Don’t you just love it when a “happy accident” comes along and creates something special you can bank off of for some time? In the case of Square Enix, that “happy accident” was the creation of the HD-2D style that is now a “standard look” for many RPGs that come from the company. It started with a new IP, and then they branched it out into remasters and remakes of various titles, one of which comes out next week. Regardless, it’s been a huge hit for the company, and it’s helped redefine how pixel art looks in the modern era of gaming.
To that end, in a chat with Digital Trends, producer Masaaki Hayasaka discussed the creation of the HD-2D style and what inspired it:
“The HD-2D style was created and inspired by the golden age of the 16-bit era, when the quality of pixel art was at its prime. Even when we simply say “remakes,” there are various methods of doing so that may fit the unique characteristics of a title, but because the HD-2D style was born the way it was, it was a perfect fit for remaking games that originally used pixel art. It’s almost harder to believe they wouldn’t mesh well together.”
An interesting origin story, and it’s nice to see that this style was created so that we wouldn’t just be seeing 3D model remakes of older titles, as that would be quite an undertaking for certain titles of the past.
The producer went on to note that Square Enix wants to keep doing more of these and grow the process and abilities within this visual style over time:
“Rather than evolving, it may be more accurate to say that it’s expanding further and further, For example, in Triangle Strategy — which followed Octopath Traveler — the camera could be rotated, and in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, we experimented by utilizing color palettes that felt authentic to Dragon Quest alongside a formula to forego pixels in the background. I’m sure future HD-2D titles will also add their own unique new spin to the concept, and these innovations will continue to push the boundaries of HD-2D expression in the future.”
That’s something to look forward to, as this visual style has plenty of potential going forward. These titles do cost a bit to make, which even the publisher admitted, but they’re still able to bring in profits when marketed correctly, which we think they’ll do well going forward.
