On 8-Bit Graphics

It occurred to me that someday people aren’t going to associate pixelated, 8-bit graphics as nostalgic, but just…odd.

People my age look at images like this and warmly remember marathon sessions of “Final Fantasy” on the NES. But we have a new generation that no longer has that context. They’ve never gotten absorbed by an isometric world that was both exciting yet non-threatening. It was just realistic enough to engage, but just artificial enough to stay fun.

There should be a word for the inevitable, generational slide of something from nostalgic memories to just confusion and a vague idea that it means something to older people. Pixel graphics are headed this way.

(The image is from the cover of “The Phoenix Project,” BTW.)