Why Do So Many Indie Games Use Pixel Art?

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Music by Jordan from O. and Co.

[thecupcakehey]

One other thing contributing to the success of pixel art is being able to almost always avoid the “uncanny valley” when making characters (same goes with low poly) because the player can just imagine more detail to fill in the gaps

[evilrymon]

Something not mentioned here: Pixel art is even entering 3D proper, with games like ULTRAKILL using a fully 3D environment, but with pixelated textures on the enemies

[ZacChien]

I also think 2D physics are also just a lot easier to understand. That 3rd dimension uses much more complicated equations and algorithms.

[KanityOnePieceChill]

Answer: because it's pretty. Everyone's tastes are different but I am so happy there are a lot of gorgeous 2D pixel games coming out, as it's my favourite style!

[costelinha]

To be fair the reason why Kaizo levels are more present in the Super Mario World style of Mario Maker, isn't just due to limitations or lack there off, the hack rom that LITERALLY STARTED THIS WHOLE GENRE: Super Mario Kaizo, was specifically a Super Mario World romhack, so no wonder people would gravitate more to this specific style when making kaizo levels.

[nicooftheforest]

3:57 that's a really good point that I never really realized
like, I can mentally draw the hitbox of a pixelated character, but if it's something like 3d, it's much harder. (especially because you can just round it to the grid for pixel art)

[MelodiCat]

Pixel art doesn't require the precise hand control that other art-styles have. Yes, if you can draw a straight line freehand, you can create pixel art faster, but you can always fix the pixels after the fact, versus in other styles, you want your line art to be smooth. So someone can focus more on developing a good aesthetics/lighting sense and less time on the actual mechanics of drawing.

[spacewhalemilk]

It's really fast to make. I am currently making a 2.5d side-scroller metroidvania, and I am the only 3d modeler on the team. Modeling, texturing and rigging a character takes waaaayy too long for most people, when you have to make dozens of them. But I'm a masochist.

[husklyman]

4:55
I think it's related to it being retro.
Even I who wasn't born even when the n64 existed and my parents didn't play video games before I was born find interest in old games. It's cool to see what came before my favorite modern games.
I think that the minimalism in pixel art games is mostly what makes them good, but also the retro style

[spindash]

The minimalism of pixel art, especially with an attempt to mimic old console limits, also helps to TEACH an aspiring developer art principles, by preventing them from just slapping a million colors on a canvas and calling it a day. By being limited in what colors they can use, how they can use them, and how small of details they can draw, they are forced to learn an artstyle that displays large amounts of information with relatively low signal "noise", allowing a game that just feels cleaner to follow

[sumnz]

Your game looks gorgeous! Wishlisting now

[PhonyLyzard]

While I like Realistic graphics in videogames and think they can be genuinely beneficial for certain games, I still think that Pixel Art is a good and charming art style that I enjoy seeing. It is of course, just easier for indie devs to work with, but as someone born in the years after the N64 it's just cool seeing something that calls back to that era. It's kinda like getting a glimpse of "the before times, " an era that you never lived through but constantly see people talk about and gets shown in popular media.

[Smabverse]

I've already seen so many vids like this, but what really stood out to me from this one was when you said that Pixel Art (and 8-bit Music) is an identity that is specifically associated with gaming and nothing else. I've never heard this important reason before even tho it's actually a really obvious one when you think about it, but ppl just don't think about it, so props for pointing it out 💪😎

[Sprinkiler]

As a fourteen year old I have valid nostalgia because my dad only let me play on the NES until I was eight

[Troupples]

I always look forward to seeing these wonderful videos! You did a great job!

[vinsplayer]

Another reason is that pixel art can easily have a lot of color theory: contrast, palettes and important things being more saturated, and because of the simplicity and lack of detail it's easier to focus on the important things, which really helps fast-paced games. With the AAA style that tries to be as realistic as possible, it would be really hard to add color theory, and I feel like they don't usually even try to add that, because they prioritize realism over clarity for players and making it pleasant to look at.
I think AAA games have their priorities really messed up, because they prioritize realism over processing power, space taken on disk, visual clarity and gameplay.

[ThatOne-Guy]

I love pixel games that use particles and lighting shaders that interact with the actual game. Although my favorite art style for games is the hand drawn style used by cuphead and hollow knight.

[WicDrums]

Because it's beautiful and charming

[Beets_Creations]

Cool video essay on the subject! Nice work!

[avena]

I am 18, I did not experience pixel art when it came from necessity, but Celeste in my favorite game of all time, due to it's simplicity, precision, and most of all it's unparalleled ability to just feel *clean*, I grew up playing SMM1 from the day it came out, my dream was to make levels for everyone to play, but instead I became engrossed in Kaizo and doing things that just looked cool and felt clean, moving on to a 3d plane just doesn't offer any of that, and I don't know if it ever will, in simplicity, we find complexity that will never exist outside that bubble, and for that I am forever grateful that video games have the history they do, for it has proven the enduring fact that constraints breed real innovation, and I feel that oozing from every pixelated game I play in a way that 3d could never provide, and doesn't have or need to.

Thanks for this video, it means a lot to me, and I bet it does to many others.