and they need to "catch up on the times", people also emulate GameCube and Wii-era games like _Super Smash Bros. Melee_ and _Brawl_ on Dolphin with no complaints whatsoever. Sometimes, they do apply texture mods that swap out the textures for higher resolution textures, but upscaling the video output and swapping textures won't always mean that "now the game has super graphics!", especially when stuff like the topology for character and environmental models, or even clunky animations don't change with these mods.
- An interesting point to be made with graphical fidelity and efficiency comes in the form of the Coin models seen in _Super Mario Galaxy_ vs _Super Mario Odyssey._ The Coin model in _Super Mario Galaxy_ has a lot more triangles compared to the one in _Super Mario Odyssey,_ but the former spends more of the triangles on stuff like the indents on the Coin, whereas the Coin model in _Super Mario Odyssey_ uses less triangles than the one in _Super Mario Galaxy,_ but achieves the Coin's indent via clever usage of Normal Maps.
(And _Super Mario Odyssey_ also has a separate model for Coin Stacks instead of literally stacking up 5-10 of those Coin models on top of each other.)
- I genuinely think that the original _Sonic Colors_ on the Nintendo Wii still looks good to this day, and it's even more impressive that Sonic Team managed to get the Hedgehog Engine running on a Wii for _Sonic Colors!_ Heck, Sonic's model also deserves praise for requiring less triangles than his model from _Sonic Unleashed,_ with the only downgrade being his wrist and ankle cuffs having less triangles to allow for the cuffs to be bent in his animations. It kind of makes me wish _Sonic Colors_ also came out on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC back in 2010, as I doubt anyone would realize the game was developed for the Wii first.
(I know that the externally-developed Blind Squirrel Games' _Sonic Colors Ultimate_ has pretty much become a punching bag due to shoving the gameplay code into Godot, and running the graphics through Nvidia, and I understand the frustrations, given that Sonic Team would competently handle their remaster of _Sonic Generations,_ but that's a topic for another day.)
- Horde survival games like _Vampire Survivors_ or _HoloCure_ rely on 2D pixel graphics because a game centered around fighting hundreds, if not, thousands of enemies at once will not work if the enemies are heavily detailed, as having way too many heavily detailed models at once would be strenuous upon most hardware running the game.
(In fact, _Metal Gear Solid 2_ actually has a meta-joke regarding something like this, where Raiden has to fight three Metal Gear Rays at a time instead of all twenty-five of them at once, due to the story detail of a computer virus overriding the George Washington artificial intelligence system that controls the Metal Gear Rays, meaning that the GW system can now only control three of the mechs at once, just like how the PS2 can only handle three of these Metal Gear Rays at once.)
- On a similar topic regarding pixel art games, sometimes, I wonder if modern pixel artists don't understand the philosophy behind the pixel art of older games. Given that pixel art used to be made with the limitations of CRT monitors at the time, artists relied on techniques like dithering pixels to achieve transparency effects that were only visible on a CRT screen, like the waterfalls in the original 1991 _Sonic the Hedgehog_ game. Compare that to how _Sonic Mania_ replaces the dithered-pixel spotlights of Stardust Speedway with transparent spotlight effects, but fails to account for the waterfalls that were left unchanged.
- Additionally, I wonder how modern pixel art games like _Freedom Planet 2_ compare to pixel art games of old. Don't get me wrong, the pixel art of _Freedom Planet 2_ is absolutely gorgeous, and the artists deserve all of the praise for their work with stuff like lots of smooth animation frames and gorgeous environments that look like a hand-drawn painting. At the same time, I keep wondering about what the game looks like if one were to run it on an authentic CRT monitor, and see if stuff like the beauty of dithered pixels are still used in this modern game.
(And don't get me started on the can of worms that is Square Enix's HD-2D stuff like _Octopath Traveler_ and _Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake,_ and whether or not they do look just as good on a CRT monitor like the pixel art games of yesterday.)
- On the topic of Sonic's design over the years, I will point out that according to SEGA, Sonic's "glossy" footwear is actually made out of patent leather, not felt like typical sneakers, which is actually pretty accurate to the original inspiration behind Sonic's shoes, as they were based on one of Michael Jackson's outfits. That said, it doesn't stop other interpretations like Paramount's live action Sonic reinterpreting them as felt sneakers. Though, I still think that Sonic's live action design has the excuse of "what would Sonic look like if he existed in the real world", and that even WildBrain's characters models for the _Sonic Prime_ TV show were also a nice refresher.
In fact, it does seem like Blur Studio practically "cracked the code" when it came to making 3D models that closely matched Yuji Uekawa's artwork all the way back in the pre-rendered cutscenes for 2005's _Shadow the Hedgehog,_ and it all sort of stagnated from there. Heck, even HARDLIGHT managed to make some pretty impressive 3D models for the mobile game _Sonic Dream Team!_
- Finally, there's the whole can of worms known as incompetently-produced games like _Hunt Down the Freeman,_ _Yandere Simulator,_ and _Garten of BanBan_ when it comes to focusing too much on "higher fidelity graphics". Those games have unnecessary stuff like using models that were not meant to be put in video games, like _Hunt Down the Freeman_ having a shotgun taken from another website, and that shotgun had over two-billion triangles. Or _Yandere Simulator_ infamously taking a stock model of a toothbrush that consisted of over five-thousand triangles, and was only supposed to be used for CGI animations in commercials, but was used as a tiny background prop in the game. Or _Garten of BanBan_ having character models with way too many triangles despite the simplistic details and silhouettes of the characters.
I could keep going on about all of this, but I feel tired after typing all of this out.
@@lance2580well if you ever want to type out more, I'm going to keep reading it. It's fascinating.
Ever since the PS4 and up
Sonic lost the sauce that made him so likeable 💔
Agreed
When it comes to sonic, you are spouting bs, the more realistic look is utilised to further highlight the most iconic traits of his past renders and general look.
The reason as of why most games look half assed realistic nowadays isnt due to high expectations, its unoptimised game engines and lazy developers who arent forced to innovate and explore new ideas and artstyles due to the high graphical fidelity of modern gpus. Trust me, studios are capable of making some beautiful, realistic games with a actual artstyle, e.g. Littlebigplanet 3, pikmin 4...
Thnx for readin
what is the second song in the vid?
"Internet Settings Theme' from the 3DS
@@rigel_starrsorry not the first I meant the second track!!
I don't agree that less is more I like retro games but I mostly like the new higher definition games as well since I grew up during the ds xbox 1 and wii u era
I disagree with your assessment that less is more is worthy of a disagreement.
Higher definition stuff doesn't mean automatic perfection, if anything, doing more to make more leaves room for many countless errors that is currently hindering AAA stuff. I also grew with the WII u and XBox, it isn't as good as you're claiming to be.
dude sorry but you're nostalgia blinded, nowadays you look at this old graphics and say they are good, but in the 7° gen EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE ''HARDORE GAMERS'' WHERE EXACTLY LIKE MODERN GAMERS, they really thought that more realistic graphics means ''better'' graphics, they literally think that ''serious and hardcore games'' where realistic (or brown) games with zero stylization, and they mock nintendo for have more cartoonish and stylized graphics than the ps3 and xbox 360 more realistic (and brown) graphics that they think were ''better'' than wii graphics, so this modern mentality that realistic is equal to better graphics is nothing really new but something that happen at least since the 7° gen of consoles and propably a lot of this hypocrites that criticize this idea were the ones making fun of nintendo for having more stylized graphics that nowadays they call ''nostalgic'' and a lot criticized even indie games when they try to make indie games in a low poly style like puppet combo when they first started it
Damn good video topic
sorry but all this thing of realism is just the epitome of everything we see since the 6° gen when gamers become more obcessed with realism than with anything else, I record every tech demo from the ps3 being threated like the second coming and this criticism right now sounds a little hipocrate coming from the same gamers that once make fun of nintendo and the indie games fro trying something diferent calling every stylized graphic as ''childish''
GRAPICAL LIMITATIONS
After watching this video, I doubt they'll go back, ESPECIALLY the AAA studios. Best to leave it to the indies or maybe AA.
1:35 That isn't what vice-versa means. You're trying to say "Or to the PS3" but what you're actually saying is "Or from PS2 to PS1" which is the opposite of what you're trying to convey.
hyper realistic sonic.exe
Honestly, I think the part I hate about this video, is that the main concept is what I felt seeing the announcement for the sequel to Okami: it looks absolutely gorgeous, but it also felt like a drastic art style change that worries me.
Please tell me what the outros song is called please
its Sky High from Daytona USA HD. :D
Nintendo has best conserved the style of their IPs
1:24
not the best example of optimization in gaming...
My God, someone finally articulated how I feel about gaming right now. It all feels like generic assets placed in generic environments for the 100th. This is why I think the Nintendo Switch has been so successful. And the same can be said for the almost infinite number of amazing indie games on Steam. Instantly subscribed to you!
hey try a game called pyrite adventure 2
Nailed in again compadre!
Someone finally said it in all the detail I wanted it to be said in. I’m truly bored of rendering engines, back in older games and in some indie games the artists take full control over the colours we see on screen. Jet set radio is timeless, same with katamri and many more. It ain’t at all nostalgia, it’s a matter of not wanting the artstyle to get lost in the rendering sauce.
Also to add to that, a great render style can do wonders. There are tons of examples of this, too many to name
1:15 milky my beloved
I hope we return to unique artstyles
limitations forced creativity, and creativity forced unique interpretation.
I often tell my friends this and they act like I’m dumb
Glad someone else sees the industry the way I do
Its stuff like this is why i think frontiers is my least favorite sonic setting in a while. I cant stop thinking that its just chasing the breath of the wild trend. Meanhile games like spark the electric jester 2 and 3 have been evovling that ever appealing dreamcast era style for modern times without sacrificing the style
This is exactly why I highly recommend Solar Ash to anyone who os after a fluid reasonably sized game that imo is best looking on ps5 currently. Is it realistic? Not. Even. SLIGHTLY. Think Sonic Frontiers but with an actual aesthetic and smooth as butter gameplay that actually has momentum.
i think we should accept low poly simplicity as its own artstyle similar to pixel art. both were created due to limitations in the hardware, which made the finishing product/arstyle way more charming and visually amazing
Nah
But good video
Take me back to PS2/Xbox/GC/Wii and PS3/360 graphics. I don't want to go beyond.
😂 finally bruh I always preached that games only looked good back in the day cause the graphics was low and you could do so much more now days everyone is experimenting never getting enough time to work on the tech we just always advancing
w video
Annnnnd that's why Nintendo makes the best games. I hope they continue to have stylized graphics as their consoles become more powerful.
cool video but can you talking normal