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Graphics Don't Matter
Dave Long writes "My column at GamerDad features some musing on how unimportant graphics are becoming to enjoyment of games. Everything looks great today which removes the excitement of that bullet point on a game box. There's some historical context and speculation on next-gen consoles and graphics' effect on consumers." From the article: "I guess we're getting closer to photo-realism, but I just don't care. The games shown don't look markedly better than anything from this generation. I guess they're impressive in a 'that's close to the movies now' kind of way but the graphics aren't changing gameplay in any way that I can see. It just makes old types of gameplay look prettier. For the people who absolutely adore technology and this incessant need to replicate the real world, there will certainly be things to cheer in the next generation. I'm sure I'll eventually buy the new consoles myself and be at least modestly excited at the graphics, but I've just grown so accustomed to things looking nice on current machines that there's no 'wow' factor anymore."
ala the first frame of this comic
I played Ultima Online for about 7 years. So I was used to playing a game without killer graphics for a long time. My thoughts were the same thing as the poster, gameplay is all that matters.
Well, I recently began playing World of Warcraft because I am sick of how bad UO has gotten. After playing WoW I realize just how much I was missing! There have been times in game where I was climbing a mountain and when I got to the summit and looked out into a valley I literally vocalized, "Wooooow...". It was almost a gut reaction and afterward I thought to myself, "... that was silly...". But it really does make a difference in how much I enjoy the game. I actually enjoy the beautiful views you can find in that game. After playing WoW I am a fervent believer in the "games are art" school of thought. Some of the screen shots from that world are just astonshingly beautiful.
Just the other day I was playing and my (not technology inclined) mother happen to look at my screen and remarked, "Wow, that is really pretty, what is that website?" I explained that actually it was a virtual game world and that I was looking off a boat I was riding watching the sunset.
I believe that you can't have a successful game without well thought out game play, but the artwork is what can make it a masterpiece.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5... That's the combination on my luggage!
... is that it's not just about how good the graphics are, but about expectations.
For instance, if I had seen PS1-like graphics in the 8-bit era, I'd have drooled. But these days, PS2 / Gamecube / Xbox graphics just don't impress me. The games I like, I like them independently of the graphics, and it's the same with those I don't like.
Some parts from current games *may* impress me, but it's more of a art / landscape thing, not just polygons or effects. For instance, there was a church in Resident Evil 4 which caught my attention, because it was beautiful - not because the game had great graphics, but because it was a beautiful church - if it was a real life one, it would still be a work of art.
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However, I think the best statement in the article was "diminishing returns". In case someone doesn't know what that is, it's when each incremental input, returns marginally less.
For example, lets give a rating to graphics, just to be able to quantify it. So, if you go from the earliest games to the next gen, lets say graphic quality goes from a 1 to a 2. The overall game play/quality benefits lets say by jumping from a 5 to a 10 (all other things being equal). Then lets say you move the graphics from a 2 rating to a 3. The gameplay benefits by moving to a 14. Same graphical improvment, but only 4 points of gameplay improvment this time.
I think that was the point of TFA. The graphics are getting better, but the imporovement, at this point, is only having a marginal affect on gameplay. To improve gameplay (which is the ultimate goal), it seems that resources at some point, would be better spent on other factors: overall design, user control, etc.
A modern day witchhunt.
Yup, the graphics really only matter the first time through. Maybe not even the whole way through. I'll ooh and ahh at nice shadows and lights and stuff, but the novelty will wear off quickly. Hopefully there will be a few visual surprises throughout the game, but the higher complexity textures on all the concrete corridor walls ceases to amaze me pretty quickly.
Graphics are good enough that visually, I can get immersed in the game and pretend I'm there. It could be improved upon probably with VR glasses or soemthing that provides me with some peripheral vision maybe, but other than that, it's not the imagery that's keeping me from losing myself in games anymore.
The physics and the AI are the next technical challenge in making games more believable. Of course the game design plays just an important role in this, but that's something that will continue to vary from game to game, no matter how good the technology gets.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.