Last night playing bg3 with my brother, he had Gale like, DIE die in some lava instead of spatula-ing him off the floor in a panic before he's done death saving throws, and I'd never seen what happens before, because I protect my wizard.

Have to say bg3 is not just the game of the year but maybe one of the games of all time.

Your blog is making me want to replay Patho 2 again... I did play once on the intended difficulty, and then I replayed it afterwards on the easiest settings, doing everything and saving everyone and I'm ngl, that was some of the most fun I've ever had even though it wasn't quite in the spirit of the game haha

The so-called spirit of the game is this senior citizen wirh an overgrown 2000s anime boy haircut who shakes his cane at you sassily when you choose to only swallow a handful of razors as opposed to the razor muckbang the game offers.

I finished the game on the hardest difficulty

This was my first time playing the game ever. I straight up went to the intended difficulty, saved everyone, did everything, and never starved for a single day. I had 20+ Shmowders by the end. I was fully stocked on meat, I was fully stocked on homemade antibiotics and maxed the hospital shift each day.

All of that with only 3 Deaths

WHERE IS MY FUCKING CELEBRATION HUH? WHERE IS MY MEDAL? NO ONE THEW ME A PARTY, NO ONE INVITED BELLA HADID >:( MARK WASN'T IMPRESSED.

Fuck you Mark! ONE OF THOSE DEATHS WAS BULLSHIT YOU DUMB SLUT. YOU SPAWNED A GUY ON TOP OF ME WHILE I WAS PICKING UP HERBS, HOW THE FUCK DID HE ONE SHOT ME WITH FULL HEALTH HUH? YOU WHORE.

What I'm saying is. Look, we both finished the game on complete opposite extremes, yet we're both here. In a pathologic x reader blog on tumblr. We both had fun and shared a good understanding of the plot and characters. That's what matters. Everything else is just people patting themselves on the shoulder. You're the only one who will be impressed with the fact you beat the game flawlessly, and you're the only one who will be bothered by the fact you picked an easier difficulty

Because it's really not that different. To me, I have the kind of autism that makes games like pathologic smoother than water for me, I thrived on the ruthlessness of dark soul and did a no death run in darkest dungeon. But also. I absolutely suck at casual games, I can't play Stardew Valley unless I'm fully cheating, I can't for the life of me beat a single platforming game because I have a slow reaction speed.

Play Pathologic however you want! Ice-pick Joe isn't gonna pop from under your bed at 3am to beat you up with hammers. This is coming from the most tryhard difficulty elitism person there is in games.

Buttttt. I do recommend giving Pathologic classic HD a try. I promise anyone who beat Pathologic 2 on ANY difficultly will cuck tf out of the first game. There is no thirst! The vendors have unlimited money, and you can sell all of your trash to them! THE ECONOMY IS THRIVING I BOUGHT FOOD ON THE DAYS THE PRICES WERE SKYROCKETING BC I COULD AFFORD IT. I would've never financially recovered from buying food in P2 on any day that's not the first one. In P1, I rarely slept because I was deepthroating lemons and snorting coffee beans day and night since I could easily afford the health/hunger penalty.

Meanwhile, in P2, I'd save coffee beans to sell to get enough money to save up for army clothes.

The combat is so forgiving, the houses with good loot aren't the infected ones like in P2 but the burned ones! The AI in that game is so stupid you can trick plague clouds into disappearing if you stand still! You can glitch and jump over fences to take shortcuts through the town! YOU CAN SCAM THAT CUNT ANDREY STAMATIN FOR ENDLESS SHOTGUNS.

Lastly don't forget that 90% of the Pathologic fandom haven't even played any of the games at all. 70% probably never watched a single playthrough either and just video essays instead.

In the steam version of Pathologic 2, Only 10% of players who bought the game have ever reached the end.

10% !!! That's us there! Me and You! It doesn't matter how what matters is that we both did it while 90% of people gave up.

And the situation in the classic game is even more dire tbh-

Only 6% ever opened the game and made it through the first day. Only 3% ever made it to the last day.

So, really good on you for finishing the game! Good on me for finishing the game! WE DID IT! YAY! Someone really should give Bella Hadid a call.

Also, please do yourself a favour and ignore whatever the video essayist says about the difficulty of the games. They're good storytellers for building an interesting narrative to watch, but they're not good at videogames assessment. Each of their reasons is very personalised by their own experience and doesn't necessarily mean other people will struggle with the same issues. Don't listen to anyone who tells you picking an easy difficulty ruins the game either, Pathologic doesn't relay on its brutal gameplay to shine, it can more stand on its own as a narrative story walking game. If anything, it would probably shine better on easier difficulties when you have time to dig for context clues and plot without starvation breathing down your neck. I missed some flavour text quests because I was too stressed about balancing different objectives to do them or pay attention when something important was said.

What if one of the Villagers of Stardew Valley ate a Stardrop?

The Stardrop is able to increase the player's maximum energy, but what if one of the villagers were to receive the Stardrop instead? Perhaps it was a gift from the Farmer on the Feast of the Winter Star. Perchance it was found in the crater of a fallen star. Who knows?

Either way, the villagers of Pelican Town may not be as... equipped to handle the powers of the Stardrop as much as the Farmer is. I think that the effects could be quite disastrous. Just imagine, what if Vincent got his hands on one?

Upon scoffing it down, he's immediately charged with more energy than a bull on steroids, his limbs are twitching from the power surging through him and his brain is working overtime to keep up with his body. He's going to go fucking apeshit.

Jodi wakes up early one morning and he's just fucking climbing the walls like a demented Spiderman, hissing and screaming while holding on with his fingertips and toes. After hours of this little gremlin crawling over absolutely everything, he finally remembers how doors work and scurries out into the sunlight. Jodi, wrung out and exhausted, can't do anything about it. Finally, having a moment of silence, goes back to bed. Sam, oblivious to everything that had happened thanks to noise cancelling headphones, is inexplicably confused to find footprints on the ceiling when he walks out for breakfast.

Vincent meanwhile, is just becoming a menace to society. Later, Lewis recorded a total of 9 broken windows, 2 counts of breaking and entering, theft (does eating Evelyn's old photos count as theft?), 14 acts of vandalism and grand theft auto. He's unstoppable. Climbing from rooftop to rooftop like Santa on crack, for an entire day, the people of Pelican Town could do nothing but hide in fear while he destroyed and looted the town. The word 'booger' was scrawled on the outside of the Saloon in a suspicious liquid that looked a lot like blood. Alex's dog was spray painted pink. The toilet from the General Store was sitting in the fountain. But it was nothing compared to Joja Mart.

Joja Mart had become a warzone. Vincent had hit it, and he had hit it hard. Food was scattered everywhere. The shelves had been tipped over and thrown about. Chaos reigned supreme. Morris squatted in his little cubicle, trapped by hundreds of cans of Joja Cola. The poor employees had taken off, thankful for the break.

Eventually, however, something had to be done. Vincent had stolen Lewis's pickup and was tearing off down the potholed highway at a hundred miles an hour. It was only a matter of time before he decided the other cars were in his way and caused an incident so large it made headlines nationally. Jodi and Lewis turned to the only person who might be able to help them: the Farmer.

And so, at 11pm on a cold winter's evening, the Farmer teleported to the Calico Desert, stimmed up from a triple shot expresso and feeling nothing but simmering rage. This was their one day off for the entire freaking year and Vincent had decided that it was the perfect time to become a fallen god. Just their luck. In the distance, they could spot the headlights getting closer and closer at a scarily rapid pace. Vincent was barely awake at this point; whatever made the Stardrop so potent had token over his brain, dissolving his consciousness into a frenzied ball of childish ambition.

The Farmer pulled out a hammer of ungodly size, bristling with so much demonic energy it was literally humming with power, and in one swift motion, launched into the air, twisted their body around for maximum force and fucking pounded that shit into the bonnet of Lewis's pickup. The car went from 140 to 0 in an instant, throwing Vincent through the windshield. He was yeeted down the road like a meat-filled ragdoll, bouncing along, leaving bloody splotches every few metres. The Farmer threw them over one shoulder and hauling him like the wet sack of meat he is, teleported back to the Valley.

And so, that was how the Farmer found themselves in Rasmodius's basement at 1 in the morning, watching as an exorcism was performed on the little boy. There was lots of screaming, ritualistic chanting and levitation, but with some luck, plenty of caffeine and a little bit of divine intervention, Vincent was back to normal.

At the next Feast of the Winter Star, the Farmer got Vincent a sack of coal. Vincent asked the Farmer why, had he been bad that year? The Farmer proceeded to sock him in the head with the bag, sending him flying. It was quite reminiscent of his body flopping along the highway, and the Farmer found it quite therapeutic.

How Pixel Art Is Making Its Way Back Into Modern Gaming

Trends come and go like shifting tides. However, one such trend is making its way back into modern gaming, captivating an entire industry: pixel art. Once relegated to the annals of gaming history, pixel art is making a comeback, injecting fresh life into contemporary game design. Let's dive into the reasons behind this resurgence and highlight some notable examples of games embracing every bit of nostalgia.

Rediscovering the Charm of Pixels

Pixel art, characterized by its blocky, pixelated aesthetic, evokes a sense of nostalgia for gamers who grew up in the golden era of gaming, including myself. From the 8-bit wonders of the 1980s to the 16-bit masterpieces of the 1990s, pixel art was the visual language that fueled countless adventures. However, as technology advanced, the allure of high-definition graphics overshadowed the simplicity and charm of pixel art.

Yet, as I...ahem...the gaming community matured, so too did the need for nostalgia. Gamers and developers alike began to appreciate the unique appeal of pixel art. Its minimalist yet expressive style allows for near-infinite creativity while invoking a sense of nostalgia that resonates across generations. Moreover, pixel art’s accessibility has democratized game development, enabling indie developers to craft visually stunning experiences with limited resources.

The Rise of Pixel Art in Gaming

In recent years, pixel art has experienced a renaissance, permeating all genres and platforms. Games like "Stardew Valley" by ConcernedApe and "Celeste" by Matt Makes Games have captivated audiences worldwide with their breathtaking pixel art visuals. These titles showcase the versatility of pixel art, transcending its nostalgic roots to deliver immersive and emotionally resonant experiences.

"Hyper Light Drifter" by Heart Machine is another standout example, blending fluid animation and intricate pixel art to create a mesmerizing world filled with mystery and danger. Meanwhile, "Undertale" by Toby Fox subverts traditional RPG conventions with its quirky characters and heartfelt storytelling, all rendered in charming pixel art.

Pushing the Boundaries of Pixel Art

While pixel art pays homage to gaming's past, it also pushes the boundaries of what's possible in modern game design. With advancements in technology and artistic techniques, developers are leveraging pixel art to create visually stunning and mechanically innovative experiences.

Games like "Dead Cells" by Motion Twin seamlessly blend pixel art with dynamic lighting and fluid animation, resulting in a visually striking and responsive gameplay experience. Similarly, "Cuphead" by Studio MDHR marries hand-drawn animation with classic 1930s cartoon aesthetics, breathing new life into the platformer genre.

Combining the Power of Nostalgia with the Modern

Among the rising stars of pixel art gaming is "Sea of Stars" by Sabotage Studio. Set in a vibrant world brimming with magic and adventure, "Sea of Stars" combines stunning pixel art visuals with deep, turn-based combat mechanics. Inspired by classic RPGs of yesteryears, the game promises to transport players on an epic journey filled with wonder and peril.

Conclusion

In an industry constantly chasing the next big trend, pixel art stands as a testament to the enduring power of simplicity and nostalgia. Its resurgence in modern gaming speaks to the timeless appeal of expressive visuals and immersive storytelling. As developers continue to explore the creative possibilities of pixel art, one thing is clear: the pixel art revolution is here to stay, enriching the gaming landscape with its timeless charm and boundless creativity.

jade.. jade can I tell you about the silliest crossover ever?

y’know how stardew valley has magic and stuff? like, there’s the wizard, the junimos, the mines, mr qi, krobus, and all that obvious stuff. and then other things like oh they never age, oh the player is kinda like a cryptid compared to the npcs, etc.

well, that’s all very interesting stuff. so, here me out: fox mulder and dana scully going to investigate pelican town.

this is not fleshed out at all I just think scully being like “I don’t know, mulder. they seem like regular people who live in a small community.” meanwhile mulder has already disappeared into the mines or smth is just, like, a really funny concept to me.

ohh my goodness mulder would love pelican town. there is so much there that is undeniably magic but you generally have to seek it out yourself. i bet he would chase rumors of unusual or unexplainable happenings at the town hoping to find evidence of aliens, only to discover the supernatural. maybe it would barely even faze him. solar essence? he's seen that written in an x file somewhere..

scully at first would simply think of the off vibe or strange behavior from residents as something normal for a little secluded town. she would dismiss things like the wizard or the implication of monsters as obvious community myths that have been passed down. that is until they notice a player going in and out of the sewers a whole lot, that's a bit suspicious... so they give in to curiosity and investigate and surprise, friendly shadow guy named krobus :D! and he sells things? i think this would have to be another case of reluctant acceptance of the supernatural from scully, unless she comes up with a perfectly rational scientific explanation for why they might have hallucinated a shadow man in the sewer (using words i have to pause the episode to look up. lol)

Please bear with me while I have unrealistic fantasies about future life sim video games. I realize these dreams might be your worst nightmare. It’s okay. The post can’t hurt you because I am not King Video Games.

It is the future. The game being made by EA right now (2022) that many are suspecting is The Sims 5 isn’t The Sims 5. It’s The Sims Online 2/Project Olympus 2, but this time they know far more about making an online life sim. It’s basically the best marriage of a life sim and a social mmo you can imagine. Lots of Sims players will still hate it, but that’s okay. It wasn’t made to succeed the mainline Sims games. It’s a new project. A spin-off. And a good video game.

At the same time EA announce the biggest update/refresh to The Sims 4 yet. A massive update so large it will basically transform it into a new game. SO large they’ve actually made it opt in, and created functionally a second legacy version of the game. Now we’re playing The Sims 4.5. It’s still not open world, but commercial lots in the same neighborhood as your home have opened up. The Sims’ personalities and AIs have been entirely overhauled. Way more features in manage worlds. Revamped CAS. More ability to share and sort on the gallery. Fixes for all the existing DLC. And official assistive tools for making and sharing CC and mods. And they announce plans to keep releasing DLC for The Sims 4 for a while yet.

Meanwhile the new life sim from Paradox Tectonic has come out, and it’s a better Sims game than any version of The Sims could fathom. Incredible freedom and customizable individual experience, open world, complex and engaging with absurdly deep gameplay. The game is a smash hit among Sims fans, hardcore gamers, and complete newcomers to gaming. It’s astonishingly well done. It fulfills almost every wish and a bunch of others players didn’t even know they were wishing for.

And Paralives, rather than suffering from this massive success, gets a huge boon. The Tectonic game’s appeal has brought new interest to the genre as a whole, bringing Paralives FAR more patrons, much in the way Stardew Valley renewed interest in farming sims. The Tectonic game fulfilled so many of the infinite roles a life sim could play, but no single life sim could be everything everyone wants. The game left gaps, and an audience still unsatisfied. These gaps create a clearer roadmap for Paralives, helping them finish their game with more polish and a compelling perspective.

And thus concludes my ideal scenario. 😌

Allright. Elliott thread that nobody asked for. Part 4

The words you read seem to be some alien gibberish? Try these first:

Part 1   |    Part 2     |   Part 3      

Don’t worry guys. It will be over soon, I promise.

Bevore we start: This happened yesterday.

And I basically turned into that iCarly gif, where she’s on the Computer, sippin’ her drink and goes: interesting.

Because look who we have here. Our future husband acting all self-aware? Right after I assumed in my last post that he never talks about the possibility of his failure...

Elliott, do you know that I talk shit about you on Tumblr?

Please stop breaking the 4th wall...

To safe at least some of my ‘credibility’, he followed this up with something along the lines of:

“No, no...I am not fishing for compliments. Which does not mean I don't appreciate them ;) “.

Sure. Whatever.

In comparison to that:

A few in-game days previously, I had a cut-scene with Leah, where the player can suggest that she should organise an art show. And there, Leah openly communicated her fears of ppl not liking her art. I was surprised about how open she was, given that it was probably her 2nd heart event or something (?). It's interesting, how Leah (who I perceived to be more reserved than Elliott), was so willing to let us know about her insecurities. Meanwhile, Elliot seems to brush these thoughts aside rather quickly and returns to his nonchalant, graceful self.

I always thought that from the two of them, it might be Elliott who is more vocal about his emotions. But now, Elliott doesn't seem to wear his heart on his sleeves as much as I thought he would. Which changed the way I think about him quite a bit. Maybe he is more likely to hide behind platitudes and a self-assuring smile, after all.

And what can we take from this, when we would want to write, let’s say a scene with Leah/Elliott friendship dynamic?

What do you guys think?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyways, before I was so disgracefully exposed, I was roasting Elliott’s life choices. To which I now gladly return to.

You see, the "issue" I see with Elliott is, that he plays into a trope:

The brooding hermitic author, who turned his back onto society in favour of finding inspiration in nature.

While this might sound thrilling and "romantic", we know that Elliott is not the best candidate to conform to this lifestyle. Just compare, how we as the player, manage to form quite strong relationships with everyone in Pelikan Town just by talking to them regularly.

We see Elliott outside the beach-area quite often. But aside from Leah, he does not seem to interact with anyone much. I don't know if there are statements about Elliott made by other characters, to have some inkling on how they feel about him. But its quite remarkable, how all other friendships outside to his connection with Leah, are not explicitly known as canon (?).

After a whole year living in this town, previous to our arrival, I would suggest, that Elliott might still be very much an outsider. He even remarks how, with our arrival, it will be nice, to no longer be "the new guy" in town.

But the problem with that might have been Elliott's reservedness, to begin with. Polite, but yet, maybe, quite impersonal. All pleasantries and platitudes as mentioned above. It all plays into Elliott's refusal to experience the comforts of a normal lifestyle in favour of pursuing his art.

And I love how Elliott just brushes that aside as if its nothing. I'd really love to know: what would have been his plan b, if his debut failed?

Worst case cenario: What would he'd done, if he ended up stranded in Pelikan Town, penniless and unsuccessful?

Where would he go? Is there a place he can return to? A previous home, previous friends?

I don't think so.

But, dedicated, impuslive, sweet, dumb Elliott just thought to himself:

“I can do that. How bad can it be???, it will be fi~ne.It will be marvellous!

Authentic, truly!

It will be superb pictouresque and that is all I need to write my novel....”

Thanks Yoba. You’ll keep doing that please.

And then we also have interactions of the likes of:

“People have scaped a living off the sea for thousands of years....

I just go to the grocery store.”

A different thought I had on Elliott kind of plays into what I already said previously. But I will adress it as its own topic.

The downside of Elliott’s ego.

As much as we explored the rather whacky / chaotic elements of his character and how he does stupid shit for prestige itself, it is interesting to see what happens when the player challenges his self-dramatisation.

I keep re-thinking if and to what degree Elliott can laugh about himself.

He is not one for self-deprecating humour, I think.

I can imagine that to be more Shane’s thing.

We see different scenarios, in which Elliott reacts differently to things not going his way. One of the positives is the whole “A tiny crab made a home inside his coat pocket”- story. I have seen two interpretations of this scene. And both are dependent on the tone, in which you read his dialogue. One group thinks he is just complaining yet again.

On the other hand, you could read it more like:

“My, look what we have here. Can you believe that [y/name]?!“.

I think that Elliott does not appear to be angry or annoyed at all in that scenario, too. He could have vented to the player, how he needs a new coat, now.  But he simply leaves it at that. And you know what?

But, there are other times, where Elliott reacts negatively to the player not doing what he wants you to do. Meaning:  your reaction to him or your behaviour in a specific situation. Let's look at his 2nd (?) heart event at the Stardrop Saloon. He comes up to the bar, finds himself in the mood for company, and orders wine for you and ale for himself. 

New Headcanon:

That little crab still lives there! It will probably live there long after you two get married. And he will feed it scraps from the dinner table even though you ask him not to.

Whatever...Sounds Cute. 

My first reaction to that was: “aw, wHaT a GeNtLemAn!!!”. My second reaction was my inner feminist having a temper tantrum because: “how dare a man, to assume what I want to drink!” 

New Headcanon on Elliott and gender roles, anyone? Or is it given, that with him being a good old fashioned lover boy, his expectation on any relationship dynamic might be more traditional?

As much as I find Elliott charming and all, this could be a great red flag and, again, beautiful material for character-conflict. Maybe Elliott needs to learn to not take everything at face value. Maybe he needs to learn, how to take a joke. Especially those made at his expense.

However, when the question arises, what the two of you should drink on, he will not laugh if you say “your doom”.

This is not something he sees as sarcasm or as a joke. In fact, you lose 50 friendship points! Like holy shit. That in itself is not much, but its a game-penalty. He is actively reacting negatively toward you. This is one of the few times, where your decision actively has an impact on the friendship-metre. Of course, that statement could be delivered in a non-joking matter. Which then justifies his reaction.... sure.

But even the fact that Elliott chooses, to not downplay or gloss-over your comment, leaves me with the following interpretation:

He hoped for a charming, flirtatious interaction. All you had to do, was to play along. But you ruined it.

Just imagine a situation with a little bit of miss-communication and a version of Elliott that is a little too proud for his own good and *chef's kiss* we have drama.

Me to Elliott and Farmer-OC: fight! fight! fight! fight! :D

All of you reading right now:

omg can't you just chill??? We are here for the fluff :(((

Also: depending on how it's written, that could be one of Elliott's major character flaws. The one that is not cute at all!

__________________________

I wanted to take some jabs at Elliott's likes and dislikes. But as it turned out: Yes, you can turn Duck feathers into quills. I had this funny headcanon that Elliott wanted to be extra special by choosing duck feathers as his preferred writing instrument. And I was all like: “use a pen!!”.

But then I found out about the Unobtainable Weapons-List and Elliott’s pen is one of them. Okay, whatever. 

And then I asked google how to make quills. And while duck feathers are not the preferred or most popular option, there is also nothing that would speak against it, as long as the feather’s shaft is durable enough. So that theory has flown out of the window pretty quickly as well.

The only thing that comes to my mind instead is, how Elliott would still need a digital manuscript for publishing. But me screaming: “Where is your Laptop Elliott??? You need a computer! Its the 21 century!!!” is not half that funny anymore.

I guess I’ll end it here.

I hope you enjoyed this completely useless stream of consciousness.

I will now continue playing Stardew Valley and indulge in all my other quarantine-born obsessions.

I wish you a wonderful day and happy farming.

The last 10 years of pixel art

Retronator the blog is exactly 10 years old right now (+ an hour or so more since I can’t seem to stop editing this post)!

I want to take this opportunity to look back at the teenage years of the 21st century and reflect on how the pixel art scene has grown over the years. I only promise a personal perspective, pieced together from my faulty memory and a bit more reliable archive of 1,700 posts on this blog.

2010

Social media sites emerged already in the late 2000s (Facebook launched in 2004, Twitter in 2006, Tumblr in 2007), but it took quite some time before they caught on, especially outside the US. I joined Tumblr in July 2010 and there were relatively few pixel artists active on the site. @jinndevil​ and @unomoralez​ go the farthest of those that I followed. The first post I reblogged was a Back to the Future piece from @megapont​ (via some blogpost share, since Megapont duo didn't join till 2013).

What was huge on the network however was sharing retro-gaming artworks by blogs like @it8bit​ and @gameandgraphics​. This included many pixel art pieces and it helped grow a community of fans that adored both old games and pixels.

2011

I'd put 2011 down as the start of the hi-bit era of pixel art games, championed by the release of the iconic adventure game Sword & Sworcery. Pixel purism of the initial pixel art movement was left behind by mixing pixels with high-res special effects like soft shadows and vignetting. Also, spaghetti legs started their fad period.

Artists such as @probertson​, @drewpixel​, and @merrigo​ started their days on Tumblr, gathering huge audiences over the years. Meanwhile, Retronator grew to a whooping 100 followers by the end of the year.

2012

Tumblr's fan spirits were going stronger and stronger, to which I threw my own logs on the fire by releasing Tribute, my biggest and most popular piece of fan art I created so far.

The highly anticipated FEZ got released (to critical acclaim and other more controversial consequences), further bringing pixel art in front of the mainstream gaming audience.

From newly-followed artists, @johanvinet​ was damn inspiring with his smooth animations. Anything GIF did immensely good on the Tumblr dashboard.

2013

This was THE year for Tumblr. So many new artists joined, it was hard to keep track. Anyone from established names like Mojang's art director @jnkboy​ and @konjakonjak​ of Noitu Love 2 fame (later Iconoclasts) to pixel art beginners such as @waneella​, now one of the most well-known illustrators in the scene.

The push for modern art direction with pixel art games wasn't stopping either. Not that amazing, more traditionally styled titles (with fresh color palettes) weren't present, as Chasm's debut on Kickstarter showed, but it was Hyper Light Drifter that really stole everyone's heart (machine) on the same crowdfunding platform. Gradients and smooth dynamic shading became unapologetically part of the pixel art (gaming) vocabulary from then on.

When Papers, Please got released at the end of the year to universal appraisal, a new example was set for showing that pixel visuals don't necessarily need to be the most polished, technically-impressive pieces of artistic expression, they can also be simple—the majority of detail-filling can be offloaded to the player's imagination.

2014

Pixel purist ideology was a highly debated topic. Dan Fessler, the background artist on Chasm, did a strong push against the tighter set of constraints which said you should only use 'clean' tools such as the pencil and color fill to complete your artworks. Dan instead only cared about clean results, pioneering in the process the technique of HD Index Painting that used the depths of Photoshop layer magic to get otherwise identical results. And there were plenty of others right around the corner that wouldn't even care about keeping the results married to traditional pixel art ideals.

Still, the majority of pixel art at this point was very orthodox. I started the Artist Feature series that showcased my favorite artists and none of them did anything controversial (nor they needed to). The biggest break from the old days was mainly highly increased color counts that allowed for subtle transitions without dithering, and free color picking without creating predefined color palettes. Octavi Navarro started his highly iconic @pixelshuh​ scenes, and the completely unknown @8pxl​ started her journey towards experimentation with pink sky gradients.

Even more importantly, Pixel Dailies were born on Twitter, following Ben Porter's 365 days of doing pixel art daily.

2015

I called 2015 The Year of Pixel Dailies in the end-of-the-year article in my newly started Retronator Magazine. The Twitter community really exploded this year, bringing in many new artists to the medium, with Pixel Dailies serving as a platform to raise visibility to everyone, old and new. I found out about @weilarddrake​ and @orange-magik​ this way, Slynyrd, @iceztiqarts​, @igorsandman​ … Other freshly-discovered people on tumblr were @kirokazepixel​ (one of the most prolific artists on the scene), @faxdoc​ (his learning journey was inspiring enough for its own article), and Talecrafter with @deathtrashgame​ (starting a whole new style of aliased, low-res painting without caring about individual pixels).

The discussion whether pixel art could survive past its nostalgic roots was still in the air, stirred by opinions such as A Pixel Artist Renounces Pixel Art. History is proving them wrong however, with pixel art stronger than ever in 2020. It's not a visual language people born after the 80s couldn't understand.

New-school voxel art pieces started trending with the advent of Magicavoxel, pioneering the development of pixel art's sibling in 3D. The first pixel art convention Pixel Art Park was held in Tokyo. And (important for me personally), I came up with Pixel Art Academy, an adventure game that would take my ambitions in pixel art education into the future.

2016

After 9 years in development, Owlboy released! Also Hyper Light Drifter! And Stardew Valley! And Kingdom! Pixel art games were not dying, they were on the rise.

Edge (the popular British video game magazine) published a special 200+ page issue called Art of the Pixel. It featured contemporary artists outside the gaming context, championing the aesthetic's transition from its video game roots into its own art form.

Pedro Medeiros of @studiominiboss​ started his famous series of GIF tutorials, subsequently encouraging many others to share their knowledge in the popular square format. Tumblr still saw new artists joining the platform, such as @motocross-arts​ and @apolism​ (two thirds of the Japanese trio The Ultimate Pixel Crew), while others like @6vcr​ started their first pixel explorations that year. @brunopixels​, an old-schooler on the platform like me, sparked the Octobit movement, a pixel art alternative to Inktober.

2017

Further new names on Tumblr included @guttykreum​ (outdoorsy perspective pieces) and @scrixels​ (one of the most consistent daily posters with over 1,000 artworks by now).

The annual Shibuya Pixel Art Contest joined Pixel Art Park at promoting the art form in Tokyo, Japan (and worldwide really). Lospec became the new go-to resource site for pixel art, picking up the mantle from PixelJoint and Pixelation that—while still active—stagnated technologically and feature-wise.

More than anything, pixel art games were everywhere. Maybe it only seemed to me this way since I was able to go to the Game Developer's Conference as press and had the chance to interview many many people in the scene, leading to over half a year of daily content on this blog. Indie games felt stronger than ever with so many of us full-on realizing our dreams of creating our own games professionally. The one that left the biggest splash on the scenes was no doubt The Last Night, announced front and center in-between AAA titles during Microsoft's E3 conference. The brothers Soret pushed the art direction even beyond the hi-bit era moniker, fusing 3D, shaders, and modern cinematography with pixels in an iconic combination that, like Sword & Sworcery's spaghetti legs, was so atmospheric that it couldn't be resisted by future imitators.

2018

Another game that pushed technological boundaries was Pathway, finally stepping into full light in 2018 and releasing one year later. I still think it has the most advanced pixel art graphics engine to date, using voxels and other tricks under the hood to deliver a completely dynamically lit environment while retaining the pixel-perfect 3/4 view aesthetic. Pixel art games were firmly part of mainstream gaming by now, with Celeste winning many awards alongisde pixelish Return of the Obra Dinn, further cementing the presence of pixels as an ever-evolving medium capable of expressing very different art styles.

I decided to focus solely on developing Pixel Art Academy in 2018, putting this blog on relative hiatus with very sporadic updates towards the end of the year. But I never let it die. I thoroughly enjoy writing about the scene and my interest in the art form only grows with time.

2019–2020

Ironically, the closer the years are to the present, the less I remember what things stood out most. Maybe it's because my brain hasn't had the chance to automatically prune my memories yet from the overload of information that is the interwebs these days. Pixel art seems so out there, so much of my everyday life, encompassing me on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, DeviantArt … Even on TikTok you see kids zooming out of their freshly pixelized Minecraft photographs they call pixel art. The medium is alive, and more than ever.

As for the Retronator blog, from its zero followers exactly 10 years ago, it grew to 100 after a year and a half, 1000 the year after, 10k when it was 5 years old, and 30k just last month. Tumblr is still the platform where most of you follow my pixel art reports and I don't intend to stop anytime soon.

Here's to the next decade! Thank you all for reading. <3

okay but: mighty nein and video games

BEAU and FJORD: love playing pvp and team shooters, but beau is also secretly really into like, indie puzzlers? like heaven’s vault? sci-fi linguistics puzzle game? she’s just like “whatever the main chick is gay i gotta represent” but no she loves it. meanwhile fjord likes games he can kind of zone out to and play, city managers, rts, gotta have some action or he gets bored. beau is definitely also the soulslike player of the bunch, and fjord really enjoys a good action rpg

JESTER plays games entirely based on their graphics, but really likes open world games where you can just, murder all the npcs in one run and then be a cool hero in another run. photo mode is a plus!! she is the most likely to download all the mods. is also the sims player of the group. likes sandboxes! wants the freedom to be creative and do what she wants.

CALEB 4x all day every day. gets annoyed when game systems are not as complex as he overthinks them to be; similarly likes puzzle games and so on. doesn’t like shooters because he tends towards overkills and has bad reflexes. tries to bond with veth over stealth games, but veth doesn’t really like stealth games much.

VETH exciting action games!!! plays the hitman series a lot because everyone expects  that she loves the hitman series and feels like she needs to prove she is the best at stealth murders, which she is because she plays it so much, but it’s mostly so that she doesn’t lose to beau and caleb’s scores. similarly competes with beau over various soulslikes, but doesn’t have the patience for all that dodging. does like lowkey simulation games like stardew valley, though. a lot.

YASHA: loves stardew valley. loves it. wants to play games to unwind and relax, and so her library is just. tetris. stardew. forager. her first run of undertale was pacifistic, and she’s the only one of the group who managed it.

CADUCEUS: phone games. enjoys puzzle games but by his own admission isn’t very good at them. has tried forager but gets so engrossed in keeping his first island clean and tidy that he doesn’t progress; still has a lot of fun. loves ‘everything’ and has clocked like 200 hours in it. 

SAYS THEY ‘GET’ PATHOLOGIC: caleb, beau, caduceus

DO NOT ‘GET’ PATHOLOGIC: jester, fjord, yasha, veth

HAVE ACTUALLY PLAYED PATHOLOGIC: caleb

2020 vidya ranking: #4 Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town

A comeback I was aware of, and slowly I had waited for it to make it to the states. I was not disappointed.

I’ll make this short for the people who don’t know why this game isn’t called “Harvest Moon”. Natsume, the localization team, and Marvelous, the actual company, had a very bad fallout with the former taking the rights of the series name. Games under the title Harvest Moon made by Natsume were… not exactly good.

Marvelous meanwhile, continued with Story of Seasons, the real Harvest Moon series. One of which would be a remake of the HM title that got me into the series and is a huge fan-favorite, Friends of Mineral Town, which in itself was a remake of Back to Nature!

“But Jel, why didn’t you just play Stardew Valley?” I’ll be honest, I’m just not keen on the aesthetic look of Stardew Valley. I wanted my good ol’ Harvest Moon look back dammit, and I was gonna get it. Especially since this remake added gay marriage options, which was perfect because a little before the start of last year I was questioning myself.

There are plenty of quality of life updates to be had here! Time doesn’t move as slowly, the pedometer automatically activates so long as it’s in your inventory, watering your crops is much easier, and quite a bit more. There’s more incentive to breed your animals as opposed to just keeping one forever.

There are two new bachelors thrown into the mix, but they aren’t… particularly interesting. Well, Brandon is okay, he’s an artist and sometimes will come to you for aid. Jennifer though, I didn’t see the appeal of her. Rivals for the bachelor/bachelorette you pursue also cannot get married anymore, only you can, which is kind of sad but I guess they didn’t want players to feel intimidated.

There are new animals this time around! They don’t really had a whole lot, but hey, they’re cute! We now have Angora Rabbits and Alpacas, both who supply wool like sheep. (I actually kind of like them more too) I just wish that the ducks from the DS game or goats were also included, but maybe next time!

The annoying wild dogs are gone and it’s easier to let your barn animals out. No more manually carrying or pushing them to go outside to eat! However, this also means you cannot start off with a cute puppy. Instead, you have to give the Harvest Goddess gifts so Van can show up, and every 15th of the season, he’ll set up a pet shop.

Why am I wording this like a bad thing? Well… if a storm happens, you miss the chance of getting a pet. And you can’t get another one without pampering the pet you had just gotten which could take an entire year in gameplay time. But hey, at least we can get a capybara and a penguin I guess..?

Marrying the Kappa or the Harvest Goddess is just as unrewarding as it was in the original, which is something I’m disappointed to see. Your child will also not grow up like it could in DS, they will remain in toddler stage forever.

This may sound like “I should just play the GBA version instead”, but with the amount of quality of life improvements, one of which includes finally being able to see how much stamina/fatigue you have, I think there’s no reason to go back to the old versions other than aesthetic.

Hopefully for the next SoS game, Marvelous takes the outdated stuff away, and we get ducks back!

Oh, if you’re wondering who I decided to marry, I picked Ran. She’s as much of a foodie as I am at times. Ironically, I married Cliff in my first playthrough of MFoMT.

Only I would wear a reindeer costume at the most inappropriate times.

@bunnikkila replied to your post: that said here’s what i think of stardew valley...

the time thing … yeah there has GOT to be a happy medium between Harvest Moon ‘three months in a real time day and you can come back when you want’ and Animal Crossing 'real hours so good fucking luck if you work or have obligations and also we punish you for not playing for awhile’.

yeah, especially since in harvest moon type games you can ALWAYS choose to sleep and end the day whenever you want and move the game forward...if the time passed slower, it'd be no big deal for quicker players to just go to bed at 2pm every day, you know? meanwhile animal crossing moves like MOLASSES - i was constantly changing the clock because i ran out of stuff to do for that day + i keep a weird schedule too so i kept missing certain timed events. just once i would love to see a game find some sort of balance!!

Play Journal #1: Transported into Stardew Valley

The game I played this week and I’ve been playing for the past several weeks is Stardew Valley, which is a simulation role-playing game available on Nintendo Switch, the only gaming console I have. It has a single-player offline version and an online co-op version. I played it online with my boyfriend who lives in another city. Stardew Valley is a farming and life simulation game. Avatars start making their living by farming and then after accumulating more money they could explore other tasks including fishing, raising livestock, mining, etc. Avatars get up at 6:30 in the morning and need to go to bed before midnight, every day is saved as a section, and one hour in the game is about several minutes in the real life. It has four seasons in a year and farming should follow the current season. Avatars would be given some tasks but in general, there’s no pressure in this game, because avatars don’t just have limited lives, there’s no punishment if players fail to finish tasks, and players could always start over from the previous day. Stardew Valley has a pure process, according to Galloway (2006), that when the avatars are “paused” and don’t do anything in the game, the macro gaming world is still running and operating by itself. Time goes by and season changes. I enjoy this game a lot, partly because challenges and competitions in many games usually make me anxious which isn’t what I expected for my leisure time; the other reason is this game allows me to do something together with my distant boyfriend and to create a shared experience. According to the 4 classifications of play by Caillois (2006), instead of “agon” (competition) provided by many other games, Stardew Valley belongs to “mimicry” (simulation). Players “pretend” they have another life in this game presented by gaming avatars. Especially for many players, the valley is a peaceful and beautiful promised land which differs a lot from their real world. Players like me probably never have farming experience before, but we pretend we are making a living by being a farmer. I think the joy of Stardew Valley comes from “ludus”. The game world is fully organized with rules, such as what crops should be planted in which season, and stores are only open during a specific time. Though the overall game structure has already been well-constructed, players still have much freedom in deciding what they want to do, which is also a core characteristic of play. Stardew Valley strikes a good combination of rules and freedom, and thus players could experience game joy and meanwhile don’t suffer the chaos. I think Stardew Valley is a good representation of flow experience. Though as I mentioned above there’s little pressure in this game, players still have their own goal, such as making more money, decorating houses, finishing one task, getting higher skill levels, and so on. Yet, playing this game is autotelic, meaning that instead of outside stimulus, playing experience is the whole point. Different with many other competition games, players’ dedication into this game doesn’t arise from challenges, but more from the inherent wish and duty towards the avatar, who is the projection of gamers themselves, to make a better life, and I think this is the ultimate goal of playing Stardew Valley. Therefore, it’s not surprising if players concentrate on this game as much and serious as they can, because this is an easier and maybe more ideal version of their real life. This dedication and concentration make flow occurs, and thus players could easily be transported to the game reality. For myself, the life in this game is operated and managed by me and my boyfriend, which isn’t the reality but is all about our hope, so every time when we play it we are both completely engaged and immersed into this game, and in the end we get much pleasure and enjoyment from it. Csikszentmihalyi (1990) discussed 8 major components of enjoyment, among which “the merging of action and awareness”, “concentration on the task at hand”, “the loss of self-consciousness”, and “the transformation of time” are more considered as outcomes or sign for having flow experience. I experienced all of these in my playing experience, and I can only recognize these characteristics by reviewing. Other components discuss the characteristics of the contents of activities. Though Stardew Valley isn’t competition-oriented, there are many activities that require skills and practice. For example, fishing in the game is really hard compared to farming, and every time I tried fishing, I was even more focused than usual. The game also sets clear goals and feedback, the most basic one is how much money players make in the previous day, showed as a daily report before the game is saved. In terms of the possibility instead of the actuality of control, since the game progress is saved on an everyday basis, players can always quit and start over from the previous day if they’re not satisfied. People play this game as a simulation of another lifestyle, but the chance of starting over makes it more controllable, which won’t never happen in real life. Considering all these qualities of game content in Stardew Valley, I think this game could easily generate enjoyment and the flow experience among game players.

References

Caillois, R. (2006). The definition of play and the classification of games. The game design reader: A rules of play anthology, 122.

Czikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.

Galloway, A. R. (2006). Gaming: Essays on algorithmic culture (Vol. 18). U of Minnesota Press.

Hi everyone,

Just want to give you a quick fill-in on the status of the new update.

As you may know, I’ve always worked solo on Stardew Valley. However,  for this multiplayer update I’ve had the help of Tom Coxon (of Chucklefish). He’s done all the network coding to turn Stardew Valley into a multiplayer game… truly an impressive feat, and one that would not be possible without his talent. He deserves a lot of credit for this — Thank you Tom!

Now, here’s where we’re at:

Work on the new features is done, and we’ve sent all the new text off to be translated into the different languages. Meanwhile, we are working on bug fixes. Once we’ve received the translated text and integrated it back into the game, we’ll begin a serious QA phase involving thorough testing of all new features in both multiplayer and single player contexts. When that is finished, the update should be ready for a public beta.  I am still shooting for a spring release for the beta.

When the beta gets closer to launch, I’ll fill you guys in on more specifics as to how multiplayer will work, as well as a more complete list of the new features in the update.

I’ll also be sure to let you guys know as soon as we’ve determined a more concrete timetable for release.

[x]

mandy do u know any good xbox games? i just went for it and got one and since everythings on sale now i figure just load up on games

Nice!! I’m assuming you got a Xbox One? Cause 360 is last gen lol. Heck, I have no idea if 360 games are even sold much in retail stores anymore. Some you might have played or already own but here’s my list! It got a little long :P 

Also I don’t own a Xbox One since I’m a PC player. (also a huge nintendo fan) But since its Microsoft most games are also on PC.

Xbox One: 

RED READ REDEMPTION 2. GET IT! …If that’s your thing! (Meanwhile PC peeps have to wait up to 2 years or so for a PC port and that’s IF a PC port happens. Waiting for GTA 5 was well worth it though.) 

GTA 5. Online is 9/10 pure chaos when it comes to playing in Public Lobby’s. Story mode is amazing though IMO. I did complete through the entire story 3 times after all. 

Skyrim Special Edition. TODD HOWARD SAYS BUY SKYRIM AGAIN 

Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy. Whether you played it as a kid or never picked it up, its still well worth it. This is a remaster done correctly. 

Farcry 4 & 5. I love the Farcry series a lot but do note that for me personally, I just play through the story mode like once and then don’t look back on it until months/year(s) later to replay it. I haven’t played 5 yet but I hope it’ll go on sale soon. (Its been on sale on Steam countless times yet I’m too cheap to buy it even at 30% off lol) 

DOOM. Doom guy isn’t stuck in hell, the demons are stuck in hell with doom guy! Metal music, in hell, slaying demons. 10/10 if you like FPS games. 

STARDEW VALLEY!!! Say goodbye to every other game cause you will sink hours into this game. Its like a combo of Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. 

Terraria. Terraria is better than Minecraft, change my mind. I discovered this game through Total Biscuit & Jesse Cox back in the day and I’ve played it since 2011, a little after release. I’ve got almost 300 hours on it lol. Its a survival game but its nothing like Minecraft. There is sooo much to do. The bosses, NPCs and hardmode difficulty really makes the game for me.

Witcher 3.1000/10 RPG. I don’t care if you have/haven’t played the first or second, this game alone is god worthy. 

Boarderlands Handson Jack Edition. Boarderlands is jam packed with content and is incredibly fun. The art style is incredible too. 

Cities Skylines. Hate the shit show EA made that is called Sim City 2013? Well then this game does it 1000x better and is made of half the people it took to make that game! Its a really good city builder, would recommend if that’s your thing. I still kinda suck at city builders lol 

Fallout 4. Its Fallout my dude, get it

Arkham Knight. All 3 Batman games (Asylum, City, Knight) developed by Rocksteady are really good, I love them so much. 

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy (Or Storm 3 or 4). If you love Naruto this is a must. The Storm games are the best Naruto games (second best was the clash of ninja series IMO) Even if you aren’t an anime or naruto fan, its a great fighting game. Online is complete garbage and has always been garbage with connectivity issues. 

Games I haven’t played but know are really good: 

Just Cause 3 & 4 (I’ve played 2 and need to get the others lol) 

Overwatch. If FPS MMO’s are your thing, go for it! Its Blizzard after all. 

Assassins Creed Series. I’ve legit lost count how many new Assassins Creed games there are. I haven’t touched one since Black Flag lol. 

SPIDERMAN. I’ve heard this game is extraordinarily good. 

Sea of Thieves. I wanted to get into this game earlier in the year but never did thanks to World of Warcraft. 

I also don’t really recommenced it at the moment but if you want to, go right ahead. Fallout 76. I’ve seen countless bugs and issues with it on Youtube/Twitch. Its technically Fallout 4 online and IMO I was never a huge fan of ESO. In my eye, Bethesda haven’t done MMOs very well. (Granted, I’m a WoW & Runescape player of 8+ years lol) 

Somebody ask me to recommend Nintendo games, I’m on a roll here! Lol I can go on for days when it comes to Nintendo. 

Stardew Valley Multiplayer Update

“Just want to give you a quick fill-in on the status of the new update.

As you may know, I’ve always worked solo on Stardew Valley. However, for this multiplayer update I’ve had the help of Tom Coxon (of Chucklefish). He’s done all the network coding to turn Stardew Valley into a multiplayer game… truly an impressive feat, and one that would not be possible without his talent. He deserves a lot of credit for this — Thank you Tom!

Now, here’s where we’re at:

Work on the new features is done, and we’ve sent all the new text off to be translated into the different languages. Meanwhile, we are working on bug fixes. Once we’ve received the translated text and integrated it back into the game, we’ll begin a serious QA phase involving thorough testing of all new features in both multiplayer and single player contexts. When that is finished, the update should be ready for a public beta. I am still shooting for a spring release for the beta.

When the beta gets closer to launch, I’ll fill you guys in on more specifics as to how multiplayer will work, as well as a more complete list of the new features in the update.

I’ll also be sure to let you guys know as soon as we’ve determined a more concrete timetable for release.”

Do other Stardew Valley players change their character up periodically?

I scroll by all these detailed sketches and character personality sheets that look so set in stone and meanwhile I visit the wizard and randomize my look every season because why the hell not.