Back in the days of arcade gaming and home consoles like NES and Sega Genesis, Pixels were everything. But, even as the gaming industry has largely moved towards 3D games and graphical realism, pixelated games have remained. And as an art form, the medium is still alive and well!
When I use the term “pixelated” I am referring to 2D sprite-based games. And these have come a long way from their humble origins of arcade classics like Pac-Man, and home consoles like the Atari 2600. In the 90s, the gaming market was dominated by Nintendo and Sega’s consoles which propelled sprite-based games to the next level inside the home. For the first time, home console games had pixelated graphics that looked really nice, especially in the case of the SNES and Sega Genesis.
However, over time, with the rise of the Nintendo 64, The PlayStation, and more, 3D games have taken the spotlight. But that doesn’t mean 2D games are dead, far from it. Lots of games continue to keep the art form of sprites alive and well. And more often than not, these games turn up the charm with beautiful or just plain neat graphics.
One such area that has seen massive success with pixelated graphics is that of indie gaming. From humble beginnings of single-person projects, to indie games to reach critical acclaim and breach the mainstream, these are the first games I want to bring up.
Cave Story & Humble Beginnings
I think one title that exemplifies the charms of indie sprite-based games the best is Cave Story. Cave Story is a wonderfully fun metroidvania (a term coined by gamers in reference to the Metroid and Castlevania series) with plenty of cool weaponry, challenging exploration, and as the name implies, an interesting and often charming story.
In 2004, Cave Story was released. Being free to download, It became one of the most influential and important indie games to ever hit the scene. After the game’s launch and at-first niche popularity, it was ported and remastered on many platforms ranging from the Wii, 3DS, PC, and the Nintendo Switch with the help of Nicalis, a smaller publisher.
And these re-releases often completely overhaul the original game’s simple pixel graphics. Embellishing the experience with beautiful new pixel art that is just pure eye-candy.
And this particular example of Cave Story really plays up the charm as its existence appeals to the indie charm. A lone developer creating a wonderful game from scratch to rival even the goliaths of gaming when it comes to the fun-factor and the artistry that went into the game.
Cave Story, however, is only one example of many when it comes to small pixelated beginnings turning into impressive best-sellers and all-time hits. Many recent 2D pixelated games start small before gaining massive success.
So what happens when these charming pixelated games do hit it big? We have several games that can answer that question.
Pixel Powerhouses: To Re-Enter The Mainstream
2D pixelated games were the cornerstone of the gaming industry’s beginnings. But the rise of 3D graphics put an end to that. Yet, with the rise of indie games and small studios, pixel graphics have seen an ongoing renaissance.
With indie or small studios, a majority of their games may be niche successes at best. But sometimes, there are some massive hits. One such hit is Stardew Valley, which borrowed inspiration from predecessor titles such as Harvest Moon to create a fantastic “cozy game” with a dedicated fanbase.
Featuring a memorable cast of characters and a charming little town, this game’s graphics and gameplay have me coming back again and again whenever I want some escapism from my urban lifestyle.
Then we have Terraria, which has ascended wildly since it’s very humble beginnings. At the start, the graphics had some charm, but were nothing special, with character sprites that looked suspiciously like the ones from Final Fantasy V.
But since the game’s meteoric rise and escape from Minecraft‘s shadow, it has made leaps and bounds in becoming one of the biggest and best sprite-based games in recent memory.
And speaking of meteoric rises to fame and popularity, another game instantly comes to my mind.
It’s crazy to think that Undertale was released almost a decade ago. Inspired heavily by Nintendo’s Earthbound franchise, Undertale takes funny writing, bullet-hell-styled RPG combat, and charming characters to create a truly memorable experience.
And with that, the game took the internet by storm. It helped reinvigorate the indie scene. And Toby Fox’s success hasn’t ended with Undertale.
Using the game as a springboard, Deltarune has risen to similar popularity and acclaim as a spiritual successor to Undertale. Familiar characters, gameplay, and graphics in brand new setting and story. Both of Toby Fox’s gaming projects have seen massive mainstream success. Sans, a popular Undertale character, was officially recognized and included in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable costume for one of the characters.
And it’s not just official developers making wonderful projects with pixels…
Fan-Made Pixelated Projects
Cave Story, one of the most influential indie games of it’s time, was made by a single person. Undertale was primarily developed by Toby Fox backed by a small but talented team of artists and programmers. These games and others go to show that even solo devs or small teams ca truly make something amazing.
And some of the beauty of pixel-games is that fans too can jump right in and make projects that rival the official games themselves.
A recent example is Undertale Yellow, an amazing fan-made prequel to Undertale, employing the same base mechanics and pixel art charm, along with with a cool animated trailer to boot.
It also has an all-new plot inspired by the implications and unexplored story elements of the original game.
Then we have fan-made mods for Terraria such as Calamity, Thorium, Mod Of Redemption, and more. These usually have custom pixel-art that rivals or sometimes even surpasses the original game in attention to detail.
This makes every environment and boss battle pop with stunning visual flair. This is especially the case with Calamity, arguably Terraria‘s most popular mod.
Even Pokémon has it’s fair share of fangames despite issues involving DMCA takedowns in the past. These fangames often explore new stories, with new fan-made Pokémon and characters. Sometimes they will use the style of the third generation of games, but other projects can often surpass Pokémon’s sometimes limited graphical style.
And the kicker is that all of these impressive projects are made by fans, for fans.
People who may or may not be super experienced in game development just yet. Or people just looking to explore a cool hobby. Maybe even people who are just super passionate fans of these charming pixelated games. They can all come together and create something magical and on par with the official games that they fell in love with.
And this ties into one of the most charming things about sprite-based games. Their relative accessibility to both players and developers.
Accessibility For Players And Developers
One of the many boons of sprite-based games is their ease of access. For the players this can mean many things.
For one, since a lot of modern pixelated games are indie or small titles, prices are much lower than Triple A games. Sometimes the ever-increasing cost of games is a massive barrier to entry for many players. So a cheaper game is more easily able to entice curious gamers as there’s not as much to lose.
Then there’s the question of stability and playability. Lots of graphically-intense 3D games have limitations around which devices can run them. Or how powerful a device needs to be in order to maintain good framerates.
Many sprite-based games, due to the relative simplicity of 2D games avoid this issue altogether. This means that more players, regardless of their machine’s hardware limitations can enjoy these games to the fullest. And in some cases like with Terraria or Stardew Valley, this means that the games can be ported to all kinds of platforms, from PC, to consoles, and even mobile phones!
So in short, pixelated games have a very wide reach. Regardless of your machine’s specs or what platform you choose to play on, sprite-based games are an accessible and low-cost option for many gamers looking to try something new.
And this accessibility extends beyond just us as players. Developers have already proven the accessibility of the charming medium of pixelated games. Solo developers and small teams are able to thrive as demonstrated by Cave Story and Undertale.
There is often the thought that game development is inherently hard and very tricky to learn. But while it will have it’s challenges, there are many communities, resources, and people who use the medium of sprite-based games to connect with audiences and help make game development more accessible.
As stated in the YouTube short above, one does not need to be the best programmer, or the best artist to truly make something amazing in this medium of pixel-based gaming.
Why This Is Amazing
So when it comes to gaming and game development, pixel-based games are able to play up the charm, lower the bar for entry, and let people connect in all kinds of positive ways.
I have seen these pixel-based games cultivate and foster all kinds of positive, creative, and awesome communities, and I hope to see even more of that in the coming decades as the medium continues to expand and elevate gaming as a whole.
