Before the circle was invented there was a square and then a bunch of squares forming a shape. We call these squares pixels and they gave a visual flair to the games at their inception. Today polygons are reigning kings in the visual department but lately, pixels have been making a comeback, especially with the boom of the indie scene.

INDIE PIXELS
Being an indie developer with limited resources requires some compromises. We all have a grand idea in our heads but we have to be careful to not chew off too much, so when indie games are being concerned the graphics are first ones to take a hit. This is, more often than not, a good thing since those limitations will make developers think in new and creative ways. Even in Atari’s time developers dreamed big but were constrained by technical limitations, so creativity was their main weapon.

That is not to say that indie games can’t have polygonal 3D games but it takes more time and resources.

Another major factor that makes developers go the pixel route could be nostalgia.
Developers today have grown up with pixelated games and it only makes sense to be inspired by them and trying to reinvent it and push it to the limit.

Working with pixels today is a wonderful challenge. Any good artist can draw a human character but can they reduce it to pixels and still make it recognizable?
It is the same principle as in minimalist art which is a lot harder than some would assume but it allows for a lot of information without showing much.

NEVER GETS OLD
Good pixel art is like a fine wine, it gets better with age.

You might have noticed quite a few re-releases of video games from the late 80s - early 90s that made no changes to their pixelated graphics, like Mega Man Legacy collections. The reason for that is there really is no need to make any visual changes, they looked great back then and look great today. Just take Mega Man 6 for example. You can’t really say if it was released 30 years ago or if somebody made it today but opted for a pixelated style.

Pixels are evergreen which can’t be really said for polygons, and you have to look no further than PS2 which was a revolutionary system but compared to today’s standards the PS2 games are really hard to look at. Luckily we are getting remasters and remakes of polygonal classics on a regular basis.

CHEF'S RECOMMENDATIONS
Like with everything there are good and bad examples. A bunch of games tries to present themselves as retro even though they are just comprised of simplified and bad looking sprites. To make a good pixel art game it takes a lot of thought and knowledge of the craft, so why don’t we touch upon some of the good examples.

Shovel Knight - While Shovel Knight took NES hardware limitations as the starting point it wasn’t bound to it but expanded upon it. Sprites are more animated, stages are lush and vibrant, but it never steps too far into “modern”, making it perfectly balanced in the graphics department.

Celeste - Here is a game that mixes pixels (characters and stages), polygons (level select) and digital drawings (cutscenes) and making it work wonderfully. The high level of detail and the playfulness of the main character’s sprites makes you forget that you are playing a game comprised of pixels.

The Messenger - When 8-bit and 16-bit graphics mash together you get Messenger, a brilliant throwback to Ninja Gaiden series that uses the change of graphics as a major point of the story.

Streets of Red - A game that goes retro for all the right reasons. The whole theme of the game is inspired by horror slashers of the 90s and the pixel style fits perfectly with that theme

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap - We are cheating here a bit. Wonder Boy is a remaster of 1989. original, swapping pixels for gorgeous looking hand-drawn graphics, but with a push of a button the game changes it’s visuals to the original release. It is a great way to compare the modern and retro approach to graphics.

While we concentrated on visuals here, all the games mentioned above have great gameplay to go with the visuals so be sure to give them a try.