2K: New Genres Impossible Without Photorealism

[Legion]

Let's see.

The intro of Bioshock 2.
The ending of Half Life 2: Episode 2.
The climax of the Geth/Quarian war in Mass Effect 3.

Let's not forget cartoons, anime, books and all other media's that don't rely on visuals to convey emotion.

The reason so many games fail to elicit emotion is because they are trying to engage us in other areas. Games such as Halo and Call of Duty are not really designed to tug at the heartstrings. The same way films such as The Expendables and action movies in general aren't.

 

[Baresark]

That is the dumbest thing I have heard. He is claiming lack of innovation or emotional story telling on poor graphics. Since the last generation, what a game can do has reached it's epitome, the only thing holding back design is the lack of the developers personal vision, there is nothing that cannot be done. That is not to say that things can't be improved from here on out though. Graphics can improve, especially when you compare modern PC's to the PS3 or 360. But improving the graphics won't mean any kind of innovation at this point.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Really? Graphics have to be photo-realistic in order for us humans to be able to draw emotions from what's on screen? Huh, seems Pixar didn't get that memo considering that 10 minutes of one of their ANIMATED MOVIES has more emotional impact on than pretty much any full acted academy award winning drama EVER.

Christoph Hartmann, you are completely full of shit.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I think he's got that ass-backwards. I think it's the pursuit of graphical perfection that is killing all the new ideas.

 

[Jodan]

so because we dont have a holodeck is the reason that we dont have drama games or very many thriller games, and were stuck with action and adventure games.

it all depends on what kind of expiriance the player wants. npc's can be empathised with in 2d or even being text based, as long as they are believable and 3 dimentional in terms of character.

i agree a holodeck would allow for anyform of story telling but using only the tools available has created some interesting and unique stuf on its own. why strive to copy other media.

 

[Elate]

One game, Bastion. Ok I'm done here, just another dude speaking more crap, like we don't have enough in the game industry.

 

[WanderingFool]

Sounds like bullshit to me. An excuse to disregard innovative gameplay for shiny pretty.

Took the words right out of my mouth... so, could you saty out of there?

Anyways, I think its not the graphical limitation as much as the mental limitation, and by that, I mean the mentality behind things. I think it is possible to make an emotionally engaging game that also happens to be fun to play, what matters is actually delivering that story. And I dont think photo-realistic graphics is the only means of doing this.

Will do my best. It's dark and kinda dry in there anyway...

Yeah... I should probably ask my docter about that...

 

[McMullen]

I've experienced quite a few emotions because of games. Positive and negative. Had nothing to do with photorealism. It turns out it's actually possible to create a masterful piece of art if you rely on talent rather than tools.

This guy probably thinks that knowing where the Lens Flare is in Photoshop is all you need to be a graphic artist. Someone fucking fire him already; he doesn't belong where he is.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Bullshit. I don't know what more to say. We lack empathy with game characters, something that can only be fixed with better graphics? Hell no! If that's the case, why did I feel like a pile of shit for making Zaalbar kill Mission in KOTOR? After all, they're just pixels, right?

And if that's the case, why will I never choose any ending that kills Shepard in ME3, because it would leave the love interest without their love?

And if that's the case, why do I feel so depressed at the end of L.A. Noire?

You, Mr. Hartmann, are the problem with the industry. You are using bullshit reasons to push out cookie-cutter games, and saying that the problem is the lack of technology? Good graphics don't make a good story. Good writers do. Maybe you should look into that.

 

[Denamic]

That is so full of shit that it's not even funny.
Photorealism is not necessary.
Text can invoke emotions.
The fucking in-game taunts in TF2 each easily convey more emotions than the entire cast of characters in Crysis combined over the course of the entire game. The look on the Heavy's face as he's firing his minigun makes him immediately relateable, as you understand what he's feeling and why with merely a glance that lasts a fraction of a second. The same with the Scout's cocky smirk and the Demo's rageface as he's charging you. Stylism fucking rocks.

 

[BoogieManFL]

Wow, what a colossal load of crap. This guy must have terrible taste in games if that is what he believes. I could name many, many games that did what he said they can't yet. Some are a decade or more old. It makes me happy that basically all the posts in this thread are against this guy.

 

[Irridium]

This actually makes me angry. And sad.

If you think that better graphics are the only way to get innovation, or to get us to empathize with characters, you're just wrong. We don't empathize with most protagonists because they're fucking boring and not interesting in any damn way. We didn't need amazing graphics to empathize with the Prince in Prince of Persia, we didn't need fantastic graphics to fall in love with Bioware's companion characters, we didn't need anything to feel the pain Wander felt when he lost his horse. Hell, the companion cube was just a fucking box and we feel in love with it. Wheatly had no face, and we fell in love with him. We felt emotions because these things and characters are well-written. Something that you, and many others, put on the backburner so you can focus on, guess what, better graphics.

And for innovation, just really? The most innovation these days is happening on fucking cell phones. They seem to be innovating just fine without amazing graphics. Yeah there's a lot of crap, but they're innovating a hell of a lot more than console games. And then there's the whole indie scene, which also has quite a bit of stuff that's not great, but again, they're at least trying to innovate, and they aren't using amazing graphics to do it.

I mean... god damn. This guy is just so wrong it hurts.

 

[antipunt]

This article upsets me, or at least what the 2k guy said did.

Why would you think that greater photo-realism is the answer to "how do we generate greater empathy?". Games look more realistic than they ever have, and yet I feel far less engaged with modern characters.

It's a meaningful original storyline that makes us relate to the game, dude, not a pretty picture.

When I hear someone say "Oh, games are as good as we can make them right now til technology gets better" I immediately think: 1. You're lying, 2. You're lazy.

I was going to type a version of your comment, but you already did it for me, so... 'quote'!

Guys, it's STORY, not visuals. Best example. Persona games with Playstation 2 graphics. Terrible graphics. Awesome stories. OK, so good voice actors really help too :0

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

Well, I'll agree that it's nicer to look at a face with more polygons, but I disagree with the idea that it has to be photo-realistic. Jut look at Pixar movies: they provide an emotional experience with cartoonish characters. The same could be said for video games. I loved watching charaters talk and move in Halo: Reach, while the characters in Call of Duty, which were supposedly rendered using state-of-the-art motion capture technology, seemed somehow more lifeless. I think it's more about using what you have to it fullest extent than trying to achieve perfection and falling short.

 

[Kilo24]

Photo-realism isn't the biggest issue for making graphics more realistic in today's AAA games. Lack of subtle animations is.

You're not going to feel like you're effectively communicating with another person even if they're photorealistic, their voice actor is superb, and the game environment is perfect while they stare at you with nothing moving but their mouth and they're standing like a pole was rammed up their butt.

I'd consider it quite likely that until you get better nonverbal communication in games that better graphics will do next to nothing for making communications with NPCs feel immersive.

And, yes, there is also the whole big deal that everybody else is harping over in this thread that a story is superior to graphical fidelity.

 

[Two-A]

Has this guy played Persona 4, Mass Effect, Silent Hill 2 , or even bothered to search for a good web game?. You don't need photorealistic graphics, Toy Story was a good movie without them

For a game to be able to give you the emotions he's talking about, you need good writing and engaging characters. Investing in shiny graphics will not let you invest in the good writers that are necessary to write a good story

 

[TheKaduflyerSystem]

New graphics will help, but every genre started somewhere... a la DOOM...

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I think we are slightly missing the point. No game developer cod be stupid enough to say that you can't get emotions in a game without photorealistic graphics.

What he is talking about is new genres. And think of it, how many games are based purely on emotional appeal. There's Journey, Errr... that's kinda it.

He is talking not about scenes or setpieces of games that create emotion, he is talking about a game centered around exploring our emotions, and currently there are virtually no games that do that without putting you behind the barrel of a gun and telling you to kill lots of stuff first.

Personally I don't agree with this idea, I think that (as the game Journey shows) graphics aren't necessary to create immersion and identification with characters on such a level that your relationship with them is strong enough to carry the main focus of the game. I think that's what he is saying is impossible in that article.

 

[Nenad]

I take it that To The Moon [http://freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon/] is the living proof this guy is wrong.

...although not as wrong as some comments here what you to think. While what you say might be the most important, body language can add one more enhancing layer of connecting with characters in games.