Graphics Too Important Now? Pure Gaming Dead?

[njshadow]

Well, last night I downloaded "Crash Bandicoot 3:Warped", which was the first game I ever owned for my PSOne, off of the Playstation Network and boy the memories just started flowing back. The concept, so simple, yet, so fun. Why does it seem like games like that just aren't being made anymore? They're either for adults or kids. Never a mix anymore. Anyone could get into a "Crash" game years ago but it seems like the magic is gone along with many other games. It seems like many games nowadays are meant to be the best possible simulation of a "real-life" situation instead of being just plain FUN or INTUITUVE. I enjoy these new games as well but it just seems like there's something missing.

[masherscf]

It's marketing... I great looking game sells. The movies have the same issue. This was a problem with a series of really forgettable NES games. The first level would always be really well designed and the rest would be crap.

I submit though, people aren't buying XBOX 360s and PS3s because they aren't interested in how great a game looks.

[iccanui]

No. Let me just say this on this topic. This was a correct assessment 2 years ago when the xbox and ps3 were just hyping up. But anymore with the epic story lines like mass effect and bioshock and orange box and so on, i think we are passed that pretty phase and now people are demanding better gameplay and storylines. In fact if anything i would say we are on the swing back to good gaming from a swing to pure graphics driven gaming. I mean look at RezHD, its caused a buzz all over the place and it sure isnt cause of the graphics.


So i know where your coming from, but i think your just seeing the tail end of it.

[njshadow]

No. Let me just say this on this topic. This was a correct assessment 2 years ago when the xbox and ps3 were just hyping up. But anymore with the epic story lines like mass effect and bioshock and orange box and so on, i think we are passed that pretty phase and now people are demanding better gameplay and storylines. In fact if anything i would say we are on the swing back to good gaming from a swing to pure graphics driven gaming. I mean look at RezHD, its caused a buzz all over the place and it sure isnt cause of the graphics.


So i know where your coming from, but i think your just seeing the tail end of it.

Ah yeah, perhaps your right.

[az0madman]

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say pure gaming is dead. Sure, graphics are almost as important as gameplay these days, but it doesn't mean that gameplay has to suffer. Look at the new Ratchet and Clank. A beautiful game that combined it's traditional and fun gameplay. Other games that come to mind are Guitar Hero and Rockband, who's graphics aren't exactly perfect, but none of that matters once you start playing the game.

Maybe what you're missing isn't from a gaming standpoint, but from a nostalgic standpoint.

[jae]

I'd say that a large majority of the games I've played for the PS3 have great stories. I think the graphics capabilities have done nothing but enable developers to enrich story lines. Occasionally you'll end up with a shit story like UT3, but games that are story driven (Uncharted, specifically) have done nothing but benefit from the what today's game consoles can handle.

Even CoD4 had a decent story line to it. And the single player mode is almost a throw away because of how epic the multiplayer portion is.

[autodas]

um bandicoot was a kids game. Thats why it seems like such a good game to you

[karth]

graphics as art style or graphics as fidelity?

[njshadow]

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say pure gaming is dead. Sure, graphics are almost as important as gameplay these days, but it doesn't mean that gameplay has to suffer. Look at the new Ratchet and Clank. A beautiful game that combined it's traditional and fun gameplay. Other games that come to mind are Guitar Hero and Rockband, who's graphics aren't exactly perfect, but none of that matters once you start playing the game.

Maybe what you're missing isn't from a gaming standpoint, but from a nostalgic standpoint.

Yeah, it probable was from a nostalgic standpoint. LOL. I can confirm that after playing Burnout Paradise and/or Call of Duty 4 after Crash Bandicoot. LOL. I guess Crash just took me on one huge nostalgia trip because it was the first game that I had for my PSOne. :D

[njshadow]

I'd say that a large majority of the games I've played for the PS3 have great stories. I think the graphics capabilities have done nothing but enable developers to enrich story lines. Occasionally you'll end up with a shit story like UT3, but games that are story driven (Uncharted, specifically) have done nothing but benefit from the what today's game consoles can handle.

Even CoD4 had a decent story line to it. And the single player mode is almost a throw away because of how epic the multiplayer portion is.


Very true. LOL. I was on a nostalgia rant. Games are gettin' better again. :D

[darthender]

While I do think that graphics and great gameplay can go together, the problem is this:

I don't think graphics and long games go together very well. Graphics may get better and better, but they aren't getting any easier. The better graphics are, the more time it takes to make them, and the more disc space they take up. To this end, great graphics are the nemesis of a lengthy game.

It can still be done, but it takes so much time and energy that most companies won't bother. Sure, GTA4 is gonna look great and probably be big as hell, but it took them, like, 5 years to make and is gonna take several DVDs.

[neverendingwhitelights]

I think we're actually about to experience a resurgence in good gameplay, because basically the graphics are going to hit a bit of a wall in a few years, at least by the time the next consoles come out, and they won't be able to look much more real, unless they take a step towards virtual reality. As a result that's going to lead to people fighting less about the graphics and more about what's fun to play. At least that's what I see on the horizon.

[ryudo]

Graphics have ALWAYS been the most hyped thing in gaming..go back to Intellivision where they were comparing in commercials Atari Baseball and Intelivision baseball or when Sega would add 32x or Sega CD and nintendo had the FX chip or Donkey Kong country to Saturns hyping it's 8 core processing chips Game Gear comparing it's graphics to Game Boy in ads or when PS2/Dreamcast/Xbox/Gamecube all hyping their specs to today they have always hyped power and graphics in all gaming machines (except foe Wii and DS when they actually decided to go against that mentality for once)

The Arguement of Gameplay vs Graphics is as old as Gaming itself.

As for my personal opinion I do love visuals but love great Gameplay more so and at times they go hand in hand for when the game is released but visuals fade much faster Gameplay if great will take much longer to age..that is why on VC PSN XBL we download old games and still love them.

Remember in Revision3 Gazette how Dave Randolph said no matter the production value content is king and brought up diggnation..it's just two drunk guys on a couch yapping but it's the leading show because of the content I see it no different for games or even movies you can have all the production value you want but if the content is not there no one cares.
Production Value/Visuals can help in the short run but in the long run content/Gameplay will always matter most IMO.

[cocodapuf]

No. Let me just say this on this topic. This was a correct assessment 2 years ago when the xbox and ps3 were just hyping up. But anymore with the epic story lines like mass effect and bioshock and orange box and so on, i think we are passed that pretty phase and now people are demanding better gameplay and storylines. In fact if anything i would say we are on the swing back to good gaming from a swing to pure graphics driven gaming. I mean look at RezHD, its caused a buzz all over the place and it sure isnt cause of the graphics.


So i know where your coming from, but i think your just seeing the tail end of it.

Yeah, I agree with that completely. Personally I think we're in a golden age of gaming. Games like Portal and Spore are really pushing limits of creativity in gaming. If you looking for intuitive fun for all ages, I could recommend a whole host Wii games. With real professional writers working with game developers and real actors and actresses voicing characters, I think storytelling in games has come a very long way. A few years ago I would have agreed that gameplay was becoming secondary, when a new "Medal of Honor" or "Madden" game would come out with better graphics and it was considered better for some reason. But recently, with Nintendo shaking up basic concepts of control and interface and other companies redesigning what an action game could be like ( ex. prince of persia, god of war, resident evil 4) and all the development in online gaming, I see a bright future for gaming in general.

BTW, WoW looked dated in the graphics department when it came out, but 3 years later it's still the most popular subscription based game ever.

[cocodapuf]

I think we're actually about to experience a resurgence in good gameplay, because basically the graphics are going to hit a bit of a wall in a few years, at least by the time the next consoles come out, and they won't be able to look much more real, unless they take a step towards virtual reality. As a result that's going to lead to people fighting less about the graphics and more about what's fun to play. At least that's what I see on the horizon.

This I'm not sure I agree with. If there's one thing I've learned about technology it's that you never hit the top. You can always get something faster, bigger or better looking. sure the graphics are good enough now, but whatabout when 1080p screens are the norm. What about when actual 3d monitor technology reaches the public. What about all the stuff that you haven't thought of yet.

As we build more powerful computers and more advanced technology, we find new ways to use it. It may seem like we're hitting the ceiling, but the ceiling just keeps getting higher, we'll never reach it.

[nobodysleeps]

I'd say that a large majority of the games I've played for the PS3 have great stories. I think the graphics capabilities have done nothing but enable developers to enrich story lines. Occasionally you'll end up with a shit story like UT3, but games that are story driven (Uncharted, specifically) have done nothing but benefit from the what today's game consoles can handle.

Even CoD4 had a decent story line to it. And the single player mode is almost a throw away because of how epic the multiplayer portion is.

whoaaaaa CoD4 single player is anything but throw away. The multiplayer is pure gameplay awesomeness. But the single player....THAT is what's epic about CoD4.

[themattman]

Gameplay is a huge part of games.

Look at the Monkey Island series. The original and sequel were basic basic graphics, yet the writing and way you did things made the game amazing. To this day I have never had more fun playing another game.

[aerodash84]

I still think the graphics for some NES, Super NES, and Genesis games look a bit dated, but are still fun and do still look nice. I think I have a harder time playing some PS1 games because the graphics now just look so blurred or something. I tried playing some games and it looked so muddy that I couldn't tell much of what was in the area. What would be really cool is to see some of those great games remade with more modern consoles power like Resident Evil, but what else would be cool to change the gameplay to be more like RE4. They did a remake of Mega Man X that I just thought was awesome and stopped moving to look around. I'd still play the SNES version because that still stands the test of time with game play and visually. More games are improving on game play, story, and more like BioShock or even the new Tomb Raider games I think are fun to play. And look at games like Puzzle Quest it's bejewled meets and RPG, and the graphics aren't that big. Still it's talked about a lot especially with the TRS guys. So here's hoping to more great games with graphics that will stand the test of time.

[cocodapuf]

I still think the graphics for some NES, Super NES, and Genesis games look a bit dated, but are still fun and do still look nice. I think I have a harder time playing some PS1 games because the graphics now just look so blurred or something. I tried playing some games and it looked so muddy that I couldn't tell much of what was in the area. What would be really cool is to see some of those great games remade with more modern consoles power like Resident Evil, but what else would be cool to change the gameplay to be more like RE4. They did a remake of Mega Man X that I just thought was awesome and stopped moving to look around. I'd still play the SNES version because that still stands the test of time with game play and visually. More games are improving on game play, story, and more like BioShock or even the new Tomb Raider games I think are fun to play. And look at games like Puzzle Quest it's bejewled meets and RPG, and the graphics aren't that big. Still it's talked about a lot especially with the TRS guys. So here's hoping to more great games with graphics that will stand the test of time.

Oh I know exactly what you mean! It's much easier to pick up a NES game of old than it is to pick up a PS1 game. Some games like super mario world for instance (SNES) don't even look all that dated, but an early PS1 game (Tomb Raider 1) might physically make me nauseous.

Those early Playstation days were definitely a transitional period, moving from 2D to 3D. It was Nintendo that finally got it right with Mario 64. I find a lot of games from that generation look downright ugly compared to many 8 bit and 16 bit games.

So btw, I'm not sure how exactly this fits into the conversation but as a side note... Even with all the bad games in that era, Metal Gear Solid for PS1 was in my opinion the first game I'd seen that had the winning combination of a truly compelling storyline, graphics advanced enough to tell it's story and solid gameplay (please excuse the pun). This was a game that made me realize how much more games could be.

[iccanui]

I wonder now, do you all think the Wii was the swing point? Just thinking about when it came out and i remember gaming was all about the pretty and people were talking about how gaming is all pretty and no depth, then the Wii came out and people started saying " see, graphics dont matter ".

So you all think the Wii sparked or at least helped in a large way shift momentum away from eye candy to content ?

[damnedeyez]

I wonder now, do you all think the Wii was the swing point? Just thinking about when it came out and i remember gaming was all about the pretty and people were talking about how gaming is all pretty and no depth, then the Wii came out and people started saying " see, graphics dont matter ".

So you all think the Wii sparked or at least helped in a large way shift momentum away from eye candy to content ?

I'm sure it helped...as did all of the downloadables on all three systems.

[jae]

whoaaaaa CoD4 single player is anything but throw away. The multiplayer is pure gameplay awesomeness. But the single player....THAT is what's epic about CoD4.

i did qualify it with an almost. i enjoyed the single player, quite a bit. however, i think the main thrust of that game is the online play.

i guess my point is more that it could've been like ut3, and have a barely there story that sucks terribly. (i still say, for a game like ut, the best story is NO STORY. i.e. the first ut.)

[neverendingwhitelights]

This I'm not sure I agree with. If there's one thing I've learned about technology it's that you never hit the top. You can always get something faster, bigger or better looking. sure the graphics are good enough now, but whatabout when 1080p screens are the norm. What about when actual 3d monitor technology reaches the public. What about all the stuff that you haven't thought of yet.

As we build more powerful computers and more advanced technology, we find new ways to use it. It may seem like we're hitting the ceiling, but the ceiling just keeps getting higher, we'll never reach it.

Go look at some real-life vs. Crysis graphics comparisons, and you tell me we're not getting graphics that are close to being as good as they can be. Pretty soon there isn't going to be much to improve on as far as traditional graphics go, and we're going to have to find a new venue to work on, such as, as I mentioned, virtual reality, or at least beginning to immerse the player in additional ways, as opposed to just visually and aurally.