Where is Pixel Art Today?

[Fairy]

Well, we all know by now that Pokemon X & Y has brought about a revolution of 3D models and more "accurate" scenes of game play. Quite frankly, it's not what it used to be. That's not to say, however, that I think less of X & Y because they don't chiefly use pixel art; but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that some of our pixel veterans do.

So, everyone, where do you think pixel art is today? Is it dead? Was it dead in the 90's when video games finally launched realistic graphics? Or do you think this dying breed of art will always have a home in the hack underground? Or, conversely, is it becoming even more popular due to the availability of ROMs?

Discuss/share your thoughts and opinions on pixel art and what you think it's future may be.

 

[█▄ █▄█ ▄█▀ ▀█▀]

Ahahaha, pixel art is far from dead. The art is in high demand and will continue to be for a LONG time. Just look at the indie gaming scene! You'll have thousands upon thousands indie titles using pixel art.

And it is THAT popular for a good reason. Games like Fez and other ones like even Megaman will never get old. You may look back at the mass effect or even the current call of duty 10 years down the line and maybe say 'dude, they don't look that good. Time hasn't been kind to them'. But not for these games. Games which use pixel art and are stylized instead of going for realism hold up MUCH better over thr years.

I'll be honest, I'm thinking of learning it myself. I'm planning to be an indie developer some years down the line.

 

[Kawaii Shoujo Duskull]

Pixel art may never die. I won't deny the possibility it could, but I hope it never does. Classic games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Megaman, and of course pokemon will always live on as great games, and the pixel art they use makes that great, in my opinion.


To me, pixel art is like 8BIT music(I think that's what its called). Basicly, its got nostalgia, on top of just being nice and cool.


I'm not sure I contributed much here, but my point's been (hopefully) made. lol

 

[Entermaid]

I'd love to see GF blow our minds with devamped (GBC-Style) XY game, downloadable for the GBC-virtual console. It would likely just not have all of the features in modern pokemon games. Too bad that would never happen; I'd pay $50 for it and other would too! Plus, it would be extremely cheap for them to make a devamped series of this and other games for a huge return and appeal to the 90's kids' nostalgia.

I have gone GBC/GB-Style spriting myself. I just love the restrictive palettes, canvas, and the resulting quirky, yet charming sprites.

 

[Saki]

I agree with most of the above statements about pixel art and wanted to add that I have met some people very devoted to pixel art. There are a lot of artists but discussing with someone who sprites frequently, especially someone who uses their art in a game, is a ton of reassurance than pixel art is not going anywhere. Although I do not work with the medium myself and highly doubt I ever will I have a lot of respect for those who are good at working in it and enjoy viewing their pieces. I do agree that a lot of the gaming industry has moved away from pixels but I believe there will always be a place for pixel art (at least I hope :P )

 

[Elaitenstile]

Hardly. Pixel Art is the cheapest and yet acknowledgeable enough form of art, that, in fact, is probably professional enough to consider for large commercial uses. It's rightly to be judged as simpler and cheaper than most forms of professional art, the reason being you've just got to use a hand and a mouse. The canvas, of course, becomes daunting at higher resolutions because of the need to at detail to every pixel, the need that's spearheading the very heart of pixel art. Now, that's not saying you can't just drop a bucket over a region and say that's quite a lot, you're going to be checking every pixel anyway. Not to mention variations of said art; anti-aliasing, outline blends, absence of highlights, contrast/marker shading, texture and even shade variations. The thing is, if you've got the skill and the patience to sit there and rocket away a pixel course, the sky isn't the limit, because there's more than just the sky. Of course, considering that it's impractical to detail every pixel in... say, a movie, or... a webpage, because there's quite a lot of pixels to cover. So I'd suggest a smaller usage of Pixel Art, maybe in places where the amount of space is negligible. But do keep in mind they must have strong borders/boundaries, we do not want them to blend into the group. Nintendo is one of these what-say-yup-yup people to Pixel Art, and their handheld games continue to rage in fashion in the market. Of course, with 3D applications and models that's going to change etc. but what's to say Pixel Art isn't going off to orbit yet? Like I said, it'll rage on to those developers who go homebrew with budget cuts. And besides, it's not like there's no hope for it anyway. I've seen websites that administer the use of the magic pixel now and then.

 

[Fairy]

I honestly see a lot of pixel art, not just being used but revolutionized, in Indie gaming today. There's no denying that pixel art holds a very nostalgic appeal to a very large population. I think, given time to really grow, these Indie games could really launch into something big; with pixel art as the forefront of sandbox gaming. At least, that's what I'd like to see.

 

[Menay Time]

Today the pixel art is pixelated :s :joke:

 

[Xia]

As long as computerscreens display a dot as a pixel, pixel art shall remain existant. Just look at the countless of indie games utilizing 8-bit style. Pixel art will never die really. I mean, I even saw a collection of 6th gen sprites going about, so the fusion artists of the pokemon fandom can venture into these new forms and shapes to edit and recolor. So yeah, hardly dying. Let's just say the official step over to 3d models, is a hurdle for many pixel sources, but it's sure to be overcome.

 

[Masterge77]

Pixel art is still around today, but given how so many games are switching to 3D models anymore such as what the Pokemon franchise did recently with X/Y, it is becoming more obsolete, especially in the mainstream games on the consoles.

Sony actually has a rule that prevents anyone from making a game for the PS3 and PS4 that is in 2D, they HAVE to be in 3D now (note that the PS1 had a few 2D games). The only games that are in 2D anymore are usually flash, indie, and iOS games, and even then, most of them use more HD quality art, while the ones that use pixel art (specically indie developers) tend to go more with an NES/SNES approach, complete with 8-bit/electronic music to make the game more "retro" in appearance and feel. I'm not saying that going with a more retraux feel (Megaman 9 comes to mind) is a bad thing, but many indie developers seem to be convinced that if you want to make a game that uses pixel art, it HAS to be styled like an NES game and not like the 16 or 32 bit games of the Genesis or GBA for some reason.

As for the pixel art community in the Pokemon fandom, people who like to splice and recolor sprites will have to do it with Pokemon prior to Gen 6 unless they make it themselves (and I'm terrible at making sprites from scratch) or ask someone else to use their sprites while also giving credit to the spriter, making it a major obstacle for people who like the Gen 6 Pokemon and don't like giving credit to people (art theft is all too common on the internet). Regardless, Pixel art is not likely to go away any time soon, it's just going to have a lot more obstacles.

 

[COOLTRAINER♂]

Pixel art is still around today, but given how so many games are switching to 3D models anymore such as what the Pokemon franchise did recently with X/Y, it is becoming more obsolete, especially in the mainstream games on the consoles.

Sony actually has a rule that prevents anyone from making a game for the PS3 and PS4 that is in 2D, they HAVE to be in 3D now (note that the PS1 had a few 2D games). The only games that are in 2D anymore are usually flash, indie, and iOS games, and even then, most of them use more HD quality art, while the ones that use pixel art (specically indie developers) tend to go more with an NES/SNES approach, complete with 8-bit/electronic music to make the game more "retro" in appearance and feel. I'm not saying that going with a more retraux feel (Megaman 9 comes to mind) is a bad thing, but many indie developers seem to be convinced that if you want to make a game that uses pixel art, it HAS to be styled like an NES game and not like the 16 or 32 bit games of the Genesis or GBA for some reason.

As for the pixel art community in the Pokemon fandom, people who like to splice and recolor sprites will have to do it with Pokemon prior to Gen 6 unless they make it themselves (and I'm terrible at making sprites from scratch) or ask someone else to use their sprites while also giving credit to the spriter, making it a major obstacle for people who like the Gen 6 Pokemon and don't like giving credit to people (art theft is all too common on the internet). Regardless, Pixel art is not likely to go away any time soon, it's just going to have a lot more obstacles.

Imitation NES art is cheaper and easier for independent developers to create while still being a recognizable and popular style.

Sony's (Specifically - only Sony Computer Entertainment America) supposed distaste for 2D games is a much older policy that dates back to hearsay posted on the internet around 2004 (before peole really started waxing nostalgic for sprites) and it would be ridiculous to say it's still happening - there are many high-profile - and independent 2D games being developed and released for the PS3, PSVita and even PS4 as we speak (it's not like the PS2 had zero 2D games either)

 

[Gamez_Console]

I make 3d models and i like using the best of both world trying to make models as low poly as you can. I also hope pixel art never dies i love it so much!

 

[qOptic]

As pixel art is being replaced in many games, upgrading from 3D and or making graphic art instead of pixel art, pixel art will just get more advanced and have more unique ways of making it bigger. Pixel Art is not at all dead, it is really getting more bigger than it has ever been. And that is one of the biggest misconceptions for people assuming that pixel art is dead. That nostalgic feel is something you can't just forget about and go on to the new generation of 3D and revolutionizing graphic art. No one can.

 

[NiirB]

As pixel art is being replaced in many games, upgrading from 3D and or making graphic art instead of pixel art, pixel art will just get more advanced and have more unique ways of making it bigger. Pixel Art is not at all dead, it is really getting more bigger than it has ever been. And that is one of the biggest misconceptions for people assuming that pixel art is dead. That nostalgic feel is something you can't just forget about and go on to the new generation of 3D and revolutionizing graphic art. No one can.

This pretty much sums up my toughts c: basicly pixle art won't die. Ever.

 

[Ninja Paladin]

If you take the latest Pokemon games into consideration and look at a few other games for handhelds then you can find a relatively new niche trying to marry old school pixel at with 3D models, although I sincerely doubt truly 2D sprites will ever die. That said give then growing power of gaming devices or other personal devices that 2D sprites will become more at home on mobiles/cells in the coming years due to the simple fact that developers can still deliver a polished product and a degree 2.5D graphics for a minimal file size.

 

[COOLTRAINER♂]

Real-time non-realistic 3D graphics could probably reach a point in the future where it can make pretty convincing representations of hand drawn sprites, like we're seeing now with cartoon-style 3D graphics, though you'd probably need significant amounts of power to have perfectly smooth, 1-pixel outlines and shading without characteristic 3D jaggedness or awkward shadows.

 

[Ninja Paladin]

Real-time non-realistic 3D graphics could probably reach a point in the future where it can make pretty convincing representations of hand drawn sprites, like we're seeing now with cartoon-style 3D graphics, though you'd probably need significant amounts of power to have perfectly smooth, 1-pixel outlines and shading without characteristic 3D jaggedness or awkward shadows.

Hardly you just need at least three different styles of anti-aliasing for the border for dark, light and mid-toned backgrounds. The characters shadows could be similarly handled, although they would need to be in a range of anti-aliased colours at a set transparency to be overlaid on the backdrop and ground.

 

[Fairy]

I'm going to enthusiastically agree with the above posts.

I think this merge into 3 dimensional art is the cusp for some amazing new innovations in pixel art. Even if it becomes more of an indie medium, it's still prominent and revered by those who sprite. And I think there's a certain amount of.. charm. Pixel art is charming and captures people unlike some other methods of art/games. It makes me think of stop-motion animation and the parallels in that field.

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

I'd like to believe that pixel art isn't dead. If you look at a game like Rogue Legacy on Steam, they did an amazing job artistically restricting it to such pixels, and that game got amazing reviews. No, pixel art is far from dead in my opinion.

 

[Logiedan]

I'd like to believe that pixel art isn't dead. If you look at a game like Rogue Legacy on Steam, they did an amazing job artistically restricting it to such pixels, and that game got amazing reviews. No, pixel art is far from dead in my opinion.

I wholeheartedly agree. From an unbiased standpoint considering I am a pixel art fanatic, I feel that pixel art will always be around as it is the 'classic art-style' with many people and game developers striving to imitate the 8-bit style or another style; games such as Rogue Legacy, Mercenary Kings and Hyper Light Drifter (to be released). Although 3D modeling seems most favourable in the video game industry, in that itself makes pixel art drown with goals set by the developers regarding aesthetics.

I hope I'm making sense.