Would you play...

grvmpybear

If a sandbox MMO were to be released that met or surpassed your gameplay standards, but was implemented in an 8 or 16 bit graphical style, would you play it?

EDIT: It seems a lot of people are confused by what I'm referring to with the terms "sandbox" and "8 or 16 bit graphics." I won't bother defining sandbox, as there are plenty of threads here that already have that debate covered. However, I will clerify my definition of the graphics.

The world would be viewed isometrically.

Here are a few links for reference:

What is 8 bit? 

What is 16 bit?

What is pixel art?

Here are some examples of fantastic pixel art:

Graveyard Scene

Dark Monolith

Forest

"The Pixel of Oz"

Alcofribas

Demon

Candy Company

 

ClaudeSuamOram

Shows you the mindset of this day and ages gaming community when the majority of people wouldn't play such a game based on graphics. Game Mechanics > Graphics 24/7 365days.

 

Of course though...today's gamers are spoiled by the ability of the graphics now compared to those of us who came up with video gaming from it's birth. Still have an occasionally play my 2-bit Atari 2600 after all.

Aeolyn

Some examples to refresh everyone's memories:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqJ5x8ePPpI 8 bit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l06rRIeCTws 16 bit

Personally, I like sprites as long as they're clear and the screen doesn't get filled with the old BAM! POW! SMASH! for animations. One of my faves was http://www.gamespot.com/lunar-silver-star-story-complete/images/

Abuz0r

So many old games are fallbacks that we wish we could start new in.   I wish they'd offer new servers for some of these old games in their original forms.

koboldfodder

No.  Not a chance.  Never.  Never in a million years.  I would read about it, and be interested but upon seeing the first screen shot I would never look back.

 

What is the point.  They spend all that money on MMOs trying to compete with over three hundred other MMOs that are either released or trying to be released.  Sorry.

 

Like there is some sort of trade off?  Oh, boy....you can have a great game but lousy graphics or you can have great graphics but a lousy game?

 

The fact that there is not a western, sandbox MMO is not a graphical problem.  That is not what is holding back thie dead genre.  It's developers not putting any real creative thought into their projects.  Take a look at Wildstar.  They are trying to sell that piece of garbage as a sandbox MMO....a great sandbox MMO, yet when pressed on what sandbox features they have you get "well, we have instanced housing and PVP battlegrounds....."

 

Yea, thought so.

 

Too many crap developers, too many crap games, and too many crap companies just trying to China their way into your pocket book by creating WOW Clone #237.....and then they try everything in their repetoire to try to tell you it's not WOW Clone #237, when clearly it is.

 

This genre needs to burst like the console gaming market burst in the early 80s.  There needs to be a giant sandpit in Mexico where all these crap MMOs need to be dumped, and then focus back on the real point of gaming.  To be creative and to have fun.

 

Don't tell me the way to the future is by going back to the past to lousy 8-bit graphics.  I am willing to bet their are already 8-bit games that do what OP wants them to do.

 

Give me a smart, intelligent design team willing to be creative AND progressive.  Is that too much to ask?

 

 

grvmpybear

Thanks for your feedback, koboldfodder. This decision is a style choice, not a lack of ability. I love this look, and I'm sure there are others who feel very similarly, even if it's a very niche market. Also, there is no game like what I have in mind currently on the marktet.

General_Dru-Zod

Originally posted by ClaudeSuamOram

Shows you the mindset of this day and ages gaming community when the majority of people wouldn't play such a game based on graphics. Game Mechanics > Graphics 24/7 365days.

 

Of course though...today's gamers are spoiled by the ability of the graphics now compared to those of us who came up with video gaming from it's birth. Still have an occasionally play my 2-bit Atari 2600 after all.

This is correct.

I grew up playing games with this style so I dont mind playing 8-16 bit if im having fun.

Oberholzer

I personally wouldn't, I do come from the age of Pong so I've seen graphics grow up through the years and while it's fun once in a while to revisit these old styles I don't see a reason why at this point we can't have it all. A great sandbox game with equally engaging graphics. I don't want to trade gameplay for better graphics, I want the whole package. I don't see anything wrong with that.

BitterClinger

I voted no as well. I came of age just as graphics were coming of age. When I bought my first computer, EGA monitors were about $600, plus the price of the graphics card. So I had to run a program called "simcga" on my monochrome monitor to play most games.

However, to boil it down to "graphics > gameplay" is a colossal over-simplification. I enjoy sandbox MMO games, and I would play my be-all, end-all game with just about any graphics. However, that game is not going to be a sandbox MMO.

grvmpybear

I appreciate your feedback, everyone.

BeansnBread

I pictured Minecraft with a 1000 to 2000 person server when I read your description. I love Minecraft, but is that what you intended me to picture?

 

Do you have any other details about what you mean by an 8-16 bit sandbox MMO?

Dibdabs

Originally posted by grvmpybear
If a sandbox MMO were to be released that met or surpassed your gameplay standards, but was implemented in an 8 or 16 bit graphical style, would you play it?

Nowhere near enough information in the question to even formulate a guess.

meadmoon

There is a game out -- not an MMO, but a co-op ARPG -- with this style. It's called Realm of the Mad God and is free to play. I'd suggest people try it to see if they can overlook the older graphics.

I enjoyed playing it. It's available on Steam and you can also play in your browser on their website.

Dibdabs

You see, the thing with old-fashioned/retro graphics is... they were fine in their day and, way back in the 80's and 90's, they were usually the best graphics the home computers at the time could handle.  Cue the year 2013 and with a quad-core PC using twin SLI graphics cards and 16gig of RAM I see no need or excuse to be running a game with graphics that are 15 to 20+ years out of date.  I want to see the graphics my machine is designed to handle.  I could go back to playing Star Trek on a 10 x 10 grid using ASCII characters, or play an 8-bit track racing game with 6-colour sprites, I suppose, but why the hell would I even want to?

Not everything that is "retro" is cool.  I know - I was there the first time around.

grvmpybear

@cooldog04
Think more like oldschool Zelda.
@dibdabs
This is a hypothetical question. Just assume the game plays like and has the systems of your dream sandbox mmo, but was 8 or 16 bit.
@topographic
While Mad God may be fun, it is graphically much simpler than what this project would be. Think more along the lines of Secret of Mana.

grvmpybear

@dibdabs
I respect your opinion, but just because you don't think itt's "cool" doesn't mean others don't enjoy it. Pixeling is an artform, and can be much more detailed than you'd think.
Example: http://www.pixeljoint.com/files/icons/full/factory05.gif

This is not a lack of ability, rather a stylistic decision. I understand if it's not your thing, but pixeling isn't "outdated." Pixel art and 3d rendering are completely different beasts.

meadmoon

Originally posted by grvmpybear

@topographic
While Mad God may be fun, it is graphically much simpler than what this project would be. Think more along the lines of Secret of Mana.

Secret of Mana. My favorite console game of all time. I downloaded it onto my kids' Wii and I still play it from time to time. 

jimdandy26

No one can say that graphics do not matter. However there is a matter of aesthetic. For example I cannot stand Minecraft, yet I can (and do) play FTL for hours. After I outgrew Coh "back in the day" I purchased Everquest searching for a raid game, I got to all of level 10 before being so put off with the graphics I went out and bought Wow.

grvmpybear

@topographic
Awesome! Well then you know exactly what I'm shooting for.

grvmpybear

@Jimdandy26
Yes sir, graphics and aesthetics are not one in the same. Not many people realize this.

meadmoon

Originally posted by grvmpybear
@topographic
Awesome! Well then you know exactly what I'm shooting for.

Sounds interesting.

Make sure there are boomerangs in the game. ;-)

grvmpybear

Any more feedback?

Reklaw

Originally posted by General_Dru-Zod

Originally posted by ClaudeSuamOram

Shows you the mindset of this day and ages gaming community when the majority of people wouldn't play such a game based on graphics. Game Mechanics > Graphics 24/7 365days.

 

Of course though...today's gamers are spoiled by the ability of the graphics now compared to those of us who came up with video gaming from it's birth. Still have an occasionally play my 2-bit Atari 2600 after all.

This is correct.

I grew up playing games with this style so I dont mind playing 8-16 bit if im having fun.

I grew up with it aswell, but sorry, no, just no, if that sandbox game OP mentioned has everything I want from my sandbox MMORPG experiance I sure want it with up to date graphics.

Does that make me a spoiled gamer, perhaps it does....but I do believe there is a pretty big market for something OP suggest

 

grvmpybear

Originally posted by Reklaw

Originally posted by General_Dru-Zod

Originally posted by ClaudeSuamOram

Shows you the mindset of this day and ages gaming community when the majority of people wouldn't play such a game based on graphics. Game Mechanics > Graphics 24/7 365days.

 

Of course though...today's gamers are spoiled by the ability of the graphics now compared to those of us who came up with video gaming from it's birth. Still have an occasionally play my 2-bit Atari 2600 after all.

This is correct.

I grew up playing games with this style so I dont mind playing 8-16 bit if im having fun.

I grew up with it aswell, but sorry, no, just no, if that sandbox game OP mentioned has everything I want from my sandbox MMORPG experiance I sure want it with up to date graphics.

Does that make me a spoiled gamer, perhaps it does....but I do believe there is a pretty big market for something OP suggest

 

Thanks for your feedback. I sincerely appreciate it.

DalekThay

A 16 bit graphical style wouldn't bother me. In fact, it could be considered a plus if implemented properly. Many older sprite-based games, as well as some new ones, still look fantastic. Plus unless the programmers are complete and utter screw ups, they're guaranteed to run smoothly on any PC or console sold today.

For example, look at this: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/grimoire-forever/

Old school graphics (and gameplay), but the sprite work is absolutely beautiful, IMO. The aesthetic easily rivals that of most modern RPGs. In fact, I think everyone should go support that project right now :P

Also, check out Hotline Miami. Great looking game, old school graphics.

In the end, what it boils down to is quality of the aesthetic. Any graphical style, whether a GPU-melting 3D game with all the bells & whistles, or an 8-bit game that can run on a graphing calculator, is going to look like crap if the devs don't put some actual love & care into it.

Example of an older game that still looks great: Super Castlevania IV. Still the best looking game in the series IMO. Though honestly all the 2D Castlevanias (mostly Metroidvanias) to this day look pretty damn good.

grvmpybear

Originally posted by DalekThay

A 16 bit graphical style wouldn't bother me. In fact, it could be considered a plus if implemented properly. Many older sprite-based games, as well as some new ones, still look fantastic. Plus unless the programmers are complete and utter screw ups, they're guaranteed to run smoothly on any PC or console sold today.

For example, look at this: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/grimoire-forever/

Old school graphics (and gameplay), but the sprite work is absolutely beautiful, IMO. The aesthetic easily rivals that of most modern RPGs. In fact, I think everyone should go support that project right now :P

Also, check out Hotline Miami. Great looking game, old school graphics.

In the end, what it boils down to is quality of the aesthetic. Any graphical style, whether a GPU-melting 3D game with all the bells & whistles, or an 8-bit game that can run on a graphing calculator, is going to look like crap if the devs don't put some actual love & care into it.

Example of an older game that still looks great: Super Castlevania IV. Still the best looking game in the series IMO. Though honestly all the 2D Castlevanias (mostly Metroidvanias) to this day look pretty damn good.

Thanks for that link! I'll definitely be watching that. Also, thanks for your input.