decolourizing games
- Einar Saukas
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Re: decolourizing games
Some of Chris Kerry's games would look better with a lot less colour, and some shading/details instead.
Re: decolourizing games
Nothing (as in the game called Nothing ) looks stunning in monochrome:
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... um/Nothing
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/3 ... um/Nothing
Re: decolourizing games
Indeed, that looks fantasticEinar Saukas wrote: ↑Mon Aug 14, 2023 2:34 am A modern example (that looks amazing):
https://store.steampowered.com/app/916730/Gato_Roboto/
Website: Tardis Remakes / Mostly remakes of Arcade and ZX Spectrum games.
My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation & Sqij.
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- Einar Saukas
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Re: decolourizing games
Limbo is another great modern example.
However these examples have something in common: they were designed intentionally to be monochrome.
I doubt we can find a modern colored game where removing colors would make it better.
However these examples have something in common: they were designed intentionally to be monochrome.
I doubt we can find a modern colored game where removing colors would make it better.
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Re: decolourizing games
Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Mon Aug 14, 2023 10:56 am I doubt we can find a modern colored game where removing colors would make it better.
- HEXdidnt
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Re: decolourizing games
"Better" is always going to be subjective. A lot of Zosya's scrolling action games could certainly be made smoother if they were made monochrome, but they grab attention precisely because of their very efficient and clever use of colour, and how effectively they use a mixture of pixel scrolling and attribute scrolling with negligible colour clash, and huge improvements in how they handle colour blocking.Einar Saukas wrote: ↑Mon Aug 14, 2023 10:56 am I doubt we can find a modern colored game where removing colors would make it better.
I'm not even sure it's necessarily important or significant that Gato Roboto, Limbo and Nothing were designed as monochrome - that was an artistic choice, a decision to work within very specific limits. They could have added colour, but would that have made them 'better'? Would it have detracted in any way from the gameplay?
This game turned up in my Reddit feed recently:
The creators claim it has a "strong Spectrum vibe", but it really doesn't. Spectrum with a neon glow, filtered through Jeff Minter's Melt-O-Vision, perhaps, but there's a serious misunderstanding of what constitutes 'Spectrum style'. This game probably would look 'better' in mono, because the way the colour has been handled makes it more akin to a super-high-res version of one of those old Grandstand tabletop game units.
Considering there have been movies made over the last couple of decades that chose to present themselves in black and white, to fit a particular aesthetic, it can certainly be said that going monochrome can make a movie 'better' but, again, it's subjective. I've had people tell me they can't watch black and white movies because they send them to sleep.
If we're including non-Spectrum 'modern' games, I'd suggest LA Noire would benefit by a monochrome filter... It'd certainly help the game live up to its name in terms of visuals, if nothing else.
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Re: decolourizing games
I quite like the aesthetics of the Acorn Atom versions of the MPAGD games that Kees van Oss converts, here's the ones he did for our games:
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Re: decolourizing games
I believe that some games would be better if we removed just 8 colors from their palette.
Re: decolourizing games
Have I completely imagined this but was there a Speccy game that allowed you to either play it in colour or monochrome? I have this vague memory of such a title but at the same time I think I'm making it up. Or maybe I'm getting it confused with some of the filters that modern games have. The Last Of Us games had options to make it sepia, B&W etc.
Another like Limbo that would only work in monochrome is Return of the Obra Dinn. So much more atmospheric than if it was full colour. What was the name of that Puzzley/Adventure type game that originated on the Apple II in the 1980s? It wasn't The Bard's Tale but it was a name fantasy-based like that. That was completely black and white too and I think all ports of it were. Can't think of its name and it's really bugging me now
Another like Limbo that would only work in monochrome is Return of the Obra Dinn. So much more atmospheric than if it was full colour. What was the name of that Puzzley/Adventure type game that originated on the Apple II in the 1980s? It wasn't The Bard's Tale but it was a name fantasy-based like that. That was completely black and white too and I think all ports of it were. Can't think of its name and it's really bugging me now
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- bluespikey
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Re: decolourizing games
Halls Of The Things (The greatest spectrum game of all time) has this option. Not that it is especially fabulous to begin with.Vampyre wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 10:03 am Have I completely imagined this but was there a Speccy game that allowed you to either play it in colour or monochrome? I have this vague memory of such a title but at the same time I think I'm making it up. Or maybe I'm getting it confused with some of the filters that modern games have. The Last Of Us games had options to make it sepia, B&W etc.
Re: decolourizing games
At first I thought there must be loads of examples where this would look better, but the more I think about it the less convinced I am. I think it's probably because games that were in colour usually made other sacrifices to accommodate it reasonably well. The Dizzy games, for example, don't really look any better by draining all the colour out even if it stops Dizzy himself from constantly changing colour.
Now there are probably examples like Double Dragon, which compromises certain aspects of the scrolling to allow for colour. If you just took the colour out, it doesn't really improve it, but if you took the colour out and were able to scroll more smoothly as a result it'd probably be a better game overall. When you aren't taking advantage of less need to compromise for colour, the end results are always going to be a bit disappointing I think.
Now there are probably examples like Double Dragon, which compromises certain aspects of the scrolling to allow for colour. If you just took the colour out, it doesn't really improve it, but if you took the colour out and were able to scroll more smoothly as a result it'd probably be a better game overall. When you aren't taking advantage of less need to compromise for colour, the end results are always going to be a bit disappointing I think.
Re: decolourizing games
It's to to see how bad they would look if the programmers were lazy enough to maintain these games Mono
Re: decolourizing games
Agree, I've applied the "less colour" idea to Jack and the Beanstalk, but I'm confident that it'll work perfectly for Monty is Innocent, Giant's Revenge and most of his other games too
Website: Tardis Remakes / Mostly remakes of Arcade and ZX Spectrum games.
My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation & Sqij.
Twitter: Sokurah
My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation & Sqij.
Twitter: Sokurah
Re: decolourizing games
Managed to find it - The Fool's Errand. And it was nowhere near as B&W as what I rememberVampyre wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 10:03 am What was the name of that Puzzley/Adventure type game that originated on the Apple II in the 1980s? It wasn't The Bard's Tale but it was a name fantasy-based like that. That was completely black and white too and I think all ports of it were. Can't think of its name and it's really bugging me now
ZX Spectrum Reviews REST API: http://zxspectrumreviews.co.uk/
Re: decolourizing games
Not at all. Back in time we played a lot on Speccy and BK (russian computer) with b/w tv's, and have nearly no problem to distinguish different colors in games.
Re: decolourizing games
There is a well-known game by a well-known software house that gives you this option.
No, really. Look no further:
Spoiler
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/9 ... trum/Cobra
Though it is only the play area that becomes monochrome, not the scoring/lives etc. bit
Though it is only the play area that becomes monochrome, not the scoring/lives etc. bit
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Re: decolourizing games
Yes, it was mentioned earlier in the thread…
- bluespikey
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Re: decolourizing games
I've been trying to find it, but I'm sure that Philippa Irving writing the Frontline section of Crash would praise games for clear graphics, and complain about her black and white telly. I don't think it was a joke either.
Edit : Here it is reviewing Vulcan in issue 39 :
Edit : Here it is reviewing Vulcan in issue 39 :
WtAF? Still gives a generous 89% for the graphics rating.There are 11 terrain symbols listed in the manual, all reasonably clear on the screen, though on my black and white monitor (which is all I can afford on my £1.99 a year grant) I had difficulty distinguishing between 'rough' and 'mountain
Re: decolourizing games
Cheers! I knew I didn't imagine it.XTM wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 1:07 pm There is a well-known game by a well-known software house that gives you this option.
No, really. Look no further:Spoiler
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/9 ... trum/Cobra
Though it is only the play area that becomes monochrome, not the scoring/lives etc. bit
ZX Spectrum Reviews REST API: http://zxspectrumreviews.co.uk/
Re: decolourizing games
I do remember seeing those odd couple of games where the colour had been turned off by the coders due to how the clash was effecting it ... wasn't it Pacland and one of the racing games. And I believe some clever folk managed to undo it to get close to the original effect.
However some things would certainly look better with mono options for sure.
However some things would certainly look better with mono options for sure.
Can also be found at SamstersVideos - which does occasionally update when I have time...
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Re: decolourizing games
The racing game is OutRun Europa... though the performance of the 'recoloured' version seems pretty much identical to the released version as far as I can tell: they're both terrible.dvduk wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2023 8:11 am I do remember seeing those odd couple of games where the colour had been turned off by the coders due to how the clash was effecting it ... wasn't it Pacland and one of the racing games. And I believe some clever folk managed to undo it to get close to the original effect.
Europa was a massive disappointment at the time, because all the magazines had shown colourful screenshots... but it was fairly obvious that the Spectrum wouldn't have been able to make that work in that style of driving game. Problem was, coming after the mostly acceptable conversions of OutRun and Turbo OutRun, Europa's performance hadn't been made any smoother in monochrome, so it's the worst of the series. They might have got away with it if they hadn't given it the OutRun brand.
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Re: decolourizing games
I initially thought of 3 Weeks, but that was setting the Wally sprite as transparent rather than any monochrome.
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- Einar Saukas
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Re: decolourizing games
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/list?group_id=536dvduk wrote: ↑Wed Aug 16, 2023 8:11 am I do remember seeing those odd couple of games where the colour had been turned off by the coders due to how the clash was effecting it ... wasn't it Pacland and one of the racing games. And I believe some clever folk managed to undo it to get close to the original effect.