{"id":191324,"date":"2021-03-01T09:40:55","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T06:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated\/"},"modified":"2021-03-01T09:40:55","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T06:40:55","slug":"why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why Were Old Video Games So Pixelated?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e38435f32b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e38435f32b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated\/#The_Short_Answer_Resolution_Was_Limited_by_Cost_and_Available_Technology\" >The Short Answer: Resolution Was Limited by Cost and Available Technology<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated\/#How_Video_Game_Graphics_Work\" >How Video Game Graphics Work<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated\/#Exponential_Changes_in_Memory_and_Resolution\" >Exponential Changes in Memory and Resolution<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated\/#TV_Set_Resolution_Was_Low_Limiting_Detail\" >TV Set Resolution Was Low, Limiting Detail<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated\/#Storage_Space_Set_Limits_on_Graphical_Complexity_Too\" >Storage Space Set Limits on Graphical Complexity, Too<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated\/#The_End_of_the_Visible_Pixel_%E2%80%A6_and_a_New_Beginning\" >The End of the Visible Pixel \u2026 and a New Beginning<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Why Were Old Video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a>s So Pixelated?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-714668 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pixel_art_hero_1.jpg\" alt=\"Pixelated Super Mario Bros box art excerpt on a blue background\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-credittext=\"Nintendo\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Nintendo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If you didn\u2019t grow up in the 20th century, you might wonder why video and computer games once used such blocky, pixelated graphics. We\u2019ll explore the origins of pixel art and how graphics have exploded in complexity over time.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Short_Answer_Resolution_Was_Limited_by_Cost_and_Available_Technology\"><\/span>The Short Answer: Resolution Was Limited by Cost and Available Technology<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The pixelated artwork in older video games\u2014where the display resolution is low enough that the pixels are obvious and blocky\u2014was largely the result of low-resolution television sets and the high cost of memory chips and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Digital_electronics\">digital logic<\/a> at the time those games were created relative to today.<\/p>\n<p>While it was possible to create an HD-resolution digital still image by the late 1970s, the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> to animate it in real-time did not exist until much later.\u00a0Such technology was far too expensive to put into a mass-produced entertainment product that consumers could afford until the mid-2000s.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-715665 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/atari_800_tv_set.jpg\" alt=\"A child playing River Raid on an Atari 800XL computer.\" width=\"650\" height=\"373\" data-credittext=\"Benj Edwards\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Benj Edwards<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Game designers did what they could with the limited technology available at the time, using <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mosaic\">mosaic-like<\/a> blocky, pixelated graphics to illustrate their games for consoles, such as the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Atari_2600\">Atari 2600<\/a>, NES, Sega Genesis, and many more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would sketch on graph paper, and then digitize those drawings,\u201d says Joe Decuir, who co-created the Atari 2600 game console and programmed one of its earliest games. \u201cI remember vividly how clunky the tanks looked in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Combat_(Atari_2600)\"><em>Combat<\/em><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-714891 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/loom_screenshot_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"314\" data-credittext=\"Lucasfilm\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The EGA version of Loom for the IBM PC. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Lucasfilm<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Even artists on the PC gaming side had to deal with relatively low-resolution, low-color images compared to today. \u201cHaving to work in these giant bricks of solid color and be limited to just 16 terrible colors that had been chosen for us ahead of time, from which there was no varying, was a tremendous obstacle,\u201d says Mark Ferrari, who drew the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter\">EGA graphics<\/a> for Lucasfilm games on the IBM PC such as <em>Zak McKracken<\/em>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobygames.com\/game\/dos\/loom\/screenshots\"><em>Loom<\/em><\/a>, and <em>The Secret of Monkey Island<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>But artists embraced the limitations and made timeless classics anyway. Let\u2019s take a deeper look into what technical capabilities led to those limitations and why pixelated game art became less necessary over time.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Video_Game_Graphics_Work\"><\/span>How Video Game Graphics Work<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Digital game graphics are all about pixels\u2014how you store them, how you process them, and how you display them. More pixels-per-inch means <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Display_resolution\">more detail<\/a>, but the more pixels you have, the more hardware power you need to drive them.<\/p>\n<p>The word \u201cpixel\u201d originated as an abbreviation of the term \u201cpicture element,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pixel\">coined by computer researchers in the 1960s<\/a>. Pixels are the smallest possible part of any digital image, regardless of resolution. In modern computers, they\u2019re usually square\u2014but not always, depending on the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pixel_aspect_ratio\">aspect ratio of the display device<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-715483 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mario_bitmap_1.png\" alt=\"A bitmap of Mario from Super Mario Bros. on the NES.\" width=\"650\" height=\"279\" data-credittext=\"Benj Edwards \/ Nintendo\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Benj Edwards \/ Nintendo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In abstract terms, most video game graphics work by storing a grid of pixels (known as a bitmap) in a portion of video memory called a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Framebuffer\">frame buffer<\/a>. A special circuit then reads that memory and translates it into an image on the screen. The amount of detail (resolution) and the number of colors you can store in that image are directly related to how much video memory you have available in your computer or game console.<\/p>\n<p>Some early console and arcade games didn\u2019t use frame buffers. In fact, the Atari 2600 console, released in 1977, kept its costs low by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2009\/03\/racing-the-beam\/\">using dedicated logic to generate a signal on the fly<\/a> as the television scan line moved down the screen. \u201cWe were trying to be cheap, but that put the vertical in the hands of the programmers, who were a lot smarter than the hardware designers realized,\u201d says Decuir of the 2600.<\/p>\n<p>In the cases of pre-frame buffer games, the graphical detail was limited by the cost of the supporting circuitry (as in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.system16.com\/hardware.php?id=756\">Atari\u2019s early discrete logic arcade games<\/a>) or the size of the program code (as in the Atari 2600).<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Exponential_Changes_in_Memory_and_Resolution\"><\/span>Exponential Changes in Memory and Resolution<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The scale of improvement in the technical capabilities of computers and game consoles has been <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Exponential_growth\">exponential<\/a> over the past 50 years, which means that the cost of digital memory and computing power has decreased at a rate that defies common sense.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because improving chip fabrication technologies has allowed manufacturers to cram <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/spectrum.ieee.org\/computing\/hardware\/transistor-production-has-reached-astronomical-scales\">exponentially more transistors<\/a> into a given area on a piece of silicon, allowing for dramatic increases in memory, CPU speed, and graphics chip complexity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReally, it\u2019s how many transistors could you use?\u201d says Steve Golson, co-designer of the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Atari_7800\">Atari 7800<\/a>\u2018s graphics chip and a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/3067296\/the-mit-dropouts-who-created-ms-pac-man-a-35th-anniversary-oral-history\">co-creator of <em>Ms. Pac-Man<\/em><\/a>, among other games. \u201cWith a few tens of thousands of transistors, you have the Atari 2600. With tens of billions of transistors, you get modern consoles. That\u2019s a million times more. And clock speeds have increased from a few megahertz to a few gigahertz. That\u2019s a thousand-fold increase.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 614px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-714896 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/fairchild-channel_f_casino_1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"614\" height=\"466\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Casino Poker<\/em> for the Fairchild Channel F made the best of a 102\u00d758 pixel display.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The cost of transistors impacted every electronic component that utilized them, including RAM memory chips. At the dawn of the computerized game console in 1976, digital memory was very expensive. The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/3040889\/the-untold-story-of-the-invention-of-the-game-cartridge\">Fairchild Channel F<\/a> used a mere 2 kilobytes of RAM to store a bitm<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ed image of the screen\u2014just 128\u00d764 pixels (102\u00d758 visible), with only one of four colors per pixel. RAM chips of similar capacity to the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/console5.com\/wiki\/Channel_F\">four RAM chips<\/a> used in the Channel F <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/retrocomputing.stackexchange.com\/questions\/13301\/cost-of-dynamic-versus-static-ram-in-the-early-days\">retailed for about $80 total at the time<\/a>, which is $373 adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Fast-forward to 2021, when the Nintendo Switch includes 4 gigabytes of RAM that can be shared between working memory and video memory. Let\u2019s assume a game uses 2GB (2,000,000 kilobytes) of video RAM in the Switch. At 1976 RAM prices, those 2,000,000 kilobytes of RAM would have cost $80 million in 1976\u2014that\u2019s over $373 million today. Insane, right? That\u2019s the logic-defying nature of exponential change.<\/p>\n<p>As the price of memory has dropped since 1976, console makers have been able to include more video RAM in their consoles, allowing for much higher-resolution images. With more resolution, individual pixels have become smaller and harder to see.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-714897 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mario_resolution_1.jpg\" alt=\"Today's Mario in Mario Odyssey uses more pixels than the entire NES system resolution.\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" data-credittext=\"Benj Edwards \/ Nintendo\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Mario in <em>Mario Odyssey<\/em> uses roughly as many pixels as the entire NES system resolution. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Benj Edwards \/ Nintendo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nintendo_Entertainment_System\">Nintendo Entertainment System<\/a>, released in 1985, could produce a 256\u00d7240 resolution image (61,440 pixels). Today, a Sony PlayStation 5 console can produce a 3840\u00d72160 image (4K), and potentially, one as high as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sony.com\/electronics\/support\/articles\/00176888\">7680\u00d74320<\/a> (33,177,600 pixels). That\u2019s a 53,900% increase in video game console resolution over the past 36 years.<\/p>\n<p>Even if it were possible to display high-definition graphics in the 1980s, there was no way to move those images from memory and paint them onto a screen at 30 or 60 times a second. \u201cConsider Pixar\u2019s wonderful animated short film <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Adventures_of_Andr\u00e9_%26_Wally_B.\"><em>The Adventures of Andr\u00e9 &amp; Wally B.<\/em><\/a>,\u201d says Golson. \u201cIn 1984, this film required a $15 million Cray supercomputer to create.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-715686 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/andre_wally_b_screenshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"477\" data-credittext=\"Pixar\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In 1984, it took a $15 million supercomputer 1\/2 hour per frame to render the short film <em>The Adventures of\u00a0Andr\u00e9 &amp; Wally B.<\/em> <span class=\"imagecredit\">Pixar<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For <em>The Adventures of Andr\u00e9 &amp; Wally B.<\/em>, Pixar rendered detailed 512\u00d7488 resolution frames at a rate of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quora.com\/When-CGI-artists-say-it-takes-X-amount-of-time-to-render-a-frame-are-they-talking-literally-or-figuratively\">roughly one frame per 2-3 hours<\/a>. Higher-resolution works attempted later took much longer render time and multi-million dollar world-class equipment. According to Golson, when it came to real-time photorealistic graphics, \u201cIt simply could not be done using the hardware available in 1984. Let alone at a price point to be sold to consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TV_Set_Resolution_Was_Low_Limiting_Detail\"><\/span>TV Set Resolution Was Low, Limiting Detail<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Of course, for a console to display an image with a 4K resolution like today\u2019s high-end consoles, you need a display capable of doing so, which didn\u2019t exist in the 1970s and \u201980s.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/High-definition_television\">HDTV era<\/a>, most game consoles utilized relatively antique display technology developed in the 1950s\u2014long before anyone anticipated playing high-resolution home video games. Those TV sets were designed to receive broadcasts over the air via an antenna that plugged into the back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only way to connect to the TV was through the antenna input,\u201d says Steve Golson, recalling his work on the Atari 7800 in 1984. \u201cThus the console had to generate a compatible signal that looked like it was coming from your antenna. So you were limited by the possible resolution of an analog <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NTSC\">NTSC broadcast signal<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-715530\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/double_dragon.jpg\" alt=\"Double Dragon on the NES\" width=\"650\" height=\"460\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Ideally, the NTSC analog TV signal can handle about 486 interlaced lines that are about 640 pixels wide (although this varies based on implementation due to the standard\u2019s analog nature). But early on, game console designers discovered that they could save memory by only using half of the NTSC\u2019s two interlaced fields-per-second to make a very stable 240 pixel-high image, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.retrorgb.com\/240p.html\">now called \u201c240p\u201d among enthusiasts<\/a>. To keep the 4:3 aspect ratio, they limited the horizontal resolution to about 320 pixels, although this exact number varied considerably between consoles.<\/p>\n<p>The NTSC signal also restricted the number of colors you could generate without having them bleed together or wash out. \u201cAnd you had to make it look nice for the many people who still had black-and-white TVs! This further limited your color choices,\u201d says Golson.<\/p>\n<p>To get around this restriction, personal computers began using higher-resolution non-television displays in the early 1980s. \u201cThe IBM PC and its clones inspired a big market for separate color monitors that could handle at least VGA (640 x 480),\u201d adds Joe Decuir. \u201cHowever, game players didn\u2019t get those until the 1990s, for PC-connected gaming.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-715676 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/popeye_screenshot_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"450\" data-credittext=\"Mobygames\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At 512\u00d7448 pixels, Nintendo\u2019s <em>Popeye<\/em> was a high-resolution game for 1982, but it required an expensive arcade machine and a special monitor to work. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Nintendo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Some vintage arcade games, such as Nintendo\u2019s <em>Popeye<\/em> (1982), took advantage of much higher resolutions (512\u00d7448) made possible with arcade monitors using a non-standard interlaced video mode, but those games could not be played on home game consoles at the time <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobygames.com\/game\/popeye\/screenshots\">without graphical compromises<\/a> when translated to home consoles.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Storage_Space_Set_Limits_on_Graphical_Complexity_Too\"><\/span>Storage Space Set Limits on Graphical Complexity, Too<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In both console and computer games, the complexity of graphics was limited not just by display capabilities and logic speed, but also by how they were stored on removable <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> that could be distributed to customers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese days, people don\u2019t really begin to understand what a limited environment we were working in in terms of storage space and processing time,\u201d says Mark Ferrari. \u201cDisk space was really precious in those days.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-669948 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/floppy_hero_2.jpg\" alt=\"A 5.25&quot; Floppy Disk and a 3.5&quot; Floppy Disk\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-credittext=\"Benj Edwards\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A 5.25\u2033 floppy disk and a 3.5\u2033 floppy disk. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Benj Edwards<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the time Ferrari drew his graphics for Lucasfilm, a game had to fit on a handful of floppy disks that could only store about 1.4 megabytes apiece. Even though Lucasfilm compressed its game artwork, the limitation on much detail Ferrari could include came not just from the resolution of the IBM PC graphics card, but also from the storage capacity of the floppy disks themselves.<\/p>\n<p>But, like memory prices, the cost of storing graphics data on removable media has dropped exponentially as well. On the console side of things, a Fairchild Channel F cartridge held about 2 kilobytes of data in 1976, whereas Nintendo Switch Game Cards can store up to 32,000,000 kilobytes of data (32GB). That\u2019s 16 million times more storage space, providing a lot more room for detailed graphics data.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_End_of_the_Visible_Pixel_%E2%80%A6_and_a_New_Beginning\"><\/span>The End of the Visible Pixel \u2026 and a New Beginning<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In 2010, Apple <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/newsroom\/2010\/06\/07Apple-Presents-iPhone-4\/\">introduced a \u201cRetina display\u201d on the iPhone 4<\/a>\u2014a screen with a resolution high enough that the naked eye (at a standard viewing distance) could no longer distinguish individual pixels. Since then, these ultra high-res displays have moved to tablets, desktops, and laptop computers.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-715475 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/apple_retina_display.jpg\" alt=\"An Apple iPhone with a Retina display.\" width=\"650\" height=\"239\" data-credittext=\"Apple\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An iPhone with a Retina display. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For a little while, it looked like maybe pixel art\u2019s days were finally over completely. But low-res pixel art hasn\u2019t disappeared. In fact, it\u2019s on an upswing.<\/p>\n<p>Beginning in the late 2000s, indie game developers began to embrace the retro pixel art aesthetic in earnest. They did it partially for nostalgic reasons, and also because in some cases, it\u2019s easier for a small team of developers to create simpler block graphics than detailed, high-resolution illustrations that look professional. (As with everything, there are exceptions\u2014creating convincing and smooth animations with 2D sprites is a very labor-intensive process, for example.)<\/p>\n<p>Blocky-pixel games like <em>Stardew Valley<\/em> and <em>Minecraft<\/em> evoke feelings of a simpler time, while also providing the conveniences that come with modern game design.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-715476 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/stardew_valley_screenshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" data-credittext=\"ConcernedApe LLC\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Stardew Valley<\/em> uses pixel art to evoke nostalgic memories. <span class=\"imagecredit\">ConcernedApe LLC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mark Ferrari looks at these modern-day pixel artists with awe and reverence. \u201cI was doing pixel art because there was no alternative. It wasn\u2019t a choice, it was a necessity,\u201d says Ferrari. \u201cPeople doing pixel art now are all doing it by choice. There\u2019s not a technical imperative in the world right now to be doing pixel art anymore. But they are choosing this as an aesthetic because they love it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So even though pixel art was once a restriction, it\u2019s now a treasured art aesthetic that will likely never disappear, and it\u2019s all thanks to that very short period in history when artists did what they could with the limited technology of the time. Pixels forever!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/714581\/why-were-old-video-games-so-pixelated\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Why Were Old Video Games So Pixelated?&#8221; Nintendo If you didn\u2019t grow up in the 20th century, you might wonder why video and computer games once used such blocky, pixelated graphics. We\u2019ll explore the origins of pixel art and how graphics have exploded in complexity over time. The Short Answer: Resolution Was Limited by Cost&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":191325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pixel_art_hero_1.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}