That Euro/UK aesthetic
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That Euro/UK aesthetic
Can anyone pinpoint some of the elements that give certain games the whole Euro/UK aesthetic, as shown below in a few examples:
Last edited by iNCEPTIONAL on Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Cont.
Last edited by iNCEPTIONAL on Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:44 am, edited 3 times in total.
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Bubsy was developed by an American team (Accolade , in San Jose, California)
If we're including UK, how about Plok?
If we're including UK, how about Plok?
nesdoug.com -- blog/tutorial on programming for the NES
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Or the Virgin Interactive games...
Cool Spot, Disney's Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2
UK, or possibly US (? not sure) they had a US dev team also. But I listed the David Perry games, and he's Irish
edit...
"In 1991, he moved to the United States to work for the American division of Virgin Games"
never mind. He made those games in America.
Cool Spot, Disney's Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2
UK, or possibly US (? not sure) they had a US dev team also. But I listed the David Perry games, and he's Irish
edit...
"In 1991, he moved to the United States to work for the American division of Virgin Games"
never mind. He made those games in America.
nesdoug.com -- blog/tutorial on programming for the NES
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Some more:
Last edited by iNCEPTIONAL on Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:51 am, edited 7 times in total.
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Ocean Software is UK. They made Clayfighter, Dennis the Menace, Addams Family Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt, Jurassic Park, Mr. Nutz, Super James Pond, Flintstones, Worms (and some other games)
nesdoug.com -- blog/tutorial on programming for the NES
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
UK/EU devs living in the US, is still Euro dev.dougeff wrote: ↑Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:40 am Or the Virgin Interactive games...
Cool Spot, Disney's Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2
UK, or possibly US (? not sure) they had a US dev team also. But I listed the David Perry games, and he's Irish
edit...
"In 1991, he moved to the United States to work for the American division of Virgin Games"
never mind. He made those games in America.
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
"Pillow Shading" in particular is the scourge of 16-bit-era European pixel art. That's when you apply shading from the edges to the center of the object. Makes everything look puffy.
Picture: What Pillow shading might look like (not mine)
Picture: What Pillow shading might look like (not mine)
Here come the fortune cookies! Here come the fortune cookies! They're wearing paper hats!
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Interesting. That combined with the general lack of hue shifting could definitely be part of what gives games that look.
Last edited by iNCEPTIONAL on Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
The pillow shading is definitely a common trait of many European games.
Another thing that comes to mind, which can't be seen in screenshots, is the use of needlessly smooth animations, which don't necessarily look natural.
EDIT: The walk cycle in Jim Power is an example of the kind of animation I'm talking about - it's very smooth, but lacks any real impact.
Another thing that comes to mind, which can't be seen in screenshots, is the use of needlessly smooth animations, which don't necessarily look natural.
EDIT: The walk cycle in Jim Power is an example of the kind of animation I'm talking about - it's very smooth, but lacks any real impact.
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Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Maybe they all used the Amiga and Deluxe Paint...
My current setup:
Super Famicom ("2/1/3" SNS-CPU-GPM-02) → SCART → OSSC → StarTech USB3HDCAP → AmaRecTV 3.10
Super Famicom ("2/1/3" SNS-CPU-GPM-02) → SCART → OSSC → StarTech USB3HDCAP → AmaRecTV 3.10
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Yeah pillow shadowing is defenitily one. Other things that comes to mind from looking at those screenshots are:
- Heavy use of dithering.
- Dull colors, or little contrast between colors (Shadow Of The Beast is a good example).
- A tendency to use certain shades of dark, dull or even reddish brown for the ground or similar things. In some cases it looks like the ground is covered in very reddish dirt, other times it just looks like the sky is just always very dark. I guess it's kinda similar to the previous point (a tendency towards dull colors) but I think the ground often stands out as being especially dull.
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Way too many gradients, provided that the hardware allows it.
Re: That Euro/UK aesthetic
Yeah, I think that added to everything having a kind of cheap rendered look to it also.
Last edited by iNCEPTIONAL on Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:46 am, edited 3 times in total.