Why do people buy low-res pixel art adventure games?

[Click'd]

I want to apologise in advance if some of you are sick of this topic, feel offended (before reading past the subject line), or if it was discussed to death already. Also, I know AGS isn't inherently low-res, there are games like The Cat Lady among others. Here we go.

Why do people buy low-res pixel art adventure games? Is it

A)nostalgia?
B)because the games are just good, no matter your opinion on the graphics?
C)because there are simply not that many (good) adventures, leading to people buying everything they find?
D)something I didn't think of yet?
E)a combination of any of the above?

For me personally, it would be E). I played some of the classics in my childhood, on other people's computers. I like pixel art, but of course the gameplay is solid too, or I wouldn't bother.

Until somewhat recently, I only played adventure games I got by chance, like on a magazine DVD. Yes, these still exist.
A couple of years back I came across the Blackwell bundle on GOG (on a heavy discount, of course) and since then I've played a lot of adventures, high and low resolution alike. I bought the majority of Wadjet Eye's catalogue and a ton of others. Well, I wouldn't be here if I hated the stuff, would I?

[AnasAbdin]

I don't play low-res games because they are low-res.. I play games that are interesting to me. Games with good stories, fun gameplay, good graphics, music..

Low resolution games differ from artist to another. I think understanding how artists were working around the limitations of older machines adds a lot of value and appreciation to the games as well.

Your answer 'B' seems judgmental that low-res graphics are bad. IMO graphics resolution is not a beauty metric I've seen hi-res adventure games drawn by amateurs that I wouldn't bother downloading for free if it was up to graphics.

Edit: Check this video specially around 3:17
How "oldschool" graphics worked

[Click'd]

Sorry if B) came across as judgmental. I thought from the rest of my post you could see that I rather like it, in fact.

[AnasAbdin]

No need to apologize I know what you meant. I said the B answer sounds judgmental, which is fine for a poll. I know that you are into old adventure games because you're in the forums (look who's being judgmental now )

[Dave Gilbert]

Why people buy or like certain things is subjective. But I can tell you why we used low res for the first decade of Wadjet Eye's existence. Mainly, it's cheaper and quicker to make. Time and money are in very short supply when it comes to indie projects, so it's no surprise that indie shops like mine choose low-res.

That said, it's very important to choose your subject matter wisely. Choose a style that is enhanced by low-res visuals, instead of being harmed by it. Low-res can add a lovely gritty texture to a world. Dystopian futures like Gemini Rue or Primordia worked really well in low-res. As did gritty urban stories like Blackwell or Technobabylon. The sunny art-deco world of Golden Wake's 1920s Miami was... probably not helped by the low-res pixel art. Still. Live and learn!

[Snarky]

The sunny art-deco world of Golden Wake's 1920s Miami was... probably not helped by the low-res pixel art. Still. Live and learn!

You heard it here first, folks! Wadjet Eye is doing a high-res remake of A Golden Wake!

[cat]

I see pixel art as just one option out of many. It's a choice of style, for whatever reason. It's a bit like walking in a museum and asking "Why do you look at charcoal drawings when you can also look at oil paintings?"

[Snarky]

Why do people buy adventure games at all, when they COULD buy triple-A action games?

[Click'd]

Why do people buy adventure games at all, when they COULD buy triple-A action games?

I really tried to not make it sound like that when I created this thread.

Again, I'm not attacking pixels here, or anyone's design choices or tastes.

You heard it here first, folks! Wadjet Eye is doing a high-res remake of A Golden Wake!

Glorious 640x400!

[Grundislav]

The sunny art-deco world of Golden Wake's 1920s Miami was... probably not helped by the low-res pixel art. Still. Live and learn!

You heard it here first, folks! Wadjet Eye is doing a high-res remake of A Golden Wake!

I think the fact that my art skills weren't up to scratch is more to blame than anything else. A skilled artist would have made a sunny art-deco world look fantastic. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready to take on that challenge at the time. But, live and learn is right!

[Stupot]

The sunny art-deco world of Golden Wake's 1920s Miami was... probably not helped by the low-res pixel art. Still. Live and learn!

You heard it here first, folks! Wadjet Eye is doing a high-res remake of A Golden Wake!

I think the fact that my art skills weren't up to scratch is more to blame than anything else. A skilled artist would have made a sunny art-deco world look fantastic. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready to take on that challenge at the time. But, live and learn is right!

I think you should give yourself more credit. I thought AGW's art was fine (fine art, so to speak). It would have been interesting to see how the game might have looked in hi-res, but then you could say that about any lo-res project. That said, the stuff you're producing now is phenomenal, so keep living and learning and showing us the fruit. :-)

[[delete}]

I hope you are satisfied with the responses you got so far, ClickClickClick. Appreciated that you apologize in all your three posts. Welcome to the forums!

[dactylopus]

I am curious to know why you want to know.  There are many reasons people create it, and many reasons that people like it.  What would you do with the response?  Is it merely out of curiosity that you ask?

[Click'd]

Appreciated that you apologize in all your three posts. Welcome to the forums!

Thanks and, uh, sorry!

What would you do with the response?  Is it merely out of curiosity that you ask?

I'll sell it to the highest bidder. Nah, curiosity it is, nothing else.

[Danvzare]

When it comes down to adventure games, the fact that it's pixel art isn't what attracts me to one.
I mean, I do like pixel art. I find it to be a very beautiful artistic style when done correctly. But that's just it, for me it's just an artistic style. And when it comes down to adventure games, the story is much more important than the artistic style.

So long as it looks nice, and compliments the game, I don't really care what it looks like. As a matter of fact, for adventure games in particular , I think I slightly prefer hi-res. And that's with my nostalgic love for pixel art.

[Blondbraid]

While there certainly is good pixel-art out there, I do think much of it tends to look same-ish,
compared to the variation of styles found in higher resolutions. And while some pixel-art look nice,
games like The Journey of Iesir and the whispered world look epic and simply breathtaking, so I tend to prefer higher resolutions.

A problem I have with low resolutions is that I find such fonts incredibly difficult to read,
wich is an especially big problem with games that are text-only.

[Click'd]

A problem I have with low resolutions is that I find such fonts incredibly difficult to read,
wich is an especially big problem with games that are text-only.

Any opinions on The Last Door? They even put in a special dyslexia friendly (I think) font.