Realism in Games?

[SquirrelPants]

I prefer a certain balance with my realism. I like some things to be realistic, such as grenade splash damage, flight mechanics in games that need it, and graphics(not a requirement, but certainly a plus.) Some things, however, such as bullet damage, tiredness, eating, blah blah blah...you know how it is. They're all very silly mechanics that aren't really needed, and only exist to help people avoid having to think things like "okay, after two hundred years, wouldn't the Washington Monument have fallen down?" (Actual example, Fallout 3. In case anyone's noticed, yes, I have played a lot of that game lately.)

 

[Chaosut]

Well, i certainly think that there needs to be a balance in terms of realism. Though i think it's fair that some games move to either the more realistic or unrealistic side of the spectrum. For example, Arma and Operation Flashpoint are both games that i love, but they're just not suited to everybody, and even though i love i don't want to play them non-stop. So really, it wouldn't make sense for every military/FPS game to be like Operation Flashpoint. But, i certainly still appreciate the existance of games such as Operation Flashpoint. It really depends on the function of the game whether they're more realistic or stylized. I don't think it's particularly practical to say that all game should be realistic or all should be stylized.

 

[RufusMcLaser]

I like realism in my sims, my hardcore strategy games (even the realtime variety), and some of my military-themed FPS titles. Action-themed games should not put realism before fun unless they're going to show some serious sim qualities.
That's why I love the Battlefield games, and can turn around and spend an equally engrossing session playing something like IL-2 or Steel Beasts. I have a particular love of accurately modeled weapons, probably because I'll never actually get to fire a Degtyarev DPM or crew a Leopard 1A5 in real life.

 

[RufusMcLaser]

In order to "escape" from our life into a video game you need something called immersion. Immersion is how much you feel like you are in the game, not just pushing buttons on a controller or keyboard and making the little man on the screen jump up and down.

Right on! Realism almost always makes game tasks more difficult- any sim fan will tell you that- but in doing so it also makes them more rewarding. Making things too easy makes them less rewarding. Hence I prefer FPS's over railed shooters (for the most part) and sims like Lock On, or X-Plane, or even the old Jane's titles over a game like HAWX.
So enjoy your arcade-y shooters, I won't hate, so long as you keep your damnfool consolification out of my Combat Mission.

 

[Nutcase]

Difficulty =/= realism.

Desert Bus is realist and easy. Mushihime-sama Futari is abstract fantasy and very hard.