I really miss the good ol' days of pixel graphics. I know that I could make games with SNES generation pixel graphics, but was thinking if there is some sort of in-between. I want to make a game with a retro look to it but a little more advanced, graphics wise. I'm just not sure what could be done to accomplish this.. What could I do? Make higher resolution sprites? Seems high res 2D graphics would take up quite a bit of memory. The only answer I can think of so far to get the true retro feel would be to make classic SNES style pixel graphics. Anyone have some ideas on this subject?

Part of the style I like using involves simple vector graphics with a limited palette of colours. I generally try to abstract things down to basic shapes, a bit like what you'd need to do for early pixel based games, but with vector graphics you can have a much higher resolution. It's not quite the same principles as with the majority of SNES era pixel graphics (especially the RPGs, as they were quite detailed), but it generally captures the same feel of Mario Bros and those kinds of games.

Something like this?

Combining the low-res pixelated look with some crisp vectors and a greater colour palette (for smooth gradients) is tricky but the results can look great. I've also been experimenting with something similar by drawing the graphics in a low resolution first, then scaling them up x4 and adding in additional pixels to smooth the edges (see my journal for images) but without destroying the low-res feel.

Quote: Original post by OrangyTangSee my journal for images.

Those samples look amazing. I really like it. :)