Do graphics ever stop you from playing a game?
- Thread starter Erana
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Yes. Have you ever decided to not talk to a girl/guy because of the way she looks? I think most of us can answer that with an affirmative remark.
And it's the same with games. Visual styles are the first thing you notice about a game, and if it offends your eyesight in any way (should it be bad graphics or crappy art style), you are less likely to play that game.
Sometimes it gets a little harder to bust out the old N64 when I've been spoiled with my 360's superior mapping, texture filters and other do-dads and bells and whistles that make the games look nice. But I guess I've never not played a game on account of looks alone, if that's the answer to your question.
And it's the same with games. Visual styles are the first thing you notice about a game, and if it offends your eyesight in any way (should it be bad graphics or crappy art style), you are less likely to play that game.
Sometimes it gets a little harder to bust out the old N64 when I've been spoiled with my 360's superior mapping, texture filters and other do-dads and bells and whistles that make the games look nice. But I guess I've never not played a game on account of looks alone, if that's the answer to your question.
It has stopped me from playing one, and only one, game. Quake 2. I honestly could not play even the first level. I looked the same as enemies, who looked the same as walls. Ever corridor looks the exact same, so if you turn around and go back your f###ed. Everyone said its good, I just can't do it. I've even played older games than that without problems, but I just couldn't play it.
One thing that gets annoying is that almost every PS3/360 game, the text is made to look good on an HDTV, and if you don't have one, you either have to sit 3 inches from the TV, or squint really hard.
Also, CatcherJJ, comparing video games to meeting women/men is kind of not that great of an analogy.
Also, CatcherJJ, comparing video games to meeting women/men is kind of not that great of an analogy.
Excellent game-play trumps bad graphics every time, but that does not mean graphics are not important to a game experience.
On a recent level design test for a studio I am interviewing at I made the point it is part of the overall game experience and draws you into the world of the game more completely to have a solid graphical theme (in the case of this analysis I was discussing the front end UI for FIFA 08)
Erana, your issue with graphics is that they are distracting from the experience of these games. This could be for any number of reasons, but it almost always is personal preference. We have all dealt with it, it isn't always graphics, but what you are describing is a very real part of game design.
Ultimately Story, Graphics, and even Game-play don't matter as long as (as discussed Nezur..ii...mi... other letters) as long as the core entertainment value is provided.
I do call bullshit on everyone who says they prefer the graphics of pre-PS FF games tho'. The 8 / 16 bit graphics? That is such Fanboy garbage. If any company (no matter how good the story was) came out with a game and presented it like that, even in the niche game type fan market it would sell poorly.
On a recent level design test for a studio I am interviewing at I made the point it is part of the overall game experience and draws you into the world of the game more completely to have a solid graphical theme (in the case of this analysis I was discussing the front end UI for FIFA 08)
Erana, your issue with graphics is that they are distracting from the experience of these games. This could be for any number of reasons, but it almost always is personal preference. We have all dealt with it, it isn't always graphics, but what you are describing is a very real part of game design.
Ultimately Story, Graphics, and even Game-play don't matter as long as (as discussed Nezur..ii...mi... other letters) as long as the core entertainment value is provided.
I do call bullshit on everyone who says they prefer the graphics of pre-PS FF games tho'. The 8 / 16 bit graphics? That is such Fanboy garbage. If any company (no matter how good the story was) came out with a game and presented it like that, even in the niche game type fan market it would sell poorly.
So you are saying that graphics are often overlooked as an important piece of the game?NezumiiroKitsune said:Graphics can get fanatics of "Gameplay/Story is God!" theory up in arms when you discuss there importance. They almost scream and throw a tantrum at you for any reference to graphics being at an important factor in a game. Well I'm going to say they are, and before you call me up on it and cruicfy me for not being a real gamer I'm going to briefly point out, graphics alone make a movie and a bad one at that, you then need story, now you have a movie thats totally dependant on the quality of the director and the editing, then add gameplay and you have a game. There are other aspects but they're key. Graphics is by far the least important factor BUT its still one of the big 3. This however ONLY applys with new releases. If you buy a game that is 12 years old you are not going to make a thread crying about how terrible the graphics in this game are, because when you bought it for £10 you knew what you were getting, a 12 year old game. So graphically you are more willing to let it slide if the gameplay and story are great. If however its a new release thats been advertised everywhere say for the PS3 (sake of argument), and you pay £40 - £50, your going to be a little pissed off it the graphics look last gen and lazy. Again you may reasonably argue, well if the gameplay and story are great I'll stil enjoy it, but your missing a key point here. If the graphics had been excellent too imagine how much better that first glimpse would have been. Every aspect of the game is subject to the quality of graphics no matter how you look at gameplay and story. If the game has bad graphics taht look lazy and last gen, especially if this is also marred with framerate issues and other bugs, your going to feel a little let down. I know I know MGS2 was amazing, Ico was a stroke of pure genius, Okami, R&C, etc etc the list goes on, are all great games, but all would benefit from that next-gen touch. They are by no means lessened without it, we accept because they are older they will inevitably look less stunning.
Graphics as an element of the game. This is often overlooked. A game; by defination is meant to bring you, essentially, a kind of happiness. We all seek happiness its one of the key reasons to live. We achieve this from the many thousands of aspects in games. Now can anyone tell me they havent been stunned by the natural beauty of the world at some point in there lives? With this gen graphics we can recreate scenes that the natural world unfortuntatly cannot make us or ever bring us, and they can be nigh on photo realistic. The thrill and euphoria at the point of seeing a great city of the future glissening with light from 2 suns in a expanse of golden desert as you ride some kind of mighty steed, an elborate greatsword strapped to you back. This thrill, this explosion of joy can only be brought to you by the factor of games that is often shunned as "idiot pleasing" (because obviously if you appreiciate graphics you cant possibly comprehend good storylines and assess funtional inovative gameplay). So yes, graphics can influence if I buy a game. Past games, the story, reviews, and gameplay all important factors too. If I still play the game will always be down primarily to gameplay and story, but if a game has abysmal graphics, thats I just piad £40 for on my next gen console. Well I feel inclined to be allowed to feel a little let down.
For those who know the lore of The Elder Scrolls, who wouldnt be enthralled by the magnificence of the high elven city of Alinor rendered in stunning 1080p? It would by no means be the defining factor of the game, but if thats the first thing I saw in TESV it would bring me a rush like nothing but the eloquent beauty of the imagination incarnate can.
Post a bit long maybe?I just really want the show the nay sayers (obviously alot of you will read this and nod saying yeah I already knew that, or not believe me in which case if your happy with old graphics fair enough, thanks for reading) that graphics arnt just the boon of infantile immature fools who cant go 30 seconds without killing something, that they are indeed as much art as many paintings, and as beautiful as some of natures work, though not yet on par imo. My answer to the question is in there I assure you
MGS4 SPOILER (though its well phrased)
Snakes helicopter nap was awesome though, really brought back some memories.
I admit your post is well worded but to be honest many of the large companies are focusing mainly on graphics, putting story and gameplay in the second seat because so many of the aforementioned people just want to kill stuff.
A lot of the point and click adventures by Kheops I've not bothered with because the graphics are too static.
Not that many on these forums are to know who Kheops are...
Most playstation 2 games have been a major turn off because, lets face is, the PS2 wasn't the best consoles to show off graphics. Especially not when you owned a Dreamcast before hand.
Not that many on these forums are to know who Kheops are...
Most playstation 2 games have been a major turn off because, lets face is, the PS2 wasn't the best consoles to show off graphics. Especially not when you owned a Dreamcast before hand.
I think it is. How many times have you not talked to a person on account of them looking distasteful or weird? We've all done it(which doesn't mean it's right, by the way). It's the same way for games. If a game has a anime art style, I won't play it because I don't like that style of graphics. Same deal.kanyatta said:
Off the top of my head: No.
I still prefer many of my older games to some of the trash that has come out as of late. Homeworld 2 still occupies a permanent slot on my hard drive (some of the mods that have come out for it are craaaaaazy shit), likewise Ghost Recon (not GRAW or GRAW 2, just regular ole GR1 + Desert Siege and Island Thunder) also has a permanent home. Then there's my always expanding collection of emulated games (Axelay = best game evar) that I love to play.
Hell, once I get home I'll be installing the entirety of the Baldur's Gate saga just because I'm in dire need of a good RPG fix, and there haven't been any good RPGs as of late (and if someone suggests Mass Effect I'm going to punch them in their respective genitalia, that game was horrible).
Now, there are things graphically that I don't like, but thankfully you can almost always turn it off. Specifically that god awful HDR shit. Whoever thought that having your game look like an overexposed photo looks good needs to be shot. Another example is FEAR's slow mo effects that look like Photoshop's filters shat themselves all over my screen. That didn't turn me off from the game though (FEAR's shoddy gameplay did a fine job of that on its own).
I still prefer many of my older games to some of the trash that has come out as of late. Homeworld 2 still occupies a permanent slot on my hard drive (some of the mods that have come out for it are craaaaaazy shit), likewise Ghost Recon (not GRAW or GRAW 2, just regular ole GR1 + Desert Siege and Island Thunder) also has a permanent home. Then there's my always expanding collection of emulated games (Axelay = best game evar) that I love to play.
Hell, once I get home I'll be installing the entirety of the Baldur's Gate saga just because I'm in dire need of a good RPG fix, and there haven't been any good RPGs as of late (and if someone suggests Mass Effect I'm going to punch them in their respective genitalia, that game was horrible).
Now, there are things graphically that I don't like, but thankfully you can almost always turn it off. Specifically that god awful HDR shit. Whoever thought that having your game look like an overexposed photo looks good needs to be shot. Another example is FEAR's slow mo effects that look like Photoshop's filters shat themselves all over my screen. That didn't turn me off from the game though (FEAR's shoddy gameplay did a fine job of that on its own).
Not bad graphics per se, but certain types of it can really make it hard for me to get in to a game. Fallout for example. Nowadays i'll never shut up about how good it is, but back when i got it, it took me around a year to get into it. Just..all that brownish. *shudder* I realise that's how it's supposed to look, but it still acts like a mental block for me.
Graphics can make a big difference in a game, (moreso artstyle) but graphics mean shit if the storyline and gameplay are broken to being with.
Oh, and i don't think there's anyone that "prefers" 8-bit, 16-bit. I enjoy playing those games more these days, but i'm pretty sure that's just nostalgia speaking.
Graphics can make a big difference in a game, (moreso artstyle) but graphics mean shit if the storyline and gameplay are broken to being with.
Oh, and i don't think there's anyone that "prefers" 8-bit, 16-bit. I enjoy playing those games more these days, but i'm pretty sure that's just nostalgia speaking.
When I played the Ocarina of Time for the first time I described the graphics as "life-like". Any game with graphics superior to that will receive the most appreciation I can give to a game for its graphics.
For me, graphics have never been the deciding factor on my enjoyment of the game. However, sometimes the lack of good graphics can really trouble a game.
Example
The first time I played Final Fantasy VI was about 2 years ago. I really tried to enjoy the game but I couldn't. Anyways, when I was watching *SPOILERS (if you can spoil FFVI)* Celes' attempted suicide *END SPOILERS* I couldn't stop thinking about how much better that scene could have been if it wasn't sprite based. There's been a lot of talk about remaking FFVII for the PS3 but I believe that an FFVI remake would be far more important. If that game had better graphics, I might have liked it more. Ironically, I really enjoy Chrono Trigger; probably because that game presented itself much much better than FFVI.
For me, graphics have never been the deciding factor on my enjoyment of the game. However, sometimes the lack of good graphics can really trouble a game.
Example
The first time I played Final Fantasy VI was about 2 years ago. I really tried to enjoy the game but I couldn't. Anyways, when I was watching *SPOILERS (if you can spoil FFVI)* Celes' attempted suicide *END SPOILERS* I couldn't stop thinking about how much better that scene could have been if it wasn't sprite based. There's been a lot of talk about remaking FFVII for the PS3 but I believe that an FFVI remake would be far more important. If that game had better graphics, I might have liked it more. Ironically, I really enjoy Chrono Trigger; probably because that game presented itself much much better than FFVI.
Story, gameplay, aesthetics, sound, graphics usually in that order.
'Bad' graphics don't bother me in the least, bar glitches, tearing and black space that is. Otherwise, I tend to prefer the aesthetics of how it looks as in: "Is this something that I find interesting to look at?" regardless of how pixelated or blurred the textures may be, as long as I can see the image the game is trying to get across, and I like that image, great.
I suppose an analogy would be...Blue vein style cheeses, now, normally mold is associated with rot and decay, and that turns a lot of people of this type of cheese. Even though, a number of delicious cheeses can be made in this way...
'Bad' graphics don't bother me in the least, bar glitches, tearing and black space that is. Otherwise, I tend to prefer the aesthetics of how it looks as in: "Is this something that I find interesting to look at?" regardless of how pixelated or blurred the textures may be, as long as I can see the image the game is trying to get across, and I like that image, great.
I suppose an analogy would be...Blue vein style cheeses, now, normally mold is associated with rot and decay, and that turns a lot of people of this type of cheese. Even though, a number of delicious cheeses can be made in this way...
I don't mind bad graphics, gameplay is way more important. I even enjoy Dwarf Fortress, 'despite' the ASCII graphics. That being said, I could not get my head around the battlescape in X-Com. I think the resolution was way too low to show detail AND a bigger overview, so they went for detail. If only the battlescape looked more like the original Jagged Alliance...
Yup, though think Jagged Alliance came out a year after Xcom: Ufo Defence/Enemy Unknown. But yeah, even if the view was a little awkward, I still prefer the overall look of Xcom, everything with it is distinctive. Even when you've got the aliens shrouded in pixelated shadow, you know you're in hell when you recognise the form of a Chrysalid peeking round the corner.t0mme said:
