Game Sack

[Kamahl]

OK, that explains the GBC color issues, but what about GBA games with similar super-saturated/high contrast colors? (I assumed those were selected simply to show up better on the limited contrast screen . . . but you'd think they'd have used less saturated colors in that case -they tend to look similar in saturation to many GBC examples)

Plus, if a large chunk of GBC models DID have the more RGB-accurate screens, wouldn't that imply that some games catered to that instead? (did any have multiple palette options to address that)

GBA games had really bright colors so you could see them better on the non-backlit screen.
I didn't know there were GBC models with RGB accurate screens, mine sure didn't.

[sheath]

Is that a new VMU game? It looks awesome!

[Metalwario64]

I wonder how the Game Boy Player compares. (does it compensate, or use the native RGB colors?)

RGB.

OK, that explains the GBC color issues, but what about GBA games with similar super-saturated/high contrast colors? (I assumed those were selected simply to show up better on the limited contrast screen . . . but you'd think they'd have used less saturated colors in that case -they tend to look similar in saturation to many GBC examples)

That's actually a reverse situation. The GBC screen was really bright, so they had to use darker colors for its games to look right, and the GBA screen was so dark that they had to use lighter colors for it to look right. When playing on a backlit SP, or a Gameboy Player, they appear bright and washed out. After the SP was released, developers eventually stopped brightening their games' colors. A good example is the first three Super Mario Advance games had the brighter colors, while Super Mario Advance 4 had the original palette.

Plus, if a large chunk of GBC models DID have the more RGB-accurate screens, wouldn't that imply that some games catered to that instead? (did any have multiple palette options to address that)

Well, the one I have is right at the end of it's life, so I wouldn't say it's a large chunk. I would doubt it though, since they were just another revision. With the GBA, they stopped messing with the palettes because the SP was out, and you could finally see the screen easily. With the GBC, it wasn't as if Nintendo was announcing they were using darker LCDs, so I don't think that made any impact. Now, whether when the GBA was out and the GBA compatible GBC games (like the Zelda Oracle games) used brighter colors to appear better on the GBA or not, I wouldn't know.

Not only that, but I may have overstated the darker colors of the model. But the colors are indeed noticeably darker. I posted an image above on how they appear on my original GBA, and you can see that the later GBCs are somewhere between the early ones, and the GBA screen, but are closer the the GBC colors.

Just a quick comparison:

CGB-03:


CGB-06:


GBA:


The colors aren't too much darker on the CGB-06, but the LCD itself is, and it's probably about as dark as my GBA's screen, just with brighter colors. That's probably why I remembered the colors being that much darker.

I didn't know there were GBC models with RGB accurate screens, mine sure didn't.

Yeah, there aren't, just ones that are closer. I was going off of memory, and after checking, I realized that a larger reason for the screen being darker was that the LCD was darker (about as dark as the GBA's LCD), while the colors were still brighter than the GBA's colors. The colors themselves do appear darker than earlier GBC screens though.

I probably should have prepared my post better, because now I'm spreading rumors, which I hate to do! Forgive me!

To try and clarify, my original point was that I have an early model GBC with a bright screen with bright colors, then I have one made not too long after that which has a brighter screen, but a worse viewing angle. Then I have a very late GBC with noticeably, but not too much darker colors, but a much darker LCD, which just makes it harder to see in low level lighting.

Basically, I was trying to point out that there are GBCs with very different LCDs out there (but not too different colors that I know of), and I've seen some people exclaim the screen is bright and easy to see, whereas other people say that it's as hard to see as a GBA's screen, and I was mostly trying to clarify that it really depends on your model. The screen itself can be easy to see, or hard to see, depending on the model.

[kool kitty89]

Is that a new VMU game? It looks awesome!

It's a QR code.
Quick, someone hold up their 3DS or smart-phone to the screen to decode it!

[Lastcallhall]

I'm all for it!

[sheath]

It's a QR code.
Quick, someone hold up their 3DS or smart-phone to the screen to decode it!

Boo! I wanted to go for a drive and play a new VMU game at the same time.

[Guntz]

I boo as well, iPhone this and 3DS that is overrated. Just speak English and quit posting these moon language sticky notes dammit!

[j_factor]

GBA games had really bright colors so you could see them better on the non-backlit screen.

It really depends on the game. Most launch and near-launch GBA games were pretty dark. I think the dev units had lit screens, or output to a monitor, or something. After that initial batch, there was a lot of feedback about it, and games used brighter colors to compensate for the screen. But, some of them went overboard, so that when viewed oh a lit screen or with the GB Player, they look garish and ugly. Some of the nicer GBA games had an in-game "brightness" adjustment that altered the colors. Later, after the SP was firmly established, games were made with that model in mind, so a lot of later games are also pretty dark on an original GBA.

I remember when I first got a GBA with Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, I tried like seven different light attachment accessories, trying (in vain) to find one that worked well. They all sucked. When Harmony of Dissonance came out, it was much easier to see on the GBA. But when I got a Game Boy Player, I found Circle of the Moon to be a much better-looking game.

[kool kitty89]

I boo as well, iPhone this and 3DS that is overrated. Just speak English and quit posting these moon language sticky notes dammit!

Scratch the DS . . . it can only read QR codes specific for Nintendo stuff.

There are freeware QR code readers for windows/mac/linux as well. (albeit some of those are limited to command line interfaces -which is what I ended up using with ZBar)


Edit:
For anyone who doesn't want to doesn't want to bother decoding the message, here:

I might release the next episode of Game Sack on Saturday instead of Monday,
give it a little more "Halloween time".

[Lastcallhall]

Joe, you look like Stephen Baldwin from The Usual Suspects. Anyone ever told you that?

See, I saw a young Ron Perlman.

[MrMatthews]

Hmm. I think I would rather be compared to a Baldwin than Ron Perlman. Even the stupid one.

[Joe Redifer]

Agreed. I got called "beast" by a couple of really ugly girls in high school because of my Ron Pearlman, caveman-like appearance. It took me a bit to figure out that they were referencing the crap TV show Beauty and the Beast. I think they were just jealous that I wrote letters to Sega and got responses. I mean, who wouldn't be?

[TheRollingStoner]

I'm a fan of extra Halloween Time, Joe.

[Lastcallhall]

Hmm. I think I would rather be compared to a Baldwin than Ron Perlman. Even the stupid one.

No way, Perlman is awesome! I've been on a huge Sons Of Anarchy kick, though, so that may have something to do with it. If Joe ever wanted to go total badass, he'd pull it off without question.

Meant as a total compliment, Joe.

Although, S. Baldwin took that cig to the eye for real in Suspects, so he's got that going for him, I suppose...

[Joe Redifer]

Here we go.