Loom (previously) is a classic Lucasarts adventure game from the early 1990s, hitting shelves just as PCs were making the EGA-to-VGA transition—the leap from 16 to 256 on-screen colors. The game's beautiful graphics were designed for the former, but soon remastered for the latter. Rune Spaans compares the two editions: the precise, distinctive 16-color originals and the lavish, colorful 256-color remasters.
The original EGA background art for Loom was made by Mark Ferrari. The character art was done by Gary Winnick and Steve Purcell. Gary Winnick designed the sprites and did most of the sprite animation, while Steve Purcell did the larger character portraits and some additional animation. Ken Macklin did the effects animation, such as moving water and twinkles. … The dithering might seem excessive on the EGA originals, especially when you watch the images up close. But remember that older CRT-monitors was smaller and softer, so they would smooth out the dither to a certain degree.
Spoiler: the originals are more evocative and accomplished, while the remasters—however amazing it was to see so much color in 1992—now carry a pillow-shaded vibe more distinctive of the era than the game. But they're still competently produced, and it's interesting to see where the larger pallette allows for plainly superior results.
Loom EGA/VGA comparison [superrune.com]
