I just want to say really like the idea of using pixel art!
As to the main question for this thread, though, what if the logo design was just plain simplified?
So, in case the image doesn't load:
The main image is that of a rusty gear with a tree growing from it, the roots of the tree coming around and through the gear itself. The centre of the gear would have the clock face, or could have the letters VS over it, depending on where it's being used. Meanwhile, the tree trunk and leaves come above the gear asymmetrically, to make the whole image a bit more dynamic. For the website or anywhere a larger version of the logo is used, the words Vintage Story would go on either side of this tree/gear/clock, while the VS letters would only happen on the logo version without the full words.
You could also do this with just the gear/clock and no tree, but the more I think about it, the more I actually like the tree also being there, because it really nicely conveys that the world that we enter into when we play the game has grown over the bones of something else- something findable if we look deep enough. Which is exactly how the lore/ruins/story locations work. Also, it conveys that the world may look fresh, but looks can be deceiving (tying in more with both the mystery of what happened and the unease brought by the game's eldritch elements), and works as an invitation to enter into the world to find out more.
It gives all the major strokes of the original logo, but more streamlined, more focused. It also leaves open the possibility of making an alternate version with a temporal gear instead of a rusty gear, which would be a great option for merch alongside the rusty gear version. Or an animated version of the logo to bring out on special occasions, since the tooltip for temporal gears say they spin by themselves
You'd still have to sort out the art style of the final version and all, but I really think having a more simplified design to start off with would give really good bones to build off of, if you know what I mean.
