/vr/ - Retro Games

Wutai is cool

>>10250918
>even though it was technically impressive 25 years ago, it kinda looks like shit when you ignore the 90s CGI nostalgia.
I don't think that's strictly true. The CGI of the era was crude by today's standards but it's also a kind of artform of it's own. It'd be like saying expressionist paintings are crude by today's standards. That'd be ignoring the idea that the style can invoke feelings that can't be duplicated by a different style. Everyone understands that Van Gogh's Starry Night isn't just a rudimentary version of a photograph of a literal starry night. We do tend to think of computers just getting better and so CGI just happened to get better, too. But I think this particular style of CGI happened to accidentally exist as it's own thing and it's sad that it's been forgotten. Like if suddenly nobody used oil paints anymore because the world moved onto some new formulation that, while it has benefits, doesn't really look the same. I know I'm not explaining it well. It's hard to put into words.

>>9692501
I could just keep going.

>>8502217
>the pre-rendered look is still a specific style that can be copied, even if it was was based on limitations of the time.
It's also unfortunately the most forgotten. The attempt at replicating reality while not being fully able to with the technology means that the artform fell in the cracks between cartoon and photorealism and the result always gave off a whimsical sentimentality to my eye that hasn't been replicated by "better" 3D.

In fact the rapid improvement of technology between the PS1 and PS2 eras caused a dramatic shift in style. Back in the day I imagined future systems would be able to do in real time what FFVII and FFVIII did in their FMVs. But that continuous progression never happened and instead most things shifted toward increased realism in the artstyle itself with "better" textures and the like. I think Soul Calibur was about the place where it ended.

>>8107107
Word. Unfortunately this style was only really a thing for about six or seven years. It's a small timeframe where this artstyle was a thing. From what I understand though there's a Super Mario 64 mod that's trying to make it look like the promo renders. It's not quite there yet but it shows promise.

Those SGI Workstations had a style all their own. The attempt at creating something "real" but still very much limited by the technology caused the end product to fall in the crack between cartoon and real life, resulting in something uniquely whimsical. And since nobody is trying to recreate it like they are 8-bit and 16-bit sprites it's an artform that existed for only a few years.

>>7170883
I wish the original assets were kept for this reason. It wasn't possible because HDD space in the 90s was at a premium but we're really worse off for having lost this material.

There's something really charming about 90s CGI. They were clearly trying their hardest to make things look "real" but the tech wasn't there yet so the results fell somewhere in the cracks between cartoons and photorealism, giving it a whimsical appearance that was only a thing between about 1995-2000. As much as I love a good 8 and 16 bit throwback, I would love to see some retro throwbacks to this era of gaming.