Stolen Pixels #225: Public Service Announcement

[Shamus Young]

Stolen Pixels #225: Public Service Announcement

We need to discuss a serious issue that could threaten the survival of the games industry.

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[Queen Michael]

What's wrong with using a lot of brown? Real is brown! [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealIsBrown]

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Let's not forget gray pixels!

Too much gray!

SAVE THE GRAY PIXELS!

Gray Depletion. Limbo really drained our reserves. It did it in a quality manner, but still. We're low on gray!

 

[hansari]

Perhaps now is the time to tap our Fuchsia reserves...

 

[Canadamus Prime]

"Brown Depletion" That kills me!

 

[Georgie_Leech]

The mark of a great pundit: being able to decry a phenomenon in an extremely hilarious way.

 

[PurePareidolia]

The Original Fallout! Drink!

Seriously though, I do hope New Vegas fixes the brownness issue, without looking awful which is really a concern for that game.

 

[swimon]

What's wring with using a lot of brown? Real is brown!

No it isn't. The real world has an amazing amount of contrast, even in places that are predominantly one coloured like a savannah there's still a lot of contrast. Actually there's sort of an arms race in cameras at the moment to get higher levels of contrast since the cameras we use doesn't have the ability to capture the contrast of the real world.

And even if it wasn't the issue of contrast but only the issue of everything being brown. How many things that you encounter in your life is brown? I mean some houses are brown, tree trunks are often brown and in the fall when the grass gets all muddy I guess that's brown. Other than that I can't think of anything that you encounter regularly that's brown. The real world isn't brown it's as colourful as a Kirby title (well less pink I guess but other than that).

EDIT: oh, that was a joke? It seems like one now that you linked to tvtropes. It didn't really before so I'm sorry if you were just joking.

 

[Queen Michael]

What's wring with using a lot of brown? Real is brown!

EDIT: oh, that was a joke? It seems like one now that you linked to tvtropes. It didn't really before so I'm sorry if you were just joking.

Yeah, I know I should have included the link to start with.

 

[ssgt splatter]

By the background colors Dr. Breen, it's already too late.
...
...
...
Oooooo, the colors X)

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Pffft, you FPS developers and your "Running out of brown".

Have you seen how much white and black are wasted ON THIS COLUMN ALONE?

Pixelists!

 

[Tiamat666]

Well, the games you're talking about -are- desolate wastelands. The visual style fits the mood and the setting of the game. I think we've just been having too many wastelands lately (with some still to come), and people are starting to get sick of the concept.

To alleviate the pixel problem, maybe developers should create more virtual reality, "Tron" -themed shooters for a while. You can have lots of bright, neat colors there, almost no brown at all and alot of undemanding black.

 

[beema]

I've heard this brown criticism a lot, but I think the games mentioned are much more grey than brown. You want a brown game? How about Borderlands. That's brown as crap, no pun intended.
Fallout 3 is grey/green. Gears is also grey.

That's sort of what happens in a post-apocalyptic world though. So maybe the real issue is that people need to stop making every game set in a post-apocalyptic world.

 

[DiscoAtThePanic]

Brilliant, in a muted, earth-tone way.

 

[Daemascus]

Brown... Brown never changes...

 

[DTWolfwood]

I am for More Color Contrast and less Brown Usage! you have my support Breen!

 

[Boneasse]

Awesome point there Shamus. I am a colourfull person myself and would like to see all those Brown games being thrown into a bucket of rainbows!

 

[mjc0961]

I can hear some of the devs now: "What do you mean colors? Gray and brown are colors!"

You know, somewhat like this:

Spoiler

http://www.brawlinthefamily.com/

Brown... Brown never changes...

Hey man, I have it on very good authority that brown has changed.

 

[Hazman]

Hey man, I have it on very good authority that brown has changed.

I have this back-and-forward with one of my flatmates whenever either game comes up in conversation.