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[Neiteio]

Lately I've been replaying Donkey Kong Country 2 on the WiiU Virtual Console, and giving Resident Evil HD a proper play-through on PS4. Both games are renewing my love of pre-rendered backgrounds.

These used to be commonplace, since they could get around the technical limitations of the time and provide a higher level of detail. Of course, the downside to such "painted" backdrops is the environments themselves were less interactive.

But I'm OK with a lack of bullet holes in the walls or a lampshade unscathed by my rocket launcher, if the interactive elements layered on top of the background — a.k.a. the game itself — is still fun.

And considering how good DKC2 looked on SNES, and how good REmake looked on GCN... I can't help but wonder how amazing pre-rendered games would look if made for modern systems. Freeing up resources that would normally be used to render environmental detail and allowing them to go all-out with the lighting, etc. With the increased space available, maybe they could even include more looping video elements.

Hopefully this is what we will see with the upcoming remake of RE2. I'd like to see more of this in general. Pre-rendered backgrounds have such a unique feel to them. They still capture my imagination in ways that even the most richly detailed normal environments don't. Horror games especially benefit from them, where you feel like you're inhabiting a painting borne from the mind of a single artist.

How do you feel about pre-rendered backgrounds? Also, feel free to post images of some of your favorites. :-3

 

[James Scott]

Limits what you can do with the camera and the gameplay. You can probably make something look better than those old pre rendered visuals now a days in real time anyways.

 

[SpiceMelange]

Pillar is the lastest game I can think of with pre-rendered background, so good.

You can probably make something look better than those old pre rendered visuals now a days in real time.

Yeah but you can always make something look better than real-time when you have all the time in the world to render the frame, no matter which year we're in.

 

[gugeifer]

I'm honestly dreaming of oldschool Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy Tactics like stuff. With fixed camera and different shots of locations depending on where you run or which side you turn to.

 

[cerulily]

I actually think the opposite. Pre-rendered was useful and nice back in past gens. But this gen, we have the power to do great looking backgrounds anyways, which was always the reason for pre-rendered backgrounds being used.

Are you sure what you're asking for isn't "static and directed camera angles"? Because aside from being prettier than the hardware could do at the time, this is the only other difference between pre-rendered and fully 3d.

 

[DJ_Lae]

I'm making my way through The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 at the moment and it's probably the first game I've played in quite a while with heavy use of prerendered backgrounds. But they generally make good use of it, and the few transitions that exist are done with some parallax scrolling and enough 3D rendered elements that it doesn't look too weird. But you can definitely tell they're static.

 

[khaaan]

I'm honestly dreaming of oldschool Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy Tactics like stuff. With fixed camera and different shots of locations depending on where you run or which side you turn to.

Isn't Final Fantasy Tactics just tile work?

 

[Neiteio]

I actually think the opposite. Pre-rendered was useful and nice back in past gens. But this gen, we have the power to do great looking backgrounds anyways, which was always the reason for pre-rendered backgrounds being used.

Are you sure what you're asking for isn't "static and directed camera angles"? Because aside from being prettier than the hardware could do at the time, this is the only other difference between pre-rendered and fully 3d.

I guess I'm picturing it in terms of fixed camera angles for 3D games. For a 2D game that goes left to right, it would simply be the backdrop.

Reading the FF9 thread (a title I haven't played) also made me wistful for this old style. It'd be amazing to see a new Final Fantasy made with this approach, at least for the world.

Like someone said, no matter the year, you can always add more detail in a pre-rendered frame than a real-time one.

 

[Hektor]

Pillar is the lastest game I can think of with pre-rendered background, so good.

Torments: Tides of Numenera isn't so far away either.

Yes, yes, we do need more of that OP.

 

[Shrike_Priest]

This.

I keep imagining a game where they do what Resident Evil on GC did. State of the art character models and lighting over static pre-rendered scenes.

Certain games work fine with static cameras, and just imagine putting all that juice to use on just a few character models.

 

[Spieler Eins]

RE2make

 

[bloodforge]

Old school RE type game with modern pre-rendered 1080p/4k backgrounds would be glorious.

 

[Theosmeo]

I think it'd be really cool to do a stylish action game or a complex RTS like this because one could keep framerate and resolution high on console despite the game being really processor heavy. It'd also GREATLY reduce production costs meaning it could get away with more unique design choices and not annoy publishers.

 

[Neiteio]

RE2make

Yeah, I really want to see the remake of RE2. They could even use looping video for the fires in the streets.

If they take full advantage of system power today, it will look astonishing.

 

[woopWOOP]

There's something about them that I really like, though I can not pinpoint why exactly. Maybe because it's easier for the artist to get some stylish different angles in the game?

Was watching a friend play through FFVII a while back and I really enjoyed seeing Midgar's background shots again. Especially the Shinra building with it's many floors and different rooms.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

I don't really see the point of it from a "more graphics" standpoint. You're not going to get much better than what we have now in real time since we're mostly constrained by the time it takes human beings working on these games to add so much detail, not processing power.

From a design point, I like how RE is designed around the constraint of pre-rendered backgrounds & static camera angles and how it influences the gameplay. I also like how in RPGs derived from the FF7-mold use it to make cities/towns seem large in scale but still constrained in scope. It might be interesting to see something modern done in this style that molds the gameplay around similar constraints.

 

[Neiteio]

There's something about them that I really like, though I can not pinpoint why exactly. Maybe because it's easier for the artist to get some stylish different angles in the game?

Was watching a friend play through FFVII a while back and I really enjoyed seeing Midgar's background shots again. Especially the Shinra building with it's many floors and different rooms.

I think it's how they feel more textured.

In games with real-time backgrounds, there are textures, of course, but they're individual textures placed on a per-item basis. You have the texture for the leather book cover, the texture for the glass windowpane, and so on. But each texture is made individually. And so they feel, well, separate.

But with a pre-rendered background, the entire background is painted as one. It is treated like one overall image. Think of the shadow-drenched environs of the Spencer Estate in REmake. It creates a compelling sort of consistency.

 

[CertifiedFP]

No.

It's a guaranteed way to carbon-date your game when decades later someone decides to play it on their toaster at the pathetically low resolution of 8k and finds the game to be extraordinarily pixelated to high hell, even more than how 8k looks compared to 16k down sampling. And so he decides to flex his Titan Y (God knows why he hasn't upgraded to a Titan Z yet, the Y's a decade old) and play the game down sampled from 16k. Nope, game is still pixelated, with out of place clear objects standing out. Oh, what is that, a remaster/mod that has high resolution backgrounds? Oh they're just upscaled. Now it's blurry and lacking in definition, with tiling if it's an SE game.

3D environments aren't just the future, they're future-proof.

 

[Xav]

Pre-rendered backgrounds were great back in the day as a way to "cheat" and have amazing visuals. We don't really need them in 2016 and beyond, games look fantastic now.

 

[Skulduggery]

Oh man, give me a HD re-release for FFIX

 

[DrDaxxy]

No.

It's a guaranteed way to carbon-date your game when decades later someone decides to play it on their toaster at the pathetically low resolution of 8k and finds the game to be extraordinarily pixelated to high hell, even more than how 8k looks compared to 16k down sampling. And so he decides to flex his Titan Y (God knows why he hasn't upgraded to a Titan Z yet, the Y's a decade old) and play the game down sampled from 16k. Nope, game is still pixelated, with out of place clear objects standing out. Oh, what is that, a remaster/mod that has high resolution backgrounds? Oh they're just upscaled. Now it's blurry and lacking in definition, with tiling if it's an SE game.

3D environments aren't just the future, they're future-proof.

The picture quality of prerendered elements is usually lacking compared to the rest of the game on a high-end PC even right as the game comes out. Especially with prerendered cutscenes - at 30FPS, with heavy compression artifacts, and 1080p only if you're lucky.

Besides that though, I've never actually liked the look of prerendered CG (as employed in video games) in the first place. The DKC series in particular strikes me as a huge step down from 16-bit era pixel art.

 

[Metrotab]

There's something about them that I really like, though I can not pinpoint why exactly. Maybe because it's easier for the artist to get some stylish different angles in the game?

Was watching a friend play through FFVII a while back and I really enjoyed seeing Midgar's background shots again. Especially the Shinra building with it's many floors and different rooms.

One thing I like about pre-rendered backgrounds is that the camera is decided for you, which allows the creative director (or whoever in charge) to utilize that element in creating a certain mood or atmosphere. In modern 3D that kinda goes lost because the camera is user-controlled.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

Seems really unneeded nowadays.

Seeing how Until Dawn did the cinematic "static" look and used realtime graphics for the same effect but with being realtime they were not as restricted to it's use; being able to shift, pan, follow the character with all kinds of "camera" techniques as wanted and the game looks downright incredible at times with it's atmosphere.

 

[shark sandwich]

There's something about them that I really like, though I can not pinpoint why exactly. Maybe because it's easier for the artist to get some stylish different angles in the game?

Was watching a friend play through FFVII a while back and I really enjoyed seeing Midgar's background shots again. Especially the Shinra building with it's many floors and different rooms.

I think part of it is the fact that you have these great cinematic camera angles that highlight the details in the scene.

Contrast that with the "behind your character's ass" view where you are constantly rotating and zooming the camera trying to get a decent view.

 

[shark sandwich]

I always thought real-time rendering but with fixed camera angles would be cool. Imagine something like FF7 rendered in real time. The scenery would scroll past as the camera moved, instead of just having a static picture sliding around the screen. And it could allow for real-time lighting and shadows.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

I always thought real-time rendering but with fixed camera angles would be cool. Imagine something like FF7 rendered in real time. The scenery would scroll past as the camera moved, instead of just having a static picture sliding around the screen. And it could allow for real-time lighting and shadows.

Until Dawn is pretty much this, it uses the Killzone: Shadowfall engine, and I wouldn't have guessed that since it such a different type of game and uses very different look for obvious reasons since it's to capture a movie horror look to it. I can't wait to see the next real Until Dawn game.

 

[deriks]

Dude, forget your retro-glasses. We have nice looking stuff today, why bother with this dated thing?

 

[DiipuSurotu]

I love what Bravely Default did. The backgrounds were technically in 3D, but the various geometrical elements were cardboard cutouts with pre-rendered images on them instead of having real depth.

 

[KevinCow]

Ew.

The advantages of pre-rendered are negligible compared to the disadvantages. It might look marginally better on today's technology, but that would come at the expense of interactive backgrounds and a controllable camera. I don't understand why anybody would want that.

 

[Corpekata]

Pillars, Tides, and STASIS of recent stuff all have them and they look pretty fantastic.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

Agreed. Hopefully RE2make provides that and Capcom just run with it and also use the same engine for remake sof RE3 and Dino Crisis with HD pre-rendered backgrounds.

I also hope Atlus make a new Raidou game one day with pre-rendered backgrounds again.

Oh man, give me a HD re-release for FFIX

They are, it's coming out on PC. I'd wager console ports to PS4 and Xbox One will come later.

 

[poodaddy]

Totally agree OP. I don't really care so much about 3d environments or interactivity; I really like the picturesque feeling I get from prerendered backgrounds. It's kind of like I'm wandering inside a beautiful painting every time I enter a new room. I can understand why some people don't dig it, but it's probably my favorite way to render environments in games. It's amazing when you go back and look at how amazing DKC looks even now; hell in comparison DK64 has aged pretty terribly and it was an impressive feat of technology when it hit the N64 at the time.

 

[adamantypants]

I don't think we'll see entire backgrounds pre-rendered anymore. I think the modern progression of this is pre-baked lighting. Nobody can say that Assassin's Creed Unity was an ugly game. Pre-rendered backgrounds belong in the early PS1 era. Pre-baked lighting should be the future.

 

[Tar-Miriel]

yes i like pre-rendered backgrounds because you can get a smooth solid look that even the nicest 3d games cant achieve. And you can bake in the most brilliant lighting.
a lot of point and click adventure games have gone 2d like broken age but 3d pre-rendered stuff would be great
also this from ff9 (so beautiful)

 

[Guess Who]

I don't think we'll see entire backgrounds pre-rendered anymore. I think the modern progression of this is pre-baked lighting. Nobody can say that Assassin's Creed Unity was an ugly game. Pre-rendered backgrounds belong in the early PS1 era. Pre-baked lighting should be the future.

Baked lighting isn't exactly a new idea either. Quake did it in the 90s.

 

[-Horizon-]

This is what Vanillaware does right? Then heck yeah, more of that please.

 

[JCX]

They're beautiful now, just look at the Bravely Default games.

 

[Coda]

Yeah I feel like we don't really need to use that technique now as AAA games look amazing regardless now.

 

[ScOULaris]

I love pre-rendered backgrounds, but I'd settle for the return of fixed camera angles in general. It could capture the most important aspect of pre-rendered backgrounds, which is allowing the player to view in-game locales from a variety of interesting angles rather than always from over the main character's shoulder.

But of course the ideal would be glorious 4K-res pre-rendered backgrounds with character models that could blow our socks off due to all of the freed up resources.

Check out this example of what I mean with regard to getting interesting angles that you could never get with traditional full camera control:

 

[DiipuSurotu]

yes i like pre-rendered backgrounds because you can get a smooth solid look that even the nicest 3d games cant achieve. And you can bake in the most brilliant lighting.
a lot of point and click adventure games have gone 2d like broken age but 3d pre-rendered stuff would be great
also this from ff9 (so beautiful)

The FFIX backgrounds were actually 3D pre-rendered images that were subsequently handpainted in 2D by matte-artists. It was a mixed process unlike, for example, FFVII.

 

[Tar-Miriel]

The FFIX backgrounds were actually 3D pre-rendered images that were subsequently handpainted in 2D by matte-artists. It was a mixed process unlike, for example, FFVII.

Fascinating! no wonder they are so pretty

also heres another thread full of lovely BGs
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=491994

 

[Sinatar]

 

[Dangansona]

I think some of yall saying it's totally unnecessary are missing the point. Part of the advantage of the pre-rendered backgrounds are they are hand-drawn by the artists and the attention to detail that can come from that is greater than what most devs are willing to attempt in a 3D environment.

 

[Neiteio]

I think some of yall saying it's totally unnecessary are missing the point. Part of the advantage of the pre-rendered backgrounds are they are hand-drawn by the artists and the attention to detail that can come from that is greater than what most devs are willing to attempt in a 3D environment.

Yeah, and I think it can potentially be more cohesive when the backdrop is illustrated as a whole, rather than individually texturing each asset and hoping they fit together.

 

[Notor!ousG]

I don't see why there shouldn't be a market for this.

Indie games use that 'old games' factor all the time. Look at all the NES-inspired pixel art games releasing.

 

[Fbh]

Yep I would love to see more pre rendered backrounds.

Yeah yeah back in the day they were a way of getting past hardware limitarions. But they still look great now. They can often be limited in scope but in turn they gain a level of handcrafted detail that even most current games can't match.

Like look at this:

This room looks more detailed than any room I've seen in a current gen game. I can't understand how people see something like this and are still able to dismiss the concept of pre rendered backgrounds and how they could be used for making new games


Plus I'm all for smaller and detailed locations over big open worlds of nothing

 

[ScOULaris]

This thread needs more pre-rendered background examples:

 

[E-flux]

Ew.

The advantages of pre-rendered are negligible compared to the disadvantages. It might look marginally better on today's technology, but that would come at the expense of interactive backgrounds and a controllable camera. I don't understand why anybody would want that.

Not all games need a controllable camera, and there could still be interaction with the background even if it was prerendered. Game like Resident evil don't gain anything even if there was a lot of interaction with the backgrounds.

 

[muteki]

I'd certainly love to see what a game w/ pre-rendered backgrounds would look like with a decent budget today.

Such a shame that a lot of old pre-rendered stuff has lost it's assets and can't be recreated in higher resolution.

 

[HStallion]

No.

It's a guaranteed way to carbon-date your game when decades later someone decides to play it on their toaster at the pathetically low resolution of 8k and finds the game to be extraordinarily pixelated to high hell, even more than how 8k looks compared to 16k down sampling. And so he decides to flex his Titan Y (God knows why he hasn't upgraded to a Titan Z yet, the Y's a decade old) and play the game down sampled from 16k. Nope, game is still pixelated, with out of place clear objects standing out. Oh, what is that, a remaster/mod that has high resolution backgrounds? Oh they're just upscaled. Now it's blurry and lacking in definition, with tiling if it's an SE game.

3D environments aren't just the future, they're future-proof.

This isn't true at all. How many butt ugly fully 3D rendered games look like compete garbage from the earlier generations even running on a suped up PC with an emulator.

I actually think a well made game with pee rendered backgrounds age very well from old style crpgs to the RE games and their ilk.

Games like Onimusha still look incredible to me in this day and age.