Replaying Old Games: The Importance of Graphics

[Zantos]

I don't mind. I frequently replay Might and Magic 7 and Dungeon Keeper 2, both of which look quite bad - DK especially if you go into first person and M&M7 looked bad even when I picked it up (heck, it looked bad for 1999, I played it in 2002-ish).

I'm playing through Might and Magic 8 now (first time without invisispamming) and was just thinking that they're great examples of games that are great despite looking total arse. I was also thinking that since there's only a few people on here that have played it I'd get to say it first. Damn you DoPo, I'm going to have to go wipe out all life on Regna now.

OT: I really don't mind playing old games with poor graphics, if I like the story (particularly in the case of Might and Magic, the point in the story where the writers took a whole load of crack) and enjoy playing the game I will play it. Though typically I don't get on so well with the overhead view that's used in D&D games, which is a shame because I hear if you can get over it they're really good.

 

[J Tyran]

I don't mind playing older games as long as the resolution is ok, graphics themselves do not bother me much but the screen resolution can make it really hard to see small objects or text clearly. Morrowind for example can look like arse without some graphical tweaks for a modern PC, the textures and animations can be put up with but the text gets broken.

 

[DoPo]

I don't mind. I frequently replay Might and Magic 7 and Dungeon Keeper 2, both of which look quite bad - DK especially if you go into first person and M&M7 looked bad even when I picked it up (heck, it looked bad for 1999, I played it in 2002-ish).

I'm playing through Might and Magic 8 now (first time without invisispamming) and was just thinking that they're great examples of games that are great despite looking total arse. I was also thinking that since there's only a few people on here that have played it I'd get to say it first. Damn you DoPo, I'm going to have to go wipe out all life on Regna now.

Yess, do it!

I've got a confession to make - I never finished M&M 8. I know I know, but while you're getting the whips and chains - I did start it several times - one time the save got wiped (erm...along with the whole partition the game was on. There was...a slight mistake), another time I uninstalled the game to save space, forgot to back up the saves, and the final time I started it, but then had to start Uni, left it on the PC at home and never really had the chance to continue it. That PC got scrapped and replaced about a year and a half back while I wasn't home.

I do have it on GOG now, though, so I can download and play it. And I will!

You can commence the torture now.

 

[Able Seacat]

As always aesthetics over graphics. As others have said it's usually the gameplay that shows the games age to me.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP has an 8bit graphic style but I still find it a beautiful game, has a wonderful atmosphere and one of my favourite soundtracks.

Spoiler

 

[LoSouL]

2D for life.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

Graphics are nothing to me and it makes me laugh when people say they can't play this that or the other because the graphics are too bad. Too bad? I grew up with the spectrum and commodore era of gaming. Rogue is a fantastic game and it doesn't have graphics, it has characters and symbols. ADOM is the same. It's not graphics that matter but how you interpret what you see on your computer screen and then interact with it. I liked the classic 'treasure island' which was a text-based adventure and had the most basic 2d pictures ever but it was still a good game. I've recently replayed these games and wasn't at all suprised to find out that i enjoyed them now as much as i did back then...maybe more so with the deluge of story-driven unimaginative rubbish we've been having for the last few years. My favourite game of all time is Rockman...a 2d puzzle game from the Vic 20...i loved RIP on the atari...it's not rose tinted glasses of nostalgia but the memory of being tested by games and found wanting which hasn't been the case for maybe 15 years.

I think it boils down to imagination and modern gamers not having any reason to need it. You have graphics to remove that need.

 

[kamay]

Pixel graphics never bother me, mainly because I grew up on nes & snes. For me mechanics are the big game breakers when I play an older game (especially if I haven't played it before). Although I used to love the Turok games for N64 but I've tried to play them again but I can't get passed how terrible they look..that fog..those textures!

Now that being said, if a current gen. game looks like garbage it is tougher for me to get passed mainly because I know what they are capable of doing.

 

[loc978]

This entire thread is making me want to replay TIE Fighter in glorious 640x480.

Now that was a space combat sim. Shielded fighters and texture-mapped polygons are for the weak!

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Some games age well better than others while I'm still playing Red Alert 2 Yuri's Revenge other games like Tomb raider from what I've seen haven't aged all that well and the same goes for the oldest Call of Duty's.

 

[DBLT4P]

I've always thought that graphics only need to be "good enough," good enough that they don't detract from the experience. Beyond that point diminishing returns sets in: the required resources put in per unit of graphical quality increase while the benefit gained drops like a cliff, with almost no real gain until the graphics reach that stunning "wow!" level several million dollars later. I would rather see those resources used somewhere else in the development where they will go father, hopefully resulting in an overall superior product given the same constraints.

 

[purplecactus]

I don't mind it all that much if it's a game I enjoy. The stuff that's called terrible graphics now is what I started off playing, and I enjoy it just as much now even with the shiny new graphics flying at us all the time. If the interface is impossible to use then that's a different story, but a few extra pixels wouldn't put me off.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Well, my favourite video game that has lasted with me is Gothic 2. I can still replay that today and enjoy it just as much as I did several years ago. I also recently replayed Shadowman (PC) and thoroughly enjoyed that as well. I've also caught up on some RPGs from the 90's that I never got the chance to play before, namely Fallout and Baldur's Gate, and I've been fine with them too. In fact, I'd so the graphics of these games are pretty damn decent.

While yes, flashy graphics that are seen in The Witcher and Mass Effect are nice, it isn't essential to the enjoyment of the game. For me at any case. However, I can see where it would override the gameplay and prevent me from playing it. I wouldn't be able to play the first Wasteland, for example, simply because of how horribly dated it would both look and feel. So I guess the graphics may play some kind of role, but not a huge one by itself.

 

[Karoshi]

At some point it stops mattering. For example, Half-life and Kotor looked damn ugly on the screenshots, but once you have played for couple hours you just stop noticing it and instead focus on the good things. Oh, look! There's a flying mammal in the sky! Surprisingly good mirror and water graphics! Damn, the sound design is sexy!

Once you give it a chance you'll be surprised how good old games feel. I highly recommend to anyone try it out themselves.

 

[Ishal]

I really need to play Planescape Torment don't I? :/

Especially if Chris Avellone wrote it, and I hear you can actually fail dialogue conversations... thats pretty damn cool if you ask me.

You haven't played Planescape Torment yet?

You disgust me, sir!

Really though, I'd get on with it sooner rather than later if I were you. It's not getting any younger or easier to play.

Captcha: Donkey's years. Seems like it should be relevant somehow, but I can't quite puzzle out how...

I know! I have shamed myself! gasp* its on GOG...

Well, guess I know what I'll be doing the next few weekends I have some free time.

Its strange... I first heard of this game (in detail) in one of the videos from MrBtongue (a youtuber who analyzes games and other nerd stuff, actually I think you know about him cuz I recall you linking one of his ME3 videos in a thread before). Anyway I watched his video then found out that a character in Planescape inspired the character or Kreia in KOTOR II.

This is going to be fun.

Captha: Mumbo Jumbo. Oh yes, mumbo jumbo is what will be plastered all over these forums once I play this game and have to tell everyone about it.

 

[Windcaler]

I dont really care about graphics. A good game is still a good game and as long as Im engaged then it doesnt matter what the game looks like. Are better graphics and aesthetics nice? Absolutely but they arent a requirement for me to enjoy the game. The sole focus of graphics is also a problem. Just look at the games crytek releases which have great graphics but many people think are completely unengaging and uninteresting

 

[Zantos]

I don't mind. I frequently replay Might and Magic 7 and Dungeon Keeper 2, both of which look quite bad - DK especially if you go into first person and M&M7 looked bad even when I picked it up (heck, it looked bad for 1999, I played it in 2002-ish).

I'm playing through Might and Magic 8 now (first time without invisispamming) and was just thinking that they're great examples of games that are great despite looking total arse. I was also thinking that since there's only a few people on here that have played it I'd get to say it first. Damn you DoPo, I'm going to have to go wipe out all life on Regna now.

Yess, do it!

I've got a confession to make - I never finished M&M 8. I know I know, but while you're getting the whips and chains - I did start it several times - one time the save got wiped (erm...along with the whole partition the game was on. There was...a slight mistake), another time I uninstalled the game to save space, forgot to back up the saves, and the final time I started it, but then had to start Uni, left it on the PC at home and never really had the chance to continue it. That PC got scrapped and replaced about a year and a half back while I wasn't home.

I do have it on GOG now, though, so I can download and play it. And I will!

You can commence the torture now.

I only played MM6 further than the first few quests last month, so I suppose we'll just have to torture each other...

Yes, go do it! It's really good! Seriously unbalanced as far as the classes go, but I always thought that added to the fun of Might and Magic. Though honestly, there is a dragon class. I'd have been more upset if it hadn't been ludicrously OP. Wraps up the whole Xenofex arc rather well and hints at maybe good and evil aren't so black and white. Either that, or I just read subtext into the usual crack induced haze that makes up some portion of M&M writing. I might magic up the courage to try 9 again, I've completely forgotten why I hated that.

Also, there are a few issues with hardware acceleration on modern cards. You might want to make sure you're fully patched up (instructions on the GoG forums), because there's a difference between looking like hardware accelerated arse and the software arse.

Also also, M&M 10 is looking pretty good. By which I mean it looks like a wonderful world in honour of Might and Magic. If the graphics weren't awful I'd have been upset.

 

[Da Orky Man]

It depends.
Old games I enjoyed in their time, I can go back for the most part now and enjoy them just as much.

Games that I didn't play in their time however, tend to be very very difficult for me to get into.

I'm agreeing with this guy. Older games that I played around the time they came out, like Age of Kings/Conquerors, KotOR, Tachyon: The Fringe and so on I can play just fine. They tend to have less-refined mechanics than more recent releases, but they're still plenty playable.
On the other hand, if I'm picking up and older game that I did not play, such as Deus Ex or System Shock 2, then its much harder to get into.