In the lead-up to the release of Sonic Superstars, Sonic producer Takashi Iizuka discussed why they decided to make a 2D Sonic game using 3D graphics, 2.5D in other words, rather than using the pixel art style of the earlier Sonic games or the critically acclaimed Sonic Mania. In his own words, he stated “we look at the pixel art – it’s great – but when we think about 10-20 years in the future, we don’t think it’s going to be a viable art style or presentation for our players.” Besides the fact that I disagree with this statement, I would consider myself a fan of many Sonic games, it also set off a discussion about pixel artwork in games and its place in the future of the industry. Taking this into account, I thought I might explain why I believe that pixel art in video games isn’t going to disappear anytime soon.
For those unfamiliar with this art style, pixel art refers to artwork that is made up entirely of pixels, typically at a limited resolution that allows you to see each pixel clearly and distinctly. This art style developed out of the graphical limitations of consoles and PCs but games made in this style continue to be made even though technology has advanced enough that a myriad of other art styles and graphics are available to choose from. This can be for aesthetic, authenticity or budgetary reasons.
Now I’ve noticed that the vast majority of large game publishers have attempted to discard pixel art in favour of more technically complex graphics and there are a few reasons for that. For one, there is the unfortunate reality that the modern game industry is obsessed with graphics, something I find very frustrating due to skyrocketing budgets for minimal gains, in turn restricting creativity. There is also the issue of game pricing and perceived value as opposed to actual value. Game prices have been going up and there is the perception that games with pixel art are less valuable than games with fancier graphics. This, of course, is a fallacy since there are a wealth of pixel art titles that offer considerably more value than so-called AAA games.
Something that’s been brought up is that newer generations as well as people who are less familiar with video games are likely to prefer graphics that are more detailed, maybe not necessarily realistic but simply more detailed, and that’s something that is likely true. I can’t deny that anytime I show a game to someone, the first thing they’re going to comment on is the graphics. Additionally, there is certainly something to be said that quite a bit of the appeal of pixel art comes from the nostalgia of people who played pixel art games when they were younger. However, I only played a limited number of pixel art games in my youth due to my first console being a PS1 and I still find a lot of charm to pixel artwork. It’s also hard for me to imagine that, with all of the fantastic pixel art games that have come out in the past few years, there aren’t new fans of pixel artwork emerging among younger people who play games such as Undertale, Shovel Knight, Celeste, Vampire Survivors, Terraria etc.
There is also something to take note of which is the reinterpretation of pixel art. Square Enix have made some very graphically rich games using what they call HD-2D which features 2D pixel characters in a 3D pixel style world with more complex lighting and effects. The results are often beautiful and serves as an interesting modern version of traditional pixel artwork. This, of course, is only one example of how pixel art can change over time using modern technology but there are plenty of others, with pretty much the rest being in the indie video game market, innovating on what pixel art can be.
It is true that we’ve seen most major video game publishers abandon pixel art in the pursuit of mainstream appeal and that is something that I think is tragic, particularly since it isn’t a case that it’s one or the other and that many studios would benefit from having smaller, innovative projects using pixel art alongside their larger, more graphically complex games, but it seems impossible to me that we are going to see pixel art disappear anytime soon given the large commercial and critical success of such games from indie developers. Let me know your thoughts on pixel art, whether you think it’s going to disappear anytime soon, what you think about the focus of major game publishers on graphical complexity and their seeming abandonment of pixel art, what innovative reinterpretations of pixel art you’ve come across and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.