Poll: Graphics make the game?

[Reqium]

If you are like me, and read the title, you probably already have you vision filming red?


what i wanted to ask is this, does storylining really matter? i mean as an artist / designer myself, i know how much difficulty goes into designing characters with depth, the uphill battle it is to give the story sustinance.

i mean for ever 1 person who says the story and quests kept them playing, The character developement were amazing and lifelike... there is another 5 mother fu*kers who only play games to the max graphics, because they have the best machines on this green earth.

i mean i actually spoke to someone who said. 'I judge games by graphics. and my pc is the test.'

Honestly, if there are so many gamers adapting this series of thought, whats the hope for future games to come out with an actual storyling, and not an endless repetition of gore and dull lifeless characters.


So tell me, what do you think is more important, and does it really matter to deepen storylines if people are only going to concentrate on graphics and ***** about there not being enough bloom?

 

[Cid Silverwing]

Graphics never ever make the game, not even for Crysis. It's just a bonus alongside the storyline.

 

[Epifols]

Umm, stupid poll.

Graphics DO matter, but they are not MORE important than plot OR gameplay.

And your poll is not what you asked in the post.

 

[Reqium]

Everything matters, why have one or the other when you can have both?

yeah i was going to type in a 'A balance of both.' but in my sleep deprived state i pressed post without thinking. My apologies

 

[Bored Tomatoe]

Everything put into a game matters. Graphics matter and storyline matter...but what about gameplay? I don't seem to find the thing that makes a game a fucking game as part of your poll. If a game had perfect graphics and an awesome storyline, but no damn gameplay, then it would be an animated movie, not a game. Since your poll does not have the ingredient of a game that fundemenatly makes in into a game, I suggest you change it.

 

[Jandau]

Of the two options I'd go with the Story.

HOWEVER! I'd like to point out an important distinction between graphics quality and design. While quality relates to the actual technology involved, the polygon count, the texture detail and resolution, the lighting, etc. , design is how any such technology is put to use. For me design is VERY important in any game, but the actual quality of it not so much.

To illustrate, Crysis is a game with some of the highest quality graphics I've ever seen. However, the game is visually bland, unimaginative and boring. The power of the graphics engine is wasted on nothing in particular and I found the game utterly dull to look at.

On the other hand, let's take Anachronox. The game had a mediocre graphics engine even when it came out (let alone today), but the way the characters and locations were designed was truly amazing and I always enjoy returning to that game when it comes to the visuals.

Appearance of the game is important, but not in the way many people think. It doesn't matter to me which game has better dynamic lighting or if the AA and AF look good. What matters is how well do the graphics convey the story and the gameplay, and serve to draw me in.

 

[sirtunic]

Graphics don't make a game, but I strongly admit they help.

 

[Pyrrian]

Everything matters, why have one or the other when you can have both?

This is exactly right.

However, to pick a side, I'd say it's more important to have crisp, clean visuals than it is to have a storyline. That's not to say the game must be technically or physically advanced. MegaMan 9 has very clean visuals, for instance, and it lends to good gameplay because you can see what is going on.

I'd much rather play a game than read some inane story - and video game stories are almost always inane - and the visual cleanliness of a game has a much greater impact on how I play. When visuals are well-done, I can see better, I can judge distances and patterns better, I can strategize moves better, I can relate to my environment better.

When story is well-done, it can certainly help get you into a game. The Longest Journey (which also looked beautiful) had a great story - certainly one of the best in the video game world. It's definitely one of my favorite games, and it certainly shows that quality tends to come in a package, not segmented by category. But I would have never forgiven the game if the items you needed to complete the game were a blurry mess, impossible to find in the backgrounds. It would have just been frustrating, and I would have wondered why they didn't just write a book or make a movie. Similarly, I can love a game that has little to no story at all, like most shmups. In a shmup you definitely need clearly visible bullets and enemies far more than a story. Finally, story elements in video games tend to be some of the biggest detractors from gameplay. The tons of stupid dialogue in Tales of Symphonia is just a mess, and it keeps you from the game - the same can be said of certain parts of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Halo 3 had those Cortana segments that slowed you down horribly. Granted, these are all examples of bad implementation of story, but I think it comes from the root desire to slap you in the face with the crap some part-time game writer came up with - a thing perpetuated by a desire to make "good" stories.

So, on the whole, I blame this ram-rod story-line work for screwing up games way more than efforts to improve visuals.

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

Storytelling and gameplay outweigh graphics by far. If the graphics are good, then good for it. But unless it plays well and has a decent story, it's not worth messing with, unless the sole purpose of the game is the graphics, like in Linger In Shadow.

 

[jamesworkshop]

I'm going to bat for the graphics side because lets face it 99.9% of games have a rubbish story anyway graphics is about the only thing that has actually improved at a constant rate.
Video games are primarily a visual experience in terms of human sences because you can't taste or reach out and touch (controllers don't count)
Graphics is a mix of technicality and design, crysis for instance is pushing for realism so I wouldn't use the word unimaginative as what else can a jungle look like but an actual jungle and to be fair the Alien space ship is to me both visually stuning and imaginative a small part of the game I know but it is in there.

 

[sheic99]

I would much prefer a great story than realistic graphics. While I had fun playing Crysis 1 and 1.5, I felt much more compelled by the story in Psychonauts.

 

[Epifols]

Crysis for instance is pushing for realism so I wouldn't use the word unimaginative as what else can a jungle look like but an actual jungle and to be fair the Alien space ship is to me both visually stunning and imaginative a small part of the game I know but it is in there.

Agreed. But I don't think it was just a small part. The graphics set the mood for the whole game, and I was not bored with it at all.

Deny it all you want but graphics do add a lot to games. Think of a paintjob on a car, sure it does not add any function to the car, but a good paintjob definitely makes a car more enjoyable and better.

 

[bodyklok]

I stick to game play graphics and storytelling come second.

 

[October Country]

A great story can definitely make me play a game and it makes me a lot more interested in what's going on and gives me a reason for keep playing the game (leaving gameplay out of the discussion here of course). Graphics sure look nice and helps with the immersion and general appeal of the game, but it cannot make of break a game.

Besides, in this console generation it is practically impossible to make a title (that you intend to make money on, that is) that looks out-right ugly in terms of graphic. I know someone will most likely disagree with me on this point depending on how much detail you go into, but graphics never mattered much to me.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Both. I'm sorry, but a great visual aesthetic can accompany and elaborate a storyline with grace. See Prince of Persia, or Okami for example.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

Storytelling first. Anyone who disagrees go and play the first 2 Monkey island games, they're graphics are horrible nowadays and still immensely enjoyable. If people only buy games with the best graphics then they're missing out on wonders like Beyond Good & Evil and Psychonauts. It also means that after a couple of years, they won't be able to replay something as by then the graphics will be old.

 

[Looking For Alaska]

As a writer I get a big stiffy at games with well-written stories, and it can make or break a game for me.

 

[curlycrouton]

Where's the gameplay option?

 

[Grimm91]

Where's the gameplay option?

I agree. Gameplay the most important part of games. Story drives it and graphic enhance the experience, but gameplay is why you play it.

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

Neither...

Gameplay