• 8-bit Indie side-scroller games.
    24 replies, posted
Hello bros! I recently was recommended an Indie game called "Lone Survivor" - an 8-bit psychological horror side scrolling game by Jasper Byrne. Link here: [url]http://www.lonesurvivor.co.uk/[/url] Anyways, I played it, completed it, loved it and completed it again but I find myself wanting more. Problem is I've been looking around trying to find games of this type and caliber and have so far been unsuccessful so I came here to start a thread. Any ideas where such games could be found - where I should look? Or even any suggestions of games like this available to play or under construction? Thanks bros
Cave Story.
[URL="http://homehorror.com/"]Home[/URL] is kinda similar. Sorta. [editline]2nd November 2012[/editline] also wrong section etc. etc.
Super Mario Bros. is pretty legit in my opinion
Bit.Trip Runner, if you're a chromophobe.
And again nobody knows what 8-bit means.
[QUOTE=Skidd;38313957]And again nobody knows what 8-bit means.[/QUOTE] it means the squares are big (the pickles). Right?
95% of all indie games ever created.
There are a multitude of flash platformers out there that handle this really well. Such as [URL="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/539211"]Loved[/URL], or [URL="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/511754"]TimeFcuk[/URL], [URL="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/555181"]One Chance[/URL] and [URL="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/544332"]Tower Of Heaven[/URL]. Also this should really be in Games Discussion.
[QUOTE=fenwick;38314002]it means the squares are big (the pickles). Right?[/QUOTE] 8-bit is a certain type of processor [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] a really old processor [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] pre-2000s [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-bit[/url] [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] nothing that really has to do with graphics
They Bleed Pixels and Dustforce are amazing indie platformers.
[QUOTE=cdr248;38314086]8-bit is a certain type of processor [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] a really old processor [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] pre-2000s [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-bit[/URL] [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] nothing that really has to do with graphics[/QUOTE] Uhhh, that's not really true. There are things you just [I]couldn't [/I]do on an 8bit architecture due to for example limits in memory. Individual sprites were usually limited to handful of colors, and the resolution of the whole scene is also limited. [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] That's why, for example, Cave Story is barely 8-bit-esque. Don't get me wrong, the game is absolutely sweet and one of my most favorite games ever, but you couldn't recreate it (not just port, not even recreate by completely re-doing it) on any historic 8 bit platform.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;38314152]Uhhh, that's not really true. There are things you just [I]couldn't [/I]do on an 8bit architecture due to for example limits in memory. Individual sprites were usually limited to handful of colors, and the resolution of the whole scene is also limited. [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] That's why, for example, Cave Story is barely 8-bit-esque. Don't get me wrong, the game is absolutely sweet and one of my most favorite games ever, but you couldn't recreate it (not just port, not even recreate by completely re-doing it) on any 8 bit platform.[/QUOTE] Yeah, 8-Bit refers to the processor the console or machine had. The NES had an 8-Bit processor so it could only do 256 colours and could only process so much. This is something most, if not all, "Retro Indie Games" seem to not understand. 8-Bit doesn't mean blocky and ugly it means limited pallet and processing power.
And people keep assuming pixel art as 8-bit. Does anyone else care about the Master System's graphics and how close to the Genesis they resemble when done right?
[QUOTE=cdr248;38314086]8-bit is a certain type of processor [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] a really old processor [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] pre-2000s [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-bit[/url] [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] nothing that really has to do with graphics[/QUOTE] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-bit_color[/url] [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Stonecycle;38314238]And people keep assuming pixel art as 8-bit. Does anyone else care about the Master System's graphics and how close to the Genesis they resemble when done right?[/QUOTE] I think we all know what it means, we just ignore the fact that the OP isn't accurate and just post suggestions. Because. Y'know. [I]We don't want to go off-topic after all.[/I] [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Mamok Zalku;38314229]This is something most, if not all, "Retro Indie Games" seem to not understand. 8-Bit doesn't mean blocky and ugly it means limited pallet and processing power.[/QUOTE] Or they like the pixelly aesthetic but think it's pointless to keep to the 256 colour limit. Indie programers know what 8-bit means, dude.
Does it really matter that the term has evolved to mean antiquated graphics and sounds? No one is going to make a game with a limitation simply because they want it to be as close to 8-bit as possible.
[QUOTE=BlkDucky;38314244] Or they like the pixelly aesthetic but think it's pointless to keep to the 256 colour limit. Indie programers know what 8-bit means, dude.[/QUOTE] Of course they know what it means, its just hip and cool to make games with a faux retro style even though games of that era didn't look or play anything like that.
[QUOTE=reedbo;38314395]Does it really matter that the term has evolved to mean antiquated graphics and sounds? No one is going to make a game with a limitation simply because they want it to be as close to 8-bit as possible.[/QUOTE] Yeah but don't call it 8bit, call it retro or whatever. Or just call it a game and if questioned about the graphics, mention they are retro, or that in ways resemble old 8bit graphics. Using "8bit" as a wide term is something I personally rather dislike.
[QUOTE=Mamok Zalku;38314405]Of course they know what it means, its just hip and cool to make games with a faux retro style even though games of that era didn't look or play anything like that.[/QUOTE] So what? Why are you acting like this is a bad thing? Indie games very, very rarely say "yeah, this is 8-bit" or 16-bit or whatever. Occasionally they'll say "retro" which is vague enough as it is. "That era" is silly because they don't specify.
I love getting rated dumb. But this should have been in the games discussion thread, it was a mistake on my behalf and I apologise to all those poor facepunchers that have been hindered by this inconvenience - it must have really stinted your day to come into this section and find this thread! God forbid a thread of this kind be in the general discussion section! [IMG]http://www.jarheadsforjesusoorah.com/christ_crying.jpg[/IMG] On a serious note I tried cave story and it is actually quite good, once you get over having to use a patch to be able to understand wtf is going on. I just wish Lone Survivor was a longer game... I'll pay someone $500 if they make a lone survivor mod.
[QUOTE=BlkDucky;38314571]So what? Why are you acting like this is a bad thing? Indie games very, very rarely say "yeah, this is 8-bit" or 16-bit or whatever. Occasionally they'll say "retro" which is vague enough as it is. "That era" is silly because they don't specify.[/QUOTE] Because its a silly trend where indie games all look the same. Its a cop-out where a dev can just leave in simple sprites and pass it off as an art style. Retro games, whatever era they were from were not ugly and not simplified on purpose. They were simple by today's standards because it's all they could do, but even then games like Battletoads, Contra, Castlevania and Super Mario Brothers 3 were beautiful because they worked hard to use the technology to its full extent.
[QUOTE=Mamok Zalku;38314683]Because its a silly trend where indie games all look the same. Its a cop-out where a dev can just leave in simple sprites and pass it off as an art style. Retro games, whatever era they were from were not ugly and not simplified on purpose. They were simple by today's standards because it's all they could do, but even then games like Battletoads, Contra, Castlevania and Super Mario Brothers 3 were beautiful [B]because they worked hard to use the technology to its full extent.[/B][/QUOTE] That's not true. They all have awesome and unique artstyles, which is way more important than the technology. I agree that some indie games use retro-styles to be cheap and easy about it, but it's silly to say they all look the same. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/HJsEv.gif[/IMG] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/oNdOA.gif[/IMG] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/PXpGW.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/sFgVW.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/n7k4B.png[/IMG]
I think retro style graphics are often used as a means of programmers having acceptable visuals in their game without having to hire an artist or something. However, sometimes that's not the case and they are genuinely used to make the game better. And you can usually tell the difference pretty quickly.
[QUOTE=reedbo;38314395]Does it really matter that the term has evolved to mean antiquated graphics and sounds? No one is going to make a game with a limitation simply because they want it to be as close to 8-bit as possible.[/QUOTE]The term should have some vague relation to its origin. You could not get graphics like that on any 8-bit machine. That game looks exactly like a 16-bit game (SNES, Genesis). So, if you call it "8-bit", what exactly are you referring to? Has it become a synonym for "not modern?"
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.