As video games develop more and more over the years, companies have been making them more and more realistic-looking. I can guess this is related to expectations, but am I the only one who doesn’t care about graphics? We could be using the same processing power to store worlds that have as much exploration potential as the Earth itself if we weren’t afraid to save on processing power by going back to 8-bit.
Ghost Recon, Ravenfield, Battlebit etc are shooters with simple graphics. Ghost Recon was from constraints of its time (2001 release) but Ravenfield and Battlebit could be way more photorealistic (like Squad) but chose not to. And I like that. In shooters you want good visuals if you can but having consistent performance is a bigger deal than some other games. I don’t care about frame rate stutters in a turn based game like X-Com for example.
Speaking of turn based, one of the graphically simplest games I’ve playes recently is Armored Commander II. It is very very basic graphically (think dwarf fortress or intellivision) and I shit you not it is more immersive than it has any right to. The graphics and display info gives you juuuust enough info to set your imagination into overdrive to fill in the rest.
When your Sherman is almost out of ammo, bogged down in a muddy field and taking fire from enemy tanks in a nearby farm the actual graphics don’t really matter so much
I think I remember that one from one of the Jampack discs. Good times.
I care about art direction. Graphical capability can give digital artists more freedom especially for photorealistic styles. But few games actually make good use of such artistic freedom.
My favourite 3D game graphics is Super Mario Galaxy. Other than that I mostly prefer game graphics from 16-bit consoles.
I’m on the same boat. Photorealism only gets you so far, and pixel-art like graphics have their own charm. .
That and it doesn’t effect gameplay quality. A fun enough game retains its addictiveness no matter how real the visuals look.
Photo realism with no artistic direction is pointless.
“Function over form” is a mantra I live by. This is reflected in the software I use/make, as well as the games I play.
Graphics are important. Polygon count is not. There is no real value in being able to see each individual eyelash, but I also don’t think there’s much benefit to making every game look like the original Lode Runner.
It’s becoming ever more obvious as graphics improve that it doesn’t really matter what the game looks like as long as the game is fun.
Companies better have a damn good reason to spend production resources on high end graphics given how little they matter compared with thematic harmony, creativity and originality.
i think stardew valley is itself proof that detailed graphics are not a requirement for good game play.
I want a Fun game. Art (graphics) can help and be supplementary towards making a game fun, but it is not the end all be all. Some fun games I’ve played use intentionally shitty graphics to add to it, other games are so unfun because all they do is try to wow you with the images.
I’ve found lately the indie Dev sphere has been more focused on fun games and AAA studios have more focused on graphics alone. I think this mostly happened because early on when (video) games where becoming popularized hardware was increasing at such a rapid pace and graphics genuinely could be made better, not necessarily as just a stylistic choice. You could show off the new hardware capabilities with good story for more appeal. This also made them lazier over the years as those big hardware and software leap allowed them to focus on the consumer draw utilizing showcase imagry over story. As hardware advances slowed and graphic leaps became smaller the gains just aren’t there. And you’ve left many consumers with nostalgia over the fight for when graphic improvements meant something, in a time when good story/gameplay was also pretty necessary.
Some fun games I’ve played use intentionally shitty graphics to add to it
If it adds to the experience, wouldn’t the graphics then be good?
The graphics are good in the artistic sense, but not in terms of what’s considered conventionally good graphics. Zelda BotW would be conventionally good graphics, as that’s what would make most people think of it as visually appealing and therefore enjoyable. Undertale, a great example, does not.have conventionally good graphics but the total theme and portrayal makes the non-cenventional good.
Most of what I was speaking to was the use of conventionally good graphics at the expense of story or enjoyment factor of the game/gameplay itself
