Have you ever looked at those early access survival games on Steam? They tend to have realistic graphics as they use default or bought assets from Unreal 4 and other engines, but the worlds they create seem empty, hollow, a bit like a ghost town. A nature scene with photorealistic leaves and meticulously rendered grass swaying in the wind can still seem.off. However, this also pushes them into the uncanny valley. With the increase in technology and graphical fidelity, game worlds can look frighteningly real. The little things certainly helped retro games to feel more real and interesting, but one could argue that they are even more important nowadays. Ever played on Christmas? Maybe give it a try! In fact, I try to add little flourishes like that in all of my games. This detail left such an impression on me that I implemented a bonking animation and sound effect into Go! Go! PogoGirl. Nobody would have missed it had the developers not put the sound in, but its presence does make the game a little bit better. It makes the world more real by emphasizing the weight and force behind the physical interaction, but it’s also just damn funny to see Mickey hit his head. I’m not sure why, but this amused us greatly. While the game is full of charming graphics and little details, one thing stood out to me and my dad for some reason: When Mickey hits a ceiling, the game plays a little “thwock” sound. The second little thing I remember can be found in Castle of Illusion, the second game I got along with my Mega Drive and Sonic. Plus, it conveyed his attitude and as we all know, Sonic was all about that 90s ‘tude. It does not add anything to the gameplay and wouldn’t have warranted a delay of the game’s release date, but it just helps so much in making Sonic feel more like a real character instead of just a 2D sprite on a screen. Don’t touch the controller for a while and Sonic will get impatient, tapping his foot and giving you the stink eye. The first “little thing” I remember coming across in my gaming journey is the idle animation of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. The little things can turn a good game into a great one, or at least I like to think so. You know, little touches that are technically not needed but that enrich the game or its world, or simply put a smile on players' faces. Which makes it all the more incredible when devs find (or make) the time to add little things in their games. Just getting the basics done is tough and time-consuming. There are just so many things to consider, so many elements that have to be worked on, so many thingamabobs that have to be kajiggered in order to get a game working right. The fact that games get finished at all is something of a miracle, to be honest. Even small games can end up being a surprising amount of work, and the end result tends to not reflect the actual project scope during development. Developing games is a huge - and some would rightly say insane - undertaking.
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