'Our Game is 480p. Yeah, It’s Low Resolution, And Very Intentionally So'

'I don’t think anybody actually cares about this with 2D games,' says Heart Machine's Alex Preston.

[GodGinrai]

From the first moment, I saw this game, I wanted it. It looks so damn cool!

[cleft5]

The game looks cool, my only concern is how will the menus look on my large 1080ptv. Higher resolutions can benefit pixel style, it makes the pixels look really sharp. Long as the game looks good I am fine and this game seems cool.

[KiwiViper85]

Ye the menu's are my biggest concern too

[XanderZane]

The game looks pretty good. Don't really care what resolution it is as long as the game is fun.

[Halo2ODST2]

True. games are about having fun, not ridiculously high resolutions which doesn't make it any funner, just benefits visual style, many games have paid heavily because of this primitive style, that visuals are more important than a fun inuitive game

[Perjoss]

If a low resolution is fitting to the art style then sure why not. Metal Slug still looks amazing if you play it on an old CRT TV, or if you set up your emulator to mimic an old TV with scanlines etc.

[GodGinrai]

I love scanlines on 2D games. Reminds of the still shots from old magazines like mean machines and old school CVG.

[jayzablade]

Mean Machines...my first gaming mag!!
I used to think Rad was the coolest guy alive....and Jaz with his mullet!!!
Check this out for a retro kick!! :o)
http://www.meanmachinesmag....

[GodGinrai]

@jayzablade

Indeed. Julian"jaz" rignall was a don! and yes that mullet was crazy!

PS. Thanks for that link. Took me back to the 90s for a hot minute!

EDIT: suddenly I feel like playing midnight resistance on megadrive again!

[big_dom_part_2]

Back when gameing journalism actually meant something.

[Inception]

You should try playing Metal Slug on vita. It looks good. To bad i can't play co-op with my bro...

[Baka-akaB]

"I don’t think anybody actually cares about this with 2D games"

I strongly disagree , there are plenty 2d games where a better resolution could help enhance the art or hide blemishes . especially more recent ones , over old games

But obviously it's taken out of context , and if it fits their game , then it fits

[Inception]

Agreed. Muramasa Rebirth, Dragon's Crown, or Persona 4 Arena are using 2D graphic with high res and they all looks beautifull.

But like the devs said, if low res fits their style than so be it. I myself interested playing this on my vita.

[Th3o]

Also raymann origins looks absolutely amazing.

[PurpHerbison]

KOF13

[Inception]

@Th30

Yeah Rayman is beautifull. Valiant Hearts also looks great. If only Ubi make more games like Rayman / Valiant Hearts instead pumping Asscreed over and over every year.

@PurpHerbison

Mate, you make me want to play KoF again. Hopefully next year we will hear more info about the new KoF / Fatal Fury.

[Th3o]

@inception

Amen!

[paleselan1]

I think Rayman is an excellent example of when 1080p is mighty fine

[Halo2ODST2]

These devs have more important issue than appealing to this infestation of casuals, with ridiculously high expectations for the visuals of these games, they don't care how it plays or what it offers, just that it looks sparkly ******

[LightofDarkness]

But it won't fit your art style on modern TVs. 480p content on HDTV doesn't look like it did on an old CRT. If you wanted to achieve that aesthetic, you should have done it like Shovel Knight, where they proportioned the pixels so it would look like an old pixel art game but at native resolution, so no blurry upscaled garbage, just clean cut pixels like it would have looked on an old TV.

And I heartily disagree with that "nobody cares about this with 2d games" idea. I care, and so do many others. Sounds like they're just taking the easy route and not putting in the time to polish things like Yacht Club games would have.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

the PS1 was an AWESOME 2d machine, unfortunately, too many developers tried to force it to push 3d. I absolutely love clean, crisp, beautiful 2d graphics. I hate pixelated trash.

[TheGrimReaper0011]

No offence, but Sony was the one who pushed Developers to do 3D on the PS1

In fact, one of it's most critically aclaimed games, Castlevania SotN, was almost cancelled because didn't want it to be strict 2D and told them that they wanted 3D games. The developers threatened to not release the game and Sony gave in (thank god)

I will say, I do love 3D games, but 2D games age far better. I can safely say that Rayman Origins will still look very nice in 20 years. People prob wont talk about that game, but just as an example :p

[bit-crusherrrr]

The PS1 was an okay 2d machine, the Saturn was fantastic at 2d. All the capcom and SNK 2d fighters ran much better on the saturn than the ps1, even more so if you have the japanese version with the ram cartridge.

[GodGinrai]

The sega saturn and the dreamcast had the best 2D games of their respective generations.

Anybody who has ever played radiant silver gun, thunderforce 5,or any shmup on saturn, will agree. The capcom Vs marvel games,or any capcom 2d game of the time..Streetfighter alpha, darkstaklers etc, ran best on sega hardware. I still consider those version to be the best ports of those games, inspite of also owning them on X360. I still have a white saturn and all my ram carts. And the SNK conversions were the best thing outside the arcade versions.

PS. I like this thread. A refreshing change from the usual this V that console BS. I wonder how many of you guys are normally arguing? yet here you are sensibly talking games. I like it.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

by awesome, i didnt mean the best at the time. It was a great performer coming from my sega genesis. :-D

and who cares/knows what "sony pushed for"? do you have any evidence of that? we know they advertised its 3d capabilities. did they actually tell developers "make a 3d game or **** off"? I think its just all speculation, especially given that there were some pretty popular 2d games on the PS1.

Castlevania: SOTN was glorious. Tomba! was pretty and played really well, too. I think 2d gameplay can be extremely enjoyable. MetalSlug? i mean, common. theres some great stuff in 2d that would only look so much better in 1080p with high quality sprites. I remember being blown away by the graphics in Earthworm Jim when that came out.

[ShinMaster]

@ TheGrimReaper0011

I always felt Nintendo was the one that pushed 3D on the N64 more than Sony. I mean, the d-pad barely got any use over the joystick, even when it made sense.

The PS1 was the console that embraced 2D gaming more IMO.
Look at the 2D Castlevania games on PS1 compared to the 3D Castlevania games on N64.

There were many more 2D games on the PS1.

[Baka-akaB]

Actually SCEA kinda did . They had a policy that discouraged porting or localizing 2d games . THat precisely why some game didnt get localized back then , even if obviously there were exception .

For that period 2d was seen or rather advertised as the place for budget and lesser games . Wich what they had policy against , games they felt were of lesser quality (rather than 2d stricly itself) . They continued this policy in the PS2 era as well on whims . And it didnt even prevent shovelware on both , be it 2d or 3d , so it was fairly arbitrary and crap

It was this policy that basically put Working Designs out of business. First they forced them to sell Growlancer Generations as a compilation (WD wanted to sell them separately), and second they forbid them from releasing stuff like Goemon at normal retail price.

Megaman X4 had delayed release on PSX in the US because Sony US refused to localize the game on the console due to its lack of 3D gameplay. Sony reportedly caved in after Capcom retaliated by threatening to not release Resident Evil 2 on the PSX.

And aside from those rules .. it's actually obvious Sony was pushing hard the 3d . It literally launched back on the hype from 3d titles like Toshiden , Ace Combat , Ridge Racer , and then afterward literally every namco franchise from the era .

The only reason it had the bigger amount of 2d games was that it crushed its Saturn and n64 competition . The n64 being geared toward 3d almost exclusively anyway

[imXify]

Old CRTs are 480p 4:3

From what I'm looking, the game looks like 480p 16:9 and doesn't look streched.

[MAULxx]

I absolutely agree & I have to scratch my head as to why this game isn't running at 1080p. I mean 480p?
This game could have looked super clean. I was highly anticipating it with a day one purchase. Now, I'll be thinking twice about purchasing on release day.

[Neixus]

Double standards.

Why are people accepting that a game runs at 480p just because it's a indie game, but if a major publisher released a game in 480p, people would of raged at them?

And for the record, artstyle got nothing to do with the resolution. You could make a retro looking game even though if it runs at 1080p..

Indie developers being all hipster again is what this is about

[DragonKnight]

Everything you just said it completely, 100% wrong. I mean literally every word. Not one word has an ounce of correct thought put behind it.

[DragonKnight]

He makes 1 valid point.

"You could make a retro looking game even though if it runs at 1080p."

That's the only valid point. So perhaps you're correct then, only 90% of what he said was completely wrong.

[Amuro]

he is not wrong though. Have you never used an emulator to play Nes or Snes games?

The graphics might be 8 bit or 16 bit but when you increase or lower the resolution the pixels can look sharper or more blurry. I mean, why else emulators like Nestopia or SNES9X would have the option of setting up a resolution if it makes no difference?

And what is wrong with the rest of his comment anyway?

The dev is obviously being a hipster and you're eating it up, @DragonKnight.

[DragonKnight]

@Amuro: Allow me to list the ways he's wrong.

"Double standards."

Wrong. No one has double standards for this dev. I don't even think anyone knows who this dev is, but Neixus' comment suggests that people are giving this guy a pass just because he's an indie dev, and that hasn't happened.

"Why are people accepting that a game runs at 480p just because it's a indie game, but if a major publisher released a game in 480p, people would of raged at them?"

Wrong. No one is accepting this because it's an indie game. They're accepting this because the dev gave a reason, what they consider to be a valid reason, to have the game at said resolution. AAA devs don't typically make 2D games anymore, and if they were going to then they would definitely have the funds to push whatever resolution they wanted to but it wouldn't matter because it's a 2D game. Resolution doesn't nearly matter as much (read: AS MUCH) in 2D games as it does in 3D games.

"And for the record, artstyle got nothing to do with the resolution. You could make a retro looking game even though if it runs at 1080p."

Second part of that comment is right, first part is wrong. Resolution absolutely does have everything to do with art style. If a dev wants a specific art style that necessitates a specific resolution, then said resolution is a necessity. If the dev wanted to make the game really look old school, and not "old school like" then the resolution matters a lot.

"Indie developers being all hipster again is what this is about."

And exactly how is this correct? Neixus, and it seems you, don't even know what hipster means.

Now as for your comment.

"The graphics might be 8 bit or 16 bit but when you increase or lower the resolution the pixels can look sharper or more blurry. I mean, why else emulators like Nestopia or SNES9X would have the option of setting up a resolution if it makes no difference?"

Totally irrelevant. The question isn't "if you have the option, why not use it." The question is "what is the developer going for?" Now if this developer pulled out the same B.S. as Ubisoft or Ready At Dawn with "we're going for a more cinematic feel" in terms of framerate and odd resolution numbers, then sure have at them because that's B.S. But if the dev is wanting to go for an old school 2D look, then using 480p as the resolution has aesthetic value.

The problem here is that people like you are spoiled and demand that every dev use the maximum possible resources at all times regardless of what they want or what they can do.

[LightofDarkness]

"But if the dev is wanting to go for an old school 2D look, then using 480p as the resolution has aesthetic value. "

Well, no, it doesn't. Nobody has native 480p TVs anymore, and this game will never look like it is being rendered on one by virtue of being rendered at that resolution. That's just poor logic, not to mention very poorly researched and short-sighted, and it will never achieve the "artistic" value they claim to be aiming for.

Now if they said "we're aiming to look like an old SNES game being played on an emulator or the virtual console" then sure. Because that's all it will look like on just about everyone's display: a blurry, upscaled emulator viewport. So while Neixus may struggle with articulating his points somewhat, he's far from 100% wrong.

And if these guys' comments are anything to go by, then it stands to reason that they don't fully understand what they're aiming for (or at least haven't articulated it well) and will likely fail in that regard.

No one's being spoiled. I just pointed out that what they're saying and what they're doing are incompatible and don't stand up. It's not hard to make nice pixel art in high resolution, á la games like Shovel Knight. It just takes a bit of research and know-how to ensure you do it right. These guys don't seem to have thought that far ahead. Now, you're leaving it to your TV/console upscaler to do the work of stretching a tiny 480p image across a 1080p display, and that almost NEVER looks good and it certainly doesn't look "old-school".

[k3rn3ll]

Quick, someone make an e - petition demanding the developers use the maximum of power from every platform they are developing for. "Vote with your wallets" everyone. Demand the developers meet your needs or you won't buy their garbage anymore. This is very clearly another attempt by M$ to moneyhat the industry and cover up for the fact that their console is weaker! #resolutiongate! Lazy devlopers!

:)

[mixelon]

I can think of a bunch of games that wouldnt be improved by higher res. Broforce is a good example. Volgarr. Intentionally low res stuff can look amazing. :D

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Thing is, the games you mentioned do have high resolutions. 8bit =/= low res.

[mixelon]

"8 bit" ? None of the games I mentioned have anything even remotely close to 8 bit graphics. XD

Seriously. Name an 8 bit system that could do anything like any of those. Pixel graphics does not = "8 bit" - but they often DO equal "low resolution" The colour depth in Volgarr, and broforce is way beyond anything 8bit.

http://pixelperfectgaming.c... - not high resolution graphics!

They are intentionally low res. The technical output res/monitor resolution makes little difference to the graphics if the res of the bitmapped graphics is tiny. Broforce's sprites are 22x22pixels(ish), and pixel doubled (possibly tripled?) If that's not low resolution then I don't know what is.

Neither I, or the guys interviewed were talking about screen resolution, they're talking about asset resolution. Literally outputting at "480p" would look like ass on most modern displays.

Hyper light drifter will output to 1080p too, it's not going to switch your monitor/TV over to 480, lol.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

That's great dude, guess you ignored the fact that having something designed for a better output/refresh rate would mean some serious issues with this game. YAY INDIES!

[yewles1]

“I don’t think anybody actually cares about this with 2D games. It’s always more of a question of 3D games. I mean, resolution actually matters in that case. But in 2D games, it’s just the resolution you draw your sprite at. I don’t think that question has ever been a point of interest for anybody on 2D games, really.”

Actually, resolution is constantly debated in games regardless of dimension. Betting on people not caring because it's 2D is like walking down Naked City in Las Vegas flashing cash around, expecting to be left alone unscathed... it ain't happening.

Games development involve risks and having expectations from consumers lead to little--if any at all--reward.

[NeoGamer232]

Personally, I don't see why a game that doesn't use the full power of the consoles can't be in 1080p. Yes the game is intentionally pixelated, but it should be in 1080p so the big pixilation is sharp rather than fuzzy. Especially when playing on TVs greater than 42".

480p to 1080p has nothing to do with art direction in the game, it has to do with graphical fidelity. I can understand a massive AAA title with loads of interactivity, complex AI, complex gameplay etc. eating enough CPU and GPU that they would drop below 1080p.

But, when a game uses a very small amount of the power in a modern console 480p is pure laziness.

Minecraft is intentionally pixelated and it is 1080p and 60 FPS...

[Dudebro90]

Oh the hypocrisy of n4g commenters. If this wasn't on ps4, the comments would be a lot different.

[Inception]

Did you not read the article or the tag?
This game are multiplat for PC, WiiU, X1, and vita too. So there's no hyprocrisy in here. But sad little troll like you find a way to drag it into fanboy wars.

[MAULxx]

Well, I am a PS4 owner & was excited for this game.
I am definately not happy with a 480p decision at all.
I abandoned my CRT TVs years ago.

[protocol10]

Making an entirely new game with current PC hardware and deciding to intentionally make it 480p sounds odd. I could understand if they made the option for both. I guess my gripe is, it doesnt take any extra work on their part to do 1080p. I'm developing a game with Unity 3d and it is literally a box that you check to set what resolution the game will run at. And Super Time Force looks AWESOME in HD!!!!

[mixelon]

Pixel graphics. You choose your target res. 480 sounds reasonable. It'll still output to 1080 displays, it won't actually switch you over to 480p when you go into fullscreen mode - he's just talking about asset/target resolution.

I've made a game at 480p - pixel graphics at any size can be a huge amount of work. A totally different situation to 3D or scaled vector stuff.

[shadyiswin]

yah no one cares about res on 2d fighting games,that's why killer instict has got so much flack on this site despite being praised as one of the best fighters in a long time and even raising the res to 900p,people still love to complain. Now a 2d fighting game has 480p res and it's "cool" "awesome" mhmm keep on n4g,keep on.

[Revengeance]

Umm except it's not a fighting game, genius. Try reading the article. Then you would've noticed this line right here.

"Hyper Light Drifter is an upcoming 2D action role-playing game developed by Heart Machine releasing across a ton of platforms including PlayStation 4 and Xbox One."

They even put the words "2D-action role-playing game" in italics so geniuses like you would notice :)

[Alsybub]

Also, Killer Instinct is 3D. So, I really don't know what shadyiswin is talking about. Maybe they got two articles mixed up. Hmmm.

[shadyiswin]

ummm i fail to see youre point....Both games are 2D games,rather it side scrolling or a fighting game. His quote was 'I don’t think anybody actually cares about this with 2D games,' says Heart Machine's Alex Preston. Killer instinct is a 2D game no? so please give me a better reason why 480p is now so "cool"

@alsybub

Killer instinct is not 3D,not sure what you have mixed up,killer instinct has never been in 3d in all 4 versions of the game.

[Baka-akaB]

the latest Killer instinct are in 3d , except with a 2d gameplay . that's what you call 2.5d .

[gangsta_red]

Why can't this dev make the game in 1080p, I think these guys are intentionally gimping the game in order to fit the lowest console

These devs should be taking advantage of the PS4's full power!

I bet MS had a hand in this.

Parity is killing the video game industry!

I might have left out some other conspiracy theories. N4G please help me out.

[XabiDaChosenOne]

Ohhhh look another strawman argument, you are on a roll this week princess.

[pop-voxuli]

Then I will Very Intentionally PASS!!!

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Is this the new campaign to try and convince people who shelled out 400 dollars for "NEXT GENERATION" consoles that use a "HDMI/HIGH DEFINITION MEDIA INTERFACE" input to connect to a "HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION" that displays images in "HIGH RESOLUTION 1080i/1080p" that it really doesn't matter if games are in 1080p or 720p?

Does it matter if your games are on Blu-ray or DVD?

An absolutely ludicrous argument.

Of course resolution matters. If it didn't you wouldn't be watching movies, news, sports, cable, and other televised programs in high definition.

[spacedelete]

i agree. people say it doesn't matter yet people those people who say resolution doesn't matter are the same people who have HD TVs. if resolution doesn't matter then if you aren't playing on a CRT then you are a hypocrite.

[Alsybub]

Why do people deal, exclusively, in all or nothing statements.

Think about this - If I listen to a song on vinyl and decide I can appreciate the depth and warmth of the audio does that mean I should throw away my iPod, my CDs and cancel my Spotify subscription, for my shame at being a hypocrite? That sounds absurd, right? Your statement is saying the same thing.

[GuruStarr78]

Can't wait to play this on my Vita!

[memots]

Ms probably paid them .... /s

[kenwonobi]

I wouldnt care if the goal was quality first resolution second. However since most of the time resolution comes up? We are talking about one machine having the better resolution and the same game it does matter in that sense for the consumer choice. When it comes to any game in general? It doesnt matter if thats just the way it was built.

[arbitor365]

considering that it is pixelized and 16-32 bit, there is no point making it 1080p. there are only so many pixels that make up the graphics

[Activemessiah]

It's 2D... even Street Fighter Alpha looks beautiful to this day... resolution doesn't apply.

[oSHINSAo]

Looks great, a game for gamers...

[JohnApocalypse]

So I should play it on my Vita

[ziggurcat]

so... they wanted it to be blurry as all hell on purpose?

[CobraKai]

Part of the visual style they are trying to portray, it looks great. Outputting it in 1080p is like putting hyper-realistic water in Minecraft. It defeats the purpose of the art style.

[TonTon]

Wow this game looks really cool

[Mastadope42]

"Our game is 480p, yeah we decided that were hipsters; because to avoid debates and resolution stuff." xD lmao

[Sly-Lupin]

As a PC gamer, I would argue that resolution is MORE important for 2D games than 3D games. Why? It's not difficult to up-res a 3D game; it's impossible to upres a 2D game. The best you can do to improve a 2D game after the fact is apply filters to it, with varying results.

[jay2]

Resolutions and fps both matter. Compair games on other gens and platforms and you'll see the difference. In any case this looks fun. but I wouldn't pay more than a fiver (£5) for it. Main reason? 2D.

[jeenyus]

This doesn't have the visual quality of the old arcade games, the 480p thing is just some idiocy to push the game. The way it looks and BLUR? GTFO, hipster.