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ArqadeGames with gorgeous 8-bit art and graphics
[+12] [7] Agos
[2010-07-26 21:18:43]
[ game-rec retro-gaming 8-bit graphics ]
[ http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/3579]

Today I stumbled upon this:
Canvas Cycle: True 8-bit Color Cycling with HTML5 [1]
Take some time to see it, it's awesome. And beautiful. And Art.

My first reaction was: I have to know if this guy (Mark Ferrari) was ever involved in the design of a game; Turns out I already played some games containing his work! Mark worked, with Steve Purcell, on the art for Monkey Island™, and illustrated Loom™ as well.

My question is:
Can you help me find games with art this gorgeous? I'm referring especially to 2D games which show high care in the details of backgrounds (of course foreground art is important as well).
Bonus points if the game can still be played somehow, and if it features good game mechanics and a good plot.

(2) QFT: "Take some time to see it, it's awesome. And beautiful. And Art." - alexanderpas
(7) Wouldn't this be community wiki? It is somewhat subjective. - McKay
(3) agreed. Game lists should be cw. - Mechko
(1) It's pretty, but it sure does eat up some clock cycles. - Michael Todd
That page defaults to blend mode, which the original games didn't support... @Michael - fail badp
Even in standard mode, they're beautiful ... I could get lost there all day ... - John Rudy
[+3] [2010-07-26 21:26:27] Oak [ACCEPTED]

I recommend The Dig [1]. Decent quest with beautiful background pixel art, which bundled with the great soundtrack really helps build the atmosphere. A lot of caverns and ocean and weird rock formations.

And it has a higher resolution than Loom :)

Available on Steam for 5$ [2] (or 10$ bundled with a few other games, including Loom).

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dig
[2] http://store.steampowered.com/app/6040/

Ok, now I'll HAVE to play it again :D - Agos
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[+3] [2010-07-27 08:12:01] Jon Hadley

Perhaps not beautiful, but I always found the Metal Slug graphics [1] to be an impressive demonstration of what can be done with a minimal number of pixels.

At the other end of the scale, I've always loved the minimalism of Another World [2].

[1] http://www.google.co.uk/images?&q=Metal+Slug
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_World_%28video_game%29

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[+2] [2010-07-26 21:36:47] McKay

Mobygames can give you a list of all games he's been credited on.

http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,6000/


thanks, what a useful site! - Agos
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[+2] [2010-07-26 21:48:52] sepp2k

I've always been fascinated by the beautiful graphics (and the music) in The Legend of Kyrandia [1].

The game does have a nice story and decent gameplay (standard adventure gameplay, but sadly with a few needlessly frustrating puzzles). You can play it using dosbox or scummvm without any trouble.

[1] http://www.mobygames.com/game/legend-of-kyrandia

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[0] [2010-07-27 02:56:48] RCIX
  • Puppygames [1] makes a few awesome looking 2D games, which have the side effect of being fun to play.
  • Arkedo series 01 - JUMP! [2] is also a gorgeous and fun indie 2D platformer game for the XBox.
[1] http://www.puppygames.net/
[2] http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855031e/

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[0] [2010-07-27 07:06:42] StampedeXV

I remember that there was a game already in the 24bit color time, that still came with 8bit. It was called I-War. Came out in 1998. It was a space shooter like Wing Commander if I remember correctly and looked really good. They really got everything out of 8 bit.


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[0] [2010-07-26 21:44:41] McKay

I remember Star Trek: Hidden Evil [1] had gorgeous backgrounds (and high polycounts on foreground, because all of the backgrounds were static.)

[1] http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Hidden_Evil

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