Graphics Of Video-Games.
 

One of my huge pet peeves is when people say that a game has "bad graphics" because it does not look photorealistic. I say - THIS IS WRONG.

Why?

Graphics being good or bad has nothing to do with realism - it has to do with the feeling the game wants to create. Some games (for instance, Crysis) rely heavily on photorealism, and in THIS case, its photorealistic graphics are very good.

But it's different for different games. Graphics might be really good, but not at all realistic (World of Goo for instance). In World of Goo, the graphics fit perfectly for the game, and are in other words really good.

And it can of course be the other way around - graphics may look really realistic, but bad - uninspired, boring. In this case the graphics do not succeed in establishing the feeling that fits for the game, and are therefore bad.

Good or bad graphics depends on the ART DESIGN FOR THE INDIVIDUAL GAME. It has NOTHING TO DO WITH PHOTOREALISM.

If the graphics of a game succeeds in giving the game the feeling it is meant to have, the graphics are good - no matter if they are realistic or not. Photorealism is only ONE way of showing a message.

Thoughts on this?

Needs more Neytiri.


Oh and I like photorealistic games, not games such as borderland. I think it's a bit of personal preference involved there.

Of course. But you have to agree that the graphics of Borderland fits greatly into the game they wanted to make, no matter if YOU like it or not ;)

In other words - the graphics of borderlands are good, but not everyone might like them. I can compare this with, say, movies. A movie might be really good (say, the godfather), but that does not mean everyone likes it. However, it is still well-made.

I only played borderlands for an hour or so, but I didn't like the game at all, because of the graphics. Did it fit the game? Hard to say since I didn't try it enough.

Had this small discussion on IRC:

If you'd lived on Pandora all your life and you came to Earth, and was forced to live here... would you enjoy it? I really do not think so.
If you'd lived in some real ****hole, way worse than Earth, and then came to Earth - would you enjoy that? Very likely.

It's all relative - you judge everything depending on previous experiences.

Yes, but you cannot apply that logic to video games, since all video games are so different. TA, for instance, is very different from, say, Crysis.

Two very different games, with two different art styles.

You remind me of my friend; he plays all these old games like Pokemon and Dragon Quest and gets so annoyed when I either don't know he's talking about or comment on how the graphics are crap.

Personally, I couldn't enjoy a game that I wouldn't enjoy staring at for hours. Take Doom for instance; I'm sure it was fun for people back in the day, but now that technology has advanced, I see no reason not to advance with it.

I'm guessing you're in your late twenties/early thirties? Then it would make sense for you to like old games since you grew up with them. (Don't be offended if I'm off, by the way, I'm just basing your age on what little I know of you.)

I never grew up with those games, I am 17.

And it's not a question of advancement. Many older games are far better than games released today - ALSO in terms of graphics - ART DESIGN.

;)

I just can't do that, I base my opinions on what I've experienced earlier, like previously mentioned. I grew up with games with a lot better graphics than TA (so did you, I suppose), and I'll for that reason never be able to appreciate them. No matter what "feeling" the game is trying to create.

Many, yes. Most, no.

Um...
I think TA has great graphics - I have not seen a game with "better" graphics, simply because the graphics of TA fit perfectly into the game.

For those who wonder, this is how TA looks like:

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1...IGSHOT_002.png

I don't know, I think that game would look awesome in better graphics (by just looking at that screenshot, really).

Define "better".

What looks bad on that screenshot? I think everything look really sharp, informative (easy to see the units/terrain etc), and gives the feeling of a great battle. :D