The Evolution of Pixel Gaming: From the Arcades to Play 2 Earn
Since the very first steps of the gaming industry right up to the present day, pixel art games have been a very strong presence in the roster of all-time favorite projects in many gamers’ collections. 4 of the 10 bestselling games of all time display pixel art, and out of the 50 most-sold game in the industry’s history, 12 of them were coded in this particular style.
Of course, the first classics to appear had to adopt this simple style out of necessity: during the golden age of arcade gaming, usually classified between 1978 and 1984, the release of classic games like Space Invaders (1978), Galaxian (1979) and Asteroids (1979) gave way to the first wave of gaming mania in the history of the industry: after the release of Space Invaders, Japan had to issue 4x more Yen coins because of the shortage created by arcade gaming!
The early 1980s saw an increase in the potential of pixel gaming due to two main factors: firstly, technological advance allowed for the use of more colors and a general increase in the graphics of the games, opening the decade with the multicolored Pac Man (1980) and achieving what is arguably the pinnacle of arcade gaming graphics prowess with the boxing action classic PunchOut!! (1984). Secondly, the release of home consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System (1983) and the Sega Master System (1985).
Although still constrained by the limitation of 8-bit, these two consoles produced a huge amount of games that would be the first installments of massive franchises in the future: some examples are Super Mario Bros. (1985), The Legend of Zelda (1985), Final Fantasy (1987) and Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). The sales numbers were staggering, with Super Mario Bros. alone selling more than 40 million copies and its main character becoming a worldwide icon.
The 1990s witnessed the rise of the FPS genre, and while the overall speed and frantic action of games such as Wolfenstein 3D (1992) and Doom (1993): while being light years ahead of the 80s games we have mentioned above, the graphics were still somewhere in between the style of the previous decade and the grand scale visuals the 90s would have accustomed us too. Whatever your opinion may be about these early FPS, it is clear that the visual element was sacrificed to greater speed and tighter controls. Sprites and pixels notwithstanding, Doom was the number 8 bestseller from 1993 to 1999, showing that a lot could be achieved with little on the visuals department.
The real impressive effort and a love song to that-retrogaming feel that we’ve all learned to love came with the release of Mojang Studios’ Minecraft in 2011: the pixelated graphics are part of the game’s branding and Minecraft, at first glance, seems like a wonderful relic from the days of the Atari 2600. Of course, the blocky, pixelated look was by 2011 a stylistic choice, and the game offers much more than its old-school predecessors ever could dream of. It is perhaps also because of the game’s distinctive retro vibe that Minecraft has gone on to become the world’s best-selling game ever, with over 200 million copies sold cross platform. The game also holds the record for the most expensive game ever sold from one company to another, when Microsoft bought Mojang for a whopping $2.5 billion.
The vintage feel of old games has proven to be a successful genre, with entire web portals and magazines being dedicated to retro gaming: some games produced in recent years have entered the hall of fame of best games of the past 15 years by storm, and usually the creators behind these successes are studios comprising of 1 or 2 people, making pixel games one of the most sustainable genre for fledgling game creators to go for: major examples include the uber-clean pixel adventure Undertale (2015), the farming sim Stardew Valley (2016), and the crazily fast-paced Enter the Gungeon (2016).
Given the enormous success of these titles, it is no wonder that the first games created on blockchain followed the trend of harkening back to the pixelated days of yore.
One of the first games to come out on the blockchain and still one of the most played play 2 earn games is a Pokémon knock off produced by the Vietnamese Sky Mavis and launched in 2018: in it, retro looking creatures resembling Gameboy-era Pokèmons are pitted against each other by players, who win the game’s currency in case of victory.
The reason behind the success of such a simplistic game is twofold: on the one hand, it is clear that the nostalgia factor has been accounted for, and some players love the old school vibe of the game. On the other hand, one must also factor in the time and effort it takes to create such a game: almost nothing if compared to the AAA blockchain games that have been in development for years now and are only approaching release in 2022.
Here at Gamestarter, one of the Originals games that we’ve been working on is Pixel Pix: in it, the player will be able to create his own creatures in a pixelated world: he will be able to build unique PIXIES, name them and add all sorts of characteristics. Every creation of a Pixie will also generate an in-platform trademarked NFTs, and all creations will be tradable on Gamestarter’s NFT marketplace.
The old school feel of the pixel classics will be retained, but the technology behind the game is top notch, and the 8-bit vibe will be combined with an impressive game engine that will make the project run smoothly on the blockchain. Between the two characteristics that make a pixel game successful, the nostalgia factor and the short time needed to knock it out of the studios, we have preferred to focus on the old school feels, while taking enough time to release a polished version of the game.
In this way, Gamestarter fans of pixelated projects will be able to enjoy the best of both worlds!
About Gamestarter
Gamestarter is a complete gaming ecosystem that brings a new standard for blockchain gaming by building a multichain launchpad & NFT marketplace.
Gamestarter also has an in-house game studio focused on building high-quality blockchain games (Gamestarter Originals) like Dark Frontiers & Pixel Pix. Gamestarter Accelerator acts as an investor and advisor to promising games like Souni and Crypto Fight Club.
Gamestarter adds liquidity, player-ownership, and new funding resources to the largest entertainment industry in the world.
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