21 February 2024, 04:44 | #1 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Lala Land
Posts: 583
|
Low colour 80's 90's games that look good today
In the Cecconoid thread there's reference to some people lamenting the use of a monochrome approach to the graphics. It makes me curious. I recently spent some time looking through Amstrad CPC games and found some that I really liked that were low colour and had a retro look I personally find works today.
I'm not interested in a discussion of how we can do better today and how more colours is better, but rather recommendations for games you personally still think look good decades later with their low colour and style. One is Monument (looks like 5 colours? white, yellow, orange, gray, black). [ Show youtube player ] Another is Myth: History in the Making (looks like 4 colours? white, orange, red, black). [ Show youtube player ] Another is Movie (looks like 4 colours): [ Show youtube player ] |
21 February 2024, 09:17 | #2 | |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2023
Location: Norwich
Posts: 422
|
Quote:
I think Head over Heels on the CPC was a fantastic example of four colour graphics. [ Show youtube player ] Although obviously the real home of monochromatic games was the Speccy and stuff like RoboCop still has a certain charm [ Show youtube player ] |
|
21 February 2024, 10:17 | #3 |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2022
Location: Eastbourne
Posts: 1,058
|
The Amstrad at least had that big, vibrant 27 colour palette to switch between, the constant changing of colours perhaps makes the graphics look like they have more than 4 colours.
On the Spectrum side Fairlight ( [ Show youtube player ]) jumps to mind immediately, Knightlore too (except the magenta screens, I found that colour eye-searing in almost any game) ( [ Show youtube player ]). IK+'s playing area is well-judged with great use of shading ( [ Show youtube player ]), though I'm sure the additional colour in the background probably makes it look better than it does |
21 February 2024, 10:57 | #4 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Ur, Atlantis
Posts: 2,004
|
There are simply too many 8-bit games with great low colour gfx I could mention. I guess it's just state of mind...for me "aged badly" is a misnomer. The game either looked bad back then already, or looked good and still is.
ZX Spectrum had many mono or very low colour count games (which were still awesome, eg Ant Attack), but also countless cleverly designed ones where the playfield would be B & W or single colour, but other stuff quite colorful thus creating illusion of using more colours. Eg Dan Dare or Exolon. |
21 February 2024, 11:06 | #5 |
HOL/FTP busy bee
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Germany
Age: 46
Posts: 31,837
|
I always liked the style of Bruce Lee on the C64:
[ Show youtube player ]
|
21 February 2024, 17:25 | #6 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2023
Location: Toronto
Posts: 413
|
Blade Warrior on the Amiga still looks really good to me today
[ Show youtube player ] |
21 February 2024, 18:15 | #7 |
J.M.D - Bedroom Musician
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: los angeles,ca
Posts: 3,572
|
Cecconoid would look perfect in the Amstrad hi-res mode!
|
21 February 2024, 19:28 | #8 |
Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Eksjö / Sweden
Posts: 5,643
|
In the 80s and 90s, users (not only gamers) bought/even bothered to play a pirated copy mostly based on screenshots! It was really the only way to get an idea if it was something you liked or not. I think gameplay footage plays the same role today. You will find out the perspective, the pace, and the tone, setting, or type of game this way.
Magazine reviews would punish both dreary graphics and bad sound, while they wouldn't automatically give a dull game with lots of eyecandy a high total score. There are many examples of this. There were also separate awards for games in reviews, like Commodore User's "Screen Star". The thing is, if you have to find a gem despite low color count or poor graphics (let's call it "bad screenshots", then, unless a friend you trust says "you'll like it, it's sort of like that game that you like", it will take quite some time to find that gem. And once you have a game that you like to play, you play it in part to see the great graphics. There's a lot to say for great graphics in games. Especially, it's how you tell foreground and background apart, enemies from friends, and how to interpret the UI. Amiga obviously can have great graphics in games, so that's what every game compares to. And we celebrate the ones with smooth, great graphics and even some janky and choppy ones. Head Over Heels is a great example of an interesting monochrome-ish screenshot on Amiga. I think the graphics look smashing. But the game idea and the obligatory black background is also clearly 8-bit - as in tons of games that didn't have backgrounds because they couldn't. The Amiga can, and whether something looks good enough is judged entirely per platform. An MSX user's jaw drops if there's seeming more colors than possible, and a Spectrum user judges a game with excessive color clash or reverting to complete monochrome. On C64, I think Spectrum ports or even Spectrum-looking games suffered greatly both from poor sales and being played, even if many games used the same charmode. I think it's all judged from what you've seen before on the platform. But the question is: could a lesser artist pull the same off? Because I think if you play HoH, it's in large part due to the spot-on, interesting-looking, pixel-perfect graphics. I think in some ways the same is true for Bitmap Bros games. With average graphics, Xenon 2 would not have been played at all, I'm quite sure of that. Examples of hidden gems with... not very few colors, but fewer colors, and not professional quality graphics are Gravity-Force by Kingsoft and Master Blaster. |
21 February 2024, 19:46 | #9 |
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: England
Posts: 232
|
Walker on the Amiga
|
21 February 2024, 21:03 | #10 |
This cat is no more
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: FRANCE
Age: 52
Posts: 8,333
|
most ZX spectrum isometric games can't use more than 2 colors and some are so great and mysterious in terms of gameplay. Knightlore, Alien 8...
Amstrad certainly has its share of good isometric stuff. I love isometric, so the number of colors probably don't matter. I had an Oric and some games did well in 8 colors (Zorgon's Revenge, Xenon, l'Aigle d'Or). Revamping them could be disappointing (I did revamp l'Aigle d'Or in 16 colors for Windows/SDL and it was pretty good though) |
21 February 2024, 21:14 | #11 |
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Bicester
Posts: 2,009
|
|
21 February 2024, 21:20 | #12 |
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: England
Posts: 1,221
|
I sucked at it, but maybe something like The Sentinel on C64/others.
|
21 February 2024, 21:42 | #13 | |
This cat is no more
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: FRANCE
Age: 52
Posts: 8,333
|
Quote:
perfect example of low color dual playfield game with smooth animation and at some point noone cares if it's mainly black. You just let your imagination do the rest... (I knew this game but never played it, I remember that Abaddon did JST/Whdload installs) |
|
21 February 2024, 22:35 | #14 |
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Bicester
Posts: 2,009
|
a case of 'sometimes' less is more
|
21 February 2024, 23:38 | #15 |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2022
Location: Eastbourne
Posts: 1,058
|
Technically its lots of different shades of gray, but the black and white modes in Rick Dangerous games might count.
|
22 February 2024, 09:08 | #16 |
Inviyya Dude!
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Amiga Island
Posts: 2,785
|
Didn't know "Monument".
That game looks crazy amazing to me. |
22 February 2024, 19:51 | #17 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Lala Land
Posts: 583
|
Quote:
Gravity force [ Show youtube player ] Master blaster [ Show youtube player ] |
|
22 February 2024, 19:52 | #18 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Lala Land
Posts: 583
|
|
22 February 2024, 19:53 | #19 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Lala Land
Posts: 583
|
|
22 February 2024, 19:55 | #20 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Lala Land
Posts: 583
|
Yeah, I think a lot of people rediscovered it at one point. I think it is a case in point of a beautiful design/look not being able to be realised into a good game and just being sold as a budget title with a minimal "run and gun" game.
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
Thread Tools | |
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
iGame screenshots on low res/colour displays | Bloodwych | support.Apps | 9 | 03 February 2022 20:14 |
80's Top Games - OVER 2000 Retro games playable in your Browser! | Neil79 | Retrogaming General Discussion | 8 | 18 April 2013 02:11 |
games better if coded like in the 80's 90's ? | turrican3 | Nostalgia & memories | 43 | 01 September 2010 15:16 |
Your favourite 'non-Amiga' machine of the 80's and 90's : Round 2! | P-J | Retrogaming General Discussion | 86 | 14 December 2007 20:18 |
Your favourite 'non-Amiga' mainstream machine of the 80's and 90's : Round 1! | P-J | Retrogaming General Discussion | 102 | 06 September 2007 17:35 |
|
|