Welcome to August's edition of our Publisher Showcase series! Each month, we shine a spotlight on the creators behind some of the most unique and impactful gaming websites in the Nitro network.
This time, we sat down with Dazz and Petie, the duo behind The Spriters Resource, a platform that has been preserving video game history for over 20 years. What started as a personal effort to archive pixel art has since become a resource used not only by fans and creators, but also by companies bringing classic games back to market.
Read on to see how this personal project from the early 2000s evolved into one of gaming’s most important preservation efforts👇
First up, can you tell us a bit about your career/life background that led you to start The Spriters Resource?
Dazz:
The Spriters Resource began in 2003, but I had been an avid pixel art enthusiast from well before. I had been working to preserve video game sprites during the late 90s as a pre-teen, maintaining a number of “early internet” websites that would typically fizzle out and die-off. I was born in ‘91, and was always a keen gamer, but mostly because of their artistic value - both literally in their graphics, but also as a wider medium that I believed needed ‘recording’.
At that time, I had no idea the full scale of the project, and the impact it would have on so many creative endeavours - including the industry I was working to preserve itself, with many artists now attributing their careers to our site with great pride. The Spriters Resource quickly established a strong community during those early days, and has only continued to grow over the 22 years since. Simultaneously, I have worked in writing and presenting through DidYouKnowGaming on YouTube, which has seen its own major success in its own right.
Petie:
I came into the picture in 2010 or so which means I can’t really speak to starting the site but I’ve been involved since fairly early in its life and have watched it grow from both a technical and preservation standpoint.
What drove you to create The Spriters Resource? Did you see a specific gap in the market? Was there a particular insight that motivated you to launch it?
Frankly the motivation was in self-interest, but I then discovered that that interest was shared by many. The gaps were significant, not least of all being preservation. Pixelart is an artform that is best improved or learnt by examining existing work - but over the years, the audience has proven to have major reach.
Pixelartists, indie developers, traditional artists, crafters and makers, streamers, YouTubers, musicians and comedians… We were preserving something that helps others create great things.
How long have you been running your website and how long did it take from development until it was live?
We recently relaunched our site. During our 22 year history, we made a significant shift to utilising a CMS of our own creation to manage the archive around 12 years ago. Our most recent version began around 2 years ago, with Petie and I juggling our other responsibilities, to improve the site’s ability to offer the best experience to the user.
How did you decide on the specific features and tools available on The Spriters Resource?
As one of the most frequent users as well as operators, it was easy to recognise ways the site could improve, but which we weren’t able to successfully execute with our knowledge of younger years. We implemented many new features that have meant users no longer require external software to appreciate the site’s archive, with many users spending more time on the site than ever before.
And of course, we’re a community and took feedback from that community into account, especially with the development of our latest version.
How were you able to build a strong online presence for the website?
Being honest, the site’s audience built itself. The sheer expansive nature of the site’s place in gaming culture meant that many people came to us. We created a forum, which harboured a strong community, with users considering the site as a digital home for themselves and that community has remained even as forums slowly started to die off. We never really pushed the site on social media but have historically ranked well enough in Google searches that people continue to find us regardless.
What have been some of the most effective tactics to drive traffic to your website so far?
We don’t, not really, anyway. We’ve never advertised or utilized any outside sources to drive traffic. More recently, we’ve started to expand slightly into social media through Twitch and Bluesky but they have both been more a way to engage with the existing community than to draw in new users (though we have seen more traffic as a result).
What are you most proud of in regards to the success of The Spriters Resource so far? Any major highlights?
The fact that the site grew out of a love and appreciation for the craft of video game sprite creation, and now many of our users are in the industry as artists themselves. We’ve seen some companies utilise our archive for their own marketing or recreations of earlier titles, meaning we could provide a free help to getting the games we preserve back onto the market. That preservation is also a point of pride for us, especially with more recent movements to preserve games becoming mainstream.
What advice do you have for new and existing website owners that you wish you knew before you started?
Being open to feedback, and learning how to construct communication between administration and your users is key. Many users in the gaming space can be vocal, and deeply attached to a service that they have invested energy into. The same can be said for the general public when it comes to the increased demand on internet spaces, as well. There is always room for making a decision and developing as you see best, but user input or positive feedback is by and large the most valuable validation of your work.
What do you like best about being a part of Nitro’s network of premium gaming/entertainment websites?
We’ve been through many ad partners over the years but none have come close to the level of service that Nitro provides. So many have been email only and would get back to us within a few days even with urgent issues but the Nitro team has always been extremely responsive and often even proactive, bringing issues to our attention before we were even aware of them. We were worried that might change with the Overwolf acquisition but we still get the same great team we had before with the added benefit of them having access to even more resources for both them and us.
What’s next for The Spriters Resource?
We just launched the latest version of our sites with a slew of new features so right now, it’s all about making the most of them. Our biggest new project to result from this launch is expanding our tag system to make it even easier for users to find the assets or games they’re looking for. This project will probably be ongoing for a while but with the community’s help, and thankfully, our community is always eager to help, we’ll get it done.
A big thank you to Dazz and Petie from The Spriters Resource. Keep your eyes peeled for more insightful interviews like this in next month's edition of our Publisher Showcase, where we’ll continue to spotlight one of the 500+ stand out websites on Nitro, diving deep into their unique success!
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