this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2025
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Shovel Knight artist says throwback games need 'retro authenticity' but can't coast on nostalgia alone: 'Part of the appeal of the NES era of game making was that everything was a new idea' (www.pcgamer.com)
submitted 4 days ago by misk@sopuli.xyz to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world
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[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Shovel Knight brought with it a ton of new ideas in terms of gameplay, but a lot was borrowed as well.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 15 points 4 days ago

To be fair, it was like that in the actual NES era too.

Unless you're an actual enthusiast, there are TONS of NES games that you've never heard of, that inspired the gameplay of other games.

Then there's the games that were japan only, never got an outside release. But then a later game that DOES get an outside release uses elements from those games. From out perspective, that 2nd game invented that formula. You find out years later it wasn't.

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

That's how all art is.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yes well, even though I was raised by artists and have given over a large portion of my life's energy to creative pursuits, nobody actually told me that art is the study of choice (and everything started clicking into place) until about a year ago and I've been riding that high ever since.

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 3 points 4 days ago

One of the great things about art, no matter the medium, is you can always learn something new.

Keep riding that high, that's really cool.

[–] MudMan@fedia.io 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Sure, but they've made more games. Shovel Knight Dig and Pocket Dungeon are both fun genre-blending twists.

I don't think he's saying you should make something entirely unique, just that you should disregard modern tropes and treat what you're making authentically:

"I can tell when I’m playing a game made by people who are well versed in the game type they are making," said Wozniak. "The people who are making an NES game should play a ton of NES games and be experts on the topic.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago

Same way that if you're going to write, you've got to read a lot. My favourite metaphor for creativity is a conversation, and the most interesting "statements" in any creative conversation come from a highly relevant observation based on everything said so far, not from someone who blurts out a complete non-sequitur. A brilliant random comment can add worthwhile variety to a conversation, but they're not the moments that feel like something insightful has been discovered - I hope that hangs together, mostly.

Yacht Club does feel like one of those people who, when they speak up you always want to listen. I don't do much mobile gaming, but I went out of my way to play a bit of Pocket Dungeon. It put me in mind of mobile games from way back before everything was an addictive by design skinner box, but it also managed to be something I could pick up and put down with very little friction. It's kinda perfect, and if I was going to play more mobile games I could do worse than going back.